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Good morning and Happy Friyay. Friday’s always get good rep but they are even better when you find out that Coldplay will be coming to India in 2025.

Also, every week, we will include a section in this NL summarising the latest and greatest fundraising news in Weekly Wirings. Hope you find this as interesting as we do.

- Ruchrngd Sharma & Shatakshi Sharma

📊 Markets

🇮🇳 India

• Hey y’all, we won't provide Indian markets data today as the markets have already opened. It wouldn't be relevant to provide outdated data.

  In our Monday edition, we will provide data as of market close on Friday.

  Thanks for bearing with us through these growing pains :)

🌍️ International

• U.S. stocks rose, led by Nasdaq, following dovish Federal Reserve's interest rate guidance and Qualcomm's strong results. Investors responded to potential future rate cuts by Fed Chair Jerome Powell, despite high inflation. Economic reports showed moderate jobless claims, increased labour costs, and lower productivity.

💰️ Indian Semiconductors

From the phone you're reading this on to the car that drives you to and from work, semiconductors rule the world. 

Recognising their role, the government of India introduced a massive ₹1.26 lakh crore ($15.2B) investment in March this year to bolster semiconductor and electronics production within the country. This includes setting up India's first state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication unit, along with two packaging and testing facilities.

But the craze doesn’t stop there. 

With the Indian semiconductor market expected to be valued at ₹8337 Cr ($100.2B) by 2032, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 20.1%, many private companies are starting to take notice: 

• For instance, Micron India, a subsidiary of the global semiconductor giant, is gearing up to roll out the first batch of chips packaged at its Sanand unit in Gujarat by early 2025. Since the domestic demand for these chips is still relatively small compared to the global semiconductor market, the majority of the Sanand unit's production will be exported.

• Micron plans to invest ₹6878 Cr ($825M) out of the proposed cumulative investment of ₹19,170Cr ($2.75B) in the Sanand plant.

India's semiconductor ambitions are also attracting investments from international players. 

• Recently, Sharp Corporation announced plans to invest between 25,008 Cr to 41,680 Cr ($3-5B) to establish a massive display fab semiconductor factory in India. 

• The company is also looking to set up a 1000-acre facility, larger than its factory in Japan, highlighting the global confidence in India's semiconductor aspirations.

Overall: The semiconductor boom in India, fuelled by the government's ₹1.26 lakh Cr ($15.2B) investment and billions more from global giants like Micron and Sharp, signals a big shift. With a focus on high-tech exports, R&D, and nurturing talent, India is positioning itself as a crucial semiconductor hub to meet rising global demand across sectors.

Read more: Economic Times

🧑‍🎓 Modi’s report card

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to make India a "developed nation" by 2047, through his economic vision dubbed "Modinomics." 

Let’s take a quick look into what’s going well: 

• Ten years into Modi's tenure, India has surpassed the UK to become the fifth-largest economy and is on track to overtake Germany and Japan in the coming years.

• India's digital revolution, with universal IDs, digital payments, and data access, has transformed governance and enabled efficient subsidy distribution. 

• Massive infrastructure spending on roads, airports, and metros has given India's creaky public assets a facelift 💫

However, there are some things still left to be done:

• Private investments remain sluggish, and job creation continues to be a significant challenge, with the educated youth bearing the brunt of unemployment (see Indian graduates can’t find jobs).

• While India's economy has seen impressive growth, the recovery has been "K-shaped," with the rich thriving while the poor continue struggling. 

• Inequality has widened to a hundred-year high, prompting debates around wealth redistribution. 

• Modi's "Make in India" campaign to boost manufacturing has yet to achieve significant success, with the sector's share of GDP remaining stagnant.

So what’s the verdict? Experts believe India is on the runway for take-off, with advantages like a young demographic, global de-risking from China, and megatrends like digitalisation. 

However, alongside physical infrastructure, Modi needs to prioritise human capital development through better education and healthcare for more equitable growth.

Read more: BBC

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

😵‍💫 Never get lost in India again - Kia India announced a strategic partnership with MapMyIndia to integrate advanced navigation solutions into My Kia and Kia Connect platforms across its vehicles nationwide. The integration offers an extensive database of over 450 categories of Points of Interest tailored for four-wheelers, along with features like speed limit alerts, real-time incident updates, voice navigation, and the ability to easily locate essential services like dealerships, fuel stations, and hospitals.

📧 Did Google force Microsoft’s hand? - In 2019, a warning from Microsoft's CTO about Google's lead in the AI race led CEO Satya Nadella to swiftly invest $1 billion in OpenAI. The email, which Microsoft tried to keep sealed during the ongoing US antitrust trial against Google, revealed that the Microsoft executive had initially dismissed Google's AI efforts as a "game-playing stunt" before realising Google had built critical infrastructure that could take Microsoft "multiple years" to match. Nadella's quick decision to collaborate with OpenAI, with total investments now reaching $13 billion, emphasizes Microsoft's concern about Google's perceived lead in AI.

🔌 Elon Musk axes his EV team in an extremely confusing move - Tesla laid off hundreds of employees in its Supercharger division, despite being on the cusp of dominating the electric vehicle charging market in the US. Key departures included Rebecca Tinucci, the senior director who oversaw Tesla's initiative to encourage other automakers to adopt its proprietary North American Charging Standard (NACS), along with most of her 500-person team. This decision followed Tesla's announcement to share its reliable Supercharger network with other automakers, a move that would garner federal funding and enhance the industry's charging infrastructure. Nonetheless, these layoffs raise questions about Tesla's charging strategy and create an opportunity for competitors to potentially gain the upper hand.

💰️ Weekly Wirings

Fundraising news from the world of Indian Startups 💸 

• Ice popsicle maker Go Desi raises ₹41 Cr ($5M) in funding led by Aavishkaar Capital.

• Fixed-income investment startup Dexif raises ₹33.3 ($4M) from RTP Global

• Food-agri startup Fresh From Farm raises ₹16.7 Cr ($2M) in a pre-Series A round.

• Capria Ventures announces final close of India Opportunity Fund at ₹153 Cr.

• Cross-border payments platform BriskPe raises ₹41.8 Cr ($5M) from fintech giant PayU.

• Ugro Capital raises ₹1,322 Cr and acquires fintech lender MyShubhLife for Rs 45 Cr.

• Swiggy IPO: Food-delivery major secures shareholder nod for potential ₹10,414 Cr ($1.25B) public offering.

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

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

• Data streaming company Conuent to boost India headcount by 25%.

• Zomato gets tax demand order of ₹2 Cr.

• President Joe Biden calls Japan and India ‘xenophobic’ nations that do not welcome immigrants.

• Rahul Gandhi ditches Amethi, likely to contest from Rae Bareli.

• OECD revises India's FY25 growth forecast upward to 6.6%.

• India’s services exports dip marginally in March to ₹2.4 lakh Cr ($30B).

• RBI lifts restrictions on Bajaj Finance's eCOM, Insta EMI Card with immediate effect

• Peloton cutting about 400 jobs worldwide; CEO McCarthy stepping down.

• DoorDash posts better-than-expected Q1 sales but shares fall on cost concerns.

• Is that a bird? Is that a plane? Nope, that’s a house - Airbnb launch a new category called "Icons," offering extraordinary experiences hosted by famous names in sports and entertainment.

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• SRH wins by 1 run against RR; RR holds top spot, and SRH moves up to number 4. IPL leaderboard here.

• Harry Potter actor Tom Felton joins Hansal Mehta’s web series Gandhi, to play Mahatma’s best friend from student days.

• It’s Akshay Kumar vs Arshad Warsi as Jolly LLB 3 shoot begins.

• Harry Kane and Vinicius Jr help Bayern Munich and Real Madrid reach a 2-2 stalemate.

• Novak Djokovic ends ~8-year partnership with long-time fitness coach, Marco Panichi

• Indonesia defeats India in the Thomas Cup but qualifies for the quarter-final round with China.