Steel King 🏆
BYD overtakes Tesla, FuriosaAI rejects a buyout, and Manipal's IPO.
☀️ GM, hope your day was better than Pete Hegseth’s.
Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly looped into a private Signal conversation between top US officials discussing military strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
On a stupidity scale of one to ten, this is a level 15 blunder. There is no precedent, and the National Security Council is now scrambling to figure out how this happened.
The memers had a field day.
Meanwhile back home,
Markets stretched their winning streak to seven straight sessions, but the rally slowed. Sensex and Nifty ended flat, while IT stocks stole the show, with Nifty IT closing over 1% higher.
1 Big Thing: JSW won the steel race 🏆
JSW Steel became the most valuable steel company in the world by market capitalization, overtaking global giants like ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel.
The deets: JSW’s stock has climbed 18% in 2025, making it one of the Nifty 50’s best performers this year.
In its latest quarterly results, the company posted its highest-ever crude steel output. Steel sales hit 6.71 million tonnes, up 12% year-on-year and 10% quarter-on-quarter. The company is targeting 51 million tonnes of capacity by 2030, with a plan to reach 43 million tonnes by 2027.
There’s many reasons for this. India’s infrastructure spending is on the rise and global regions are stepping up too, opening the door for strong export opportunities.
If the government’s proposed 12% safeguard duty goes through, JSW stands to gain even more.
While we’re on market leaders,
SAP just became Europe’s most valuable company, overtaking Novo Nordisk with a market cap of $338 billion.
The German software giant has surged over 40% in the past year, fueled by its AI and cloud expansion.
2. BYD crosses Tesla in revenue 📈
The Chinese EV giant BYD officially overtook Tesla in revenue for 2024, pulling in $107 billion, a 29% jump year-on-year, compared to Tesla’s $97 billion.
BYD sold 4.3 million vehicles last year, up 40%, while Tesla deliveries declined.
The edge: unlike Tesla, BYD manufactures its own batteries. This vertical integration helps it cut costs and scale faster which is especially important as it pushes into global markets with ultra-competitive pricing and product cycles.
BYD’s playbook has particularly worked in Europe, where the company is rapidly gaining share. Their low cost models have been an instant hit.
Zoom out: Tesla may still win on margins and brand, but BYD’s momentum is hard to ignore. The company is dominating China, the world’s largest EV market and is now going global at a time when Tesla is facing political distractions, slowing growth, and rising competition.
3. FuriosaAI rejects Meta’s offer 👋
FuriosaAI, South Korean AI chip startup, turned down an $800 million acquisition offer from Meta.
The deets: FuriosaAI designs AI chips optimized for machine learning and large language models. The company has developed two chips—Warboy and Renegade (RNGD)—positioning itself as a challenger to Nvidia and AMD.
Why it matters: Big Tech is scrambling to secure AI chip supply, and Meta has been pushing hard to build its own alternatives to Nvidia’s dominance. With AI models growing more complex and costly, companies need custom silicon to power their AI ambitions efficiently.
Worth Noting: instead of selling, FuriosaAI is in talks to raise $48 million from investors, with plans to launch its new AI chips later this year.
Quick throwback: the list of Meta rejectors isn’t long. But a notable inclusion is Snapchat. The company in 2013 had said no to a $3 Billion takeout offer from then Facebook.
Zoom out: AI chip companies are selling like hot cake. Just 2 days back, Softbank had acquired Ampere for $6.5 billion.
4. Manipal’s $1B IPO💰
Temasek-backed Manipal Hospitals is gearing up to go public, targeting a valuation between $8–10 billion.
The company is expected to file its papers by June 2025, with a listing planned for FY26.
One of India’s largest hospital networks, Manipal operates over 30 hospitals with more than 5,000 doctors across Bengaluru, Jaipur, Kolkata, Pune, and Goa.
Why it matters: India’s healthcare sector is booming, with rising demand for quality medical infrastructure. Manipal plans to use the IPO proceeds to expand its network, adding 3,000 beds by FY29 and entering Tier-2 cities like West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh.
Zoom out: post-pandemic, India’s healthcare industry has seen rapid consolidation and investor interest. With its strong brand and nationwide footprint, Manipal should be well positioned for growth.
5. A quick sparkly fundraise 💎
Aukera, a lab-grown diamond jewellery startup, is looking to raise $15 million in a Series B round, led by Peak XV Partners.
The deets: Aukera is a homegrown brand that designs fine jewellery using Lab grown diamonds (LGD) set in 18KT gold and platinum.
The hype: LGDs are created in labs using advanced tech that replicates natural diamonds.
Bigger players like Aditya Birla-backed GIVA have also launched their own lab-grown diamond collections. Tata’s Trent recently launched its own LGD brand Pome. Senco Gold is also in talks to acquire D2C jewellery startup Melorra.
Big picture: India’s LGD market is worth $2.6 billion, but still forms a small slice of the overall jewellery pie. Despite strong interest, there’s still no clear leader in the space.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
⛽ Tariff trouble: Trump is threatening a 25% tariff on countries importing oil and gas from Venezuela.
🔄 Leadership shift: after 15 years at the helm, Bank of America India head Kaku Nakhate steps down. Vikram Sahu takes over as country chief.
💰 Power move: Paytm is ditching third-party processors like Juspay to handle payments directly, cutting reliance on intermediaries.
🚨 Tax hit: India has slapped Samsung with a $601 million tax bill, alleging it dodged tariffs on telecom equipment imports.
🔋 Tariff tweaks: India has scrapped import duties on key materials used in EV batteries and mobile phones. The move is aimed at boosting local manufacturing and easing trade tensions.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
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