Privacy First: Eternal to Launch Dark.ai Globally by 2026
Eternal, parent of Zomato and Blinkit, unveils Dark.ai, a privacy-first AI platform for power users and governments. Global launch set for 2026.
Eternal Limited, the powerhouse parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, is preparing to venture far beyond food delivery and quick commerce. The company has announced the upcoming global launch of Eternal Dark.ai launch, a specialized artificial intelligence platform designed with a relentless focus on user privacy, slated for release by the end of 2026.
The revelation came via Eternal's shareholders' letter for the second quarter of FY27, released on Wednesday alongside the company's financial performance reports. The move signals a strategic pivot for the company as it enters the competitive AI assistant market by offering something many current platforms lack: absolute data confidentiality.
A Fortress for Your Data
Eternal founder and Vice Chairman Deepinder Goyal highlighted that Dark.ai is being built specifically to tackle the growing anxiety surrounding the privacy of sensitive information and personal conversations shared with AI. Unlike many AI tools that process data on third-party clouds, Dark.ai takes a different approach.
According to Goyal, the platform utilizes fine-tuned frontier open-weight models that run entirely within Eternal's own infrastructure. The cornerstone of the platform is end-to-end encryption, ensuring that the company itself cannot access user conversations.
"End-to-end encryption. We cannot read your conversations, even if we are forced to," Goyal stated in the letter to shareholders.
Furthermore, the platform will feature an encrypted memory system. This allows users to maintain their conversation history while retaining total control over that data, ensuring that their digital footprints remain private.
Who is Dark.ai For?
Eternal isn't targeting the casual user for this specific venture. Instead, Dark.ai is engineered for "power users" who handle high-stakes information where a leak could mean a loss of competitive advantage. The primary target audience includes:
- Founders and Entrepreneurs: Protecting proprietary business ideas.
- Researchers and Scientists: Safeguarding intellectual property and raw data.
- Enterprises and Governments: Ensuring state and corporate secrets remain secure.
Goyal emphasized that for these groups, privacy is not just a preference but a necessity for maintaining competitiveness. The platform has already undergone several months of internal testing before its anticipated global rollout in 2026.
Strong Financials Fuel New Ambitions
This bold leap into AI comes on the heels of a stellar financial performance for Eternal. The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 125 crore for the July-September quarter of FY27, a massive 92 per cent jump from the Rs 65 crore earned in the same period last year.
The growth is evident across several key metrics:
- Revenue: Operations revenue surged to Rs 24,138 crore, up 78 per cent from Rs 13,590 crore a year ago.
- Adjusted Revenue: Rose 76 per cent year-on-year to reach Rs 24,621 crore.
- Adjusted EBITDA: Witnessed a staggering 197 per cent increase, climbing to Rs 666 crore.
The Blinkit and Zomato Effect
A significant driver of this revenue spike has been Blinkit's transition toward an inventory-led business model. Blinkit's net order value grew by 79.3 per cent to Rs 20,940 crore, and the segment successfully turned a profit with an adjusted EBITDA of Rs 184 crore, recovering from a loss of Rs 156 crore the previous year.
Zomato also continued its steady climb, with net order value increasing by 21.5 per cent to Rs 11,445 crore, contributing an adjusted EBITDA of Rs 627 crore to the group's overall success.