Udaan to buy Swiggy’s Lynk; India’s BRICS tech push

Thank you for subscribing to Daily Top 5We'll soon meet in your inbox. Daily Top 5Udaan to buy Swiggy's Lynk; India's BRICS tech push Thank you for subscribing to Daily Top 5We'll soon meet in your inbox. Udaan is set to acquire Swiggy-owned Lynk Logistics.

This and more in today's ETtech Top 5. Udaan to acquire Swiggy-owned retail distribution company Lynk Logistics B2B ecommerce firm Udaan is set to acquire retail distribution company Lynk Logistics from food delivery major Swiggy, according to a company statement.

The transaction values Lynk Logistics at Rs 500 crore, with Swiggy set to receive a 2.8% stake in Udaan.Swiggy will also invest Rs 75 crore in Udaan for an additional 0.4% stake.Swiggy acquired Lynk Logistics in 2023 through an all-stock transaction.

The primary capital infusion being made by Swiggy values Udaan at Rs 18,750 crore (around $1.9 billion).The acquisition comes less than two months after Udaan raised $160 million through a mix of fresh equity, debt and debt-to-equity conversion.

CEOSpeak: "The acquisition of Lynk further strengthens our business and expands our presence across some of India’s most important consumption markets," Udaan cofounder and CEO Vaibhav Gupta, said in a statement. Voice AI startup Navana raises Rs 40 crore from Ronnie Screwvala, others Voice AI startup Navana has raised Rs 40 crore in a round led by entrepreneur and investor Ronnie Screwvala.

Round details: The funding also saw participation from existing and new investors, including Antler India, Neysa founder and CEO Sharad Sanghi, Avaana Capital's Sandeep Singhal, and Aureolis Ventures founding partner Paula Mariwala.

Navana will use the funds to expand its presence in the BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) sector and invest in speech models for Indian languages and dialects. It also plans to strengthen its AI contact centre and automated quality evaluation products.

India will seek stronger research ties and government partnerships in artificial intelligence, advanced computing, quantum technologies, and semiconductor materials at the upcoming BRICS summit. Driving the news: India aims to complete several major projects during its chairmanship of the 11-country bloc.

For instance, the Global Research Advanced Infrastructure Network (GRAIN) will give researchers shared access to high-performance computing systems and supercomputers.The proposed Startup Innovation Fund and Incubator Network will connect chip design and deeptech startups across member countries.

Quote, unquote: “In all these areas, we have aimed to mirror the success of our domestic policies,” an official said. “Other nations are keen to establish frameworks similar to AIkosh — our national, centralised platform for non-personal datasets — and AI models, or our onboarding of over 38,000 high-performance graphics processing units in our common compute facility under the IndiaAI Mission.” Ethical AI: India will also work to strengthen a shared BRICS framework for responsible and human-centric AI.

The focus will include AI safety, bias mitigation, cybersecurity, and data protection, officials said.