India’s government stages an intervention over 10-minute delivery promise
Plus: More Nvidia woes in China despite US green light and India goes after VC tax dodgers
India’s 10-minute delivery services will need a rebrand after the government stepped in to order them to stop promoting the services that way.
Alongside China, India is one of the few countries in the world to see ‘quick commerce’ thrive. There, it has grown into an industry worth an estimated $11.5 billion per year, according to Datum Intelligence. But authorities intervened in response to concerns around the strain and stress that a 10-minute window places on workers and riders.
There’s concern that penalties that include lower payouts for being later than 10 minutes are causing delivery riders to drive rashly, cut corners and put their lives at risk. Service providers have denied penalising workers for delays. But the cut-throat competition exacerbates the situation, with each app trying to bring goods to a customer’s door faster than any other.
Moneycontrol looked at exactly how quick commerce orders can arrive so quickly. It is clear from the graphic, which we adapted for a more optimal display, that a considerable burden lies with the rider. Welcome to the magic of the gig economy!
The intervention is well-intended but it remains to be seen how effective it will be.
Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy will no longer be able to promote a 10-minute delivery service for groceries, but the intense competition isn’t likely to subside based on that alone. Plus, The Economic Times found that many riders were unaware that the time promise had been dropped from the services they work under. Likewise, consumer expectations apparently remain the same.
Read on for the rest of this week’s newsletter which you may be able to consume in less than 10 minutes.
Have a great week.
Jon
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India goes after VC tax dodgers
Last year was a major one for India’s startup ecosystem with a number of prominent startups going public to earn billions of dollars in returns for their backers. India has long been high-profile for funding, but these events cemented it as a market of interest to international investors.
But now there’s a major setback on that front after the top court in the country ruled that Tiger Global’s 2018 sale of a $1.6 billion stake in Flipkart to Walmart is a taxable event.
Tiger and others like it previously used a Mauritius-based entity for the ownership to take advantage of the India–Mauritius tax treaty to claim exemptions. The exact amount that the US VC will be on the hook for isn’t clear, but this deal is about as major as it gets given the prestige of Flipkart, India’s premier homegrown tech company, and the fact that Tiger owned a significant 17% stake.
But that’s not all.
The Tiger ruling could also spell problems for US VC Blackstone, which is actively engaged in a similar dispute. It made over $100 million selling most of its shares in auto parts firm Agile Electric Sub Assembly to a consortium in 2015-2016. However, the Indian tax department argued that Blackstone’s Singapore-based shell company, which owned the stake, was controlled by its US parent and therefore should not be eligible for India–Singapore tax treaty protections.
Tax avoidance is a multi-billion dollar industry and one that investors take a keen interest in given the sums they operate with. India’s pushback on these two deals could impact how some investment firms allocate for deals in the country.
China blocks Nvidia imports right as US approves them
The ongoing Nvidia-China saga has yet more twists and turns.
Days after the Trump administration approved China-bound sales of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to potentially restart shipments, China blocked imports of the product, according to the Financial Times.
“Makers of essential H200 components, such as the printed circuit board, have paused manufacturing following moves to prevent chip shipments entering China, according to two people with knowledge of the matter,” FT wrote.
Nvidia was said to be expecting to field over 1 million orders from Chinese customers desperate to get more of its chips in their business, but it isn’t clear why the halt is happening.
Chinese state media had earlier criticised the US for placing “discriminatory” conditions on Nvidia exports, including a 25% tariff. But there may be a deeper issue since Beijing is said to be drafting rules that will limit how many AI chips Chinese firms can buy from foreign providers like Nvidia.
Striking a balance between ensuring top Chinese companies can access the world’s best technology available and developing China’s domestic alternatives is tough.
China
Chinese tech shares have begun the new year with a bang, with an onshore Nasdaq-like tech gauge shooting up almost 13% so far this month link
Baidu is considering upgrading its Hong Kong listing to primary status to gain more exposure to investors in mainland China and protect itself from potentially unfavourable US policies link
Chip designer Montage is lining up Alibaba and JPMorgan as cornerstone investors for a Hong Kong IPO that could raise about $900M link
Alibaba plans to link its main e-commerce, payments and travel services to its Qwen AI app, marking its biggest push yet to turn Qwen into a consumer super app link
Ant International endorsed Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard that powers agentic commerce link
A look at ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), which is gearing up for a roughly $4 billion share sale to increase its challenge to rivals like Micron by expanding overseas link
A technical paper co-authored by Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek, and a group of Peking University researchers has proposed a new model training technique, which they say can facilitate “aggressive parameter expansion” by bypassing graphics processing unit (GPU) memory constraints link
Meanwhile, Liang Wenfeng’s quantitative hedge fund generated returns of more than 50% last year link
An app called “Are You Dead?” that checks up on people living alone has become the most popular paid iOS app in China link
China’s antitrust regulator has opened a probe into Trip.com, alleging abuse of market dominance and monopolistic practices link
Zhipu released a multimodal model it says is the country’s first fully trained on domestic chips, underscoring efforts to cut reliance on US technology link
Chinese authorities have instructed domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software from about a dozen US and Israeli firms due to national security concerns link
On the counter: Brussels plans to phase out Chinese-made gear from critical EU infrastructure, effectively excluding firms such as Huawei and ZTE from telecom networks, solar systems and security scanners link
Chipmaker SpacemiT has raised a $86M Series B led by Huaxia Hengtian Capital Management with backing from state-linked and strategic investors link
The battle for control of Dutch chipmaker Nexperia entered a new phase as lawyers from the firm and its Chinese parent traded blows during a seven-hour court hearing link
A China-linked fraud ring used romance scams, account hacks and sextortion to buy more than $35M in Apple devices in the US, according to DHS link
TikTok will roll out new age-detection technology across Europe in the coming weeks, stepping up efforts to identify and review accounts suspected of belonging to users under 13 link
India
The Indian government denied a report from Reuters which claimed it would force smartphone makers to share their source code in the name of security, a government fact-checking account on X branded the claim “false” link
Anthropic appointed a former Microsoft India managing director to lead its India business link
Liquidnitro Games raised $19.1M led by Northpoint Capital link
Uber invested in Carrum, a fleet management startup that covers 3,000 vehicles and is backed by CarDekho link
Workforce-training startup Emversity raised $30M at a $120M valuation link
India issued a final warning to Apple after it delayed an antitrust case over its app store position for more than a year through delayed responses link
Space startup EtherealX raised a $20.5M Series A round at a $80.5M valuation led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital, with names like Accel and Prosus participating link
Google announced a ‘full stack’ support programme to take new AI startups from inception to market link
Former Amazon exec Deepankur Malhotra launched a $24M consumer-focused venture capital firm, Kairon Capital link
Southeast Asia
CoinGecko, a Malaysia-based crypto market data and analytics company, is reportedly considering a sale at a valuation of around $500M link
Hupo, a Singapore-based startup that helps banks and insurers sell using AI, raised $10M led by DST Global link
Vietnam’s military-run telecom group Viettel has started construction of the country’s first semiconductor fabrication plant, aiming to begin trial production by late 2027 link
OMOWAY, a Singapore-based two-wheeled smart mobility company, has closed back-to-back Pre-A and Pre-A+ funding rounds, raising tens of millions of dollars led by HongShan and Rocket Capital link
DramaBox, a short-form video content startup owned by Singapore-based StoryMatrix, is raising $100M at a $500M valuation, according to a report link
An inside look at a Myanmar online scam center that opened in 2024 with 3,500 workers from ~30 countries and closed in November 2025 after rebels captured it link
Google will begin developing and manufacturing its high-end Pixel smartphones in Vietnam this year, shifting the most critical production stage for the Pixel, Pixel Pro and Pixel Fold out of China link
Thailand’s central bank is bringing USDT under closer scrutiny as part of a crackdown on grey money link
Lionsgate sold its South Asian and Southeast Asian streaming operation Lionsgate Play to Rohit Jain, the executive who developed the service during an eight-year tenure as president of Lionsgate Play Asia link
TikTok will block Thai election candidates from paying for advertising or monetizing their content during the election campaign period link
Diosdado Banatao, a Filipino chip designer, investor and Silicon Valley entrepreneur who co-founded several semiconductor companies and backed early technology startups, died at 79 link
South Korea
South Korea’s push to build a fully homegrown AI model has hit early friction, with most finalists in a government-backed competition found to be using foreign open-source code link
The country eliminated teams led by Naver and NCSoft from the competition, narrowing the field to three: LG AI Research, SK Telecom and Upstage link
SK Hynix will invest $12.9B to build an advanced chip packaging plant in South Korea, with construction starting in April and completion targeted for late next year link
South Korea’s alliance of crypto exchanges published a statement criticizing the government’s proposal to cap major shareholder stakes in crypto platforms at 15-20% link
South Korea advanced a bill that establishes a legal framework for security token offerings (STO), opening up a pathway for regulated blockchain-based issuance and trading of tokenized securities in the country link
Kyowon Group, one of South Korea’s largest education and lifestyle companies, announced shutting down key parts of its internal computer network this weekend following what it described as a suspected ransomware attack link
The Google Play Store will ban unregistered overseas cryptocurrency exchanges and software wallets from being listed or updated in the country link
Hong Kong
Fintech firm WeLab raised $220M from investors including HSBC Holdings and Prudential Hong Kong link
BrainCo, which develops bionic limbs and non-invasive brain technologies, filed confidentially for a Hong Kong IPO and is working to raise several hundred million dollars link
GigaDevice Semiconductor raised $600M in its Hong Kong IPO link
Taiwan
TSMC reported a record and forecast-beating 35% jump in fourth-quarter profit and projected nearly 30% revenue growth in 2026 on strong AI demand link
Meanwhile: The Trump administration is finalizing a trade deal with Taiwan that would cut US tariffs on the island’s exports to 15% and commit TSMC to build at least five additional chip fabs in Arizona, roughly doubling its footprint in the state link
And now the stick: Commerce Secretary Lutnick warned that South Korean memory chipmakers and Taiwanese firms that do not invest in US production could face tariffs of up to 100% link
Taiwanese prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for OnePlus CEO Pete Lau and indicted two Taiwanese nationals for allegedly illegally recruiting more than 70 engineers in Taiwan in violation of laws barring mainland firms from operating or hiring locally without government approval link
Micron agreed to buy Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing’s P5 fabrication site in Tongluo, Taiwan, for $1.8B to expand memory production link
Rest of Asia
A shortage of advanced glass cloth used in chip substrates and printed circuit boards has emerged as a new tech supply choke point, forcing Apple to compete with AI giants including Nvidia, Google and Amazon for limited supplies from Japan’s Nitto Boseki link
inDrive, a ride-hailing startup known for its user-negotiated fares, is broadening its super-app push by rolling out advertising across markets from Mexico to Morocco and launching rapid grocery delivery in Pakistan link