Cheers to Tuesday! Zepto, a quick commerce company, has submitted revised draft documents for its $1 billion IPO. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
- Ex-Mirae India CEO’s new fund
- Articul8’s heritage AI bet
- Infineon deepens India ties
Zepto files updated papers for Rs 9,500 crore IPO; aims July listing
Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha has submitted its revised prospectus for a Rs 9,500-crore initial public offering (IPO), paving the way for one of the year’s most anticipated new-age listings and possibly aiming for a July market debut.
Quick commerce first: The offering will make Zepto the first pure-play quick commerce company to list in India, joining Blinkit parent Eternal and Swiggy in the public markets.
Fuel for expansion: The majority of the new funds will be utilized to assist client acquisition efforts, develop the company’s technology infrastructure, finance lease rentals, and grow the network of dark stores.
Growth at scale: Zepto narrowed losses while reporting a 75% increase in quarterly revenue to Rs 7,498 crore. During the January–March quarter, the business processed 210 million orders.
Sachin Bansal’s Navi in talks to raise $250-300 million from Prosus, Accel US
Sachin Bansal, founder of Navi Technologies
At a valuation of $1.8–2 billion, Navi Technologies is in negotiations to raise $250–300 million, which might be one of the biggest fintech checks of the year. After abandoning plans for an initial public offering (IPO) last year, the financial services company led by Sachin Bansal is now seeking private funding from investors such as Prosus and Accel Growth Fund.
What’s happening:
- Navi’s India lending engine is humming, with monthly disbursals of Rs 3,000–4,000 crore.
- The company now wants to take this playbook to Southeast Asia, expanding its lending footprint beyond India.
- This round will give Navi fresh growth capital, while Bansal is separately raising debt — backed by a personal guarantee—to double down on the lending business.
Why it matters:
- Navi had earlier tried to raise $200–300 million at a valuation of around $2 billion in 2024, but that effort fell through.
- The new deal comes after the RBI lifted restrictions on Navi Finserv in December 2024, ending a two-month lending ban over supervisory concerns.
Ex-Mirae Asset India head Ashish Dave launches Rs 700-1,000-crore fund
Sanskrit Capital, a new venture fund with a target capital of Rs 700–1,000 crore, is being launched by Ashish Dave, the former CEO of Mirae Asset Venture Investments India.
Growth-stage focus: Based in Mumbai, the fund intends to write checks totaling Rs 50–150 crore for fintech, consumer internet, healthcare, logistics, and enterprise AI to support series B and C firms with proven product-market fit.
Local funding: Sanskrit Capital will rely on founders, entrepreneurs, and domestic family offices for funding, demonstrating how local funds are increasingly anchoring new venture platforms.
Fundraising test: Dave is entering the market at a time when limited partners are becoming more picky, considering bets on AI and other themes while closely examining new managers.
India Quotient partner Gagan Goyal to quit as churn at top VC funds in India continues
According to persons familiar with the situation, Gagan Goyal, general partner at early-stage fund India Quotient, is leaving the company just months after it closed its fifth and largest fund at $129 million.
Tell me more: Goyal oversaw India Quotient’s investments in a number of companies, including accounting and inventory management firm Vyapar and the IPO-bound parent company of KukuFM, Kuku Technologies. He became a general partner in 2021 after joining the company in 2017. Either starting a new business or accepting an advisory position with startups will probably be his next move.
Why it matters:
- Goyal’s exit adds India Quotient to the growing list of VC firms grappling with partner churn.
- Peak XV and Z47 have both seen senior investors move on over the past year, as partners peel off to run smaller vehicles, take operating roles, or build independent platforms amid uneven exits and increasingly selective LP appetite.
Intel spinout Articul8 eyes $50 million for India-heritage AI venture
Arun Subramaniyan, CEO of Articul8
The enterprise AI startup Articul8, which was spun out of Intel, intends to fund between $30 and $50 million for an India-focused project that will develop AI models based on traditional knowledge systems, such as Sanskrit.
Jargon buster: To maintain and expand knowledge and customs, heritage foundation models are artificial intelligence (AI) systems that have been trained on linguistic, historical, and cultural data.
The plan:
- Using Sanskrit and other classical Indian languages for text, voice, and visuals, it seeks to create and develop AI models educated on ancient Indian knowledge systems.
- Peak XV, Accel, family offices, and strategic partners like Aditya Birla Group are among the investors with whom it is in early talks.
- Create multimodal AI models for text, voice, and visuals utilizing Sanskrit and other traditional Indian languages.
- Articul8 intends to include academics and linguists in the model creation process and has only partnered with Madras Sanskrit College.
Nexedge Capital looks to close a $25 million funding round to be led by Mirae
CEO of Nexedge Capital, Anirudha Taparia
According to insiders, wealth management firm Nexedge Capital is in negotiations to secure $25 million in a funding round, most likely headed by South Korea’s Mirae Asset Venture Investment.
Tell me more: The deal would mark Nexedge’s first institutional funding round.
Aniruddha Taparia, a former co-founder and joint CEO of 360 One WAM, launched the company. In March 2025, he quit the wealth management firm and started Nexedge.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Infineon, a German semiconductor firm, uses CDIL and Kaynes to bolster its India chip partnership. According to a senior executive, Infineon Technologies is partnering with Mohali-based Continental Device India Ltd. (CDIL) and Sanand-based Kaynes Semicon to increase its involvement in India’s emerging chip manufacturing ecosystem.
Infosys Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jayesh Sanghrajka Joins Cars24 Board: On Monday, Cars24 announced the appointment of Infosys CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka as an independent director on its board.
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