Uber In The Corporate Lane, Fino’s Troubles & More

Uber’s Employee Mobility Play

Uber is trading its B2C comfort zone for India’s billion-dollar corporate commute market. As Global Capability Centres (GCCs) flood the country, the mobility giant is banking on its driver network and tech stack to disrupt the fragmented B2B industry. So, what’s driving Uber’s B2B push?

The GCC Gold Rush: India’s GCC ecosystem is projected to hit $100 Bn and employ 2.8 Mn people by 2030. As a result, traditional company buses and fragmented local fleets are struggling with 24/7 shift patterns, creating a massive opening for software-led disruption. For cost-conscious Indian enterprises, reliability, safety, and cost control have become as critical as the commute itself.

Uber’s entry into the employee transportation service (ETS) segment marks a pivot toward these dense, predictable demand centres. 

The Algo Advantage: Uber’s primary weapon is its routing engine. While legacy vendors often rely on manual scheduling, it uses dedicated algorithms to solve this last-mile puzzle. This optimisation promises fewer trips and lower costs per head. Simultaneously, it’s repackaging B2C staples, such as SOS buttons, live tracking and easy UX, to meet the stringent safety standards of corporate HR teams.

The Fleet Flex: Uber’s ETS bet also leans on its vast fleet network and a hybrid supply chain. By integrating its massive B2C network with dedicated B2B partners like Everest Fleet, drivers can stay active around the clock. Drivers handle predictable corporate peaks in the morning and evening, and then pivot to retail ride-hailing during the afternoon lull. 

The company is aiming to leverage this cross-utilisation to maximise earnings per vehicle, creating a scalable supply of vehicles that local, B2B-only operators simply cannot match.

Currently active in six metros that house 92% of India’s GCCs, Uber is positioning its ETS vertical as a major growth engine for FY26 and beyond. But, in a space where relationships have long outlasted digital disruptions, can Uber’s scale help it win the loyalty of India’s corporate titans? Let’s find out…

From The Editor’s Desk

Troubles Escalate For Fino

• The Telangana high court has dismissed the writ petition filed by the payments bank’s CEO, Rishi Gupta, seeking bail. The company has acknowledged the court’s order but is awaiting a copy of the judgment. 
• This comes a month after Gupta was arrested over alleged GST violations. A probe by DGGI revealed that the company’s CEO was among the “masterminds” of a syndicate that routed funds linked to illegal online gaming platforms via shell entities.
• Gupta had urged the HC to have his arrest and custody declared illegal and that he be released. The petition claimed that his arrest was illegal, high-handed and violative of Articles 14, 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution.

Groww Promoters Pledge Shares

• The listed investment tech unicorn’s promoter group entities — Mufasa, Thousand Oaks Trust and Fortune First Trust — have each pledged 62.5 Lakh shares, likely worth ₹302.3 Cr, to Aditya Birla Capital for personal reasons.
• The three entities are linked to Groww’s cofounders Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Ishan Bansal, and Neeraj Singh. The promoter group held about 27.8% stake in the company at the end of the December 2025 quarter. 
• The development comes as Groww has been diversifying into the asset management space. In January, the company agreed to sell a 23% stake in its AMC arm to SSIM for about ₹580 Cr, valuing the business at roughly ₹2,500 Cr.

LetzRyd Bags $4 Mn 

• The fleet management startup has raised nearly ₹38 Cr in a fresh funding round led by JIF Capital Ltd to accelerate expansion, enter new markets and scale its vehicle base. 
• Founded in 2023, LetzRyd leases its fleet of over 1,000 cars and drivers to ride-hailing platforms. Currently operational in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai, it plans to expand its operations to Delhi and Chennai soon. 
• The fundraise comes amid intensifying competition in the broader mobility market. While Uber invested ₹3,000 Cr in its Indian unit last month, the recently launched state-backed Bharat Taxi is also witnessing healthy traction. 

Decoding Wingify-Tasty AB Merger

• Earlier this year, the Everstone-owned SaaS major’s arm VWO merged with its French rival to create a $500 Mn global personalisation platform. The combined entity today clocks about $120 Mn in revenue and serves nearly 4,000 customers.
• Wingify is now in the middle of a complex integration, keeping both AB Tasty and its own VWO platform live for existing customers. However, it gradually plans to fuse capabilities and push towards a unified product over the next few quarters.
• Their customer profiles are complementary: AB Tasty is deeply embedded in large ecommerce enterprises, while VWO focuses on analytics. This mix has set up a cross-sell-heavy roadmap, diversifying both geography and segment exposure.

India’s $155 Bn Semicon Horizon

• India’s semiconductor ambitions are no longer theoretical. Buoyed by strong policy narrative, China+1 push and local innovation, Inc42 estimates that the country can become a $155 Bn semiconductor powerhouse by 2031.
• Despite the momentum, the ecosystem continues to be plagued by a lack of patient capital, long gestation periods and a dearth of push towards manufacturing AI-grade chips.
• Industry experts believe that Indian semiconductor startups right now need long-term and risk-tolerant funding, higher R&D spending by the government and high-end talent.

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How OneARVO Is Tackling The Counterfeit Menace

Counterfeit goods still seep through India’s supply chains, from pharma to auto components, because barcodes and paper trails are easy to copy or tamper with. OneARVO is building a traceability stack that turns every product into a verifiable digital asset. 

Fostering Traceability: Founded in 2023, OneARVO offers an end-to-end traceability platform for manufacturers. It assigns each product a tamper-proof smart label with an AI-generated code, which is also recorded as a token on a blockchain network. This creates a unique, immutable identity for every unit.

OneARVO’s Blockchain Layer: AI helps generate secure codes and analyse scan patterns for anomalies, while blockchain ensures an auditable history. In addition, the startup also leverages cameras and IoT-enabled scanners to flag mismatch, duplication, or tampering attempts. Together, they convert traditional batch-level tracking into item-level authentication, making counterfeiting significantly harder and recalls or investigations much faster.

Riding A Growing Market: The Bengaluru-based startup is eyeing a piece of the global product traceability solutions market, which is projected to become a $14.3 Bn opportunity by 2033. So, can OneARVO’s AI approach help restore trust and transparency in marketplaces?

Infographic Of The Day

Late to quick commerce, Flipkart is aggressively scaling up its dark store network and making up for the gap by leading on unit economics. But can Flipkart Minutes outrun the giants? 

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