Electric two-wheeler maker, Ather Energy, listed on the bourses on earlier in May, but its IPO was subscribed just 1.4X—a modest showing for a company once seen as a premium EV pioneer. The lukewarm response reflected investor fatigue, sparked by Ola Electric’s volatile stock performance, the Blusmart funding controversy, and global supply chain headwinds. Despite a strong product portfolio and a reputation for in-house innovation, Ather faces an increasingly crowded market and mounting pressure to scale.

IPO proceeds will fund a new manufacturing plant in Maharashtra, expanded R&D, and marketing—moves aimed at boosting capacity and competitiveness.

Yet, with subsidies shrinking and profitability still out of reach, Ather’s long-term success hinges on its ability to grow sustainably, reduce costs, and prove it’s more than just another EV startup riding a fading wave.

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Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.Listen to the latest episode of Two by Two here

Pyng, launched on 15 April, is quite a departure from Swiggy’s core food-focused business. The service marketplace, uncharted territory for Swiggy, is offering services of “verified professionals” (think therapists, chartered accountants, and even energy healers).

No, it’s not a modified version of Urban Company. At least, not yet. For one, the latter offers standardised services comprising blue collar workers.

But why exactly is Swiggy, a company with a market capitalisation of over Rs 80,000 crore, diversifying its business?

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Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.Listen to the latest episode of Two by Two here

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The landscape is pretty bleak. In the race to produce more Ivy League-worthy students, Indian schools are selectively opting to teach IB. Teachers, in turn, find themselves shifting between the Cambridge and IB syllabi, often trying out things they aren’t trained for. Students and parents, meanwhile, are running in circles trying to find an able tutor after spending Rs 5–20 lakh on their child’s education. It helps no one that there are just a handful of dedicated, IB-trained teachers in the whole of India who can help students with the demanding curriculum.

Enter Sparkl Edventure.

With Sparkl, the former CEO of Aakash Institute is betting on these schools' inadequacies and our obsession with private tutoring.

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Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.Listen to the latest episode of Two by Two here

Have a question for The Ken's next event on health, fitness and wellness? Here's your chance to help us shape the conversation: https://theken.typeform.com/to/bZhqWl2g