India, July 28 -- Few founders in India have seen the swings -- the ups and the downs - that Vijay Shekhar Sharma has seen with Paytm. The latest high is the company's turn to profitability in the first quarter of FY26.

It's a moment that vindicates the belief that Sharma had espoused in mid 2024 when Paytm was still stuck in the weeds. Since then, Paytm has gone through its most significant transformation in years.

The fintech giant reported a consolidated net loss of INR 840 Cr after the June quarter in 2024, but one year later it is in the black with a profit of INR 122.5 Cr in Q1 FY26. What exactly changed in the past 12 months?

It let go of thousands of employees, pressed the accelerator on AI and even scaled back by shedding prom...