- Alphabet's Cloud Rockets: Q2 revenue rose 24% to $119.8B and Google Cloud surged 82% to $24.8B, but a rising AI-capex bill made investors jumpy.
- Tesla's Record-Revenue Miss: Tesla posted its best-ever Q2 revenue of $28.2B on record deliveries, yet profit missed and it burned cash for the first time since 2024.
- Samsung Unfolds Glasses: Galaxy Unpacked brought the Z Fold 8 Ultra, a slimmer Z Fold 8, the Z Flip 8, and Samsung's first AI Galaxy Glasses with Gemini built in.
- InMobi's $1B IPO Begins: India's SoftBank-backed adtech unicorn InMobi hired JPMorgan, Jefferies, Kotak and Axis to lead a roughly $1 billion IPO.
International Tech News
1. Alphabet's Q2 revenue jumps 24% as Google Cloud surges 82%
Alphabet reported Q2 2026 revenue of $119.8 billion, up 24% year-over-year, with Google Cloud accelerating to 82% growth at $24.8 billion — well ahead of expectations. Reported net income exploded to about $112 billion, but most of that came from a one-time $98 billion unrealized gain on equity investments; stripping that out, operating income grew a more normal ~30%. What actually rattled investors was the ballooning AI-infrastructure spend, with Q2 capex hitting $44.9 billion. It shows AI demand is real and accelerating, but the market is now watching how much Big Tech must spend to keep up.
2. Tesla posts record revenue but a big profit miss
Tesla reported record Q2 revenue of $28.24 billion (up 26%) on its best-ever second quarter of 480,126 deliveries, yet profit disappointed: adjusted EPS of $0.33 missed the ~$0.53 estimate, operating margin collapsed to 1.4%, and Tesla logged negative free cash flow of about $1.09 billion — its first cash-burning quarter since early 2024. A major culprit was regulatory-credit revenue cratering 67% as US EV incentives faded. Tesla can still sell cars in record numbers, but its profit engine is under real pressure as subsidies disappear and its AI and robotaxi bets soak up cash.
3. Samsung unveils the Z Fold 8 Ultra and its first Galaxy Glasses
At Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung revealed the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra (200MP camera, bigger 5,000mAh battery, ~$2,100), a redesigned passport-style Z Fold 8 (just 5.5mm thin, $1,900) and the Z Flip 8, plus the Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2. The headliner was Galaxy Glasses — Samsung's first AI smart glasses, running Qualcomm's Snapdragon AR1 with Google Gemini built in, bone-conduction audio, and an AR micro-LED display variant. Samsung is planting a flag in the AI-glasses race against Meta and Apple while pushing foldables thinner and more mainstream.
4. Google ships a Gemini Flash trio — but Gemini 3.5 Pro is still delayed
Google released Gemini 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and a security-tuned 3.5 Flash Cyber, cutting Flash pricing to roughly $1.50/$7.50 per million tokens, trimming output tokens ~17%, and pushing the knowledge cutoff to March 2026. The catch: the flagship Gemini 3.5 Pro remains delayed, even as Google says it has begun its "most ambitious pretraining run yet" for Gemini 4. The cheap, high-volume "Flash" tier is becoming the real competitive battleground in AI, where price and efficiency now beat benchmark bragging rights.
5. Intel cuts jobs in its data center & AI group ahead of Q2 earnings
Intel confirmed fresh layoffs in its Data Center and AI Group — one of its most strategic divisions — as CEO Lip-Bu Tan's turnaround grinds on. The company didn't disclose a headcount, but the cuts follow 5,000+ US layoffs in 2025 and a targeted ~15% global workforce reduction, and they land right as Intel prepares to report Q2 2026 results. Even Intel's better-performing units aren't safe as the chipmaker slims down to fund its foundry and AI comeback.
6. Jack Dorsey's Block launches "Buzz," an open-source workspace for AI agents
Block released Buzz, an open-source, decentralized collaboration tool that treats AI agents as first-class participants working alongside humans, part of a growing push to bake autonomous agents directly into everyday workflows. It's an early template for what "AI coworker" software actually looks like when agents get their own seat at the table, not just a chat box on the side.
7. AI keeps swallowing venture money as two big open models loom
New tallies show roughly $510 billion in global venture funding in the first half of 2026, with about 70% flowing to AI — increasingly toward compute infrastructure. Meanwhile the open-weight race heats up: DeepSeek V4's stable release is slated for July 24 and Kimi K3's free weights for July 27. The money and the momentum are both concentrating in AI, and powerful open models keep narrowing the gap with closed labs.
India Tech News
1. InMobi kicks off its ~$1 billion IPO with four banks
SoftBank-backed adtech unicorn InMobi appointed JPMorgan, Jefferies, Kotak and Axis to lead a proposed roughly $1 billion India IPO, one of the most anticipated homegrown tech listings in the pipeline. A successful InMobi float would be a marquee test of investor appetite for Indian internet and adtech at scale, and add more fuel to a booming IPO market.
2. Ather Energy raises Rs 1,300 crore, with Hero MotoCorp topping up
EV maker Ather Energy raised Rs 1,300 crore (~$151M) through a qualified institutional placement backed by HDFC MF, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, with plans for an additional Rs 1,200 crore from Hero MotoCorp. The fresh capital fuels Ather's expansion as India's electric two-wheeler race intensifies.
3. SolarSquare bags $53 million — and MS Dhoni buys in
Rooftop-solar firm SolarSquare raised a $53 million Series C from Lightspeed, Lowercarbon Capital, NGP Capital and Elevation, with cricketer MS Dhoni investing through his family office and joining as brand ambassador. Rooftop solar is having a funding moment as India pushes clean energy down to the household level.
4. Wealthtech startup Veriqus raises Rs 387 crore
Wealthtech platform Veriqus secured Rs 387 crore in funding led by Norwest Venture Partners, adding to a busy stretch for India's wealth-management startups. Investors keep betting that India's rising retail-investor base needs better digital tools to invest and manage money.
5. Eternal (Zomato) says quick-commerce discount wars are ending
Eternal, the parent of Zomato and Blinkit, reported Q1 FY27 revenue of Rs 20,211 crore and Rs 92 crore profit, as CEO Albinder Dhindsa said the brutal quick-commerce discounting wars may be nearing an end — even as Blinkit flagged that spoiled inventory is denting margins. A cooling of cash-burning discounts would be a turning point toward profitability for India's quick-commerce sector.
6. Paytm scraps bonus-share plan, redirects Rs 100 crore into Paytm Money
Paytm dropped its planned bonus share issue and will instead invest Rs 100 crore into Paytm Money, doubling down on wealth management as a growth engine. It's another sign Paytm is pivoting toward higher-margin financial services over pure payments.
7. Bira 91 founder Ankur Jain exits in a lender settlement
Bira 91 founder Ankur Jain stepped down and relinquished a 17.8% stake as part of a settlement with lenders and investors, as the craft-beer maker looks to raise fresh capital and stabilize. It's a cautionary tale of how quickly a buzzy consumer brand can unravel under financial strain.
8. Transition VC launches a Rs 1,500 crore energy-transition fund
Transition VC unveiled a Rs 1,500 crore Fund II targeting startups in energy transition, advanced manufacturing and climate deeptech. Dedicated climate-and-deeptech capital is scaling up in India, moving beyond the usual consumer-internet bets.
9. BlueStone shares jump 20% on a third straight profitable quarter
Listed jewellery-tech firm BlueStone saw shares surge 20% after a Rs 6 crore Q1 FY27 net profit — its third consecutive profitable quarter — on roughly 50% revenue growth. A newly public D2C brand proving durable profitability is a good signal for India's consumer-tech listings.
10. India's H1 2026 funding hits $7.4 billion as lenders post strong quarters
Indian startups raised about $7.4 billion in the first half of 2026, lifted by the big CRED–Meta deal, while lenders shone: InCred's profit rose 17% to Rs 438 crore and Aye Finance's jumped 144% to Rs 74.5 crore. Funding is recovering and India's fintech-lending layer is turning solidly profitable.
Funding & Ecosystem Round-up
- Ather Energy raised Rs 1,300 Cr via a QIP (with Rs 1,200 Cr more coming from Hero MotoCorp), and SolarSquare closed a $53M Series C with MS Dhoni investing.
- Veriqus bagged Rs 387 Cr (led by Norwest) for AI wealthtech, while Transition VC launched a Rs 1,500 Cr energy-transition & deeptech fund.
- Eternal posted Rs 20,211 Cr revenue and Rs 92 Cr profit, InCred's profit rose 17% to Rs 438 Cr, and Aye Finance's jumped 144% to Rs 74.5 Cr; BlueStone logged a third straight profitable quarter.
- InMobi lined up JPMorgan, Jefferies, Kotak and Axis for a nearly $1B IPO, and Indian startups raised ~$7.4B in H1 2026.
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