Tech3 | Meesho mints millionaires; Deconstructing an AI data centre; and more
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In today’s newsletter:
- The Meesho millionaires
- VCs catch baby fever
- Inside India’s AI data centres: jobs, power and more
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Top 3 stories
The Meesho millionaires
Meesho may sell affordability — but the IPO has priced its founders’ holdings at levels few can afford to imagine.
Stake shock
The IPO’s valuation math turned early cheque sizes into eye-watering paper fortunes.
- CEO Vidit Aatrey’s 11.1% stake, acquired at just Rs 0.06 a share, is now valued at Rs 5,245 crore at the top end of the price band
- CTO Sanjeev Barnwal’s 7.41% stake — bought at Rs 0.02 a share — is now worth Rs 3,504 crore
Early backers Elevation, Peak XV and YC Continuity sit on multibagger mark-ups, with YC’s stake rising over 100x.
Playbook steady
Meesho’s founders, however, told us in an interview that a blockbuster listing won’t rewrite the company’s operating compass.
“Nothing changes after going public,” says Vidit Aatrey, emphasising discipline in mission over market optics.
He added that Meesho still operates with a “startup attitude” — moving fast, taking bold bets and refusing to think it has “arrived.”
- The team insists it isn’t benchmarking against rivals — staying anchored to affordability and mass-market demand
Disciplined drive
The founders reiterate that affordability stays the north star as Meesho enters public markets.
“Most of India cares about affordability far more than convenience,” Aatrey said, defending Meesho’s value-commerce thesis against fast-growing quick commerce players.
OFS was trimmed by nearly 40%, with early shareholders choosing to hold rather than cash out.
- Ad-tech and logistics remain the big future profit pools, while AI-led automation is already cutting costs and lifting efficiency.
VCs catch baby fever
Investors seem to be crawling back into consumer bets, literally. For now, baby-care startups are getting all the attention – and the cash.
Driving the news
Barely three months after their seed funding, several baby care-focused startups are back in the market and are finalising rounds. Sources have said:
- Ozi, the quick commerce startup that raised $3.3 million from Blume just last month, is already lining up a $10 million round led by RTP Global
- Its arch rival, Peeko, which raised $3.2 million in August, is also looking for a lead investor who will put in $5-6 million and other investors, including its existing backers, Stellaris Venture Partners, will put in the remaining as part of a larger round
Tell me more
These companies deal in accessories, toys and related categories. Their pace of funding is similar to what happened with other quick commerce players.
- Snabbit, a startup that provides house help in 10-15 minutes, raised $30 million from Bertelsmann India Investments (BII)
- That was the company’s third fundraise in nine months, taking its total capital raised to $55 million
The growth at Ozi and Peeko – and in the larger rapid delivery space – has made even ecommerce giants like FirstCry take notice.
“…quick commerce has led to an increase in consumer expectations when it comes to on-time delivery and faster delivery of goods being shipped online…,” Vivek Goel, chief business officer, FirstCry told analysts while announcing Q2 results.
Apart from toys, games and clothes for babies, companies dabbling in other sectors that cater to babies are a hit among investors.
- BabyMD, a chain of clinics offering pediatric consultations, therapy, vaccination support services and more in Bengaluru, is in talks to raise $4-6 million from Peak XV Partners, others, sources told us
Inside India’s AI data centres: jobs, power and more
India is fast becoming a global hotspot for AI data centres as tech giants race to build the infrastructure needed to expand in one of their fastest-growing markets.
Why it matters? India generates nearly 20% of the world’s data but hosts only about 3% of global data-centre capacity — a gap that’s drawing billions in new investment.
Driving the boom
In 2025 alone, India saw massive FDI inflows, the biggest being Google’s plan to invest $15 billion to set up a gigawatt-scale “AI data-centre campus” in Vizag.
- OpenAI is also in talks to build a 1 GW data centre
- Reliance, AWS and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have announced multi-billion-dollar plans to build or expand AI-optimised infrastructure
- Existing Indian players like Yotta, CtrlS and Sify are rapidly scaling their AI capacity as well
What’s different about AI data centres
AI workloads require thousands of energy-intensive GPUs, consuming about 8–15X more power than traditional data centres.
- The immense heat generated by these chips requires advanced, chip-level cooling mechanisms, significantly increasing operational costs
Where India stands now
Yotta’s NM1 data centre in Navi Mumbai currently hosts the largest GPU cluster in the country, with nearly 70% of India’s installed GPUs, CEO Sunil Gupta said.
- Overall, India’s AI capacity remains nascent but is set for explosive growth
Job creation prospects
While the investments run into billions, direct job creation is limited.
- A data centre may employ around 2,000 people during construction, but once operational, fewer than 50 people typically manage the facility
Industry experts note that most employment gains are indirect, driven by new tech and service jobs emerging around these data-centre ecosystems.
The bottom line
By 2030, India will need an additional 45–50 million sq. ft. of real estate and 40–45 terawatt-hours of power to meet the demand from upcoming data-centre expansions.
