E-commerce platform Meesho is set to launch a roughly $606 million IPO on December 3, reports stated. Its IPO features only small sell-downs from early investors, with major holders like SoftBank and Prosus opting not to sell. This reportedly signals strong confidence in India's fast-growing online retail market, even as tech investors globally have been cashing out at listings.

Three mainboard issues, Meesho's ₹5,421-crore IPO, Aequs' ₹921-crore IPO and Vidya Wires' ₹300-crore IPO, will open for subscription on December 3 and close on December 5. As many as eight SMEs, including Astron Multigrain, Invicta Diagnostic, and Ravelcare, are set to open their public issues next week. Along with new IPOs, the coming week will see six stock market debuts.

Oyo parent company Prism has called an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on December 20. The meeting aims to seek shareholder approval for raising nearly ₹6,650 crore through a fresh issue of shares as part of its proposed initial public offering (IPO). Notably, this will be Oyo's third attempt for an IPO, after it filed draft papers in 2021 and 2023.

In a Reddit post, an employee claimed their manager told them to apply for a full-day leave for forgetting to log their work-from-home (WFH) request on the same day. "I'm not sure if this is fair or if I'm overthinking," the employee said. "Not normal. Start preparing to leave this toxic setup," a user said, while another said, "That's unethical."

On her visit to San Francisco, ALTRD founder Gayatri Agrawal saw a thriving AI hub backed by massive funding and billion-dollar ambitions. She realised India lacked infrastructure, not talent. With Google’s AI Futures Fund offering $350,000 to $500,000 cloud credits and up to $2 million in funding, Indian founders can now build global-scale AI from home.

Sleepy Owl’s $6.5 million Series A in 2021 accelerated its shift from a niche D2C brand to a national coffee player. With Rukam Capital's backing, it built stronger supply chains, expanded into 7,500 stores from 500, grew ARR from ₹20 crore to ₹100 crore+, added new brews and formats, and strengthened its digital-led consumer community.

SEBI barred DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations, its promoters and others from the securities market for up to two years and imposed fines totalling ₹75 lakh. The decision has been taken over misutilisation of IPO proceeds, misrepresentation in financial statements, and diversion of funds by management. The equity shares of the company were listed on the BSE SME platform in 2022.

Zerodha Co-founder Nikhil Kamath has shared a teaser video suggesting his next podcast guest is world's richest man Elon Musk. The video, which shows the duo laughing, sparked social media discussion over whether it's AI-generated or not. "The video shows signs of AI generation, like face morphing...I'm uncertain on full authenticity," Grok said in reply to an X user's query.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh questioned the credibility of India’s latest GDP numbers, calling the timing of the data release "ironic". He said, "GDP numbers…released…soon after an IMF report gave the second-lowest grade of C to India's national accounts statistics." He added, "High GDP growth rates are simply not sustainable in the absence of any renewed momentum in private investment."

Over 1,000 Amazon employees sent a letter to CEO Andy Jassy, warning the company of dire consequences if AI push is carried out at the cost of the human workforce. "Amazon is forcing us to use AI while investing in a future where it’s easier to discard us," they said. The letter comes a month after Amazon confirmed 14,000 layoffs.