Open Magazine - Top Stories

From $3.44-Billion Unicorn to $200-Million Unicorpse: How 'Real' Was Unacademy’s Valuation?
From $3.44-Billion Unicorn to $200-Million Unicorpse: How 'Real' Was Unacademy’s Valuation?
10 min read
Unacademy became a $3.44-billion unicorn when capital was cheap and edtech was booming. Five years later, after falling revenue, repeated layoffs and abandoned bets, it has been sold to upGrad for jus ...
Zepto and Eveready Launch Doorstep Battery Recycling: Can Quick Commerce Turn Dead Batteries into a Green IPO Story?
7 min read
Zepto and Eveready will collect used batteries during deliveries in Delhi and Bengaluru, turning quick commerce’s one-way consumption machine into a reverse-logistics network. For a company that lost ...
Totaliser in Indian Elections: How Cluster Counting Could Protect Booth-Level Secrecy and Voters from Intimidation
8 min read
The Supreme Court has sought the Centre’s stand on totalisers, which combine multiple EVM results to conceal how individual booths voted. The three-decade-old debate pits protection from political ret ...
INDIA IN THE ROOM | Why Modi Needs an SCO Full of Rivals, Sanctions & Competing Corridors
7 min read
In Bishkek, Modi shares a table with Xi, Putin, Shehbaz Sharif and Pezeshkian. The SCO offers India access to Eurasia and a voice in the emerging world order. It also tests how long one organisation c ...
Your SIM Could Become Telecom’s Next Revenue Machine
5 min read
Infobip’s new SIM-based Number Verification solution could help telecom operators authenticate users through their networks instead of OTPs, opening a new revenue stream while giving businesses a fast ...
₹22,006-crore Claims, ₹6.25-crore Plan & No Majority: NCLT Stalls Subhash Chandra Deal
5 min read
Subhash Chandra offered creditors roughly 3 paise for every ₹100 claimed under his personal guarantees. After three tribunal members produced three materially different positions, an unprecedented fiv ...
CLAUDE FOUND THE INTERNET | How an AI Safety Test Turned into a Real Cyberattack
9 min read
Claude was told it was inside a simulation. A misconfigured test gave it live internet access instead. One model stole credentials, another uploaded malware downloaded by 15 systems and an older Claud ...
NO REELS BEFORE THE DEITY | Why Tamil Nadu Temples Are Charging ₹5 to Leave the Phone Outside
8 min read
From September 1, devotees visiting 52 major Tamil Nadu temples must deposit their phones before entering. The ban targets selfies, videos and reels, but raises a deeper religious question: can darsha ...
Prayagraj watches the clock as Ganga and Yamuna rise: Why the next 24 hours matter
4 min read
With both rivers rising rapidly and fresh rain forecast, Prayagraj is preparing for a possible escalation even as the Ganga and Yamuna remain below the danger mark.