Wipro’s quarterly profits fall yet again; The many problems at Scapia

Dunzo’s dilemma continues. 

The cash-strapped startup is now working on a long-term business plan to clear liabilities and repay pending salaries, Dunzo told former employees in an email on Friday evening. The Reliance Retail-backed firm had told former employees in October that salaries for June and July, along with final settlements, would be paid by this February.

Dunzo intends to provide a payment timeline by January 31 while it chalks out a solution over the next couple of weeks. 

In other news, global asset management company BlackRock has reportedly reduced the implied valuation of its stake in BYJU'S by a whopping 95% as of October 2023.

Meanwhile, Rapido witnessed a threefold increase in revenue from operations in FY23. However, its losses widened due to a significant rise in expenses.

ICYMI: Cars that can chat with drivers were among the transportation innovations featured at CES 2024, the annual consumer tech show that wrapped up on Friday in Las Vegas.

Here’s a list of the tech that was on display. 

Lastly, researchers have found a cluster of lost cities in the Amazon rainforest that was home to around 10,000 farmers about 2,000 years ago. One of the most striking features of the discovery was the extensive network of roads–one of which was 25 km long.

Now that’s some impressive urban planning!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Wipro’s quarterly profits fall yet again
• Understanding Scapia’s many problems
• The Aravani Art Project's path to inclusiveness 

Here’s your trivia for today: Which modern company was born after Thomas Alva Edison’s company Edison Electric merged with another firm in 1892?

IT services

Wipro’s quarterly profits fall yet again



Wipro Ltd, one of the leading Indian IT services companies, saw a 12% decline in net profit on a year-on-year basis for the third quarter of the current fiscal as it continues to face a challenging business environment combined with a churn in its internal top management.

Key takeaways:

• Wipro is facing challenges in terms of quarterly performance; this is the fifth quarter in a row that its revenues have declined. 
• Its consolidated revenue for Q3 stood at Rs 22,205 crore, a 5% decline year-on-year (YoY) while net profit stood at Rs 2,694 crore. 
• The company’s total booking stood at $3.8 billion, 13.5% lower YoY. Even operating margins came in at 16%, a decline from 16.2% a year ago.

<Top Funding Deals of the Week>

Startup: makeO

Amount: $16M

Round: Bridge

Startup: Varthana

Amount: $14M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Grip Invest

Amount: $10M

Round: Series B

Fintech

Understanding Scapia’s many problems

Travel-focused fintech firm Scapia is in the line of fire. After enjoying word-of-mouth popularity, a new round of capital infusion, and glowing referrals from credit card communities over the last 2-3 months, the Binny Bansal-backed startup is facing user outrage this week. 

Wrong turn:

• Many users have seen their credit limits slashed from upwards of Rs 5,00,000 to Rs 20,000 or less. One user took to Techofino (a Reddit-like credit card discussion forum) to reveal that his credit limit was reduced from a high of Rs 10,00,000 to Rs 1,40,000. 
• Less than a month ago, Scapia Founder Anil Goteti had told The CapTable that the travel-focused card was witnessing “phenomenal demand” from the 24-35 age group from metro centres and Tier-II towns and had been dispatched to 7,500+ pin codes across India.
• At present, the app too is facing a technical outage, with several users stuck at the application stage. The company, however, has been tight-lipped about the recent issues.

Art and culture

The story of The Aravani Art Project

Started in 2016 by Bengaluru-based Poornima Sukumar, The Aravani Art Project is empowering the transgender community to make themselves seen and heard through visual art.

Run by close to 40 trans people, cis women, and cis men, it has worked on research projects, drama walks, digital projects, comics and graphic novels, canvas paintings, workshops and, most recently, mixed media art using waste cloth to create large pieces. 

Inclusion:

• According to a study conducted by the National Human Rights Commission in 2018, 96% of transgenders have to resort to sex work or begging for survival. 
• The study also highlighted how 92% of transgenders are deprived of their right to participate in any kind of economic activity. The Aravani Art Project aims to change this. 
• Besides splashing walls across cities, including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Pune, among others, the collective has previously collaborated with brands like Uber, Wingreens World and Walkers & Co. 

News & updates

• Job cuts: Citigroup will cut 20,000 jobs over the next two years, CFO Mark Mason said on Friday after the bank reported a $1.8 billion loss for the fourth quarter. The lender currently has 239,000 employees worldwide.
• Gigantic: Astronomers have discovered a ring-shaped cosmic megastructure, the proportions of which challenge existing theories of the universe. The so-called Big Ring has a diameter of about 1.3 billion light-years, making it among the largest structures ever observed.
• Scandal: SBI Holdings Inc.’s brokerage arm was temporarily banned from some trades related to IPOs after Japan’s financial regulator said it manipulated stocks, in the country’s second major trading scandal in recent years.

Which modern company was born after Thomas Alva Edison’s company Edison Electric merged with another firm in 1892?

Answer: General Electric (GE). Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company was incorporated in 1892 following a series of mergers between various companies owned and operated by Thomas Alva Edison and the Thomson-Houston Electric Company.

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