BlueStone’s Glow-Up, Chaos At Flipkart Event & More

BlueStone Finds Its Sparkle

BlueStone appears to be defying sceptics. Last year, critics had described the jewellery brand’s IPO as too expensive and loss-making. Today, the stock is steadier, the business is profitable, and many analysts are changing their view. So what has changed?

From Doubt To Discipline: When BlueStone listed in August 2025, it debuted at a discount amid widening FY25 losses. But instead of chasing a dramatic turnaround, the company spent the year proving that its model could scale profitably. 

This shift showed up in FY26 as operating revenue rose 38% YoY to ₹2,441 Cr. Costs also rose slower than the top line during the fiscal and this gap finally turned into a full-year profit of ₹26 Cr.

The Compounding Scale: CEO Gaurav Singh Kushwaha attributes this fiscal pivot to operating leverage rather than aggressive cost-cutting. The omnichannel brand clocked a stellar 34% YoY same-store sales growth in Q4, showing that its older, maturing retail outlets are actively compounding earnings rather than just costing money.

The Lifestyle Flywheel: The bigger strategic story is the market itself. While legacy jewellery players remain chained to episodic wedding demand, BlueStone is banking on recurring lifestyle and self-expression purchases. BlueStone has spent years building around this category with its omnichannel model, in-house manufacturing and rapid design-to-shelf cycle.

Analysts Warm Up: Brokerages too seem to be changing their tunes. JM Financial recently reiterated a Buy rating on the stock, citing BlueStone’s strong foothold in the lifestyle jewellery segment. Nuvama also echoed a positive outlook and pointed to the company’s store expansion and improving unit economics as key growth drivers.

The listed brand’s story now appears less about whether it can survive and more about how far it can go. But can BlueStone keep compounding as competition, gold prices and consumer demand continue to evolve? Let’s find out…

From The Editor’s Desk

Chaos At Flipkart Creator Event

• The ecommerce major found itself at the centre of a controversy after videos of influencers scrambling for gift hampers at its creator event, Glamp Up Fest 2026, went viral on social media.
• As per some attendees, hampers were promised as part of a barter collaboration arrangement at the event. However, many were unable to receive the promised hampers because stock ran out even before the event concluded. 
• The two-day event, held at Delhi between June 19 and June 20, brought together more than 6,000 social media creators from various categories and more than 100 beauty brands at one platform. 

Weekly Startup Funding Rundown 

• Indian startups managed to cumulatively raise $426 Mn across 19 deals last week, up 75% from $243 Mn across 25 deals in the preceding week.
• Buoyed by Sarvam’s $234 Mn Series B fundraise, AI emerged as the most funded sector. In total, five startups in the segment raised more than $265 Mn during the week. The cleantech sector took the second spot on the charts and secured $58.9 Mn last week.
• Meanwhile, seed-stage funding tumbled to $7.8 Mn last week as against $22.3 Mn in the preceding week. Khosla Ventures and Rainmatter emerged as the most active investors this week, backing three startups each. 

Recykal Bags $23 Mn

• The waste management startup has raised nearly ₹217 Cr as part of a bridge funding round from existing backers and a clutch of family offices. While over ₹166 Cr was raised via primary transactions, the remaining ₹51 Cr comprised secondary deals. 
• While Recykal did not disclose the investors that participated in the round, RoC filings revealed that the startup allocated 35,971 Series D CCPS across two tranches at an issue price of ₹46,275 apiece. 
• Founded in 2016, Recykal digitises waste management. Its B2B marketplace connects buyers and sellers of recyclable materials, while its software solutions enable brands to track and trace plastic and e-waste recycling. It has raised $35 Mn to date.

Bullish Week For Startup Stocks

• Of the 57 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage, 43 gained between 0.08% to 21% last week. The remaining 14 fell in the range of 0.21% to nearly 8%. Aequs and IndiQube gained the most, while Ola Electric and Ather emerged as the biggest losers.
• Overall, the market capitalisation of the 57 new-age tech companies rose to $134.52 Bn at the end of last week as against $129.58 Bn a week ago. 
• The healthy performance of new-age tech stocks mirrored the gains in the broader Indian equities market, which was supported by improving global sentiment, easing crude oil prices, a strengthening Rupee, and renewed FII participation. 

Vridhi Home Finance’s FY26 Show

• The NBFC Vridhi Home Finance’s net profit rose nearly 5X YoY to ₹22.3 Cr in FY26, as per ratings agency ICRA. The company’s total income also more than doubled YoY to ₹103.4 Cr in the fiscal under review. 
• The NBFC’s total managed assets increased to ₹1,005.3 Cr in FY26 from ₹609.3 Cr in the previous year, driven by growth in housing loans and loans against property. Meanwhile, return on managed assets improved to 2.8% from 1.1% a year ago.
• As of March 2026, Vridhi Home Finance’s  GNPA hovered around the 0.29% mark, while NNPA stood at 0.22%. Founded in 2022, the NBFC offers home loans of up to ₹45 Lakh, primarily targeting underserved borrowers in smaller towns. 

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How Ctruh Is Building The Rails For Spatial Internet

As digital experiences evolve, static screens are giving way to immersive and interactive environments. Yet, creating 3D experiences remains complex, expensive and hardware-intensive for most businesses. Ctruh is trying to simplify this shift.

An Immersive Experience: Founded in 2023, Ctruh helps enterprises create 3D and AR-driven digital experiences. Its offerings include 3D walkthroughs, product configurators, AR demos, and high-quality renders, enabling brands to engage customers in more interactive ways.

A Low-Code Engine: At the core of its platform is a proprietary low-code 3D engine that allows immersive content to run seamlessly across devices. Crucially, users do not need to download apps or invest in specialised hardware, lowering barriers to adoption for both businesses and consumers.

GenAI Meets 3D: Ctruh’s VersaAI uses generative AI to convert images, text, and videos into production-ready 3D assets, significantly reducing content creation time. Another product, Commverse Studio, enables brands to build interactive 3D shopping experiences without coding, bringing immersive commerce closer to the mainstream.

Serving sectors such as ecommerce, automotive, real estate and tourism, the startup is eyeing a piece of India’s extended reality (XR) market, which is projected to become a $66 Bn opportunity by 2034. As interest in spatial computing rises, can Ctruh power how businesses deliver next-generation digital experiences?

Infographic Of The Day

From boAt and Captain Fresh to Atomberg and Furlenco, a new generation of consumer brands is preparing for the public markets. So, which D2C startup will be the next big IPO success story?

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