Swiggy Axes SNACC, RIL’s $110 Bn AI War Chest & More

Swiggy Shutters SNACC

Swiggy has pulled the plug on its 15-minute food delivery app, SNACC. While the foodtech major internally suggested that a product-market fit was emerging for the vertical, the reality of high operational costs forced a retreat. So, why did Swiggy shut down SNACC?

The Flailing Economics: Launched as a pilot in Bengaluru and Gurugram last year, SNACC offered snacks, breakfast, and bakery items in under 15 minutes. In an internal memo, Swiggy said that while users liked the service, the broader economics simply didn’t work. 

What this means is that margins on a ₹200 snack order often turn negative when one factors in rentals, specialised packaging to keep food fresh, and the cost of dedicated riders. 

Bitter After-Taste: It seems that Swiggy did not learn from its peers. Eternal shut down 15-minute snack delivery service, Zomato Quick, last year, citing issues with unit economics. While its Blinkit Bistro service continues to remain operational, the vertical reported a loss of ₹150 Cr in Q3 FY26. 

Zepto, too, has been scaling down the operations of its “Cafe” service amid heavy burn, while quick food delivery-focussed Zing shuttered its operations last year. 

Swiggy’s Pruning Spree: For the Sriharsha Majety-led foodtech major, this isn’t an isolated incident. SNACC joins a growing list of Swiggy’s discontinued side quests:

• Professional services marketplace Pyng
• SaaS platform Minis 
• Hyperlocal delivery service Genie 

Bleeding Red: Swiggy has been winding down non-performing verticals to rein in losses amid intensifying competition in the quick commerce arena. The foodtech giant’s revenue surged 54% YoY to ₹6,148 Cr in Q3 FY26 at the cost of a 33% YoY rise in its net loss to ₹1,065 Cr. Largely to blame for this has been aggressive dark store expansion and growing competition from new entrants like Reliance Retail, Flipkart Minutes and Amazon.

As the quick food delivery saga continues to play out, why was Swiggy forced to kill SNACC? Let’s find out… 

From The Editor’s Desk

Reliance’s $110 Bn AI War Chest

• The Indian conglomerate, along with its digital arm Jio Platforms, will invest ₹10 Lakh Cr to build India’s sovereign AI stack over the next seven years. 
• As part of its AI pitch, Reliance plans to operationalise a multi-gigawatt data centre in Gujarat’s Jamnagar by the end of 2026. In addition, Jio Intelligence will also launch an Edge compute layer to deliver multilingual AI for agriculture and education use cases.
• Meanwhile, Reliance’s OTT platform JioHotstar also announced a partnership with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT-powered multilingual search to the streaming app and enable voice-based content discovery.

Klassroom Files DRHP 

• The edtech startup has filed its draft IPO papers with the BSE for an SME IPO, which will comprise a fresh issue of up to 19.89 Lakh shares and an OFS component of up to 4.66 Lakh shares. 
• The startup’s three cofounders plan to offload the biggest chunk of shares (3.5 Lakh) via the OFS. If the IPO materialises, Klassroom will become the second listed Indian edtech company after PhysicsWallah. 
• Founded in 2016, Klassroom blends 30 offline centres with an AI-powered OTT app that offers 100+ courses for classes 8-12. On the financial front, the company reported an operating revenue of ₹12.4 Cr in H1 FY26, while net profit stood at ₹4 Cr. 

CoinDCX’s ₹111 Cr ESOP Buyback

• The crypto exchange has rolled out its “largest-ever” ESOP buyback initiative, which will enable 500 current and former employees to convert stock options into cash. This comes five months after the company raised funding from Coinbase at a $2.5 Bn valuation.
• Founded in 2018, CoinDCX allows users to trade in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The platform claims to clock quarterly trading volumes of over ₹2.4 Lakh Cr. 
• CoinDCX’s buyback follows a year of robust ESOP buybacks in India. As many as 12 startups enabled over 9,200 employees to unlock about ₹1,409 Cr via ESOP liquidity events last year to reward and retain talent.

OpenAI Shores Up India Stack

• The ChatGPT parent will open new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru later this year as part of its push to deepen its presence in India. 
• The AI juggernaut also announced a partnership to utilise Tata Group’s data centre capacity to run its AI models locally. Starting with 100 MW of capacity, OpenAI plans to potentially scale the number to 1 GW over time. 
• The AI major will also provide over 1 Lakh ChatGPT Edu licences to educational institutions, and will focus on embedding AI into teaching, research and campus operations. 

Portkey Nets $15 Mn

• The SaaS startup has raised ₹136 Cr in its Series A round led by Elevation Capital to expand its product stack and scale its go-to-market strategy.
• Founded in 2023, Portkey offers an AI gateway for more than 1,600 LLMs, combining governance, observability and cost controls. Including the current round, the startup has raised more than $18 Mn to date.
• As enterprises embed AI across operations, Portkey is eyeing a piece of the global LLM spending, which is projected to become a $250 Bn opportunity by 2030.

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

Inside Flamingo’s Bet To Develop Made-In-India Jets

India’s aviation sector relies heavily on imported components. This stifles local innovation and inflates costs for airlines and defence companies. Flamingo Aerospace is looking to change this by building such end-to-end manufacturing capabilities in India. 

Made-In-India Jets: Founded in 2022, the deeptech startup is building an indigenous aircraft platform. Besides this, the company is also developing avionics systems and flight simulation technology. It is also investing in assembly, maintenance, repair, and overhaul capabilities for aircraft components and systems. 

Aiming For The Skies: Earlier this year, Flamingo conducted a demo flight at Hyderabad’s Begumpet Airport, showcasing its operational readiness. It simultaneously signed a partnership with United Aircraft Corporation to co-develop and supply aircraft. This deal bolsters technical expertise and manufacturing for domestic and export markets.

Indigenous Advantage: Flamingo’s localised production promises cost reductions, positioning the startup as a manufacturer that can strengthen India’s aerospace supply chain. With India’s commercial aviation and components market set to cross $61 Bn by 2030, can Flamingo dominate India’s skies with fully indigenous jets? 

Infographic Of The Day

The new leaders of India’s consumer internet story are here.

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