Peerzada Abrar

Peerzada Abrar

Peerzada Abrar is a technology and business reporter at Business Standard. He covers the intersection of technology, AI, business and society, and their impact on our lives. This includes tracking top tech firms and startups. He joined Business Standard in 2019 after having worked at The Economic Times and The Hindu, where he covered the entrepreneurship ecosystem, start-ups, new technologies, venture capital, and private equity. A storyteller at heart, he is captivated by the potential of innovation to address global challenges. His narrative spans from resilient communities combating epidemics and natural disasters to groundbreaking initiatives that empower the underserved and transform humanitarian landscapes.

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Peerzada Abrar

Nutrition startup TruNativ raises $30 mn in Series B funding led by OrbiMed

The Mumbai-based nutrition startup plans to expand distribution and grow its ingredient business as demand rises for clean-label and preventive-health products in India

Updated On: 16 Jun 2026 | 4:15 PM IST

Amazon rolls out AI tools for India's small sellers ahead of Prime Day

The e-commerce giant says its Seller Assistant suite can cut routine workloads and help corner-shop merchants go global - as rivals close in

Updated On: 15 Jun 2026 | 12:05 AM IST

Singapore court stays surrender requirement imposed on Byju's founder

The Singapore High Court has stayed the committal and surrender provisions of a civil contempt order against Byju Raveendran pending appeal in an ongoing dispute

Updated On: 12 Jun 2026 | 7:58 PM IST

Meesho acquires Kirana Club in ₹202-crore deal to expand grocery presence

The acquisition gives Meesho access to a platform serving over 4 million retailers and strengthens its presence in India's grocery and business-to-business commerce markets

Updated On: 12 Jun 2026 | 6:40 PM IST

Flipkart hires senior tech leaders to strengthen AI, fintech capabilities

The e-commerce company has appointed former leaders from Swiggy, Mastercard and Razorpay to bolster its artificial intelligence, data science, payments and engineering functions

Updated On: 12 Jun 2026 | 6:33 PM IST

Equal AI raises $30 mn to expand AI-powered assistant platform in India

The Series B round, co-led by Prosus Ventures and Tomales Bay Capital, will support the expansion of Equal AI's voice-based assistant and lifestyle services

Updated On: 12 Jun 2026 | 6:03 PM IST

Craft chocolate startup Manam raises $9 mn to expand retail footprint

The Hyderabad-based company, which works with more than 250 cacao farmers in Andhra Pradesh, plans to open new stores in the Delhi-NCR region

Updated On: 11 Jun 2026 | 9:58 PM IST

Coram AI raises $35 million to bring autonomous tech to security

The startup, founded by former Lyft self-driving executives, plans to expand its India engineering team as demand grows for AI-powered physical security solutions

Updated On: 11 Jun 2026 | 6:05 PM IST

The CA who went home and built a Rs 1,176 cr rural e-commerce startup

Prasanna Kumar walked away from the corporate life to solve the supply chain problem he saw as a child and built VilCart - an e-com startup for 100,000 kirana stores across rural South India

Updated On: 10 Jun 2026 | 7:20 PM IST

PhonePe launches AI tool to help merchants build payment pages in minutes

SmartPages enables businesses to generate customised payment pages using simple text prompts, removing the need for coding or design expertise

Updated On: 10 Jun 2026 | 3:35 PM IST

Dark patterns cost Indian online shoppers up to ₹28,000 cr a year: Study

A Datum Intelligence study finds hidden charges and deceptive checkout practices are eroding consumer trust and putting more than Rs 55,000 crore in e-commerce spending at risk

Updated On: 09 Jun 2026 | 6:59 PM IST

Flipkart joins Meta affiliate programme to expand creator-led shopping

The partnership will allow creators to tag products from Flipkart and Myntra on Meta platforms, helping shoppers move seamlessly from discovery to purchase

Updated On: 09 Jun 2026 | 6:05 AM IST

We'll definitely win in India: Amazon country manager Samir Kumar

Amazon India Country Manager Samir Kumar on the company's $35 billion bet, the quick-commerce race, and why he believes it's still early innings for e-commerce in India

Updated On: 08 Jun 2026 | 1:00 AM IST

Over 75% of Meesho orders now come from AI-powered recommendations

Meesho says its PRISM recommendation engine is reshaping product discovery, with AI-driven personalised feeds powering most orders on the platform

Updated On: 05 Jun 2026 | 9:55 PM IST

Kuku files confidentially for ₹3,500 cr IPO, eyes ₹15,000 cr valuation

The company, which operates Indian language audio and short-video apps under the Kuku FM and Kuku TV brands, respectively, seeks a valuation of up to ₹15,000 crore

Updated On: 04 Jun 2026 | 10:48 PM IST

Reserve Bank of India issues compounding order in Myntra Designs FEMA case

Walmart-owned online fashion retailer paid Rs 2.88 lakh to settle alleged contraventions related to overseas investment reporting and commitments

Updated On: 04 Jun 2026 | 9:32 PM IST

Flipkart bets on payments, biometrics and loyalty ahead of IPO push plans

The Walmart-owned e-commerce giant is expanding into biometrics, credit and loyalty programmes to boost growth, improve margins and strengthen customer engagement

Updated On: 03 Jun 2026 | 5:23 PM IST

Ola Electric shares under pressure after QIP bid for fresh funds

The stock opened down 3 per cent at ₹38.50 on the National Stock Exchange and touched a low of ₹38.08 before trimming some losses.

Updated On: 02 Jun 2026 | 11:22 PM IST

Cars24 launches AI Labs, commits $20 mn to back AI startups and founders

Auto-tech platform Cars24 launches AI Labs to build AI-first products and support founders through funding, mentorship and partnerships with OpenAI, AWS and ElevenLabs

Updated On: 01 Jun 2026 | 5:47 PM IST

AI has moved beyond hype into payoff phase, says HPE's Suresh Babu

Babu, who leads HPE's worldwide high-performance computing (HPC) and AI strategy, shares insights on supercomputers, sovereign AI & why India's moment in the global AI race is closer than it appears

Updated On: 01 Jun 2026 | 3:20 PM IST