Page 3 - Indian Startups

Kerala's climate tech startup gets ₹75 lakh grant from Cochin Shipyard

Deep-tech climate startup Neiox Eco Cycle has won a prototyping grant of Rs 75 lakh from Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) under the USHUS Maritime Innovation Scheme, company officials said on Friday. The cheque for the amount was handed over at a function at IIM-Kozhikode, where the official agreement was signed with the startup founded by CEO Akhil Raj Pottekkat, a statement by the firm said. According to Nieox Eco Cycle, the grant will support the development of the world's first sustainable, non-toxic, carbon-negative marine hull coating a breakthrough material with anti-corrosive and anti-biofouling properties The coating is derived from captured air pollutants, which would otherwise contribute to lung damage and cardiovascular diseases. Neiox's innovation converts climate and health liabilities into economic assets, while enhancing ship's fuel efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions and protecting marine ecosystems representing a Kerala model on the global canvas, the statement ...

Meet Indian AI startups replacing call-center jobs with human-like chatbots

AI-powered systems are subsuming jobs done by headset-wearing graduates in technical support, customer care and data management, sparking a scramble to adapt

HouseEazy raises ₹150 cr in Series B round from investors to grow business

HouseEazy, a marketplace for resale homes, has raised Rs 150 crore from investors, including Accel, to grow its business. In a statement on Tuesday, the company said it has raised this amount in a Series B funding round led by Accel, with participation from existing investors Chiratae Ventures and Antler. "The capital infusion will fuel technology advancements, geographic expansion, and brand growth, while strengthening HouseEazy's basket of services," the statement said. HouseEazy was founded by Tarun Sainani and Deepak Bhatia. "Indian consumers have long awaited a safe, one-stop solution for buying and selling homes. HouseEazy was founded with the vision of transforming the entire home ownership journey, built on the pillars of trust, speed, and convenience," said Bhatia. In just three years, Sainani said the company has helped over 2,500 homeowners transact properties worth more than Rs 2,000 crore. "With this new funding, we're ready to expand HouseEazy into new cities and un

GoodScore raises $13 mn from Peak XV to expand AI credit platform

Bengaluru-based fintech will use the funds to deepen its AI-led credit health offerings, scale its marketplace, and grow its product and tech teams

HSBC India to allocate $1 bn in non-dilutive debt capital for startups

HSBC launches Innovation Banking in India with $1B non-dilutive capital to help startups scale and retain equity

Viasat in talks with Indian startups to build mini geostationary satellites

Miniaturised GEO satellites could reshape connectivity in India and attract demand from over 20 countries

Indian tech ecosystem gets $7.7 bn in funding, down 23% from 2024

India's tech ecosystem attracted $7.7 billion in funding in the first nine months of 2025, down from $10.1 billion in 2024 and sharply below the $29.3 billion peak in 2021

Amwoodo raises $4 mn in Pre-Series A round; Adventz among key investors

Bamboo-based sustainable solutions startup Amwoodo on Tuesday said it has raised USD 4 million in a Pre-Series A funding round that saw participation from Adventz Group, Rainmatter, Thinkuvate, and Caspian. The Kolkata-headquartered company said the fresh capital will be used to expand manufacturing capacity, strengthen its direct-to-consumer (D2C) platform Ecoconsious, launch new plastic-alternative brands under the House of Amwoodo, and deepen community engagement in bamboo-growing regions. Founded in 2019, Amwoodo has been developing bamboo-first products as alternatives to single-use plastics. It has established B2B partnerships with Himalaya Wellness, Bombay Shaving Company, and ITC Hotels, while also scaling its consumer business through Ecoconsious. "With this support, we are not just scaling a business; we are fueling a movement to make eco-conscious living the norm, not the exception," said Agni Mitra, Founder & CEO of Amwoodo.

UP govt injects ₹140 crore to boost startups, innovation ecosystem

The state has set up a network of 72 incubators and seven centres of excellence (CoE) to catalyse startups, promote business culture and generate jobs for the youth

Inflection Point Ventures to invest in 50 startups by 2025-end: Cofounder

Mittal added that though the firm continues to be a sector-agnostic company, its last few investments have been in consumer tech, health, sports, and deep-tech

From petri dish to payload: India's next Big Bang in future deeptech

Part II of this series shines the spotlight on India's audacious deeptech builders - startups engineering the country's future by tackling challenges too complex for conventional innovation

India's startup dreams will only flourish if we nurture the VC ecosystem

India must build a homegrown VC culture, leverage defence procurement, and expand digital gains like UPI to fuel the next wave of startup growth

CityMall raises $47 mn funding to build value e-commerce for Bharat

Currently serving over 60 cities across Delhi NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Bihar, CityMall has been on a 2x year-over-year growth trajectory over the past few years

Family office to Narayana Murthy wary of startups amid valuation cuts

Catamaran is one of the country's largest private investors, running $1.3 billion for the Infosys Ltd founder, who is the father-in-law of former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

AI entertainment startup Dashverse raises $13 mn to power GenAI content

Bengaluru-based AI entertainment firm to invest in core tech and product innovation as DashReels crosses five million downloads in a month

Fairdeal raises $3 mn in pre-series A funding to expand, deepen tech infra

B2B quick commerce platform to enhance tech infrastructure, widen Delhi NCR reach, and onboard more direct-to-consumer and regional brands with fresh funding

SuperGaming raises $15 mn in fresh funding at 5 times higher valuation

Homegrown online gaming company SuperGaming has raised USD 15 million in a fresh funding round at nearly five times the valuation of its previous round around 4 years ago, a top official of the company said on Wednesday. SuperGaming CEO and Co-Founder Roby John told PTI that the company had raised USD 5 million at a valuation of USD 21 million in 2021. The fresh funds have been raised at an enterprise valuation of about USD 100 million, he added. The fresh funding round was led by Skycatcher and Steadview Capital, with support from global strategic investors such as a16z Speedrun, Bandai Namco 021 Fund and Neowiz, as well as notable Web3 Investors, including Polygon Ventures. The round also saw strong participation from Web3 ecosystem pioneers like Polygon Ventures, Sandeep Nailwal, Decentralised.co, 4th Revolution Capital, 32-Bit Ventures, Ryze Labs, Ed3n Ventures and Visceral Capital. Existing investors SkyCatcher, AET Japan, and BACE Capital also participated in the new round.

TurboHire raises $6 mn Series A to scale AI-led hiring platform globally

TurboHire plans to strengthen product capabilities and expand its global reach after securing $6 million in Series A funding led by venture capital firm IvyCap Ventures

Startup coalition builds IPO runway for 40 firms eyeing $90 bn market

Startup Policy Forum launches Centre for New-Age Public Companies to guide tech firms through IPOs as India's markets attract listings worth over $90 billion

QpiAI raises $32 million from Avataar, NQM to build quantum computers

Bengaluru-based QpiAI raises $32 million to build utility-scale quantum systems as India pushes ahead in emerging technologies through public and private backing