Delhivery delivers in Q1; Google open to ‘real money'
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Delhivery Q1 profit jumps 68.5% ahead of festive season
Details:
Net profit up 68.5% year-on-year at Rs 91 crore.
Operating revenue at Rs 2,294 crore, up 6% over the same period last year.
Express parcel volumes hit 208 million in Q1FY26, up from 183 million in Q1FY25 and 177 million in Q4FY25.
The company has also wrapped up the acquisition of its rival Ecom Express.
Quick update:
Quick update:
Currently, the company operates 20 dark stores across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai.
By year-end, it plans to enter three new cities and add 30–40 more dark stores.
What's coming:
Board rejig:
Google to allow real-money games on Play if self-declared
Backstory:
Details:
Developers must prove their apps are in good standing with a recognised body such as the All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) or the EGF, which will confirm their legality under Indian law.
These apps will still need to comply with Google's broader developer policies and local regulations.
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GenAI puts up to 15% of IT services revenue at risk: Motilal Oswal
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What IT leaders are saying:
Margins take a hit:
Why it matters:
Also Read:
Apple hits 3 billion iPhones sold as Q3 sales rise 13%
Q3 snapshot:
Tailwinds and concerns:
Why it matters:
EU eyes Big Tech's acquihires for potential antitrust violations
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Context:
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Delhivery posted a 68.5% rise in net profit in April-June quarter on the back of operational efficiency. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.■ GenAI impact on IT revenue■ Apple has sold 3 billion iPhones■ Big Tech 'acquihires' under EU lensDelhivery CEO Sahil BaruaLogistics services provider Delhivery delivered a strong first-quarter performance , driven by tighter operations and steady revenue, as it gears up for India's festive rush.On the rapid delivery front, Delhivery is scaling its intracity service , Rapid Commerce, which it launched in January . The service caters to businesses needing time-sensitive fulfilment.'This base network of dark stores and in-city delivery will allow us to build Rapid B2B fulfilment for time-sensitive categories such as automotive spare parts, electronics spares, tyres, critical industrial components, lubricants, specialty chemicals and certain FMCG products,' the company said.CEO Sahil Barua said Delhivery is primed for the festive period. The company noted that while ecommerce volumes have grown 12–15% annually over the past three years, it expects long-term growth to top 15%, with a sharper focus on direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands and small and medium enterprises (SME).Srivatsan Rajan, its longest-serving independent director, will step down effective from September 30, the company said in a filing. Joining as non-executive members are PB Fintech chairman and CEO Yashish Dahiya and IIM Bangalore professor Padmini Srinivasan.Google is set to open up its India Play Store to all real-money games (RMG) legally allowed in the country, provided developers self-declare their compliance and secure backing from a recognised industry body.The move follows a probe by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) last year , triggered by a complaint from gaming platform Winzo. The watchdog had raised concerns that Google's tightly controlled pilot for select RMGs could amount to exclusionary behaviour.Under the proposal, Google will scrap the closed pilot and introduce an open policy for RMG distribution.The proposal is open for public comment until August 20. If the CCI approves it, Google will roll out the changes within 120 days. The shift could unlock fresh monetisation avenues for RMG developers and give Google a smoother regulatory ride in India's fast-growing gaming market.Generative AI (GenAI) could shave 10–15% off Indian IT firms' revenue , brokerage firm Motilal Oswal has warned, as automation of software development eats into billable hours.The biggest hit is likely in Application development and maintenance (ADM), which contributes more than a third of the industry's topline. GenAI can handle up to 45% of coding, testing, and debugging, allowing clients to demand more output without incurring higher costs.IT leaders acknowledge the shift. TCS, for instance, says clients are moving from pilots to production-grade GenAI projects. Yet full-scale deployments remain rare, and unlike previous tech waves, budgets are not ballooning.The pressure is already visible in Q1 FY26. Firms reported softer margins as pricing tightens, deal cycles stretch, and GenAI-led productivity accelerates deflation in legacy services.Indian IT may be staring at a messy realignment. GenAI promises long-term efficiency, but without a new growth engine, the sector's old formula of linear scaling looks increasingly fragile.Apple has crossed a milestone that few companies can dream of. CEO Tim Cook revealed during the Q3 earnings call that the tech giant has now sold over 3 billion iPhones since the device first hit shelves in 2007.The iPhone remains Apple's undisputed cash cow. Sales jumped 13% year-on-year to $44.6 billion in the quarter, helping total revenue climb to $94.04 billion. Net profit rose 12% to $23.4 billion, a sign that the company can still find growth in a mature market.China provided a lift, with revenue ticking from $14.7 billion to $15.3 billion, while India delivered record sales. Apple is now leaning on emerging markets for its next wave of growth, even as looming import tariffs threaten to squeeze demand in the months ahead.Three billion iPhones sold underlines Apple's enduring dominance and its bet that the next billion users may come from outside its traditional strongholds.The European Union is preparing to cast a sharper eye on Big Tech's 'acquihire' deals, where tech giants snap up key talent from startups without buying the entire company. Regulators fear these moves could be a backdoor to skirt antitrust rules.Olivier Guersent, the outgoing head of the European Commission's antitrust unit, told Reuters that such transactions should qualify as mergers because 'staff are part of a company's assets.' He highlighted that national watchdogs in Ireland, Denmark, and Sweden already have 'call-in powers' that allow them to flag even small, below-threshold deals to Brussels.The scrutiny follows a string of headline-making acquihires:The Commission is increasingly focused on preserving competition in emerging sectors such as AI. Guersent, a key architect of the Digital Markets Act, warned that acquihires risk undermining the spirit of EU merger oversight.With more national authorities expected to use their call-in powers, tech firms should brace for a tougher, wider net on talent-driven deals.
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