Escalating tensions in West Asia are prompting major cloud providers like Microsoft Azure and AWS to seek safer locations for critical data center workloads, with India and Singapore emerging as key alternative hubs. This potential shift, driven by recent infrastructure disruptions in the Gulf, could accelerate long-term data center investment in India.
Despite rapid growth in monthly orders, India's instant househelp platforms like Urban Company, Snabbit, and Pronto are facing investor scrutiny over their high customer acquisition costs and unclear long-term unit economics. Their collective monthly burn rate has increased significantly as they spend aggressively to gain market share.
Online food delivery and quick-commerce platforms saw a surge in demand during the high-profile Men's T20 World Cup final, as fans ordered in while watching the match.
Main topics: Geopolitical impact on cloud infrastructure; Economics of instant home services in India; Consumer behavior during a major sporting event.
Business News›Tech›Newsletters›Morning Dispatch›Gulf crisis weighs on hyperscalers; Instant help’s costly blitz
Gulf crisis weighs on hyperscalers; Instant help’s costly blitz
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Happy Monday! Hyperscalers are seeking safe havens for data centre ops outside of West Asia. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ Qcomm’s match-day economics
■ Easebuzz in talks to raise funds
■ Impact on IT roles
Escalating tensions in West Asia are prompting hyperscalers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to explore safer locations for critical data centre workloads.
Driving the news: Industry sources said the companies are considering redirecting workloads from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman to alternative hubs, including India and Singapore.
“Immediate capacity is being sought in locations including Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kochi to reroute critical workloads, especially for banking clients,” an infrastructure company executive told us. “Keeping latency in mind, these are the best-suited locations.”
India and Singapore also benefit from robust subsea cable connectivity, enabling strong eastbound traffic flows, while European hubs handle westbound data routes.
Also Read: Iran-Israel war: AI-hit tech companies fear slowdown in spends
Disruption: Recent attacks have already affected infrastructure in the region:
There are also reports that a Microsoft Azure facility in Tehran may have been hit, but the company has announced no disruptions yet.
India way: While the relocations may initially be temporary, the shift could accelerate long-term data centre investment in India, where Reliance, Adani, Tata, and global cloud providers are expanding infrastructure.
Also Read: Iran-Israel war: Electronics exports of $4.5 billion at risk
(L-R) Urban Company's Abhiraj Bhal, Snabbit's Aayush Aggarwal and Pronto's Anjali Sardana
India’s emerging 10-minute househelp segment is scaling quickly, but investors are seeking clearer answers on long-term economics.
Driving the news: Market leaders Urban Company, Snabbit and Pronto together recorded over 2 million monthly orders in February, up sharply from 1.3 million in December, helped by expansion into new cities and micro-markets.
To accelerate adoption, platforms are spending aggressively on incentives and local marketing.
Also Read: InstaHelp must double average order value to break even: Urban Company
Growing wary: Despite the rapid growth, investors are increasingly focused on the cost structure. Industry estimates suggest collective monthly burn rose from $7-8 million in December to nearly $10-11 million in February as companies ramped up user acquisition.
Backers in both public and private markets are also questioning the true size of the total addressable market and whether unit economics will improve at scale.
By the numbers:
Verbatim: “Early scale-up in the segment has been encouraging, but even after nearly a year, we haven’t seen these services become a primary use case for most users,” said a venture capital investor in this space.
Analysts say the category’s high frequency usage could eventually help platforms cross-sell other home services.
The burning question: UC CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal had told investors earlier that it is too early to judge Instahelp's economics.
Pronto founder Anjali Sardana said the company is prioritising quality, frequency and retention, adding that $8 million burn in the first year reflects “cost discipline.”
Also Read: ETtech in-depth: Instant househelp demand triples as industry scrambles to crack economics
Online food and quick commerce platforms reported a surge in demand during Sunday’s Men’s T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand, as fans remained glued to their screens to watch the high-profile clash.
The prep: Quick commerce platforms began preparing days in advance, pushing match-themed offers and match-night essentials.
Demand followed the match:
Food delivery: Restaurant orders are also picked up during the game, especially for cloud kitchens and delivery-focused outlets.
However, the surge was uneven. Some regions reported early demand that fell short of expectations, while others faced rider shortages, making it harder for platforms to keep up with last-minute match orders.
Rohit Prasad, MD, Easebuzz
Pune-based digital payment processor Easebuzz is in talks to raise approximately Rs 200 to 300 crore in a new funding round, sources told us.
Deal details:
Tell me more:
Also Read: How digital payments company Easebuzz quietly broke into the big league
AI software plugins may weigh on IT jobs: Industry experts say that although the influence of Anthropic's software plugins on IT services is still being discussed, the release of these tools is expected to impact specific roles within the industry in the next 12-18 months.
AI may push more women out of workforce: AI could disproportionately reduce Indian women's workforce participation by affecting their concentration in automatable service roles and informal employment, according to a report.
■ The future of Iran’s internet is more uncertain than ever (Wired)
■ Samsung seeks AI deals to challenge Apple’s smartphone lead (FT)
■ Meta’s Oversight Board races to govern the AI surge (Rest of World)
Also in the letter:
■ Qcomm’s match-day economics
■ Easebuzz in talks to raise funds
■ Impact on IT roles
War clouds over cloud companies
Escalating tensions in West Asia are prompting hyperscalers such as Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to explore safer locations for critical data centre workloads.
Driving the news: Industry sources said the companies are considering redirecting workloads from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman to alternative hubs, including India and Singapore.
“Immediate capacity is being sought in locations including Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kochi to reroute critical workloads, especially for banking clients,” an infrastructure company executive told us. “Keeping latency in mind, these are the best-suited locations.”
India and Singapore also benefit from robust subsea cable connectivity, enabling strong eastbound traffic flows, while European hubs handle westbound data routes.
Also Read: Iran-Israel war: AI-hit tech companies fear slowdown in spends
Disruption: Recent attacks have already affected infrastructure in the region:
- On March 2, strikes hit two AWS data centres in the UAE and one in Bahrain, disrupting local banking apps, airport systems in Dubai and Kuwait, and the UAE stock exchange.
There are also reports that a Microsoft Azure facility in Tehran may have been hit, but the company has announced no disruptions yet.
India way: While the relocations may initially be temporary, the shift could accelerate long-term data centre investment in India, where Reliance, Adani, Tata, and global cloud providers are expanding infrastructure.
Also Read: Iran-Israel war: Electronics exports of $4.5 billion at risk
Househelp apps top 2 million monthly orders amid profitability questions
(L-R) Urban Company's Abhiraj Bhal, Snabbit's Aayush Aggarwal and Pronto's Anjali Sardana
India’s emerging 10-minute househelp segment is scaling quickly, but investors are seeking clearer answers on long-term economics.
Driving the news: Market leaders Urban Company, Snabbit and Pronto together recorded over 2 million monthly orders in February, up sharply from 1.3 million in December, helped by expansion into new cities and micro-markets.
To accelerate adoption, platforms are spending aggressively on incentives and local marketing.
- Urban Company has rolled out housing society campaigns in Delhi, distributing household products to encourage trials of its Instahelp service.
Also Read: InstaHelp must double average order value to break even: Urban Company
Growing wary: Despite the rapid growth, investors are increasingly focused on the cost structure. Industry estimates suggest collective monthly burn rose from $7-8 million in December to nearly $10-11 million in February as companies ramped up user acquisition.
Backers in both public and private markets are also questioning the true size of the total addressable market and whether unit economics will improve at scale.
By the numbers:
- Urban Company: about 840,000-850,000 orders in February
- Snabbit: roughly 830,000 bookings.
- Pronto: around 340,000 orders.
Verbatim: “Early scale-up in the segment has been encouraging, but even after nearly a year, we haven’t seen these services become a primary use case for most users,” said a venture capital investor in this space.
Analysts say the category’s high frequency usage could eventually help platforms cross-sell other home services.
The burning question: UC CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal had told investors earlier that it is too early to judge Instahelp's economics.
Pronto founder Anjali Sardana said the company is prioritising quality, frequency and retention, adding that $8 million burn in the first year reflects “cost discipline.”
Also Read: ETtech in-depth: Instant househelp demand triples as industry scrambles to crack economics
Food and quick commerce apps see match-day order rush
Online food and quick commerce platforms reported a surge in demand during Sunday’s Men’s T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand, as fans remained glued to their screens to watch the high-profile clash.
The prep: Quick commerce platforms began preparing days in advance, pushing match-themed offers and match-night essentials.
- Zomato rolled out a three-day weekend offer starting Friday.
- Swiggy promoted a 'Rs 75 cash back' offer and interactive 'predict and win' games tied to the match.
- Quick commerce apps created match corners featuring Team India jerseys, snacks, beverages, and party supplies.
Demand followed the match:
- Tata-owned BigBasket reported a 50% jump in orders compared with business-as-usual levels by 6 pm.
- Flipkart Minutes recorded about 12% growth after the first innings.
Food delivery: Restaurant orders are also picked up during the game, especially for cloud kitchens and delivery-focused outlets.
However, the surge was uneven. Some regions reported early demand that fell short of expectations, while others faced rider shortages, making it harder for platforms to keep up with last-minute match orders.
Easebuzz in talks to raise Rs 300 crore, valuation may cross Rs 2,000 crore
Rohit Prasad, MD, Easebuzz
Pune-based digital payment processor Easebuzz is in talks to raise approximately Rs 200 to 300 crore in a new funding round, sources told us.
Deal details:
- The round could push the startup’s valuation above $250 million (Rs 2,300 crore).
- Easebuzz is still in discussions and yet to finalise a lead investor.
- The deal is expected to include both primary and secondary components.
- Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and 8i Ventures will participate.
Tell me more:
- Easebuzz operates a profitable payments processing business focused on select industry segments, competing with firms such as Razorpay, PayU and Paytm.
- The company reported Rs 650 crore in FY25 and a net profit of Rs 18 crore.
- Easebuzz is also preparing for a potential public listing in the next two to three years.
Also Read: How digital payments company Easebuzz quietly broke into the big league
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
AI software plugins may weigh on IT jobs: Industry experts say that although the influence of Anthropic's software plugins on IT services is still being discussed, the release of these tools is expected to impact specific roles within the industry in the next 12-18 months.
AI may push more women out of workforce: AI could disproportionately reduce Indian women's workforce participation by affecting their concentration in automatable service roles and informal employment, according to a report.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ The future of Iran’s internet is more uncertain than ever (Wired)
■ Samsung seeks AI deals to challenge Apple’s smartphone lead (FT)
■ Meta’s Oversight Board races to govern the AI surge (Rest of World)
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Thank you for subscribing to Morning Dispatch
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