American investor Vanguard has sharply cut the fair value of Ola's parent company. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Mythos lands in India
■ India powers sovereign AI
■ AI hardware talent crunch
Vanguard marks Ola valuation down to $70 million, 99% lower from peak
US investment firm Vanguard has hacked the fair value of Ola parent ANI Technologies to just $70 million as of February 28 , as per its latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Why this matters: That number is about 99% below Ola’s peak $7.3 billion valuation, a near-total wipeout. The cut comes as Ola continues to lose ride-hailing market share to Rapido.
Why now? Funds such as Vanguard routinely reprice their private bets based on business performance, market conditions, and how comparable listed firms trade.
Tell me more: ANI Technologies’ revenue fell 42% to Rs 1,171 crore in FY25, while net loss nearly doubled to Rs 662.4 crore from Rs 328.7 crore a year earlier.
Vanguard now values ANI Technologies at less than its stake in Ola Electric: the firm’s 3.6% holding in the listed EV maker is worth about $73 million at Wednesday’s market price and exchange rate.
Déjà vu: In November 2025, Moody’s downgraded ANI Technologies and slapped it with a negative outlook, flagging weak operating performance, liquidity stress and worries over its loan obligations.
PCB makers seek 50% price hike as Iran war crushes supply chains
India's printed circuit board (PCB) makers are seeking a 45-50% price hike and lower import duties on key inputs, blaming runaway costs on the West Asia conflict.
Jargon buster: PCBs are the boards that hold components in place and create the electrical pathways that let them talk to each other.
What's happening? The India Printed Circuit Association (IPCA) has warned that localisation in the $7.27-billion domestic PCB industry could stall if manufacturers continue to swallow losses.
It says prices of some raw materials have jumped as much as 150% in the past six months, and has urged members to push for at least a 45-50% price increase from OEMs, EMS players and electronics brands.
Why now? Supply chains remain snarled more than 90 days into the Iran-Persian Gulf conflict. Air freight costs are up 40-50%, while delivery times for copper-clad laminates have stretched to 20 weeks from about four.
What next? IPCA plans to approach the commerce and electronics ministries, seeking tougher curbs on PCB imports and action against alleged evasion of anti-dumping duties on goods from China and Hong Kong, along with duty relief on imported raw materials.
Anthropic expanding Mythos AI model access to India: Report
AI startup Anthropic is expanding access to its advanced AI model, Mythos, to companies and institutions in more than 15 countries, including India , the Financial Times reported.
Access expansion: Anthropic said on Tuesday that about 150 organisations worldwide now have access to Mythos, a model known for quickly spotting cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The rollout spans India, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Background: The programme, called Project Glasswing , started with around 50 mostly US-based partners who tested the model’s capabilities and guardrails before a broader launch.
Early participants included Amazon, Google, Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks. By late May, they had used Mythos to uncover more than 10,000 serious security flaws that attackers could have exploited.
PM Modi's high stakes push for sovereign AI faces reality check
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with AI-powered smart glasses from Sarvam AI earlier this year highlighted India's ambition to build a sovereign AI ecosystem and reduce reliance on foreign technology.
The challenges:
- India generates nearly 20% of the world's data but has less than 5% of global AI computing power.
- More than $200 billion in AI infrastructure commitments have been announced, but much of the capacity will be built and operated by foreign cloud providers.
- India has fewer than 80,000 high-end GPUs, compared with roughly 100 times that number in the US.
- AI startups continue to face funding constraints, with firms such as Sarvam AI raising far less capital than leading Western rivals.
Why it matters: India aims to more than double its $4.3 trillion economy by 2030, with AI expected to significantly contribute to that growth. The technologies developed now will influence how AI is adopted in businesses, public services, and institutions, while also affecting the country's reliance on foreign platforms and infrastructure.
Also Read: India leading the pack in AI adoption: Microsoft's Puneet Chandok
Companies face hardware talent crunch amid AI boom
The AI boom isn't just short on model builders. Indian firms are also scrambling for AI hardware specialists who design, run and maintain the physical infrastructure behind these systems.
Number-wise: Recruiters and analysts report a surge in demand for robotics technicians (up 178% over three years), HVAC engineers (up 90%) and industrial automation technicians (up 45%).
Randstad estimates there are about 11,664 HVAC openings, more than 4,000 industrial automation roles and nearly 2,000 robotic engineer positions currently vacant.
Significance: Roughly a third of this demand comes from global capability centres (GCCs), data centre operators and advanced manufacturers. Data centres, smart factories, EV plants and robotics deployments all need precision cooling, rock-solid power and deep automation expertise.
Also Read: India’s AI edge will come from talent, not compute, says Snowflake CEO
For more news like this visit The Economic Times .
