Pranav Mukul

The rise of social media influencers has given birth to a new wave of consumer brands, garnering tremendous venture capital interest.

Advertisers are looking beyond Google and Meta as concerns over dependence on the two platforms grow, Snap’s Ajit Mohan told ET. Snapchat has crossed 250 million users in India, while domestic advertisers have grown 10x in two years. Snap is also expanding its advertising and subscription businesses to diversify revenue.

The company communicated the decision to employees on Monday as part of a review of its customer support operating model and organisational requirements, the person said.

The rise of social media influencers has given birth to a new wave of consumer brands, garnering tremendous venture capital interest.

India’s food safety crackdown is prompting restaurants and food delivery platforms to tighten checks on ingredients, suppliers, hygiene and staff training. QSR and fine-dining chains are strengthening vendor audits and kitchen controls, while quick commerce firma Zomato has warned of strict action against restaurants using items such as analogue paneer amid growing regulatory and public scrutiny.

The talks come weeks after Astrobase unveiled Everest, an 80-tonne-class, 800 kN full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) rocket engine, in what the company described as India's first such engine. The engine uses liquid oxygen and methane, and is being developed for reusable launch vehicles.

The transaction, which is also likely to see participation from Swish’s existing investors, is expected to value the two-year-old company at around $200 million, one of the persons said. Swish had last raised $38 million in March at a valuation of $120 million. The round was led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from existing investor Accel.

Globally, Uber is eliminating around 3,300 roles, or about 10% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring aimed at reducing management layers and reallocating spending towards its ride-hailing, delivery and robotaxi businesses. Bloomberg first reported the global layoffs.

SiMa AI CEO says India’s push to build a globally competitive semiconductor industry could take decades, requiring more than fabs, including stronger supply chains, customer demand and capital. Krishna Rangasayee highlighted deeptech funding challenges and also said that SiMa plans to expand its R&D and go-to-market operations in India.

Sugar Cosmetics is raising fresh capital from existing investor A91 Partners at a valuation more than 80% below its peak. The funding comes as the D2C beauty brand battles mounting losses, falling revenues and the challenges of aggressive offline expansion.