Good morning. Earlybird (aka. your favourite messenger hawk) is here, fetching you the latest on business, tech, and startups.

In this edition:

• 🍏 Mumbai’s new Apple store shoos away 22 competitors

• 🔎 Google hit with antitrust suits (again)

• 🔶 Ethereum to unlock $33B in new upgrade

MARKETS

*Stock data as of market close. Source.

• Markets: Are we on the other side? Because things are looking greener. Nifty rose above the 17,700 mark for the first time ever, as investors cheered positive global cues and strong corporate earnings. The market rally extended for the seventh straight day, with the Sensex rising 311 points to close at 59,191.

TECH

No room for rivals: India's first Apple store bans 22 brands from opening nearby

🍏 India's first-ever Apple retail store in Mumbai is set to open soon, and it looks like the tech giant is taking steps to dodge facing any direct competition from 22 other brands.

• The blacklist. The agreement reportedly mentions Amazon, Facebook, Google, LG, Microsoft, Sony, Twitter, Bose, Dell, Devialet, Foxconn, Garmin, Hitachi, HP, HTC, IBM, Intel, Lenovo, Nest, Panasonic, and Toshiba. If you’ve counted, that’s just 21 with the 22nd speculated as Samsung.

Apple’s monster lease

Apparently, Tim Cook & Co. pulled out all the stops to get their first store in India some prime real estate zoning:

• Apple has an over-11-year contract with the Mumbai Jio World Drive Mall

• On top of that, it carries a provision for a 15% rent increase every three years.

• A "minimum guarantee" of Rs 42 lakh per month is apparently something else that Apple is set to pay.

Are they gonna keep doing this? Apple Saket, which is set to open in Delhi on April 20 will be significantly smaller than its pilot counterpart. As of yet, no lease agreements in that area and future locations have been disclosed.

AUTO

Audi India announces hike on popular SUVs and sedans

🚗 [Screech to a halt] German luxury carmaker Audi has announced a price hike of up to 5% on its popular SUVs and sedans in India.

But why?

• The company cited rising input costs and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global supply chain as reasons for the increase.

• Audi's price hike is in line with other luxury carmakers in India, who have also recently announced increases due to rising costs. Mercedes Benz is waving in the background.

Which cars will sport a bigger price tag? Price hikes for the Audi Q3 and Q3 Sportback will be up to 1.6%, while increases for the Audi Q8 Celebration, Audi RS5, and Audi S5 will be up to 2.4%.

STARTUPS

Startups challenge Google's new billing system in court

👉️ A group of Indian startups have taken on tech giant Google in court, challenging the company's new policy on its in-app billing system. Here’s some context:

• Last month, the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) requested that the Indian antitrust authority look into Google's new billing system that they claim would charge them high service fees.

• In a recent (744-page) filing, a group of Indian entrepreneurs made a court request to halt Google's new in-app charging charge structure while the investigation is ongoing.

• As Google's April 26 implementation date for the so-called User Choice Billing system (UCB) draws near, ADIF claims that the antitrust authority has not yet heard their case.

The lawsuit marks the latest exchange between Google and other business entities, who have long blasted the US corporation for what the former claim are unfair commercial limitations.

INDIA EDITION: WHAT ELSE IS ON THE BIRDWATCH

• 🚗 Euler Motors unloads 10% of its crew. Euler Motors, has trimmed 10% (around 180-200) of its workforce within six months of raising $60M. Despite the funding boost, Euler Motors has faced a bit of a speed bump in its growth journey, with its latest restructuring plans.

• 🚘️ Mercedes crushes March quarter sales. Mercedes-Benz India has announced record-breaking sales in the March quarter, selling 4,697 units of their very pretty cars. The company attributed the 34% jump to strong demand for its hybrid AMG GT 63 S E performance model and other top-end vehicles.

• 💸 Private equity funding runs thin. Private equity inflows in India plunged by over 75% in the first quarter of 2023, falling to a new 3-year low of just $2.2 billion.

FUNDING DEALS

Catch up on the Indian funding flows from the past 24hrs:

• Mayhem Studios, a game development studio owned by Mobile Premier League (MPL), has raised $20M in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital. The new loot will be used to level up its team and develop new games.

• OfficeBanao, an e-commerce platform for workspace interiors, has secured $6M in seed funding from VC firm Lightspeed to develop its technology, expand its product offerings, and scale its operations.

WORLD

Headline Explorer

🔶 Ethereum upgrade to set loose $33B in staked crypto. Ethereum, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, is set to undergo a major upgrade called “Shapella“, which will unlock over $33B worth of ETH. These are coins that had been locked up within the network in exchange for those tasty staking rewards.

🔎 S. Korean watchdog fines Google $32M. Google has been hit with a fine of $32M by South Korea's antitrust regulator for allegedly obstructing the release of games on rival platforms.

🤖 Alibaba joins AI arms race. Alibaba is set to launch its own AI-powered chatbot, Tongyi Qianwen, in the ‘near future’. Although little has been released on the timeline, the chatbot is expected to integrate across Alibaba's businesses.

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