India’s latest AI unicorn 💸
A step closer to US markets, Pizza Hut out of business, and SpaceX m-cap tops Amazon.
🗓️ Morning, folks! ☀️
Markets extended their winning streak to a third straight session on Tuesday.
Sensex and Nifty climbed nearly 1% each as broad-based buying kept investors in a cheerful mood.
Heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Unilever and HCLTech did much of the heavy lifting, while the Nifty IT index emerged as the top sectoral performer for the second consecutive day.
Metal stocks remained under pressure, while Meesho slipped 4%, making it one of the notable laggards of the session.
💡Spotlight: Make your Dhan on Wall Street 🚶
Investing in US markets often involved multiple platforms, paperwork and a less seamless experience.
Well, that’s going to change. Dhan has launched access to US-listed stocks and ETFs for Indian investors through the GIFT City framework.
With this launch, investors can hold both Indian and US stocks in one place, making it easier to diversify across two of the world’s largest stock markets.
According to RBI data, Indians invested more than $2.2 billion in overseas equities and debt in the 11 months through February, a 60% jump from the year-ago period.
In an interesting insight, Nykaa has partnered with OpenAI to bring its beauty and fashion stores directly into ChatGPT.
This will allow users to discover products without necessarily visiting Google, the Nykaa app, or even its website.
Instead of sending you to a search engine, ChatGPT can now surface relevant products from Nykaa Beauty and Nykaa Fashion right inside the chat.
Bad news for Google? 👀
Let’s hit it! 💪🏻
1 Big thing: Sarvam AI enters the unicorn club 💰
HCLTech has acquired a 10.46% stake in Sarvam AI for $150.7 million, leading the startup’s latest funding round as a strategic investor. The deal values Sarvam AI at $1.5 billion, officially pushing it into the unicorn club.
Breaking it down: as part of the investment, HCLTech will support the startup’s efforts to build next-generation AI models focused on areas such as agentic AI, coding assistants and cybersecurity.
Why does this matter: most AI companies build applications on top of existing models. Sarvam is taking a far more ambitious approach.
The startup is building a full-stack AI business, developing its own models, running the infrastructure needed to power them, and creating products for businesses and governments.
And the opportunity is massive.
India’s AI spending is expected to nearly triple from around $7-8 billion in FY23 to $20-22 billion by FY27, making the country one of the world’s fastest-growing AI markets.
We also broke this down on video. Watch here⚡️
While we are on AI deals 🤝,
Adani Group has partnered with US-based Jabil Inc to build AI and data centre hardware in India.
The companies plan to manufacture high-density AI racks, the infrastructure that houses the powerful chips and servers needed to run AI models.
The deal also aligns with Adani’s ambitious plan to invest $100 billion in renewable-powered data centres and related infrastructure by 2035.
2. Bye Bye, Pizza Hut 🍕
Yum! Brands, the company behind KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut has agreed to sell the iconic pizza chain in a two-part deal worth roughly $2.7 billion.
What’s happening: Pizza Hut’s China business will be acquired by Yum China for $1.2 billion, while the rest of the global business will be sold to private equity firm LongRange Capital for $1.5 billion.
The why: Pizza Hut was once the world’s biggest pizza chain. But nearly a decade ago, Domino’s overtook it, and the competition has only intensified since then.
The rise of food delivery apps has completely changed how people order food. Customers now have access to hundreds of local pizza brands at the tap of a button, making it much harder for legacy chains to stand out.
The numbers tell the story. Pizza Hut contributed about 12% of Yum!’s revenue in 2025, but its US business reported declining comparable sales for 10 straight quarters.
Back home, Devyani International, which operates Pizza Hut in India, said during its Q3 earnings call that it has begun shutting underperforming outlets and does not expect to add any net new Pizza Hut stores in 2026.
In other news, the stock rose 2% after receiving NSE and BSE approval for its merger with Sapphire Foods.
3. Japan grants cancer-treatment patent to Godavari Bio 🧬
Godavari Biorefineries shares jumped intraday after the company received a patent in Japan for a cancer-treatment related invention.
What’s going on: the patent is for the use of a compound called 5-Hydroxy-1,4-Naphthalenedione in cancer treatment.
The patented compound has shown promising results against multiple cancers, including breast cancer and prostate cancer.
It works by targeting both cancer cells and cancer stem cells, which are often associated with the spread and recurrence of the disease.
As competition intensifies in specialty chemicals and bio-based products, companies are increasingly investing in high-value research.
4. The battle for your TV screen got bigger 📺
Fox Corp is buying streaming platform Roku in a $22 billion cash-and-stock deal.
The deets: the acquisition gives Fox access to Roku’s 100+ million streaming households, helping it reach a much larger online audience instead of relying mainly on cable TV.
What the two bring: the deal brings together two very different businesses. Roku is a platform where people watch streaming apps like Netflix, Paramount and NBCUniversal.
Fox, on the other hand, makes sports and news content that it sells to TV and streaming services, including some that compete with Roku.
Why it matters: the deal also comes as advertisers increasingly shift budgets to streaming, with streaming ad spending expected to reach $20 billion by 2029.
Once the deal closes, the combined company is expected to become the third-largest TV viewing platform, behind only YouTube and Disney, giving Fox greater scale to compete for viewers and ad revenue.
5. ‘The Sun’ is becoming a consumer category ☀️
A decade ago, sunscreen in many Indian households was reserved for beach holidays. Today, it’s becoming a daily essential.
As awareness around skin health grows, so does the market, from sunscreens and UV-protective clothing to eyewear and outdoor gear.
Women account for over 70% of India’s sunscreen market, according to BlueWeave Consulting’s ‘India Sunscreen Market Demand, Size & Share 2030’ report.
6. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
What went up ⬆️
⚡ Suzlon Energy gained over 4% as the government sought assessment of old wind turbines.
🏨 RateGain and Duetto partner to power autonomous, real-time revenue optimisation for hotels worldwide, stock up 2%.
🔥 Petronet LNG gained as Qatar said it will restore half of LNG output a month after the Strait of Hormuz opened.
What went down ⬇️
📉 GIC stock fell after reports that the government may sell up to a 5% stake in the company at a discounted price.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
🌍 Global gateway: Zerodha, Groww, Angel One and Upstox have received approval to offer international investing through GIFT City.
🚀 Rocket rally: SpaceX shares jumped over 14%, briefly overtaking Amazon and surpassing Microsoft in value after a blockbuster Wall Street debut.
☀️ Solar funding: Rooftop solar startup SolarSquare has raised $53 million in a Series C funding round led by B Capital, with backing from existing investors.
🧲 Bond magnet: Foreign investors pumped nearly $1.9 billion into Indian bonds in just five trading sessions, putting June on track for the highest debt inflows in 16 months.
🛡️ Insurance bet: Insurtech startup Turtlemint has set a price band of ₹144-152 per share for its IPO, aiming to raise around ₹883 crore, which would value the company at roughly ₹4,500 cr.
⚽️ Deal done: TCS partnered with Tottenham Hotspur Football Club to drive digital transformation, improve fan engagement and modernise club operations globally.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
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