Top 5 tech and startup stories of the day

Infosys posted a drop in net profit for the March quarter. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

Also in the letter:
■ Gensol’s unending woes
■ India’s D2C funding crisis
■ OpenAI goes shopping

Programming note: There won’t be an edition of ETtech Top 5 tomorrow as we take a break for the Easter weekend. We’ll be back in your inbox on Monday.
Infosys Q4 results: Net profit down 12%, revenue rises 8%
Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys

IT giant Infosys reported a decline in consolidated net profit for the March quarter compared to last year.

Financials:

• Net profit fell 12% year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 7,033 crore, down from Rs 7,969 crore.
• Revenue rose 8% YoY, from Rs 37,923 crore to Rs 40,925 crore in Q4.
• Operating margin stood at 21%, up 0.9 percentage points YoY but down 0.3 from the previous quarter.

Quote, unquote: "Our performance for the year has been robust in terms of revenues, expansion in operating margins and highest ever free cash generation. Our depth in AI, cloud and digital and strength in cost efficiency, automation, and consolidation position us well for the needs of our clients," said Salil Parekh, CEO and MD, Infosys.

Wipro shares slide: Meanwhile, Wipro shares dropped as much as 6.2% in early trade on Thursday, hitting a low of Rs 232.20 on the NSE, following its Q4 results. Despite a 26% jump in net profit, revenue from its IT services segment declined 1.2% quarter-on-quarter to $2,596.5 million and 2.3% year-on-year.

Wipro ended the day at Rs 236.90 on the BSE, down 4.28%.

Also Read: Wipro posts 26% jump in Q4 net profit to Rs 3,570 crore
Sunscreen faceoff settled: HUL, Mamaearth parent resolve billboard legal dispute

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) has resolved its dispute with Honasa Consumer, Mamaearth's parent company, over an advertising campaign that questioned the efficacy of digital-first sunscreen brands.

The resolution: HUL’s counsel informed the court that the company would revise its advertisement–replacing the term "best seller" with "some sellers" and altering the sunscreen colour to a lighter yellow, making it less similar to Honasa’s product.

HUL also sought 24 hours to remove its digital ads, while both companies jointly agreed to dismantle the physical hoardings within 48 hours.

Context setting: The conflict began when Honasa cofounder Ghazal Alagh criticised an HUL hoarding that appeared to cast doubt on the effectiveness of online-first sunscreen brands. She also claimed that HUL had copied several Honasa products, including shampoos, sunscreens and face washes.

Court-ing troubles: On Wednesday, Honasa approached the Delhi High Court seeking the removal of HUL’s advertisement. In retaliation, HUL filed a counter-petition in the Bombay High Court, requesting an injunction against Honasa's advertising campaign, which it claimed targeted its Lakmé sunscreen.
Gensol Engineering independent director Arun Menon resigns

Troubled listed company Gensol Engineering ( GEL) faced another high-level exit as independent director Arun Menon resigned with immediate effect. His exit came a day after promoters Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi stepped down from the board.

Verbatim: “There was growing concern on the leveraging of GEL balance sheet to fund the capex of other businesses; and the sustainability of servicing such high debt costs by GEL,” Menon said in a letter addressed to Anmol.

Compounding woes: Gensol’s crisis continues to deepen. The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm remains under investigation by the market regulator and has been suspended from the securities market until further notice.

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) acted on a June 2024 alleging stock price manipulation and fund diversion by GEL.
• In its order, Sebi noted “a complete breakdown” of the company's corporate governance.
• It stated that the promoters treated GEL like a “personal piggy bank”, diverting funds for luxury purchases.

Double whammy: In parallel, EV ride-hailing firm BluSmart—also promoted by Anmol Jaggi—has begun suspending operations across Delhi NCR and Bengaluru due to a cash crunch.

"We've decided to temporarily close bookings on the BluSmart app," the firm said in an email to customers without giving any reasons.

BluSmart, which once positioned itself as a challenger to Uber and Ola, has failed to raise fresh capital amid Gensol’s collapse. It was burning over Rs 20 crore per month.

Also Read: BluSmart's ride into the sunset: Timeline of events at the cab-hailing EV firm
D2C startup funding in India fell 18% in 2024 to $757 million: Report

Funding for Indian direct-to-consumer (D2C) startups fell 18% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to a report by data intelligence platform Tracxn.

Report details:

• Indian startups raised $757 million in 2024, down from $930 million in 2023.
• Funding dropped by over 50% compared to 2022, when the sector raised $1.6 billion.
• The decline stems from increased investor caution amid a global economic slowdown, market saturation, and rising consumer acquisition costs.

Source: Tracxn

Other details:

• The most funded segments were organic beauty brands, online jewellery platforms, and beauty and personal care startups.
• No new unicorns emerged in 2024.
• The D2C space currently counts four unicorns: Lenskart, MyGlamm, Boat, and Licious.

Despite the downturn, India ranked second globally in D2C startup fundraising in 2024, trailing only the US.
OpenAI in talks to buy Windsurf for about $3 billion: Report
Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI

Sam Altman-led OpenAI is reportedly in talks to acquire coding tool Windsurf for around $3 billion, marking what would be the ChatGPT maker’s largest acquisition to date, according to Bloomberg.

What’s the news: The deal remains under negotiation and could still fall through, the report noted, citing sources. If it goes through, the acquisition could bolster OpenAI’s position in the competitive market for AI-powered coding assistants—tools designed to write code from natural language prompts.

In other news: The generative AI leader has also unveiled its latest reasoning models: o3 and o4-mini. OpenAI describes the new o-series as its most advanced yet, capable of using all available ChatGPT tools, including web browsing, Python coding, and image analysis.

These models prioritise thoughtful responses over speed, designed to “think” more deeply before replying. While o3 serves as the flagship model, o4-mini offers a more lightweight, and cost-efficient alternative.

Also Read: Grok gets a memory: xAI rolls out recall feature, mirroring ChatGPT