Mahindra’s new EVs the XEV 9e and BE6 were marketed as software wrapped in metal. They promised the future. Things like augmented reality heads up display, auto park assist, a triple screen dashboard, an in car camera, and a digital key based on near field communication.

But now, that long list of cutting edge features is proving to be a real bottleneck for the company. The Ken spoke to at least a dozen frustrated buyers of Mahindra’s new electric twins, who haven’t yet received their cars despite promised deliveries.

Why? Well, the reason apparently is a software update. Buyers have found that the digital keys they were handed at the showrooms just wouldn’t work. Touchscreens were freezing, Cameras were glitching. The list goes on.

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Earlier this month, India’s largest third party logistics company, Delhivery, acquired its biggest rival Ecom Express in a $165 million distress sale. The acquisition could not have come at a better time for both parties.

Things have been tough for Ecom for some time now. The company, in fact, called off its IPO plans just this February, about six months after filing the papers and ended up laying off hundreds of its employees.

Meanwhile, Delhivery has been soldiering some tough times too. By acquiring its floundering rival, Delhivery seems to be going all out to claw back some business. But is that enough?

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Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.

In January this year, Netradyne, the logistics AI startup, became India’s first unicorn of 2025 after it raised $90 million in series D funding.

You see, it did not take it long to realise that its sweet spot is the long-distance trucking segment. It serves over 3,000 customers across eight countries, including the likes of Amazon, Shell, Indian Oil and Greenline Mobility. And it all began with one rather primitive prototype. Of course, now it has morphed into a compact device with a built-in GPU, up to four cameras, and a disembodied voice alerting drivers not to crash the vehicle.

The Ken reporter Abhirami G found herself in the backseat of one of Netradyne’s test cars in Bengaluru's Whitefield neighbourhood. The driver of the car was a Netradyne employee. And as he weaved through the traffic, the company’s signature always-on surveillance cameras didn’t just watch his every move, but also apparently “understood” and “analysed”. As he drove, he was generating the precious training data that powers the company’s bread and butter. Apart from making roads safer, this whole system also doubles up as a driver’s best legal defence in times of trouble. The company’s executive Vice president of Engineering Teja Gudena said that on multiple occasions, it has saved drivers from liability by proving their innocence in accidents.

Apart from its new-found unicorn status, it reportedly managed to clock Rs 1,000 crore in revenue in 2023. It also currently has a stronghold in the US and other major global markets. Reaching all of these milestones within nine years is pretty remarkable. But despite all that success, Netradyne is now grappling with an existential crisis. Because now, driverless vehicles are no longer science fiction, they are a logistical inevitability. And that leaves Netradyne in a rather tricky spot.

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This episode was first published on Feb 13, 2025

Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.