Start Ups

Cashfree Payments offers zero payment gateway fees to woo new merchants

Cashfree Payments will waive gateway fees on the first Rs 20 lakh of GMV for new merchants as it aims to double its SMB base to 2 million by the end of FY27

GitHub Sponsors crosses $100 mn milestone as corporate funding accelerates

GitHub Sponsors has crossed $100 million in contributions, with corporate sponsorships driving faster growth and supporting more than 70,000 open-source maintainers worldwide

AI travel startup 30 Sundays raises $6.7 million in Bessemer-led round

The company, which uses conversational AI to plan and book overseas holidays, will use the funds to expand into new markets and grow its engineering team

Scapia rolls out maiden ₹20 crore ESOP buyback, two months after fundraise

The travel fintech startup will allow eligible employees to monetise up to 10 per cent of their vested stock options after raising $63 million in a Series C funding round

Plazza secures $15 million to expand AI-powered medicine delivery

Accel, Elevation Capital and Nexus Venture Partners co-led the Series A round as Plazza expands its AI-powered pharmacy network and inventory intelligence platform

Rize raises $31 mn to grow sustainable rice platform across Southeast Asia

BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts led the Series B round as Rize expands exports, develops AI tools and scales carbon initiatives across Vietnam, Indonesia and other markets

Groyyo raises ₹90 cr to expand AI-powered fashion supply-chain platform

Cornerstone Ventures led the first close of Groyyo's Series B round as the startup plans to expand globally, strengthen its manufacturing network and invest in AI capabilities

AI hardware startup Aina raises $5.5 mn to build next-generation interface

The startup, founded by a former Ultrahuman executive, is developing a context-aware computing interface as AI agents reshape how people interact with smartphones and computers

KickSky Space Lab to launch third accelerator cohort in next 2-3 months

The space-tech startup accelerator plans to select five to six startups for its third cohort around September as it expands support for early-stage ventures in India and overseas

Former Isro chief S Somanath joins Agnikul ahead of crucial space mission

Former Isro Chairman S Somanath has joined Agnikul Cosmos as a board observer ahead of Mission 02, which aims to demonstrate booster recovery and an on-orbit upper stage

AI coding startup Emergent hits $1.5 bn valuation in Series C round

Emergent has raised $130 million at a $1.5 billion valuation as rapid global adoption of its AI-powered software development platform drives strong revenue and user growth

India's Ather Energy to raise $125 million via share issue, warrants

Ather Energy will raise ₹1,200 crore from existing investors led by Hero MotoCorp and the India-Japan Fund amid rising competition in India's EV market

First set of biotech startups picked for funding under ₹1 trillion R&D push

The selected startups include Fermbox Bio, Revelations Biotech, 4baseCare, Sea6 Energy and Telluris Biotech, the sources said

Udaan secures $160 million in funding, simplifies capital structure

Existing investors M&G Prudential and Lightspeed joined new backer BlackRock in the financing, combining equity, debt and bond conversion as Udaan moves closer to a potential IPO

Premji Invest's quiet global push with 11 hot AI bets worth $43 billion

The private investment firm has invested in these AI companies from January 1, 2021, to date, participating in 19 funding rounds ranging from seed-stage investments to mature Series F rounds

Nilekani-backed Fundamentum launches third fund of ₹2,200 crore

Nilekani made his largest personal commitment to a venture firm as Fundamentum expanded its leadership team and reaffirmed its focus on backing Series B startups

Customers using AI tools 3 times more likely to buy: Amazon's Kishore Thota

Amazon says customers using its generative AI-powered shopping tools are three times more likely to make purchases, with adoption in India rising sharply year-on-year

Mobility startup Milo Drive raises $2.4 million in a seed funding round

EV mobility platform Milo Drive has raised $2.4 million in a seed funding round led by Caret Capital to strengthen its technology platform and scale operations

PhiCommerce to focus on payments infra for smaller banks, says co-founder

The fintech firm expects software-as-a-service products to contribute 40 per cent of revenue over the next 18 months as smaller banks seek greater control over payments, said co-founder Rajesh Londhe

Swiggy expands Food on Train offering to 180 cities as orders jump 3x

Swiggy has expanded its Food on Train service to 180 cities, with orders tripling year-on-year in April-June 2026 as demand for onboard meal delivery gathered pace