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The most important development for builders today is the IT ministry's release of a DEPA handbook setting out a techno-legal framework for trusted data sharing in AI training. For anyone building in India, this is the first concrete sign of how consented, institution-to-institution data pooling for model training might actually work, rather than remaining a policy aspiration. If you are sourcing training data, designing data-sharing agreements, or pitching enterprise customers on AI features, the handbook is the document to read this week, because it signals where compliance expectations are heading before they harden into rules.
The rest of the day's stories circle the same question of who controls data, capital and distribution. Walmart has opened an investigation into allegations that Flipkart employees took over ₹150 Cr (about $16 Mn) in vendor kickbacks, a reminder that marketplace trust is a governance problem as much as a growth one, and one that founders building multi-sided platforms should take personally. On the money side, StockGro's parent AssetGro Fintech posted a FY26 net profit of ₹113 Cr, up 226.6%, with operating revenue doubling to ₹226.1 Cr, as the IPO-bound fintech shows what profitable retail-investing scale looks like. TVS Capital's launch of TVS Alts, a private-credit platform targeting ₹750 Cr with a green-shoe option that could lift it to ₹1,250 Cr, shows institutional capital still flowing toward non-bank lending, which matters if you are raising debt or thinking about working-capital products.
Compute and infrastructure sent a mixed signal. A decommissioned NVIDIA supercomputer with 300 racks and 9,600 A100 GPUs was listed on eBay for $59.7 million or best offer, a striking marker of how quickly frontier-era hardware is depreciating and why cost discipline in model training matters more than headline capacity. Meanwhile ISRO's launch of the NVS-03 satellite on GSLV-F18 adds to the NavIC constellation, a sovereign positioning layer that deeptech and logistics builders should keep on their radar. In consumer and health, D2C skincare brand Numour is in talks to raise about $3.1 Mn led by Sharrp Ventures, and Docterz raised ₹5 Cr from around 35 investors, nearly ₹3 Cr of it from roughly 20 doctors already using its hospital management software, a useful lesson that clinician-backed distribution can be the most durable form of trust in healthtech.
What to watch this week: read the DEPA handbook closely and map which of your data flows would fall under its trusted-sharing model, and track whether the Walmart–Flipkart probe moves from allegation to findings, since that will shape how marketplaces tighten vendor controls.
The IT ministry has released a DEPA handbook setting out a techno-legal framework for trusted data sharing in AI training. The framework lets institutions collaborate on data for training AI models while keeping control of their own data. YourStory reported the handbook's release on 31 Oct 2026.
₹113 Cr
StockGro's parent AssetGro Fintech posted a net profit of ₹113 Cr in FY26, up 226.6% from ₹34.6 Cr in FY25. Operating revenue doubled to ₹226.1 Cr from ₹113.3 Cr. Profit before tax was ₹99 Cr, and a ₹14 Cr net tax credit lifted profit after tax. The company pre-filed its DRHP with SEBI in September.
₹750 Cr
TVS Capital has launched TVS Alts, a private-credit platform targeting ₹750 Cr. A green-shoe option could lift the potential corpus to ₹1,250 Cr. YourStory reported the launch on 1 Nov 2026.
₹150 Cr
Walmart has launched an investigation into allegations that Flipkart employees received over ₹150 Cr ($16 Mn) in kickbacks from vendors. The probe follows whistleblower complaints involving the smartphones and luggage and travel accessories divisions. Employees allegedly gave vendors preferential treatment, including greater visibility. It is Walmart's third such Flipkart investigation in under three years. The probe is ongoing.
ISRO launched the NVS-03 satellite on GSLV-F18 from the second launch pad at Sriharikota at 11.51pm. After a flight of around 18 minutes and 40 seconds, the satellite was injected into its designated elliptical orbit. The mission strengthens NavIC, India's indigenous satellite navigation system. ET Tech reported the launch on 31 Oct 2026.
$59.7 million
A reseller, Core 4 Solutions, listed a decommissioned NVIDIA supercomputer on eBay for $59.7 million or best offer. The system has 300 racks, 9,600 A100 GPUs and 4,200 AMD EPYC processors, and came from a hyperscaler environment. Individual 32-GPU racks were offered at $199,000. The listing has ended, and no sale was confirmed.
$3.1 Mn
Delhi NCR-based D2C skincare brand Numour is in talks to raise nearly $3.1 Mn (about ₹30 Cr) in a round led by Sharrp Ventures, the Harsh Mariwala family's investment office. Founded in 2025 by Divya Jain, Numour is currently backed by Indian Silicon Valley Capital. It sells through its website, major marketplaces, Blinkit and Broadway stores.
Meta has settled in a landmark social media harms case, leaving Snap as the sole defendant in a Los Angeles trial. Jury selection began on Wednesday, and opening statements are scheduled for November 4. The plaintiffs, who began using the apps at ages 13 and 15, allege the apps were addictive. TikTok and YouTube had already settled. Meta's settlement terms are confidential.
Mumbai-based healthtech startup Docterz has raised ₹5 Cr from around 35 investors, with nearly ₹3 Cr coming from approximately 20 doctors who already use its platform. Founded over a decade ago by paediatrician Dr Atish Laddad, it offers EMR and clinic-management software. Investors include Sugar Cosmetics' Vineeta Singh and CaratLane's Avnish Anand. The funds will go towards organic growth, acquisitions and AI tools.
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The 9:15 brief
Top Indian tech and product stories every morning at 9:15 IST. Every number sourced and dated.
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