Juspay looks beyond fintech tie-ups; Illustrating joy in the little things

Hello,

The future of commerce is a digital, paperless one.

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has crossed 200 million transactions on its network, driven by adoption in categories like F&B, grocery, retail, logistics, mobility, and financial services. 

About 100 million of such transactions were just in the last six months, showcasing the breakneck pace of adoption among businesses and buyers. 

In other news, Ant Group may just have gotten a leg up in the AI race, as it touted a cost-efficient breakthrough in AI development. The company used Chinese-made semiconductors from Alibaba Group and Huawei Technologies to develop techniques for training AI models that would cut costs by 20%. 

This bodes well for the data centre industry in particular: Artificial intelligence advances are fueling a funding frenzy for data centers in Asia, spawning a series of loans, with more potential deals in the pipeline.

Meanwhile, in yet another similarly competitive market, companies are eyeing to be the first to uncover the mysteries of the lunar surface. 

Firefly Aerospace has partnered with Blue Origin's Honeybee Robotics to study the Gruithuisen Domes, a series of volcanic formations that could hold clues about the moon's geological history and potential resources for future human missions.

The race is on!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Juspay looks beyond fintech tie-ups
• Illustrating joy in the little things
• Women leaders call for better maternal care

Here’s your trivia for today: What device was Alexander Graham Bell working on, which led him to the invention of the telephone?

Fintech

Juspay looks beyond fintech tie-ups

Fintech unicorn Juspay Technologies on Monday said it has open-sourced its payment orchestrator in response to the termination of partnerships by leading payment companies such as Razorpay, Cashfree, and PhonePe.

“Our vision is to make payments open, transparent, and accessible so that businesses can focus on growth rather than payment complexities,” said Sheetal Lalwani, Co-founder and COO of Juspay. “With the launch of the open-source routing engine, we are making payments orchestration a truly interoperable and community-driven software.”

All the details:

• Juspay’s newly open-sourced payments-routing engine, Hyperswitch, will allow merchants to self-host the solution within their infrastructure, enabling them to integrate with a diverse range of payment providers while defining their own transaction rules.
• The goal, according to Juspay, is to eliminate vendor lock-in and empower merchants with a fully customisable and compliant payment system.
• In December last year, major payment gateways and aggregators—including PhonePe, Razorpay, and Cashfree—terminated partnerships with Juspay over concerns that the company prioritised its own Payment Aggregator (PA) services after securing a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) license in 2023.

Funding Alert

Startup: Apna Mart

Amount: Rs 214.5 Cr

Round: Equity and debt

Startup: DCDC Kidney Care

Amount: Rs 150 Cr

Round: Undisclosed

SheSparks

Illustrating joy in the little things

For creative entrepreneurs, often, the real challenge isn't creating beautiful masterpieces—it’s the balancing act between their art and running their business. Alicia Souza, who is well known for her quirky style and illustrations of mundane everyday activities, finds her inspiration in all sorts of places, even in the busy Bengaluru traffic and in a warm relaxing shower.

“I'm very conscious of the fact that this is a business. There is a brand, and even though the brand voice is me, it's beyond me. It's not me running this business, there's a team, there are bills to pay, and there are salaries to pay,” said Alicia Souza, illustrator and entrepreneur, at SheSparks 2025. 

Doodle fun:

• About 15 years into her journey, Souza reflects back on her initial days and style. “When I started, it was so early that I didn't have time to think about what style I was doing. I think it was mostly what was the fastest way I could draw something that works for the products we're making,” she said.
• According to Souza, one fear that arises when following your passions is if the business side of things would end up taking over the creative.
• Discussing the myths associated with the creative domain, Souza said that beginners in the space go through a stage where they have to talk about money, but feel awkward doing so.

SheSparks

Women leaders call for better maternal care

Despite progress in healthcare, women in India continue to face systemic barriers in maternal care, fertility treatments, and reproductive health awareness. At SheSparks 2025, leading voices in healthcare and wellness came together to highlight these pressing issues and discuss innovative solutions.

From advocating for midwifery as a key component of maternal healthcare to addressing fertility inequities and the stigma around reproductive health, the discussion underscored the urgent need for policy changes and greater awareness.

Key takeaways:

• Dr Janhvi Nilakani shed light on the stark disparities in how women are treated in labour rooms compared to male patients in other hospital departments. She highlighted that disrespect and mistreatment in maternity wards remain rampant, particularly in low-income communities.
• Nidhi Panchmal of Arva Health emphasised the deep-rooted inequities in fertility care, pointing out that many women have had negative experiences with gynaecologists. “One of our studies found that 95% of women had at least one bad experience with a gynaecologist,” she revealed.
• The discussion concluded with a strong call for proactive healthcare engagement. The speakers urged women to prioritise routine checkups, get vaccinated against HPV, and demand better healthcare standards.

News & updates

• Investment: South Korean conglomerate Hyundai will announce a $20 billion investment in US onshoring that includes a $5 billion steel plant in Louisiana. Hyundai Motor CEO José Muñoz recently told Axios that the “the best way for [Hyundai] to navigate tariffs is to increase localization.”
• Beijing: China's Vice Premier He Lifeng sought to reassure foreign CEOs of the country's business potential, describing the economy as highly resilient, while global investment banks cautiously raised their 2025 outlook for the country. China is keen to stabilise foreign investment and attract new capital as policymakers try to boost domestic consumption to offset the impact of US tariffs on Chinese goods.
• Sales: BYD Co.’s sales last year surpassed the $100 billion mark, leapfrogging Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. on revenue, as the Chinese auto giant wows consumers with a range of electric and hybrid cars packed with high-tech features. BYD reported revenue of $107 billion for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, up 29%. 

What device was Alexander Graham Bell working on, which led him to the invention of the telephone?

Answer: An early prototype version of hearing aids. 

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