Newsletter
Groww's good Q2, OpenAI-Foxconn deal, and India's new labour codes.
🗓 Morning, folks! ☀️
💡 Spotlight: India’s PMI falls to a six-month low📉
India’s flash manufacturing and services activity slipped to 59.9 in November from 60.4 in October, largely due to muted factory output. The services sector, however, grew at a slightly faster pace than last month.
The reading comes from the HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index, where a score below 50 signals contraction. So, despite hitting a six-month low, the latest number still points to solid expansion in overall economic activity.
Let’s hit it!
1 Big Thing: Groww delivered in Q2 📈
New kid on the block, Groww delivered a good Q2 with profits and margins on the rise. The stock gained on the back of its earnings.
Quick look at the numbers:
- Net profit: up 12.1% YoY to ₹471.3 cr
- Revenue: down 9.5% YoY to ₹1,018.7 cr vs ₹1,125.3 cr
- Margins: improved sharply to 59.3%, up from 48.9% YoY and 53.4% QoQ
Groww now has 19 million people actively using its platform, which is 27% more than last year. The total money customers have invested through Groww has also grown to ₹2.7 lakh crore, a big 33% jump. More than half of this comes from mutual funds.
Groww’s presence in the stock market is also improving. In October, its share of active users on NSE went up to 26.6%, compared to 25.6% in the previous quarter.
Challenges remain: India’s brokerage space isn’t all sunshine. The industry is facing pressure because people are trading less, and there’s also been a drop in derivatives trading after new rules were introduced.
Peer check: even in a tougher market, Groww is pulling ahead. Zerodha and Angel One continue to hold strong, with 7 million and 6.85 million active clients, respectively.
2. TCS leaps ahead after TPG’s billion dollar bet ⚡
TCS shares gained after it bagged $1 billion from TPG to accelerate its data centre business, HyperVault.
TPG is a global investment firm that manages private equity, credit, real estate, and growth funds, investing in companies across industries worldwide.
What’s brewing: the two companies will together invest up to $2 billion (₹18,000 crore) to build a huge, AI-ready data centre.
Out of this, TPG will put in $1 billion (₹8,820 crore) and will get a 27.5%-49% share in the project. TCS will provide the remaining money through a mix of its own funds and loans.
The why: this partnership helps increase profits for shareholders and reduces the amount of money TCS has to invest on its own. It also speeds up the growth of HyperVault, which plans to expand to more than 1 gigawatt of capacity in the next few years.
Big theme: India’s data centre capacity is expected to grow five times and reach 8GW by 2030 because people and businesses are using much more data and more cloud services.
Rules that require companies to store data within India and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) are also pushing this growth, according to a report by Jefferies.
3. AI startup Ravity got Maruti’s backing 🚗
Maruti Suzuki has invested nearly ₹2 crore in Ravity Software Solutions, picking up a 7.84% stake through its Maruti Suzuki Innovation Fund.
Ravity Software Solutions helps carmakers and fleet operators understand how their vehicles are performing in real time using an AI-powered platform.
Think of it as smart insights that make vehicles safer, more efficient, and easier to manage.
What’s poppin’: the Innovation Fund backs startups building tech that can strengthen Maruti Suzuki’s ecosystem.
With this deal, Maruti gets access to deeper, data-driven insights that can enhance customer experience. The partnership brings together Maruti Suzuki’s massive scale and Ravity’s AI and analytics expertise, potentially improving how customers use, maintain and interact with their vehicles.
Not Maruti’s first rodeo: this is the third investment under the Innovation Fund. Earlier, Maruti invested about ₹2 crore each in:
- Amlgo Labs (March 2024)
- Sociograph Solutions (June 2022)
Together, these bets show Maruti’s growing interest in homegrown tech that can power the future of mobility.
While we are on investments,
Blackstone is set to invest ₹700 crore in Casagrand Industrial and Warehousing to build two industrial and logistics parks covering 4.2 million sq ft in Sriperumbudur, Chennai.
Casagrand is a Tamil-Nadu based real estate company primarily involved in developing luxury apartments and independent villas in South India.
What’s brewing: under the partnership, Blackstone is building facilities designed for online shopping companies, logistics providers, and manufacturers. The goal is to bring high-standard, professionally managed industrial spaces to one of India’s busiest industrial regions.
FYI: once executed, the projects are expected to reach a gross development value of ₹1,500 crore.
The significance: the Sriperumbudur corridor in Tamil Nadu is a major hub with logistics centres, manufacturing units, and industrial and aerospace parks. Setting up a facility here gives the company access to the region’s supportive ecosystem and technical prowess.
4. OpenAI taps Foxconn to supercharge its hardware ambitions 💻
Foxconn and OpenAI have collaborated on designing and engineering data centre racks, components, and other artificial intelligence infrastructure.
What’s happening: under the collaboration, Taiwan-based Foxconn will manufacture cables, power systems, and networking equipment, and hardware components at its. U.S. facilities.
OpenAI will get early access to evaluate various systems like assembly, inspection, machine tending and logistics applications developed by Foxconn with an option to buy them
What will the companies get: with this collaboration, Foxconn gains insight into future infrastructure needs in the AI era, allowing it to design more targeted offerings. Producing within the U.S. also helps the company bypass American tariffs.
For OpenAI, the partnership opens the door to hardware manufacturing, helping it expand its capabilities and become more self-reliant on the hardware front.
Zoom out: as demand for AI applications accelerates, the need for supporting infrastructure is rising just as fast. The market itself is booming, growing 18% annually and projected to hit $296.3 billion by 2034.
5. Stock that kept us interested 🚀
1. Tata Power seals big Bhutan hydro deal ⚡🇧🇹
Tata Power signed agreements with Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) for the development of the 1,125 MW Dorjilung hydroelectric power project in Bhutan.
Druk Green Power Corporation develops, operates, and manages Bhutan’s hydropower plants, generating clean electricity that supports national energy needs and exports to India.
What’s going on: the project will be handled by a new joint company created just for this purpose. DGPC will own 60% of it, and Tata Power will own the remaining 40%.
On the money side: Tata Power will invest around ₹1,500 crore in the project. The total project cost stands at ₹13,100 crore, making this Bhutan’s second-largest hydropower development and the country’s biggest public-private partnership in the hydro space.
The big picture: this project takes Tata Power and DGPC a step closer to their long-term plan of building 5,000 MW of clean energy in Bhutan, a move that fits right into Bhutan’s national priorities and India’s drive toward a net-zero future.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
⚡ Rizta debut: Ather Energy launched the Rizta in Sri Lanka at the Colombo Motor Show 2025, partnering with Evolution Auto as it pushes ahead with its global expansion strategy.
🛠️ Labour reform: India rolled out new labour codes ensuring minimum wages, appointment letters, equal pay, gratuity, and social security coverage for 400 million workers.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the Monday blues get to you.
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