Following India’s Operation Sindoor, social media platforms are battling fake content and disinformation. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Paytm’s Sebi settlement
■ Prosus’s $8.6 billion India bet
■ OpenAI’s new top hire
Social media platforms abuzz with fake posts on Operation Sindoor
As tensions rise between India and Pakistan, social media platforms are awash with false and misleading content linked to Operation Sindoor.
What’s happening: On Wednesday alone, hashtags such as #IndiaPakistanWar, #OperationSindoor, and #IndianArmy gained significant traction on X (formerly Twitter), with 215,000, 885,000, and 399,000 mentions, respectively.
Popular instance: A widely shared video claimed to show Pakistan shooting down an Indian fighter jet. However, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) clarified that the footage is from February 2025. It actually depicts the crash of an Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 during a routine training mission near Shivpuri, Gwalior—not a combat incident.
Meanwhile: Cybersecurity agencies at both the central and state levels remain on high alert. Authorities are preparing for a surge in cyber threats and disinformation campaigns. Experts have already detected early signs of increased threat activity targeting critical infrastructure—especially in the oil and gas, power, and telecom sectors—in border states and the national capital.
Also Read: Operation Sindoor: Government warns against Pakistan-sponsored social media propaganda
Porter joins unicorn club with $200 million funding round; valuation hits $1.2 billion
(L-R) Pranav Goel and Uttam Digga, cofounders, Porter
On-demand logistics platform Porter has raised $200 million in a funding round led by private equity firms Kedaara Capital and Wellington Management.
Deal details:
Valuation jump:
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO, Paytm
One 97 Communications (OCL), the parent company of digital payments platform Paytm, has settled a case with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) over stock allocations under its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Esop) involving founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma (VSS). The settlement was announced on May 8.
Key details of the settlement:
Cancellation of ESOPs:
Financial penalties:
Recovery of gains: Rs 35 lakh was recovered from the sale of 3,720 shares of OCL by Ajay.
OCL has confirmed that it has complied with all the terms imposed by Sebi.
Background and context: ET first reported on April 17 that OCL and the Sharma brothers had agreed to pay a fine of Rs 2.79 crore for violations during Paytm’s IPO. Ahead of the listing, VSS reclassified himself as a ‘non-promoter’ by reducing his stake to below 10%. However, Sebi noted that VSS devised a scheme to retain control by transferring 30.9 million shares to a family trust while effectively maintaining influence over the company.
Also Read: Paytm Q4 revenue drops 16%, losses persist: Key takeaways
Prosus has invested $8.6 billion in India, remains a key market: CEO Fabricio Bloisi
Fabricio Bloisi, CEO, Prosus
Dutch technology investment firm Prosus has invested $8.6 billion in India and continues to view the country as a key growth market, CEO Fabricio Bloisi said in a letter to shareholders on Thursday.
Recent activity:
Future outlook:
OpenAI has named Fidji Simo, current CEO of grocery delivery platform Instacart, as its chief executive of applications.
More details: Simo will join later this year and report to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who will continue to oversee the company as a whole. In her new role, she will lead OpenAI’s consumer-facing products, including ChatGPT. This move allows Altman to shift his focus on research, compute, and safety as the company advances towards its goal of “superintelligence.”
Asia push: OpenAI now offers data residency in India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Data from users of ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, and the OpenAI API will be stored locally, supporting businesses in complying with regional data sovereignty regulations when deploying AI services or building new solutions.
Recent developments: The announcement follows the launch of ‘OpenAI for Countries’, an initiative designed to help governments develop national AI infrastructure. The US government is among the first partners in this global programme.
Also in the letter:
■ Paytm’s Sebi settlement
■ Prosus’s $8.6 billion India bet
■ OpenAI’s new top hire
Social media platforms abuzz with fake posts on Operation Sindoor
As tensions rise between India and Pakistan, social media platforms are awash with false and misleading content linked to Operation Sindoor.
What’s happening: On Wednesday alone, hashtags such as #IndiaPakistanWar, #OperationSindoor, and #IndianArmy gained significant traction on X (formerly Twitter), with 215,000, 885,000, and 399,000 mentions, respectively.
- On Instagram and Facebook, numerous videos showing missile strikes and explosions went viral, many falsely attributed to Operation Sindoor.
- Fact-checking organisations have scrambled to review and verify a flood of posts across platforms in a bid to curb the spread of disinformation.
Popular instance: A widely shared video claimed to show Pakistan shooting down an Indian fighter jet. However, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) clarified that the footage is from February 2025. It actually depicts the crash of an Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 during a routine training mission near Shivpuri, Gwalior—not a combat incident.
Meanwhile: Cybersecurity agencies at both the central and state levels remain on high alert. Authorities are preparing for a surge in cyber threats and disinformation campaigns. Experts have already detected early signs of increased threat activity targeting critical infrastructure—especially in the oil and gas, power, and telecom sectors—in border states and the national capital.
Also Read: Operation Sindoor: Government warns against Pakistan-sponsored social media propaganda
Porter joins unicorn club with $200 million funding round; valuation hits $1.2 billion
On-demand logistics platform Porter has raised $200 million in a funding round led by private equity firms Kedaara Capital and Wellington Management.
Deal details:
- The round, comprising both primary and secondary transactions, has propelled Porter into the unicorn club with a $1.1–$1.2 billion valuation, according to people familiar with the matter.
- Early investor Peak XV Partners has fully exited as part of the deal. Kae Capital and Lightrock have partially sold their stakes.
- Vitruvian Partners, an existing backer, also participated.
- Approximately $140–150 million of the total came from secondary sales, with shares acquired from early-stage investors.
Valuation jump:
- Porter’s latest valuation is more than double of $500 million at which it was valued in a 2021 round led by Tiger Global.
- The valuation surge follows significant business growth for the Bengaluru-based company.
- Operating revenue for FY25 exceeded Rs 4,000 crore, up from Rs 2,766 crore in FY24, per sources.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO, Paytm One 97 Communications (OCL), the parent company of digital payments platform Paytm, has settled a case with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) over stock allocations under its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Esop) involving founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma (VSS). The settlement was announced on May 8.
Key details of the settlement:
- Bar on Esops: VSS will be barred from accepting new Esops from any listed company for the next three years.
- Fines: Sebi imposed a cumulative fine of approximately Rs 2.8 crore on three parties: OCL, VSS, and his brother Ajay Shekhar Sharma (Ajay).
Cancellation of ESOPs:
- 21 million Esops granted to VSS were cancelled.
- 222,862 Esops granted to Ajay were also cancelled.
Financial penalties:
- Rs 1.1 crore each on VSS and OCL.
- Rs 57 lakh on Ajay.
Recovery of gains: Rs 35 lakh was recovered from the sale of 3,720 shares of OCL by Ajay.
OCL has confirmed that it has complied with all the terms imposed by Sebi.
Background and context: ET first reported on April 17 that OCL and the Sharma brothers had agreed to pay a fine of Rs 2.79 crore for violations during Paytm’s IPO. Ahead of the listing, VSS reclassified himself as a ‘non-promoter’ by reducing his stake to below 10%. However, Sebi noted that VSS devised a scheme to retain control by transferring 30.9 million shares to a family trust while effectively maintaining influence over the company.
Also Read: Paytm Q4 revenue drops 16%, losses persist: Key takeaways
Prosus has invested $8.6 billion in India, remains a key market: CEO Fabricio Bloisi
Dutch technology investment firm Prosus has invested $8.6 billion in India and continues to view the country as a key growth market, CEO Fabricio Bloisi said in a letter to shareholders on Thursday.
Recent activity:
- Swiggy, a Prosus portfolio company, went public in November 2024. During the initial public offering (IPO), Prosus sold a 5% stake for over $500 million, recovering over half its total $1 billion investment.
- The firm also invested $30 million in bike taxi platform Rapido, which Bloisi said is growing at over 100% year-on-year in the ride-hailing segment and averaging three million rides daily.
- Prosus-backed Bluestone and Urban Company are preparing to go public, while ecommerce platform Meesho has appointed merchant bankers for its upcoming IPO.
Future outlook:
- In an earlier interaction with ET, Bloisi reaffirmed Prosus’ commitment to backing early-to-late-stage companies in India despite a $500 million write-off from Byju’s collapse.
- He said Prosus is exploring opportunities in generative AI, investing in online marketplaces, and supporting startups targeting the next 300 million users in India.
OpenAI has named Fidji Simo, current CEO of grocery delivery platform Instacart, as its chief executive of applications.
More details: Simo will join later this year and report to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who will continue to oversee the company as a whole. In her new role, she will lead OpenAI’s consumer-facing products, including ChatGPT. This move allows Altman to shift his focus on research, compute, and safety as the company advances towards its goal of “superintelligence.”
Asia push: OpenAI now offers data residency in India, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Data from users of ChatGPT Enterprise, ChatGPT Edu, and the OpenAI API will be stored locally, supporting businesses in complying with regional data sovereignty regulations when deploying AI services or building new solutions.
Recent developments: The announcement follows the launch of ‘OpenAI for Countries’, an initiative designed to help governments develop national AI infrastructure. The US government is among the first partners in this global programme.
