Also in the letter:
■ PB Fintech on the bourses
■ Ola’s work culture under fire again
■ What to expect at Google I/O
Euler Motors raises Rs 638 crore funding in round led by Hero MotoCorp
Saurav Kumar, founder, Euler Motors
Electric commercial vehicle maker Euler Motors has raised Rs 638 crore in fresh funding.
Deal details:
- The round was led by Hero MotoCorp, marking its entry into electric three- and four-wheelers. Existing investor British International Investment, the UK government’s development finance arm, also participated.
- Euler will use the capital to scale its nationwide sales and service network and fast-track new product development.
Tell me more:
- Hero MotoCorp’s investment underscores legacy automakers’ growing interest in India’s growing commercial EV market.
- Earlier this year, Hero MotoCorp committed up to Rs 525 crore in Euler Motors over multiple tranches for a 32.5% fully diluted stake.
- The company, which holds a 30.9% stake in electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy, did not offload any shares in Ather’s recent IPO.
Also Read: Euler Motors secures $20 million in debt funding for expansion
Quick commerce sprints ahead but still a small slice for FMCG giants
Quick commerce has emerged as the fastest-growing channel for consumer goods makers over the past two years, yet it still contributes just 2-4% to most large companies’ total sales.
Driving the news: Six of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms reported over Rs 4,400 crore in quick commerce sales in FY25. Several disclosed the channel’s percentage contribution to total revenues for the first time during recent earnings calls.
- HUL: Rs 1,214 crore (2%)
- Britannia: Rs 675 crore (4%) 4% of sales, or Rs 675 crore.
- Tata Consumer Products: Rs 900 crore (7%)
- Marico: Rs 244 crore (3%)
- Dabur: Rs 500 crore (4%)
- Parle Products: 4% share
Growth channel: Platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and BigBasket recorded 50-100% year-on-year sales growth in FY25 for most large FMCG brands. These platforms are also scaling up across new geographies.
HUL and AWL Agri Business noted that ecommerce and quick commerce channels offer better margins, thanks to a higher share of premium products sold through these formats.
PB Fintech loses post-result gains amid falling markets
Alok Bansal and Yashish Dahiya, founders, PB Fintech
PB Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar, gave up its recent gains on Monday despite reporting a near threefold jump in net profit for the March quarter.
What’s happening: Shares of PB Fintech slipped sharply in early trade after a mildly positive open. The stock closed 3.74% lower at Rs 1,694 on BSE, underperforming the benchmark Sensex, which fell 0.33%.
PB Fintech Q4 results:
- Net profit surged 185% to Rs 170 crore
- Revenue rose 38% to Rs 1,507 crore
- Policybazaar’s annualised insurance premium collection has more than tripled to Rs 7,030 crore
Stock performance: Over the past 12 months, PB Fintech shares have gained 24.6%, but are down 20% year-to-date. In comparison, the Sensex has risen 11% over the past year and 4.5% so far in 2025. The stock’s 12-month price target stands at Rs 1,744, implying a potential downside of 2.1%.
Ola under fire again: employee suicide sparks fresh criticism of toxic work culture
Bhavish Aggarwal, founder, Krutrim
Social media has erupted after allegations of toxic work culture surfaced at Ola’s AI division, Krutrim.
What’s the matter? The backlash followed the reported suicide of Nikhil Somwanshi, a machine learning engineer who had been with Krutrim since August last year. The news first emerged via a Reddit post on Thursday, sparking widespread outrage.
Ola’s response: Ola stated that Somwanshi was on personal leave at the time of the incident. The company noted that he had reached out to his manager on April 8, citing the need for rest, and was granted personal time off. His leave was extended after he expressed the need for additional rest on April 17. Ola said it is cooperating with the authorities and supporting Somwanshi’s family.
The controversy: A former Ola Krutrim employee claimed, “They are doing utterly mediocre work with incompetent management and leadership. Toxicity is through the roof, as is nepotism.” Despite repeated queries, Ola did not respond to ET’s specific questions about the work environment.
Constant churn: Krutrim has witnessed nearly a dozen exits at junior to senior management levels in the past year, including key figures like applied AI director Ashish Kumar and VP of products Vipul Shah.
Also Read: Ola Krutrim business head Ravi Jain quits
Mental health support: If you or someone you know is struggling, Tele MANAS offers free, 24/7 mental health support via a national toll-free helpline: 14416 / 1800-89-14416.
Also Read: Ola Electric’s market share dips below TVS amid sharp drop in April sales
AI to steal the show at Google I/O 2025
Google will put artificial intelligence front and centre at I/O 2025, which kicks off on May 20. CEO Sundar Pichai, DeepMind cofounder Demis Hassabis, and senior executives are expected to unveil major AI updates.
What to expect:
- The spotlight will be on the Gemini family of AI models, led by the launch of Gemini 2.5 Pro.
- DeepMind’s Project Astra and education-focused LearnLM could also feature prominently.
- There’s growing buzz around a possible preview of Samsung’s Android XR headset, Project Moohan, pitched as a competitor to Apple’s Vision Pro.
Beyond AI: Google may also introduce a Pinterest-style app that allows users to create and share image collections directly from Search results, according to The Information.
How to watch: The event starts at 10:30 PM IST (10 AM PT) on May 20 and will be livestreamed from the Shoreline Amphitheatre on Google’s official YouTube channel.
