Could India’s AI Ecosystem Follow DeepSeek?

• Indian stock market benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty 50, ended their two-day losing streak on Tuesday, January 28, closing in positive territory. Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services indices surged nearly 2% after the RBI introduced forex and money market measures expected to infuse ₹1.5 trillion over time. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finance emerged as the top contributors to the gains in Sensex and Nifty 50.

• The RBI announced plans to purchase government securities worth ₹60,000 crore through OMOs, conducted in three tranches of ₹20,000 crore each on January 30, February 13, and February 20.

Union Bank of India +4.73%

• Union Bank of India shares jumped 7% following a strong December quarter performance, marked by improved asset quality and a 28.2% YoY rise in net profit to ₹4,603.6 crore for Q3 FY25.

• The profit growth was driven by reduced provisions and higher-than-expected other income.

Anant Raj (20.00%)

• Shares of Anant Raj hit a 20% lower circuit amid a global tech stock sell-off triggered by the rise of China's low-cost AI startup DeepSeek, which poses a significant challenge to the dominance of US artificial intelligence companies.

• Cred joins RBI's digital currency project, becoming the first fintech to offer access to CBDC. (ET)

• Lower budget borrowing could further strengthen India's liquidity optimism. (ET)

In Case You Missed It:
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup founded in 2023, is shaking up the AI industry. Known for its efficient and low-cost open-source language models, its DeepSeek-R1 rivals ChatGPT’s capabilities but was developed for just $5.6M using "mixture of experts" (MoE) architecture.

This month, DeepSeek's free chatbot app surpassed ChatGPT as the most-downloaded app in the U.S., disrupting the market and causing Nvidia's share price to drop 18%.

• What is DeepSeek? (SKY)

• Can India’s AI Ecosystem Model Itself After China’s DeepSeek? (Inc42)

• Droom to file draft papers for ₹1,000 crore ($116Mn) IPO. (MC)

• Dr. Agarwal's Health Care raises ₹875.5 crore ($101Mn) via anchor book. (MC)

This week’s mainboard IPO schedule

• Dr Agarwals Healthcare

  • Offering Period: 29 January - 31 January, 2025

  • Listing Date: 05 February, 2025

  • Issue Price: 382-402

  • Lot Size: 35

M&A / Investments

• Adani Group secures CCI approval to acquire a majority stake in ITD Cementation for ₹5,757 crore ($667Mn). (BS)

• Hatsun Agro acquires Milk Mantra for ₹233 crore ($27Mn). (BS)

• OYO’s Innov8 raises ₹110 crore ($12.7Mn) at a ₹1,000 crore ($116Mn) valuation. (EN)

Debt

• Tata's Jaguar Land Rover plans to raise ₹4,310 crore ($500Mn) via an offshore loan. (BS)

• Union Bank of India puts 41 NPAs worth ₹1,561 crore ($181Mn) up for sale. (ET)

• Mukka Proteins to raise ₹60 crore ($7Mn) in debt funding from Tata Capital. (YS)

VC

• Veloce Opportunities Fund surpasses ₹140 crore ($16.2Mn). (YS)