The Iran crisis and Middle East conflict are disrupting commercial LPG supplies in India, leading restaurants to scale back operations and potentially reducing orders for food delivery platforms like Zomato and Swiggy. The government is prioritizing household LPG, causing restaurants to cut menu items, while quick commerce platforms see a spike in induction cooktop sales.
Apple has significantly ramped up iPhone production in India, which now accounts for about a quarter of its output, aided by government incentives under the PLI scheme.
AI company Anthropic is suing the U.S. government to stop the Pentagon from blacklisting it as a "supply chain risk," a designation stemming from its refusal to remove AI safeguards against military use, which it says threatens billions in revenue.
The main topics covered are: disruptions to Indian food delivery from LPG shortages, Apple's increased production in India, and Anthropic's legal battle with the U.S. government over AI military use.
Food delivery's war woes; Apple's India ramp up
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The Iran crisis will hit food delivery in India as limited cooking gas supplies impact restaurants. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Anthropic vs US govt
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Sebi settles cases with VCs
Food delivery platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Ownly could see a drop in orders as thousands of restaurants scale back operations amid a shortage of commercial cooking gas.
But why? The disruption follows a squeeze in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply after the escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
The government has temporarily restricted commercial LPG distribution in order to prioritise household consumption.
Tell me more: Industry groups say the shortage is already affecting restaurant operations across several cities.
What next? Restaurant and cloud kitchen owners in Bengaluru, Pune, and Delhi-NCR told ET that they are cutting menu items to stretch existing fuel supplies.
The NRAI has circulated a set of interim measures to help restaurants conserve gas.
Meanwhile, quick commerce platforms saw a spike in the sale of induction cooktops on Tuesday as panic buying set in over fears that gas supplies might run out, industry executives told ET.
Deals heat up:
Apple has stepped up iPhone production in India, with the country now producing about quarter of the company’s output.
What's happening?
Government incentives under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme have helped support the expansion, offsetting some of the higher costs and supply chain constraints often associated with manufacturing in India.
Background: Several factors have accelerated Apple's shift.
Anthropic has filed lawsuits to stop the Pentagon from placing the company on a national security blacklist, escalating its dispute with the US government over the military use of artificial intelligence.
What's happening: The Pentagon recently labelled Anthropic a “supply chain risk,” a move that could prevent federal agencies and defence contractors from using its technology.
The conflict stems from Anthropic’s refusal to remove safeguards preventing its Claude AI models from being used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.
Also Read: Why the US government labelled Anthropic a ‘supply chain risk’: A timeline
Escalation after failed talks:
Business implication: Anthropic says the blacklist designation could wipe out billions of dollars in potential 2026 revenue and damage its reputation across government and enterprise markets.
French artificial intelligence startup AMI, cofounded by former Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, has raised $1 billion to pursue a different approach to building intelligent systems.
Deal details:
CEO's take: LeCun said AMI will focus on building AI systems capable of reasoning, planning, and understanding the physical world.
He argued that today’s dominant AI models, which largely rely on predicting the next word or pixel, will not by themselves produce broadly capable intelligent agents.
Also Read: AI startup Thinking Machines clinches capital and a major chip supply deal from Nvidia
Climate-tech startup Newtrace has raised $6.3 million (Rs 56.9 crore) in a round led by HDFC Bank and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, valuing the company at $30 million, post-money.
Details: Newtrace develops advanced electrode technology used in electrolysers, machines that split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity.
Use of funds: The capital will help the company scale pilot manufacturing, validate products with customers in China and Europe, and prepare for commercial deployment.
Chief executive Prasanta Sarkar said commercial deliveries are expected within the next 12 months.
Also Read: AquaExchange raises $8 million led by Endiya Partners, Factor Analytics
Twenty-nine venture capital funds, including those managed by Gaja Capital, Faering Capital, SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Trust and Blume Ventures, have settled securities law violations with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), by paying Rs 2 crore collectively.
Non-compliance dues: The cases relate to breaches under Sebi’s earlier venture capital fund (VCF) regulations, where several schemes held unliquidated investments beyond their mandatory wind-up periods.
Under the previous framework, VCF schemes were required to close and distribute assets within a specified timeline.
Transition anomaly: The problem emerged after Sebi introduced the Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) Regulations in 2012, which replaced the VCF regime.
Legacy VCFs were allowed to continue until closure, but many remained active well beyond their prescribed timelines.
To address such cases, Sebi's 2024 amendments to the Special Investment Fund (SIF) framework permitted migration mechanisms for managing residual portfolios and delayed exits.
Also in the letter:
■ Anthropic vs US govt
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Sebi settles cases with VCs
Food delivery orders to get impacted as restaurants cease operations amid gas shortage
Food delivery platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Ownly could see a drop in orders as thousands of restaurants scale back operations amid a shortage of commercial cooking gas.
But why? The disruption follows a squeeze in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply after the escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
The government has temporarily restricted commercial LPG distribution in order to prioritise household consumption.
Tell me more: Industry groups say the shortage is already affecting restaurant operations across several cities.
- Around 10,000 eateries, including quick service restaurants (QSR) and cloud kitchens, have either shut temporarily or are operating at reduced capacity, according to Saili Jahagirdar, Pune chapter head of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI).
- NRAI president and Wow Momo founder Sagar Daryani told ET some restaurants are exploring induction-based cooking, though the option may not work for every kitchen.
- The disruption is affecting the wider ecosystem, including delivery workers, suppliers, and restaurant staff.
What next? Restaurant and cloud kitchen owners in Bengaluru, Pune, and Delhi-NCR told ET that they are cutting menu items to stretch existing fuel supplies.
The NRAI has circulated a set of interim measures to help restaurants conserve gas.
- Using induction cooking equipment, electric fryers and ovens.
- Introducing a “crisis menu” with faster cooking items.
- Limit operations to peak hours only to preserve gas.
Meanwhile, quick commerce platforms saw a spike in the sale of induction cooktops on Tuesday as panic buying set in over fears that gas supplies might run out, industry executives told ET.
Deals heat up:
- Blinkit is offering discounts of up to 72% on cooktops.
- Instamart is offering discounts of up to 60% on hobs.
- Zepto is offering up to 40% discount on premium kitchen appliances, including induction stoves.
Apple now makes about 25% of iPhones in India after China pivot
Tim Cook, CEO, AppleApple has stepped up iPhone production in India, with the country now producing about quarter of the company’s output.
What's happening?
- Apple assembled around 55 million units in India in 2025, up from 36 million in 2024, according to a Bloomberg report citing sources.
- The ramp-up reflects Apple’s push to reduce reliance on China and protect its supply chain from tariffs and geopolitical risks.
- India has become a key manufacturing base for devices destined for global markets, including the United States.
Government incentives under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme have helped support the expansion, offsetting some of the higher costs and supply chain constraints often associated with manufacturing in India.
Background: Several factors have accelerated Apple's shift.
- Tariffs on Chinese exports pushed the company to diversify manufacturing.
- India still faces higher assembly and component costs compared with China and Vietnam.
- As a result, companies like Apple and Samsung continue to seek additional policy support to improve competitiveness.
Anthropic sues to block Pentagon blacklisting over AI use restrictions
Dario Amodei, CEO, AnthropicAnthropic has filed lawsuits to stop the Pentagon from placing the company on a national security blacklist, escalating its dispute with the US government over the military use of artificial intelligence.
What's happening: The Pentagon recently labelled Anthropic a “supply chain risk,” a move that could prevent federal agencies and defence contractors from using its technology.
- Anthropic's lawsuit, filed in California federal court, argues the designation violates the company’s free speech and due process rights.
- The suit also received an amicus curiae brief from over 30 OpenAI and Google employees, who filed a statement in support of Anthropic. Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean was among the signatories.
The conflict stems from Anthropic’s refusal to remove safeguards preventing its Claude AI models from being used for autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance.
Also Read: Why the US government labelled Anthropic a ‘supply chain risk’: A timeline
Escalation after failed talks:
- The legal action follows months of negotiations between the company and the US defence establishment.
- President Donald Trump recently directed federal agencies to stop using Claude, intensifying the standoff.
- The Pentagon, however, has argued that US law should determine how military AI is used, not restrictions set by private companies.
Business implication: Anthropic says the blacklist designation could wipe out billions of dollars in potential 2026 revenue and damage its reputation across government and enterprise markets.
Ex-Meta AI chief Yann LeCun's AMI raises $1 billion for alternative AI approach
Yann LeCun, cofounder, AMIFrench artificial intelligence startup AMI, cofounded by former Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, has raised $1 billion to pursue a different approach to building intelligent systems.
Deal details:
- This funding round for AMI was led by five investment funds.
- Strategic investors include Toyota, Nvidia, and Samsung.
- Tech leaders such as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also participated.
CEO's take: LeCun said AMI will focus on building AI systems capable of reasoning, planning, and understanding the physical world.
He argued that today’s dominant AI models, which largely rely on predicting the next word or pixel, will not by themselves produce broadly capable intelligent agents.
Also Read: AI startup Thinking Machines clinches capital and a major chip supply deal from Nvidia
Climate-tech startup Newtrace raises $6.3 million
(L-R) Rochan Sinha and Prasanta Sarkar, founders, NewtraceClimate-tech startup Newtrace has raised $6.3 million (Rs 56.9 crore) in a round led by HDFC Bank and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, valuing the company at $30 million, post-money.
Details: Newtrace develops advanced electrode technology used in electrolysers, machines that split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity.
Use of funds: The capital will help the company scale pilot manufacturing, validate products with customers in China and Europe, and prepare for commercial deployment.
Chief executive Prasanta Sarkar said commercial deliveries are expected within the next 12 months.
Also Read: AquaExchange raises $8 million led by Endiya Partners, Factor Analytics
Sebi settles cases with 29 venture capital funds
Twenty-nine venture capital funds, including those managed by Gaja Capital, Faering Capital, SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Trust and Blume Ventures, have settled securities law violations with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), by paying Rs 2 crore collectively.
Non-compliance dues: The cases relate to breaches under Sebi’s earlier venture capital fund (VCF) regulations, where several schemes held unliquidated investments beyond their mandatory wind-up periods.
Under the previous framework, VCF schemes were required to close and distribute assets within a specified timeline.
Transition anomaly: The problem emerged after Sebi introduced the Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) Regulations in 2012, which replaced the VCF regime.
Legacy VCFs were allowed to continue until closure, but many remained active well beyond their prescribed timelines.
To address such cases, Sebi's 2024 amendments to the Special Investment Fund (SIF) framework permitted migration mechanisms for managing residual portfolios and delayed exits.
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