Apple Pay’s India challenge; TCS hiring push

Happy Tuesday! Apple Pay faces pricing challenges as it works to launch in India. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ Gig workforce crunch
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ AWS eyes India expansion

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Apple Pay’s entry into India is running into pricing friction, even as the company revives talks with local banks.

Driving the news: Apple Pay is in discussions to launch its service, but negotiations are slow as banks push back on high commission expectations, sources told us.

The gap:

• Globally, Apple charges 15–20 basis points on credit card transactions.
• In India, fees are closer to around 5 basis points.

This mismatch makes Apple’s model harder to replicate in a low-merchant-discount-rate, price-sensitive market.

For large banks, sharing a meaningful slice of already thin payment revenues is a tough sell, especially when margins are tightly regulated.

Take two: Apple had explored India earlier, but talks stalled over two-factor authentication norms. With the RBI now allowing alternate verification methods, sources said, discussions have resumed.

The play: With around 9% smartphone market share in India, Apple is targeting premium users, using payments as a gateway to financial services.

Also Read: Apple's low-price play lifts India market share

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Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is rolling out a new lateral hiring programme as it retools its workforce for an AI-led future.

Hiring details:

• It is targeting technology professionals with 2–4 years of experience.
• The company is offering salaries of up to Rs 9 lakh per annum.
• It is also providing a Rs 50,000 bonus to candidates who join within 30 days of selection.

Skill requirements: Applicants are expected to have hands-on experience in at least one of several key technologies, including Java, C++, Python, SQL, .NET, Embedded C, and AngularJS, among others

• The hiring process will involve a three-stage selection, including an online assessment followed by in-person discussions.

Rival watch: Infosys has also stepped up hiring, targeting early-career talent with packages of up to Rs 21 lakh, along with bonuses, for candidates with around a year of experience.

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Food delivery and quick commerce firms are gearing up for a seasonal surge in demand but face unpredictable rider availability this year.

What’s happening?

• Demand for gig workers may rise by around 25% during the summer and the IPL season.
• Harvest season and state elections in West Bengal and Kerala could pull riders back to their hometowns.
• Seasonal migration already tightens the supply each year.
• Platforms often raise incentives by about 15% during IPL to retain riders.
• Quick commerce expansion is also putting pressure on hiring.

Yes, but? Planning payouts is also becoming harder amid rising fuel prices, driven by tensions in the Middle East.

“While on one hand, fuel price increase will need to be compensated, the war may lead to a slowdown in manufacturing due to the unavailability of raw materials. If that happens, labourers from the manufacturing sectors could end up creating an oversupply in the delivery gig workforce,” a senior logistics executive said. “So, it is too early to predict if the payouts will increase.”

Executive speak: Zepto chief operating officer Vikas Sharma said the company is scaling both dark stores and workforce, using AI-led demand forecasting and route optimisation, alongside heat allowances and flexible shifts during peak hours.

Karan Taurani, executive vice president at Elara Capital, added that Zomato’s recent platform fee increase could help protect margins if fuel prices continue to rise.

Also Read: Food delivery under pressure as more restaurants run out of LPG cylinders

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(L-R) Saran S, Aniket Shah and Ujjwal Sukheja, founders, Swish

Food delivery startup Swish has raised $38 million in a new funding round led by UK-based Hara Global and Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Accel and others.

Round details:

• CEO Aniket Shah told us that existing investors Hara Global and Accel also raised venture debt from Alteria Capital and Stride Ventures as a part of this round.
• Funds will be used to grow the team, expand to new cities, and invest in kitchen automation and supply chain infrastructure.
• Valuation has risen to about $140 million, more than double its $60 million valuation at the March 2025 funding round.
• Total funding so far stands at around $54 million

Sector update: The food delivery sector, which had slowed in recent years, is now showing signs of recovery. Zomato and Swiggy have reported stronger growth, while new players like Rapido’s Ownly and Flipkart are entering and expanding in the space.


Naresh Krishnaswamy, CEO and Mukesh Bansal, founder, Cultfit

Bengaluru-based Cultfit has secured $47 million (Rs 440 crore) in fresh funding from Singapore-based Temasek through its arm MacRitchie, as per Registrar of Companies (RoC) filings.

Tell me more: The company has raised new funds after a two-year gap. Its previous round in 2024 brought in $10.2 million, led by Valecha Investments, valuing the firm at over $1.5 billion.

• As part of the latest funding, Cultfit’s board approved the allotment of over 90 lakh shares at Rs 483.62 each to Temasek, according to the filings.

Overall, the company has raised more than $650 million so far from investors such as Accel, Temasek, Chiratae, and Kalaari Capital.

Also Read: Nuclear fusion startup Pranos raises $6.8 million in round co-led by Pi Ventures, Ankur Capital

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AWS eyeing 2-3 gigawatts India capacity: Cloud service provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ramping up its data centre capacity in India, with expansion plans across Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Micro dramas fastest-growing video segment: Report | The market for micro dramas, which are short, episodic, mobile-first video content, is projected to grow to $4.5 billion by 2030, implying 31% annualised growth, outstripping traditional over-the-top (OTT) and other video formats, says a report by the venture capital (VC) firm Lumikai.

Taking stock of India’s 10 semiconductor projects under ISM 1.0: India’s semiconductor ambitions are entering a decisive execution phase. As of late 2025-early 2026, 10 projects worth Rs 1.6 lakh crore have been approved across six states: spanning fabs, OSAT/ATMP units, and specialty semiconductor facilities.

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