Also in the letter:
■ Good Glamm Group’s breakup
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Myntra under ED lens
Digital wallet payments must flow beyond borders: PayPal CEO Alex Chriss
Alex Chriss, CEO, PayPal
For digital wallets and instant payment systems to truly scale, they need to move beyond domestic silos and plug into a global, interoperable network, said PayPal CEO Alex Chriss in an exclusive interaction with us.
No more walled gardens: Chriss praised the rise of local payment rails such as India’s UPI, Venmo in the US, and WeChat Pay in China. But, he stressed that the next wave of growth in digital commerce hinges on making these systems work seamlessly with one another. Travellers, he said, should be able to pay merchants or send money using their preferred apps—regardless of where they are in the world.
On PayPal World: PayPal has stitched together what it calls PayPal World, a cross-border network linking five major systems: TenPay Global (China), UPI International (India), Mercado Pago (Mexico), PayPal and Venmo (the US). Indian consumers, for instance, will be able to shop from European merchants using UPI apps. Tourists in India could simply scan UPI QR codes using their home-country wallets.
Cryptocurrency and payments: Chriss also backed cryptocurrency as the next leap in payments. If merchants want to accept crypto, PayPal wants to ensure they can—by building rails that support such transactions as part of this global vision.
Also Read: PayPal ropes in UPI, China’s Tenpay to ease global payments for two billion users
Infosys profit surges 8.7% on deals, Europe show
Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys
Infosys kicked off FY26 on solid footing. India’s second-largest IT services exporter posted healthy deal wins, maintained strong cash flow, and nudged up its revenue outlook.
Number-wise:
- Net profit: Rose 9% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 6,921 crore
- Operating revenue: Climbed 8% YoY to Rs 42,279 crore
- Revenue growth (in constant currency): rew 3.8% YoY and 2.6% sequentially
Why it matters: Despite macro uncertainty and sluggish global tech spending, Infosys stayed on course. The company raised the lower end of its FY26 revenue growth forecast to 1–3% in constant currency, signalling cautious optimism.
Zoom in:
- EBIT margin was 20.8%, down 30 basis points YoY.
- Large deal wins touched $3.8 billion, with 55% from net new clients.
- Segment-wise growth was led by manufacturing (12.2%) and financial services (5.6%), while life sciences and ‘others’ saw decline.
- Attrition inched up to 14.4%, with a modest net headcount addition of just 210.
Between the lines: CEO Salil Parekh pointed to rising momentum in AI-led deals and client consolidation. The company’s Project Maximus continues to improve internal efficiencies. Cash flow remained robust at $884 million, with conversion topping 100%.
Also Read: Infosys sets up expert advisory council for external insight
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Trump’s tariffs, big beautiful bill derail Indian IT’s big shift away from BFSI biz
Indian software firms are struggling to diversify beyond their traditional banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) comfort zone. Verticals such as manufacturing, consumer, communications, and life sciences—once seen as growth bets—are now under pressure, dragging earnings down.
For instance:
- TCS flagged slowing medtech demand, tighter regulation and mounting cost concerns. Tech Mahindra, heavily exposed to these sectors, is pivoting back to BFSI and retail.
- Infosys, meanwhile, sees financial services regaining strength, becoming its top-performing vertical.
Also Read: Europe revival helps IT survive quarter shocks
Good Glamm Group to be broken up; all brands up for sale
Darpan Sanghvi, CEO, Good Glamm Group
The Good Glamm Group is being dismantled. Its lenders have enforced claims on individual assets, leading to a sale of brands one by one. The company will no longer operate as a single collection of brands, confirmed founder and CEO Darpan Sanghvi in a LinkedIn post.
Driving the news: Sanghvi wrote, “Our lenders have decided to enforce their charge on the individual brands under the Good Glamm Group. What this means is that there will no longer be a group-wide solution which will allow all the brands to continue under a single umbrella. Instead, the brands will be sold one by one.”
Backstory: Launched as MyGlamm in 2017, the firm rebranded in 2021 and went on an aggressive buying spree—picking up POPxo, BabyChakra, Sirona, and ScoopWhoop. Fuelled by the funding frenzy, it paid steep prices for businesses that failed to scale.
Recent cracks:
A look back: According to Tracxn, the company has raised $342 million to date. It raised $30 million in March 2024 at a flat valuation of $1.25 billion from existing investors, including Warburg Pincus, Prosus Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Accel.
Also Read: House of cards: Roll-up ecommerce model stumbles as founders reclaim brands amid funding struggles
Gupshup raises $60 million from Globespan, EvolutionX
Beerud Sheth, CEO, Gupshup
Conversational messaging platform Gupshup has raised $60 million (about Rs 518 crore), mostly through equity funding from venture capital firm Globespan Capital Partners, with the remainder as debt from EvolutionX Debt Capital.
Details:
- The funds will be used for expansion and speeding up go-to-market execution.
- The San Francisco-based company is also considering a return to India ahead of a potential public listing.
- Gupshup did not disclose the post-money valuation for the round.
Automation company Enlite nets $5 million: Enlite, a Mumbai-based full-stack infrastructure automation company, has raised Rs 46 crore (about $5 million) in its maiden institutional funding round led by early-stage investment firm Avaana Capital.
Inbound Aerospace raises $1 million: Inbound Aerospace, a space technology startup incubated at IIT Madras, has secured a $1 million funding round led by venture capital firm Speciale Invest, with participation from Mumbai-based asset management company Piper Serica.
Keeping Count
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
ED lens on Myntra: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a complaint under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema), 1999, against Flipkart-owned fashion retailer Myntra for allegedly contravening foreign investment regulations to the amount of Rs 1,654.35 crore.
Crisis resolved: The deadlock caused by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) demand notices to small merchants across Karnataka was resolved on Wednesday after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah pledged not to chase the tax debts and offered protection to tax-compliant traders.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Microsoft poaches top Google DeepMind staff in AI talent war (FT)
■ Ride-hailing giants’ electric promises are stalling worldwide (Rest of World)
■ Anti-Elon Musk protesters are coming for Tesla’s new diner (The Verge)
