Kuku FM has taken the first step towards a stock market listing. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.Also in the letter:■ Mythos snub for IT majors■ Together's Garg joins Emergent■ PhysicsWallah's lending pivotKuku FM's parent confidentially files for Rs 3,500 crore IPO (L-R) Vinod Kumar, Lal Chand Bisu and Vikas Goyal, cofounders, Kuku FMKuku FM parent Kuku Technologies has confidentially filed draft papers with market regulator Sebi for a Rs 3,500-crore initial public offering (IPO), sources told us.Details:Kuku is eyeing a valuation of about Rs 15,000 crore, over 3x of its last private-market valuation of roughly Rs 4,500 crore.The IPO will combine a primary fundraise with an offer for sale by existing investors.Kotak Mahindra Capital, Jefferies, JM Financial and Axis Capital are on the ticket as bankers.The company plans to deploy the funds to deepen its technology and AI infrastructure and to step up content production and geographic expansion, sources added. Number-wise:A person aware of the company’s finances said revenue surged sevenfold to about Rs 1,400 crore in FY26, from operating revenue of Rs 241 crore in FY25.In October 2025, Kuku Tech had raised $85 million in a round led by Granite Asia (formerly GGV Capital). Cricketer MS Dhoni is also an investor.Inside Kuku: The company runs the audio platform Kuku FM and microdrama platform Kuku TV, which now contributes the lion’s share of revenue.Rivals from JioHotstar and Amazon to ShareChat and Zee Entertainment Enterprises are racing to capture India's growing appetite for micro-dramas.SoftBank snags Rs 2,873 crore from Lenskart stake sale, clocking 7x return Peyush Bansal, CEO, LenskartSoftBank has turned eyewear retailer Lenskart into one of its most lucrative India investments, booking around 7x returns after a recent share sale.What's happening?SoftBank affiliate SVF II Lightbulb Cayman sold 5.65 crore Lenskart shares via a block deal on Wednesday.The sale raised Rs 2,873 crore at Rs 508.55 a share.Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, Quant Mutual Fund, and WhiteOak Capital lapped up the block.SoftBank’s stake in Lenskart is now down to 9.88%.Tell me more:SoftBank invested an estimated $250-280 million in Lenskart.During Lenskart’s IPO in November 2025, it sold shares worth Rs 1,026 crore, netting more than 5x returns.Earlier secondary sales, including at the IPO, had already brought in $200 million.The latest block deal added another $300 million in proceeds.SoftBank still holds a Lenskart stake valued at roughly $940 million.Yes, but: SoftBank’s listed India portfolio took more than $600 million in paper losses in the January-March quarter, dragged down by Swiggy, Ola Electric, FirstCry, Meesho, and Delhivery.Lenskart remains the outlier, cushioning the impact of that drawdown.Indian cyber, telecom, banking & finance firms get access to Mythos; IT left out Dario Amodei, CEO, AnthropicA handful of Indian organisations have secured early access to Anthropic’s new AI model, Claude Mythos, under its cybersecurity programme.More details:The cohort spans cybersecurity, telecom, banking, and financial services firms.Their number remains in the single digits, according to government officials.Access comes under Anthropic’s expanded Project Glasswing initiative, which recently onboarded 150 organisations globally.No major Indian IT services firm features in the initial group.The government will plug in through selected public-sector entities.CERT-In, India’s cybersecurity agency, is expected to be among those receiving a preview.What we don't know: Officials have not named the Indian participants, in line with Anthropic’s request to refrain from discussing their involvement for the time being.The company is expected to announce the full list in the coming days.Meanwhile: A panel of experts from IIT Kanpur and IIT Madras found that AI tools, particularly Claude, were used to map vulnerabilities in CBSE’s digital systems.The panel also flagged gaps in the security capabilities of CBSE-OSM vendor Coempt Edutech.Together Fund managing partner Manav Garg joins AI startup Emergent as executive chairman Manav Garg, MD, Together FundTogether Fund cofounder and managing director Manav Garg has joined AI startup Emergent as executive chairman, marking a return to an opening role, he wrote in a LinkedIn post.Driving the news: Freshworks founder Girish Mathrubootham has also joined Emergent’s board as Together Fund’s representative.Garg will work with founders Mukund Jha and Madhav Jha on strategy, scaling, partnerships and governance, while continuing his role with Together Fund and with its portfolio.What this means: Garg wrote that the move stems from his belief that AI is shifting from software creation to business operations. Interest in vibe coding platforms has spiked, and Emergent is in talks to raise $250 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, ET had reported in May.VCs changing: India’s venture capital industry has seen steady churn since 2025, with several senior investors reshuffling roles, exiting firms, or striking out on their own amid a prolonged reset.PhysicsWallah revises lending strategy, to partner with NBFCs for student loans (L-R) Prateek Maheshwari and Alakh Pandey, founders, PhysicsWallahPhysicsWallah has overhauled its student lending strategy just days after pumping Rs 120 crore into its subsidiary, FinZ Finance.New plans: In an exchange filing, the edtech firm said that instead of lending from its own books, it will now partner with third-party non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and position itself as a tech platform connecting students with approved lenders.Tell me more: The shift follows conversations with partners. “We received feedback from our partners that our core strength lies in building communities and our online business. Our lending business is best left to regulated third-party NBFCs who have created robust underwriting capabilities,” cofounder Prateek Maheshwari said.The pivot comes soon after PhysicsWallah reworked its K-12 and offline strategies. Earlier this week, ET reported that the company is reviewing its K-12 school operations after public market investors raised concerns over its exposure to capital-intensive businesses.
Kuku FM readies public market debut; SoftBank books Lenskart gains
Kuku FM has taken the first step towards a stock market listing. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.













