Eternal spins out AI venture Nugget to Carthero Technologies Private Limited in ₹35 Cr slump sale
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Eternal spun out its AI venture Nugget to Carthero Technologies Private Limited in a slump sale valued at US$4.2 million (₹35 Cr) on August 10, 2026, creating an independent enterprise‑AI SaaS platform.
Eternal has spun out its AI venture Nugget to Carthero Technologies Private Limited (CTPL) in a slump sale valued at US$4.2 million (₹35 Cr) on August 10, 2026. The transaction transfers ownership of the 1.5‑year‑old enterprise‑AI platform to a newly formed legal entity under CTPL, positioning Nugget as a stand‑alone SaaS business focused on conversational AI, voice assistants and workflow automation for external enterprises.
Deal Terms
The slump sale, a low‑price asset transfer permitted under Indian company law, places Nugget’s FY26 revenue of ₹7.2 Cr (approximately US$0.9 million) under CTPL’s balance sheet. The deal does not disclose any earn‑out or contingent payments, and the parties reported that Nugget will continue operating cash‑flow positive. Eternal’s group revenue exceeds ₹20,211 Cr, making Nugget a modest but strategically distinct line‑item.
Background
Nugget originated inside Eternal’s food‑delivery arm, Zomato, as an internal tool to automate customer‑support and sales interactions. According to head of Nugget Dushyant Garg, the platform now closes roughly one enterprise deal per week without any advertising spend. Its client roster spans large private banks, insurance firms, retail brands, D2C businesses, manufacturers, epharmacy platforms and even Zomato’s chief rival Swiggy. Over the past year the venture has expanded its product set from simple chatbots to voice‑enabled agents, AI‑driven sales assistants and industry‑specific workflow automation.
Eternal’s leadership framed the spin‑out as a move to “commercialise capabilities that have matured beyond solving our own problems.” By carving out Nugget, Eternal aims to build a new growth engine that can sit alongside its core food‑delivery and quick‑commerce businesses. Garg hinted that a future external fundraise for Nugget is possible, but the company is currently self‑sustaining.
The transaction also reflects a broader trend among Indian consumer‑tech giants: converting internally built technology into marketable SaaS products. Paytm and Razorpay have announced parallel AI‑platform strategies, seeking to replicate the “AWS‑like” profitability model where a services arm outpaces the core consumer business.
Overall, the slump sale creates a legally independent AI SaaS entity with an existing enterprise customer base, a proven revenue stream and a clear path to scale beyond Eternal’s internal ecosystem.
Why It Matters
For Eternal, shedding Nugget allows the group to focus capital and management bandwidth on its high‑growth food‑delivery and quick‑commerce units while still retaining a minority upside if Nugget raises external capital later. The move also removes potential conflicts of interest, as Nugget can now sell to Eternal’s competitors—most notably Swiggy—without internal policy constraints.
Carthero Technologies, the new parent, instantly gains a cash‑flow‑positive SaaS business with a diversified vertical portfolio. By inheriting Nugget’s existing contracts and product roadmap, CTPL can accelerate go‑to‑market efforts, pursue larger enterprise deals, and position itself as a home‑grown alternative to global AI platform providers. Direct competitors in the Indian enterprise‑AI space will now face a vendor that already enjoys deep integration experience with some of the country’s biggest consumer‑tech operators.
Key Points
- Eternal sold its AI venture Nugget to Carthero Technologies in a slump sale worth US$4.2 million (₹35 Cr).
- The transaction was announced on August 10, 2026 and makes Nugget an independent SaaS entity under CTPL.
- Nugget generated ₹7.2 Cr in FY26 revenue, roughly US$0.9 million, within its first year of commercial operations.
- Customers now include large private banks, insurers, retail brands, D2C firms, manufacturers, epharmacy platforms and competitor Swiggy.
- Eternal retains the option to raise external capital for Nugget, but the business is currently cash‑flow positive.
Analysis
The US$4.2 million price tag translates to roughly five times Nugget’s FY26 revenue, a modest multiple that reflects its early‑stage SaaS profile and cash‑flow positivity. For investors, the deal underscores a growing appetite for niche, vertical‑focused AI platforms that can demonstrate measurable outcomes—higher conversion rates, lower servicing costs and faster turnaround times—rather than pure play on large language models. As Indian consumer‑tech firms continue to spin out internal AI capabilities, we can expect a wave of similar low‑multiple transactions that give venture capitalists entry points into revenue‑generating enterprise SaaS businesses. Operators that can productize internal automation tools and prove ROI quickly will be best positioned to command higher multiples in subsequent rounds. The Nugget spin‑out also signals that cash‑rich consumer brands are willing to create separate legal entities to avoid conflicts of interest and to unlock external growth, a model that could accelerate consolidation in the Indian enterprise‑AI market. For SaaS investors, the transaction highlights the importance of tracking internal tech labs within large platforms, as they may become the next generation of B2B SaaS unicorns.