Top 5 tech and startup stories of the day
Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said India is strengthening its domestic electronics manufacturing capabilities to reduce its reliance on China. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in today’s edition:
■ The “superintelligence” quest
■ Chart-ed: India’s top salary cities
■ Aadhar’s 2 billion milestone
India methodically building own electronics capabilities: Ashwini Vaishnav
Ashwini Vaishnaw
Responding to reports of Foxconn pulling Chinese staff from its India operations, union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India will soon develop “its own capabilities” in electronics manufacturing.
Driving the news: At an ET Roundtable in New Delhi, Vaishnaw said that India is ramping up domestic production in a “very methodical and sustained way”, aiming for a 38% value addition over the next five years. “De-risking is learning the skills and making it here and developing our own supply chain, which is what we are doing,” he said.
Tell me more: China currently accounts for 38% value addition in electronics assembled in India. Vaishnaw said India is working to reduce its dependence on Chinese know-how and will lean on ecosystems in Taiwan, the US, and South Korea, alongside its own talent.
A look back: Foxconn, Apple's biggest supplier, recently withdrew 300 Chinese engineers and technicians from its Indian plants. Beijing is also curbing technology and key equipment transfers to Southeast Asian countries. As we noted yesterday, India still relies heavily on Chinese expertise and components.
Also at the roundtable: Vaishnaw weighed in on social media regulations, noting that many countries are now pushing platforms to take more responsibility for content. He said India is building political consensus and is open to updating its legal framework if needed.
Angel One shares drop 7% after June and Q1 FY26 business update
Angel One shares slid 7% to Rs 2,740 on Friday, after its June and Q1 FY26 business update revealed strong client growth but weaker trading activity.
By the numbers:
What’s driving it: Trading volumes slipped in June. Total orders dropped 5.4% MoM and 31.6% YoY to 114.95 million, while average daily orders dipped to 5.47 million. On a quarterly basis, order volumes nudged up 4.8% from Q4 FY25.
CEO’s take: New Group CEO, Ambarish Kenghe told ET that business momentum should recover by year-end, helped by stabilisation in regulatory shifts around speculative trading. He’s also betting on AI to sharpen product personalisation, client engagement and internal upskilling.
The big picture: Angel One held firm on market share in equity and commodity trading, but softness in trading volumes and F&O turnover spooked the market.
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Why it matters: ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees.
The opportunity:
What's next: Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@timesinternet.in to explore sponsorship opportunities.
Meta’s AI talent heist: Safe Superintelligence CEO and top OpenAI researchers jump ship as talent war intensifies
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta just scored another win in Silicon Valley’s escalating AI talent war. Daniel Gross, the CEO of Safe Superintelligence, the artificial intelligence startup founded by OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever, has joined Meta to lead its AI products division.
What’s happening? Gross is the latest in a string of high-profile hires.
Behind the scenes, this is a fierce battle to corner the future of artificial intelligence. But before we get swept up in the buzz, what exactly is superintelligence?
Superintelligence: Artificial superintelligence (ASI) refers to AI that outsmarts humans in everything — logic, creativity, social intuition, you name it.
Some like SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son predict it will arrive by 2035. Others think it’s just around the corner.
Here’s the catch: We haven’t even cracked human-level AI yet. That milestone is called artificial general intelligence, or AGI. Still, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AGI could be here this year.
Whether it’s hype or a genuine race, one thing’s clear: Meta, OpenAI, SSI, and Reflection are betting big on getting there first.
Chart-ed: IT remains the highest-paying sector in India
The IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) sector continues to dominate salaries across experience levels, according to job search and hiring platform Indeed’s global PayMap survey.
Pay breakdown: Freshers in tech roles are pulling in up to Rs 28,600 a month, while those with five to seven years of experience are earning close to Rs 68,900.
Manufacturing and telecom are also seeing solid pay bumps. Entry-level salaries in both hover around Rs 28,100–28,300, while professionals with five to eight years’ experience take home between Rs 67,700–68,200.
City-wise: Hyderabad, Chennai, and Ahmedabad are quickly emerging as high-pay hotspots, edging out some of India’s more established job markets.
Aadhaar authentications cross 2 billion in June
Aadhaar holders carried out over 2.29 billion authentication transactions in June, a 7.8% jump year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Electronics and IT.
By the numbers:
Why it matters: Face authentication, built using UIDAI’s homegrown AI and ML stack, is catching on fast. It is now widely used across government services, financial institutions (banks), telecom, and oil marketing companies.
e-KYC push: June also clocked 394.7 million e-KYC transactions, reinforcing Aadhar’s role in streamlining customer onboarding. The paperless process is helping banks and NBFCs scale faster and push financial inclusion deeper.
Also in today’s edition:
■ The “superintelligence” quest
■ Chart-ed: India’s top salary cities
■ Aadhar’s 2 billion milestone
India methodically building own electronics capabilities: Ashwini Vaishnav
Responding to reports of Foxconn pulling Chinese staff from its India operations, union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India will soon develop “its own capabilities” in electronics manufacturing.
Driving the news: At an ET Roundtable in New Delhi, Vaishnaw said that India is ramping up domestic production in a “very methodical and sustained way”, aiming for a 38% value addition over the next five years. “De-risking is learning the skills and making it here and developing our own supply chain, which is what we are doing,” he said.
Tell me more: China currently accounts for 38% value addition in electronics assembled in India. Vaishnaw said India is working to reduce its dependence on Chinese know-how and will lean on ecosystems in Taiwan, the US, and South Korea, alongside its own talent.
A look back: Foxconn, Apple's biggest supplier, recently withdrew 300 Chinese engineers and technicians from its Indian plants. Beijing is also curbing technology and key equipment transfers to Southeast Asian countries. As we noted yesterday, India still relies heavily on Chinese expertise and components.
Also at the roundtable: Vaishnaw weighed in on social media regulations, noting that many countries are now pushing platforms to take more responsibility for content. He said India is building political consensus and is open to updating its legal framework if needed.
Angel One shares drop 7% after June and Q1 FY26 business update
Angel One shares slid 7% to Rs 2,740 on Friday, after its June and Q1 FY26 business update revealed strong client growth but weaker trading activity.
By the numbers:
- Client base hit 32.47 million in June, up 31.3% year-on-year (YoY) and 1.6% month-on-month (MoM).
- Gross client additions: 0.55 million in June (down 41.5% YoY), and 1.55 million for Q1 FY26.
- Client funding book: Rs 4,708 crore in June (+17.5% MoM, +55% YoY); Rs 4,206 crore for Q1 (+60.2% YoY).
What’s driving it: Trading volumes slipped in June. Total orders dropped 5.4% MoM and 31.6% YoY to 114.95 million, while average daily orders dipped to 5.47 million. On a quarterly basis, order volumes nudged up 4.8% from Q4 FY25.
CEO’s take: New Group CEO, Ambarish Kenghe told ET that business momentum should recover by year-end, helped by stabilisation in regulatory shifts around speculative trading. He’s also betting on AI to sharpen product personalisation, client engagement and internal upskilling.
The big picture: Angel One held firm on market share in equity and commodity trading, but softness in trading volumes and F&O turnover spooked the market.
Sponsor ETtech Top 5 & Morning Dispatch!
Why it matters: ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees.
The opportunity:
- Reach a highly engaged audience of decision-makers.
- Boost your brand's visibility among the tech-savvy community.
- Custom sponsorship options to align with your brand's goals.
What's next: Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@timesinternet.in to explore sponsorship opportunities.
Meta’s AI talent heist: Safe Superintelligence CEO and top OpenAI researchers jump ship as talent war intensifies
Meta just scored another win in Silicon Valley’s escalating AI talent war. Daniel Gross, the CEO of Safe Superintelligence, the artificial intelligence startup founded by OpenAI cofounder Ilya Sutskever, has joined Meta to lead its AI products division.
What’s happening? Gross is the latest in a string of high-profile hires.
- Meta has already poached top OpenAI researchers Shengjia Zhao, Jiahui Yu, Shuchao Bi, and Hongyu Ren, all now part of the newly formed ‘Meta Superintelligence Labs’.
- Earlier, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company hired another group of researchers, all of whom were working at OpenAI's Zurich office.
Behind the scenes, this is a fierce battle to corner the future of artificial intelligence. But before we get swept up in the buzz, what exactly is superintelligence?
Superintelligence: Artificial superintelligence (ASI) refers to AI that outsmarts humans in everything — logic, creativity, social intuition, you name it.
Some like SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son predict it will arrive by 2035. Others think it’s just around the corner.
Here’s the catch: We haven’t even cracked human-level AI yet. That milestone is called artificial general intelligence, or AGI. Still, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AGI could be here this year.
Whether it’s hype or a genuine race, one thing’s clear: Meta, OpenAI, SSI, and Reflection are betting big on getting there first.
Chart-ed: IT remains the highest-paying sector in India
The IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) sector continues to dominate salaries across experience levels, according to job search and hiring platform Indeed’s global PayMap survey.
Pay breakdown: Freshers in tech roles are pulling in up to Rs 28,600 a month, while those with five to seven years of experience are earning close to Rs 68,900.
Manufacturing and telecom are also seeing solid pay bumps. Entry-level salaries in both hover around Rs 28,100–28,300, while professionals with five to eight years’ experience take home between Rs 67,700–68,200.
City-wise: Hyderabad, Chennai, and Ahmedabad are quickly emerging as high-pay hotspots, edging out some of India’s more established job markets.
Aadhaar authentications cross 2 billion in June
Aadhaar holders carried out over 2.29 billion authentication transactions in June, a 7.8% jump year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Electronics and IT.
By the numbers:
- Total Aadhaar authentications since inception: 154 billion.
- June face authentications: 158.7 million (up 244% YoY from 46.1 million).
- Cumulative face authentications: nearly 1.75 billion.
Why it matters: Face authentication, built using UIDAI’s homegrown AI and ML stack, is catching on fast. It is now widely used across government services, financial institutions (banks), telecom, and oil marketing companies.
e-KYC push: June also clocked 394.7 million e-KYC transactions, reinforcing Aadhar’s role in streamlining customer onboarding. The paperless process is helping banks and NBFCs scale faster and push financial inclusion deeper.
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