Top tech, startup stories of the day

The global stock market carnage has come for India’s freshly-listed new-age tech firms. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

Also in the letter:
■ Tata's billion-dollar infusion
■ Apple’s tariff jitters
■ Ola Electric’s sales jugglery
Stock market slump hits new-age tech firms in 2025; Zomato, Swiggy, others in the red

Indian new-age technology companies are reeling from a sharp stock market downturn in 2025, with year-to-date share prices plunging between 11% and nearly 60%.

In depth: A global market slump, driven by rising interest rates, escalating geopolitical tensions, and renewed inflation fears, has rattled investor sentiment. Fresh tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump have only worsened volatility.

Amid this turbulence, recently listed tech firms are struggling to hold investor confidence, with many trading far below their IPO prices.

Source: Google Finance, NSE

Hardest hit:

• Swiggy: Just six months after going public, Swiggy has emerged as one of the biggest casualties, with its stock price tumbling nearly 41% year-to-date. On Monday, the stock fell 4.58% to close at Rs 321.75 on the BSE.
• Zomato: Shares of the Deepinder Goyal-led food delivery giant has fallen 26% since January. The stock closed at Rs 209.75, down 0.43%.
• Ola Electric: The EV maker’s shares have fallen 37% this year, wiping out nearly two-thirds of their value since its August 2024 public listing. The stock closed at Rs 50.83 on Monday, down 3%.
• Mobikwik: The fintech firm has nosedived 57% in 2025. It closed at Rs 267.65 on Monday, down nearly 6%.

Also Read: Market slump hits new-age stocks; many trade below IPO price

There's more: The following new-age firms are also in the red:

• FirstCry: Down 50% year-to-date
• Paytm: Down 20% since January
• Delhivery: Down 25% this year

IPO impact: The broader weakness in the stock markets could also lead to startups potentially delaying their IPO plans as public valuations get compressed. “If founders aren't happy with how the street is willing to price them, they might delay the IPOs…at least 20-30% founders might take that call,” said Kashyap Chanchani, managing director at The Rainmaker Group, a homegrown investment bank.

Also Read: India tech startups worth $100 billion seen seeking IPOs by 2027
Juspay closes $60 million funding from Kedaara, others; valuation doubles to more than $900 million
(L to R) Sheetal Lalwani and Vimal Kumar, founders, Juspay

Payments aggregator Juspay has raised $60 million in a funding round led by Kedaara Capital. The round involved a mix of primary and secondary investments. Existing investors SoftBank and Accel also participated.

Deal details: The funding round, a mix of primary and secondary investments, ascribes a valuation of more than $900 million to the company, sources told us, double from $440 million in 2022.

The primary part of the funding is around $10 million, while the rest is secondary sale by existing shareholders to incoming ones.

Tell me more:

• Juspay primarily offers a payment orchestration platform to online merchants
• It has expanded into the payment aggregator (PA) space, competing with major Indian players.
• Juspay secured the PA licence from the central bank in February 2024.
• The company is currently embroiled in a controversy with PhonePe, Razorpay, and Paytm, who have urged merchants to stop using third-party payment orchestration platforms.

Tata's billion-dollar bet: BigBasket and 1mg set for $1.3 billion cash surge

The Tata Group is set to raise $1.3 billion for its grocery delivery platform BigBasket and online pharmacy Tata 1mg.


Deal details: Tata has appointed global investment banks Citi and Moelis to help secure $1.3 billion from external investors.

• Of the total amount, $1 billion is designated for BigBasket, which has been forced to pivot towards quick commerce after initially resisting this shift.
• The residual $300 million will go to Tata 1mg.

Covering ground: ET reported in February that the Tata Group was miffed with BigBasket’s sluggish response to the rapid rise and widespread adoption of quick commerce, calling this a strategic misstep that has left the Tata Digital unit trailing rivals Blinkit and Zepto.
Apple exports iPhones worth Rs 20,000 crore in March, Rs 1.5 lakh cr in FY25 ahead of US tariffs

Apple's vendors nearly doubled iPhone exports from India in March, hitting Rs 20,000 crore—up from Rs 11,000 crore a year ago—mostly to the US.

Numbers game:

• Apple exported iPhones worth Rs 48,000 crore in the March quarter, compared to Rs 28,500 crore in the same period last year.
• While the March quarter is typically Apple’s strongest for exports from India, the sharp surge last month suggests a deliberate effort to ramp up shipments ahead of tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration, which came into effect on April 2.

Brace for impact:

• The 26% reciprocal tariff on India, as well as those on other countries, will come into force on April 9.
• Electronics exports to the US are expected to slow down in the coming months.
• Analysts note the June quarter is usually a soft one for Apple, which may offset some of the impact.

No price hike: Reports suggest Apple's US warehouses are sufficiently stocked, shielding customers from immediate price hikes. The US remains Apple's largest market, and there were concerns the company would pass on the added costs to the customers.

Strongest impact: While Apple has historically navigated economic turbulence better than most, it is expected to take the biggest hit from these new tariffs.

Apple was projected to ship iPhones worth $8-9 billion to the US this financial year. Vietnam (46%) and China (54%), Apple's other major manufacturing hubs, face even steeper levies than India.
Ola’s February sales added e-motorbikes not even rolled out yet
Ola Electric CEO Bhavish Aggarwal

Ola Electric included bookings for its yet-to-be-launched electric motorcycles and e-scooters in its February sales figures, inflating its market share as it attempts to rebuild investor confidence.

What’s happening:

• Ola Electric claimed over 25,000 sales in February 2025, including 10,866 third-generation e-scooters and 1,395 Roadster X motorcycles as "confirmed orders," despite the Roadster motorcycles not being launched and scooter deliveries only beginning in March.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways questioned the figure after government data showed just 8,600 vehicle registrations in February, revealing a significant gap between reported sales and actual registrations.
• Ola attributed the discrepancy to delays caused by renegotiations with registration vendors but failed to clarify whether the bookings were as invoiced or delivered units