Top tech and startup stories of the day
Smaller UPI players will meet NPCI to curb the growth of industry leaders PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Cognizant to buy Astreya
■ Heatwave impact on India Inc
Smaller UPI firms to meet NPCI, seek level playing field with PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm
A clutch of smaller UPI apps, including Amazon Pay, Cred, Super Money, Mobikwik and Navi, is set to ask the National Payments Council of India (NPCI) for new curbs on the big three, as the industry awaits clarity on the long-delayed market share cap.
What’s the news: The group will meet NPCI on Thursday to press for checks that could slow the rapid consolidation around PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm.
Key asks:
Yes, and: The smaller players also want preferential incentives for emerging apps, interoperability of transaction history and biller data across platforms, and early or exclusive access to new UPI features.
What’s the significance: The industry is trying to keep UPI’s blistering from turning into a near-duopoly, especially with the proposed 30% market share cap from 2020 still stuck in limbo.
The top three already tower over the rest. PhonePe holds about 45% share, Google Pay is at 33%, and Paytm accounts for the rest. That leaves only a sliver of headroom for challengers to scale.
Also Read: Smaller UPI players nibble at veterans’ transactions share
WhatsApp to roll out SIM binding, tighten curbs on digital arrest scams
Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has agreed to bind accounts to SIMs, add checks to spot long-running scam calls, and work on blocking devices used in digital arrest scams, according to a status report filed in the Supreme Court.
Driving the news: WhatsApp has committed to:
These assurances were discussed at an inter-departmental meeting on cybercrime, where telecom operators and WhatsApp were told to coordinate more closely on scam prevention.
What else: WhatsApp will retain data from deleted accounts for at least 180 days to support investigations, and will keep tuning its AI systems to detect impersonation and misuse.
So far this year, the company says it has already banned 9,400 accounts linked to digital arrest scams targeting Indian users.
The encryption question: WhatsApp has told the Centre that it uses AI-driven systems to detect and remove accounts posing as law enforcement agencies.
At first glance, that seems to run counter to its core privacy pitch, which promises end-to-end encryption for personal messages and calls and insists that “no one else, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to them.” In practice, the company leans on metadata, interaction patterns, and user reports to flag suspicious behaviour, without inspecting the encrypted content itself.
Read more on WhatsApp’s measures to curb digital arrest scams here.
Also Read: US ends investigation into claims WhatsApp chats aren’t private
Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s Parallel Web Systems has raised $100 million: WSJ
Parallel Web Systems, an AI search startup founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, has raised $100 million in a Series B round led by Sequoia Capital, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Deal details:
About the startup: Founded in 2023, Parallel Web Systems builds application programming interfaces (APIs) that let AI systems search the live web for up-to-date information to complete tasks. It last raised $100 million in November 2025, valuing the company at $740 million.
Stock trading startup Sahi secures $33 million from Accel, Elevation
(L-R) Dale Vaz and Manish Jain, founders, Sahi
Stock trading platform Sahi has bagged $33 million from Accel Growth and existing investors Elevation Capital and Accel India.
Number-wise:
Tell me more: Founded in 2023, Sahi began operations only in January 2025. It offers futures and options (F&O) as well as cash trading to retail investors.
Cognizant to buy Astreya for about $600 million
Ravi Kumar S, CEO, Cognizant
Cognizant has agreed to acquire IT services and technology provider Astreya for about $600 million, in a bid to deepen its AI infrastructure and data centre services.
Bulking up:
Under pressure: Cognizant has had a rough stretch. The $26 billion company has shed more than a third of its market value this year, hit by a soft demand outlook for IT services and investor anxiety over AI-driven deflation.
Financials:
With heatwaves intensifying across India, companies are rolling out a mix of work-from-home (WFH) options, shorter shifts, and hydration support for employees.
What firms are doing:
Yes, and:
ET reported on Wednesday that the quick commerce sector is facing a shortage of delivery partners as temperatures spike, prompting companies to roll out incentives to keep their fleets on the road.
Also in the letter:
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Cognizant to buy Astreya
■ Heatwave impact on India Inc
Smaller UPI firms to meet NPCI, seek level playing field with PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm
A clutch of smaller UPI apps, including Amazon Pay, Cred, Super Money, Mobikwik and Navi, is set to ask the National Payments Council of India (NPCI) for new curbs on the big three, as the industry awaits clarity on the long-delayed market share cap.
What’s the news: The group will meet NPCI on Thursday to press for checks that could slow the rapid consolidation around PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm.
Key asks:
- Limiting user acquisition tactics, including tapping phone contacts to drive app downloads and chasing UPI ID mappers for new or existing users.
- Tighter rules on monetisation, such as caps on fees linked to tokenised UPI checkouts.
- Curbs on collect requests and autopay mandates.
Yes, and: The smaller players also want preferential incentives for emerging apps, interoperability of transaction history and biller data across platforms, and early or exclusive access to new UPI features.
What’s the significance: The industry is trying to keep UPI’s blistering from turning into a near-duopoly, especially with the proposed 30% market share cap from 2020 still stuck in limbo.
The top three already tower over the rest. PhonePe holds about 45% share, Google Pay is at 33%, and Paytm accounts for the rest. That leaves only a sliver of headroom for challengers to scale.
Also Read: Smaller UPI players nibble at veterans’ transactions share
WhatsApp to roll out SIM binding, tighten curbs on digital arrest scams
Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has agreed to bind accounts to SIMs, add checks to spot long-running scam calls, and work on blocking devices used in digital arrest scams, according to a status report filed in the Supreme Court.
Driving the news: WhatsApp has committed to:
- Sharing aggregate enforcement data and scam typologies at regular intervals, within legal and privacy limits.
- Complying with provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, including identifying and labelling synthetically generated content.
These assurances were discussed at an inter-departmental meeting on cybercrime, where telecom operators and WhatsApp were told to coordinate more closely on scam prevention.
What else: WhatsApp will retain data from deleted accounts for at least 180 days to support investigations, and will keep tuning its AI systems to detect impersonation and misuse.
So far this year, the company says it has already banned 9,400 accounts linked to digital arrest scams targeting Indian users.
The encryption question: WhatsApp has told the Centre that it uses AI-driven systems to detect and remove accounts posing as law enforcement agencies.
At first glance, that seems to run counter to its core privacy pitch, which promises end-to-end encryption for personal messages and calls and insists that “no one else, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to them.” In practice, the company leans on metadata, interaction patterns, and user reports to flag suspicious behaviour, without inspecting the encrypted content itself.
Read more on WhatsApp’s measures to curb digital arrest scams here.
Also Read: US ends investigation into claims WhatsApp chats aren’t private
Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s Parallel Web Systems has raised $100 million: WSJ
Parallel Web Systems, an AI search startup founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, has raised $100 million in a Series B round led by Sequoia Capital, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Deal details:
- This round values the company at $2 billion.
- Existing backers Kleiner Perkins, Index Ventures, and Khosla Ventures also participated.
- Sequoia partner Andrew Reed has joined Parallel Web’s board as part of the latest deal.
- Agrawal said the company will use the capital to expand sales and marketing and step up R&D.
About the startup: Founded in 2023, Parallel Web Systems builds application programming interfaces (APIs) that let AI systems search the live web for up-to-date information to complete tasks. It last raised $100 million in November 2025, valuing the company at $740 million.
Stock trading startup Sahi secures $33 million from Accel, Elevation
Stock trading platform Sahi has bagged $33 million from Accel Growth and existing investors Elevation Capital and Accel India.
Number-wise:
- The Bengaluru-based firm is now valued at $200 million.
- Cofounder Dale Vaz told us that Accel Growth put in about $20 million, with the remainder coming from the other investors.
Tell me more: Founded in 2023, Sahi began operations only in January 2025. It offers futures and options (F&O) as well as cash trading to retail investors.
Cognizant to buy Astreya for about $600 million
Cognizant has agreed to acquire IT services and technology provider Astreya for about $600 million, in a bid to deepen its AI infrastructure and data centre services.
Bulking up:
- The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
- Astreya’s AI tooling and production-grade infrastructure platform is expected to slot into Cognizant’s AI builder stack, giving the company more heft with clients that are building and operating AI systems at scale.
- Founded in 2001, Astreya has spent years managing data centre infrastructure, AI lab environments and enterprise networks for major tech firms.
Under pressure: Cognizant has had a rough stretch. The $26 billion company has shed more than a third of its market value this year, hit by a soft demand outlook for IT services and investor anxiety over AI-driven deflation.
Financials:
- In the first quarter, the company reported 5.8% revenue growth to $5.41 billion.
- It also trimmed its full-year revenue forecast, now expecting between $22.11 billion and $22.64 billion, down from its earlier range of $22.14 billion to $22.66 billion.
With heatwaves intensifying across India, companies are rolling out a mix of work-from-home (WFH) options, shorter shifts, and hydration support for employees.
What firms are doing:
- Mercedes-Benz, NoBroker.com and Savills India are offering flexible schedules and WFH where feasible.
- Engineering and construction firm KEC has restricted outdoor work between 11 am and 3 pm at most sites and is supplying coolers, ORS, buttermilk, and glucose water.
Yes, and:
- Eternal Group is installing air coolers, water dispensers, and benches at dark stores and is creating rest points for delivery partners.
- Flipkart is also focusing on hydration and rest zones for gig workers.
ET reported on Wednesday that the quick commerce sector is facing a shortage of delivery partners as temperatures spike, prompting companies to roll out incentives to keep their fleets on the road.
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