🎮️ Game Over

Good morning. Let’s get after it today 💪 

Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🚗 Fisker’s EV gamble ends in bankruptcy

• 🎮️ Game Over: MPL cuts 60% of staff after India’s paid gaming ban

• Bite-sized summaries

  • 📊 Tariff Shockwaves

  • 💳️ Cross-border boost

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

ELECTRIC VEHICLES

🚗 Fisker’s EV gamble ends in bankruptcy

Henrik Fisker once promised to reshape the EV market with the Ocean SUV—a stylish, eco-friendly rival to Tesla. But bold visions don’t guarantee survival in the cutthroat car business.

From the start, Fisker struggled to turn prototypes into dependable products. Production goals kept slipping, sales sputtered, and the Ocean itself turned into a PR nightmare: reports of sudden power loss, sticky doors, faulty brakes, and even hoods flipping open on highways triggered multiple safety investigations.

The financial picture was just as grim. By early 2024, the company’s cash reserves had dwindled to $121 million—far short of what’s needed to run a carmaker. Potential partnerships collapsed, customer payments went missing, and the New York Stock Exchange delisted Fisker’s shares. The spiral ended in June 2024 with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

The bigger takeaway: making cars at scale is brutally hard. Established automakers like Ford and GM have also tripped on EV rollouts, but their vast infrastructure cushions the blow. Startups like Fisker have no such safety net.

The status quo now is clear: the EV market is overcrowded, hype is cheap, and only those who can execute flawlessly will survive. Fisker’s downfall is less about broken dreams and more about a brutal reality—building an electric future takes more than ambition; it takes execution, reliability, and deep pockets.

Read more: TechCrunch

BETTING BAN

🎮️ Game Over

India’s booming online gaming industry just hit pause. Mobile Premier League (MPL), once valued at $2.3 billion, is laying off about 60% of its India team—roughly 300 people—after the government banned real-money games like fantasy cricket, rummy, and poker.

The move is a gut punch for an industry that was projected to hit $3.6 billion by 2029 and had backing from global investors like Tiger Global and Peak XV. Apps like MPL and Dream11 thrived by letting users pay to play and win cash prizes, arguing that skill—not chance—made these games different from gambling. The government disagreed, citing financial risks and rising addiction among young people.

The fallout has been swift. MPL, which drew half its revenue from India (around $100 million last year), will now pivot to free-to-play titles at home while betting big on the U.S. market, where paid games are still allowed. Rival Dream11 has already shut down its fantasy cricket operations. Smaller gaming apps are disappearing altogether.

The bigger picture: This ban marks a major reset for India’s digital economy. What was once a hotbed for gaming unicorns is now a cautionary tale about regulatory risk. Investors will think twice, startups will scramble to reinvent themselves, and thousands of jobs hang in the balance.

For gamers, it means fewer chances to turn cricket picks into cash. For the industry, it’s a reminder that in India’s regulatory game, the house always wins.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

📈 GST changes pause festive surge - Anticipation of India’s upcoming GST reform has prompted online shoppers to delay big-ticket purchases, especially in electronics and appliances, expecting prices to fall under the new two-rate system (5% and 18%) replacing the current four slabs. Analysts note this “wait-and-watch” trend could temporarily dent sales by up to 30% in high-value categories. However, the festive season—especially around Diwali—is expected to trigger a strong rebound, with forecasts of 15-20% growth in e-commerce sales. Experts say GST rationalisation will boost affordability, consumer confidence, and purchasing power, turning the short-term dip into a long-term driver of consumption growth.

🧠 Decoding animal minds - AI is transforming our ability to interpret animal emotions by analyzing vocal and behavioral patterns across species. From pigs and cows to whales, dogs, and even bees, machine learning tools are uncovering subtle signals of stress, excitement, or contentment—insights that could improve farming, conservation, and healthcare. Early applications include livestock stress detection, seizure-alert collars in assistance dogs, and decoding whale clicks or bee dances. Yet, challenges remain: AI can identify patterns but risks oversimplifying rich behaviors into crude binaries. Ethical questions also loom—whether technology will genuinely benefit animals or merely serve human interests. The true test lies in how responsibly we act on these insights.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

• PM, Xi Boost India-China ties with direct flights, trade, Optics: 10 Points

• Passenger traffic at Indian airports to grow at 7% CAGR over 2024-25 to 2026-27.

• Reliance Jio IPO at $154 billion valuation? India's biggest listing and what investors need to know.

• Pharma sector: Reasons to look at it beyond the tariff exemption. 7 pharma stocks with an upside potential of up to 43%.