SoftBank’s plans for Vision Fund; Building an investment ecosystem

BharatPe has reason to celebrate this fiscal year. 

The fintech firm reported its first annual profit in the year ended March 31. In FY25, it posted an adjusted profit before tax of Rs 6 crore compared with a loss of Rs 342 crore a year earlier.

Meanwhile, MapmyIndia is betting on Zepto with an investment of Rs 25 crore. The infusion translates to a 0.049% stake in Zepto on a fully diluted basis, valuing the quick commerce firm at $6.1 billion, a step up from its previous valuation of $5 billion. 

While startups are rejoicing, tensions are mounting at the international level, with India refusing to back down on opening up its agricultural and dairy sectors to the US.

US President Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods on Wednesday, raising the total duty to 50%. 

ICYMI: How things went south, and what’s ahead.

In the background, however, officials are still holding out for acceptable concessions before the duties take effect.

On another front, tech manufacturers in the US are braced for a 100% tariff whammy on semiconductor imports. 

But there’s a caveat: companies that have invested in production facilities in the US, such as Apple, NVIDIA, and TSMC, among others, can avoid the levies.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• SoftBank’s plans for Vision Fund
• Building an investment ecosystem
• Using simulators for medical training

Here’s your trivia for today: What name have astronomers given the black hole at the galactic centre of our galaxy?

Earnings

SoftBank’s plans for Vision Fund

SoftBank Group is leaning on its fintech and Indian startup portfolio, including the public listings of Lenskart and Meesho, to drive a turnaround in Vision Fund 2 (SVF2), which continues to carry a $22.1 billion gross loss despite recent valuation gains. 

Both companies are among the top three largest private investments by fair value in SoftBank’s India portfolio, alongside OYO, which sits in Vision Fund 1. According to SoftBank’s latest earnings, the India portfolio comprises 15 private investments with a combined unrealised fair value of $4.1 billion. 

Key takeaways:

• SoftBank Group Corp. reported a net profit of $2.87 billion in Q1 FY25. Profit at the conglomerate’s investment arm, SoftBank Vision Fund, came in at $4.94 billion compared with a gain of $1.19 billion last quarter, when mark-ups on Vision Fund I holdings offset weak returns from Indian portfolio companies.
• Its Vision Fund segment posted an investment gain of $4.5 billion in the June quarter, led by strong mark-ups across both public and private holdings. 
• Its India portfolio remains in the black overall. Across four disclosed stakes—FirstCry, Delhivery, Swiggy, and Ola Electric—SoftBank has deployed about $1.3 billion and is now carrying those holdings at roughly $2 billion, implying an unrealised gain of $700 million.

Funding Alert

Startup: Renee Cosmetics

Amount: $30M

Round: Series C

Startup: Outzidr

Amount: $3.1M

Round: Pre-Series A

Startup: Xovian Aerospace

Amount: $2.5M

Round: Pre-Seed

Interview

Building an investment ecosystem

After rebuilding from collapse with roads, electricity, and social equity, Bihar is gearing up for its most ambitious leap yet: becoming an industrial and investment destination. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha outlines the structural shift and the political patience that made it possible.

“Earlier, there was no groundwork for investment. Today, we have the fundamentals in place—security, connectivity and power,” Jha says. “Now comes the big challenge—getting capital to move in.”

Highlights:

• With two decades of groundwork complete, Bihar is ready to talk business. The state is leveraging three value propositions that didn’t exist before: A surplus of young, trainable labour, cheap and now-connected land, and power reliability.
• Jha believes Bihar’s textile sector offers the biggest near-term opportunity. “Madhubani and Bhagalpur were once textile powerhouses. That heritage never vanished; it just never got investment,” he says, pointing to global trade shifts that favour alternatives to traditional export hubs.
• His vision for Bihar’s future doesn’t rest on a single megaproject or flagship policy. Instead, it represents something rarer in Indian politics: systematic state-building as the foundation for economic growth.

Startup

Using simulators for medical training

After providing 3D printing and scanning services to the medical industry as Maverick Solutions since 2006, Maverick Simulation Solutions has since pivoted to creating and providing simulators for medical practitioners and trainees.  

The New Delhi-based medtech company, founded by Anuj Chahal in 2019, is creating indigenous simulators to help medical students practice various procedures, ranging from drawing blood all the way to stenting.

News & updates

• Advertise: Elon Musk told advertisers that X plans to introduce ads in Grok’s responses. He told advertisers that X would allow marketers to pay to appear in suggestions from the AI chatbot. “If a user’s trying to solve a problem [by asking Grok], then advertising the specific solution would be ideal at that point,” he said.
• Resign: Intel shares slipped Thursday after US President Donald Trump called for the chipmaker’s CEO to resign immediately. In a Truth Social post, Trump said Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan “is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem.”
• Hikes: TCS will raise salaries for 80% of its workforce, weeks after announcing layoffs affecting more than 12,000 employees. The annual wage hike, due in April, comes when India’s $283 billion IT industry is grappling with cautious client spending amid weak global demand, sticky inflation, and uncertainty around US trade policy.

What name have astronomers given the black hole at the galactic centre of our galaxy?

Answer: Sagittarius A

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