2 days ago
Bizongo under criminal lens; Meesho files IPO papers
Bizongo under criminal lens; Meesho files IPO papers
Also in the letter:
TradeCred files criminal complaint against Bizongo, alleges Rs 69 crore fund misappropriation
Go deeper:
This, the TradeCred claims, constitutes a double recovery — where Bizongo benefitted from both upfront invoice financing and the final payment from customers.
Context:
Responding to allegations:
The big picture:
Meesho files confidential prospectus for its IPO
Driving the news:
Tell me more:
Zoom in:
Foxconn recalls Chinese staff from India, disrupting Apple's iPhone 17 plans
Driving the news:
Apple's bind:
India's dilemma:
Also Read:
Tech layoffs: Microsoft, TikTok lead latest round of job cuts
Axing again:
Google, Meta, and Amazon announced hundreds of redundancies in the first half of the year as part of broader cost-cutting efforts.
Efficiency game:
Silicon Valley fumes as Indian techie Soham Parekh works multiple founders
The long con:
The alert:
Avalanche:
Soham-gate:
Invoice discounting platform TradeCred has filed a criminal complaint against Bizongo for alleged misappropriation of funds. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.■ Apple teeters under China pressure■ Microsoft, TikTok layoffs■ Indian techie's 'side hustle'TradeCred has filed a criminal complaint against Bizongo , accusing the startup of misappropriating at least Rs 69 crore. The complaint, submitted to the Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing, names Bizongo's founders, CEO, and major investors, including Accel, B Capital, Chiratae, and receiving funds from invoice buyers via a controlled escrow mechanism, Bizongo allegedly collected the actual payments from customers directly into its own bank accounts rather than routing them through designated escrow accounts as contractually required, as per TradeCred's has already come under fire for weak financial controls, which triggered senior exits and a pivot away from supply chain financing. The latest dispute highlights growing concerns about governance in India's booming private credit and invoice discounting said that it has been repaying its dues to TradeCred and has reduced the outstanding principal from Rs 250 crore to Rs 66 crore now. The company said it has already presented a settlement plan to case shines a light on how fast-paced growth and opaque business models in startup-led finance can leave retail investors dangerously exposed. TradeCred's move could trigger oversight of platforms offering invoice-based investment unicorn Meesho has confidentially filed its draft red herring prospectus with Sebi for a Rs 4,250 crore ($500 million) by SoftBank and Prosus, Meesho recently moved its domicile from the US to India. The company reported revenue of Rs 7,615 crore for FY24, a 33% year-on-year increase, while slashing its adjusted loss by 97% to Rs 53 joins a growing queue of Indian tech firms gearing up to go public, including Groww, Pine Labs, and Urban Company. In FY25, the company processed 1.8 billion orders, demonstrating strong user adoption despite facing valuation all goes to plan, Meesho could become the first horizontal ecommerce platform to list on Indian exchanges. The IPO will be closely watched as a barometer for public investor interest in the scaled consumer businesses, ahead of Flipkart's much-anticipated listing next Donald Trump's threat to slap tariffs on Apple products manufactured outside the US has jolted the tech giant's global supply chain. China, sensing an opportunity, is moving fast to stymie Apple's India Apple's largest supplier, has quietly withdrawn hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians from its Indian plants. Over 300 Chinese workers have exited Foxconn's iPhone assembly facilities in India in the past two months, according to Bloomberg. But Beijing isn't stopping is also curbing technology transfers and tightening controls on equipment exports to India and Southeast Asia, Apple's key hubs outside China. The goal is clear: protect China's long-term leverage if fresh trade walls go up in the relies on both a skilled workforce and high-end tech from China. So far, the impact has been limited, but it could worsen. New Delhi is betting on Apple to become a pillar of its manufacturing company is gearing up to make the iPhone 17. India already accounts for 20% of global iPhone output and was hoping to scale further. With Trump targeting Southeast Asia with higher tariffs, India appeared best placed to pick up the Vietnam, another key Apple outpost, has moved faster, striking a deal with Washington that allows duty-free American imports and caps tariffs on Vietnamese goods at 20%, far below Trump's proposed 46%. India, meanwhile, is still waiting for its interim trade agreement ahead of the July 9 second half of the year has begun much like the first, with more layoffs in the tech sector . Microsoft and TikTok are the latest to trim headcount as Big Tech continues to tighten is letting go of another 4% of its workforce, or around 9000 employees, just a month after cutting 6,000 roles . Bloomberg reports that King, its Barcelona-based gaming unit behind Candy Crush, is shedding 200 at TikTok, job cuts are expected at its ecommerce vertical, TikTok Shop. The company said it is undergoing 'organisational and personnel changes', aimed at boosting says it wants to flatten its organisational structure, reduce management layers, and sharpen its 'agility.' It's also funnelling big money into artificial intelligence (AI), which means shifting people and capital, and dropping also stated that the move follows "careful analysis of how to create more efficient operating models for the team's long-term growth."Soham ParekhWhile most engineers juggle one demanding job, Indian techie Soham Parekh managed to work with several startups at once—many backed by Y Combinator—without telling a soul.A graduate of the University of Mumbai and Georgia Institute of Technology in the US, Parekh had the credentials and the charm. He aced interviews, delivered work on time, and raised no flags. But his loyalty was split across Doshi, founder of Playground AI, Mixpanel and Mighty, blew the whistle on X. 'There's a guy named Soham Parekh (in India) who works at 3-4 startups at the same time. He's been preying on YC companies and more. Beware.'Doshi's post lit a fire. Founders piled in, saying they'd interviewed or even briefly hired Parekh. One employer messaged Doshi saying he'd just fired him after reading the caught in the storm, reached out to Doshi for advice. His message: 'Have I completely sabotaged my career?'
