Start- Ups

Scrapping of courier export cap brings cheer to logistics, ecom players

The scrapping of the Rs 10 lakh per-consignment cap on courier exports in the Union Budget 2026 is expected to ease bottlenecks for MSMEs and D2C startups and improve cross-border e-commerce economics

Cropin unveils AI agriculture platform to rewire global food supply chains

New ecosystem with Google, BCG, Wipro and others aims to reduce climate, data and procurement risks in agriculture

PM Modi urges industry, start-ups to prioritise quality in Indian products

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged industry and start-ups to focus on quality and resolve to make excellence a benchmark in manufacturing. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address, Modi said Indian products should be synonymous with top quality and urged the industry to manufacture zero-defect products. "Let us resolve to improve the quality of whatever we manufacture. Be it our textiles, technology, electronics or even packaging; an Indian product should become synonymous with top quality," the prime minister said in his 130th Mann ki Baat address. He also lauded the efforts of youngsters who participated enthusiastically in India's start-up journey that began 10 years ago in 2016. "Today India has turned into the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world. These start ups are out of the box; they are working in sectors that were unimaginable even 10 years ago," Modi said. The prime minister said Indian start-ups are working in sectors as diverse as AI, space, ..

Mann Ki Baat: PM Modi urges focus on quality, excellence in manufacturing

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged industry and start ups to focus on quality and resolve to make excellence a benchmark in manufacturing. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' address, Modi said Indian products should be synonymous with top quality and urged the industry to manufacture zero defect products. "Let us resolve to improve the quality of whatever we manufacture. Be it our textiles, technology, electronics or even packaging; an Indian product should become synonymous with 'top quality'," the prime minister said in his 130th Mann ki Baat address. He also lauded the efforts of the youngsters, who participated enthusiastically in India's start up journey that began 10 years ago in 2016. "Today India has turned into the third largest start ups ecosystem in the world. These start ups are out of the box; they are working in sectors that were unimaginable even 10 years ago," Modi said. The prime minister said Indian start ups are working in sectors as diverse as AI, space,

Whizzo raises $15 mn in Series A round to scale technical textiles platform

Fundamentum-led Series A backs materials-science research, in-house IP and expansion of an Asia-wide manufacturing network

HDFC Bank to disburse ₹20 crore under FY26 Parivartan Startup Grants

HDFC Bank on Tuesday said it plans to disburse Rs 20 crore under the FY26 edition of the Parivartan Startup Grants programme for supporting social impact-driven innovations. The programme will support 10 strategic initiatives across priority sectors including climate innovation, agriculture and sustainable livelihoods, manufacturing and MSME innovation, financial inclusion, and gender diversity and inclusion, along with emerging areas including AI and deep technology. It follows an incubator-led, portfolio-based model, under which partner incubators lead programme design, startup outreach, evaluation, mentoring, monitoring, and impact reporting, it said. "Parivartan Startup Grants has evolved as a benchmark in the industry that works closely with institutions to support innovation addressing clearly identified social and environmental challenges," HDFC Bank Deputy Managing Director Kaizad Bharucha said. The focus is on further deepening sector engagement, strengthening ecosystems,

Budget 2026: Startups, investors push regulatory changes to unlock capital

Venture investors seek policy changes to unlock capital for deep-tech firms, ease regulatory burdens

India's top 20 startups dominated valuations, fundraising in 2025

While the average valuation of the top 20 startups was $1.78 billion, the remaining 80 had an average valuation of just $0.42 billion, nearly one-fourth of the top cohort

Fintechs cornered $2.4 billion investments in 2025 as funding moderated

Fintech funding stayed muted in 2025 at $2.4 billion, with fewer deals, IPOs and acquisitions, reflecting sustained investor caution after the 2021 peak

Snabbit steps up senior hiring as it scales home-services business

Quick home-services platform brings on Pync's founding team as it expands into new categories and cities

Aule Space raises $2 mn to develop satellite life extension jetpacks

Aule Space has raised $2 mn in pre-seed funding led by pi ventures to build autonomous satellite jetpacks that dock with geostationary

India's startups turn to AI applications in 2026 after missing infra boom

Venture investors and startup executives are betting on services, enterprise tools in 2026 after missing the infrastructure boom

On-demand house help market becomes two-horse race in urban India

Capital, labour flock to Urban Company, Snabbit as speed becomes currency of convenience

Aivar raises $4.6 million in a seed round to take AI services global

Seed round led by Sorin Investments, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, will fund expansion across India, the US and Middle East and deepen investment in AI accelerators, senior talent

Govt scraps 3-year eligibility rule for deep-tech startups under DSIR

Speaking on the participation of women, Singh said that over 10,000 women beneficiaries are currently availing DSIR schemes, including more than 55 women-led self-help groups

Arya.ag secures ₹725 crore funding in equity round led by GEF Capital

India's largest grain-commerce platform will use the capital to deepen farmer engagement, promote climate-smart agriculture and reduce post-harvest losses across the supply chain

India's startups build humanoids with local code, globally sourced hardware

Indian robotics startups are developing humanoid and quadruped robots using locally built software while relying on global supply chains for critical hardware, as deployments steadily rise

From funding winter to liquidity surge, 2025 turns pivotal for startups

After a prolonged funding slowdown, 2025 emerged as the year of liquidity for Indian startups, marked by a revival in public listings, improved deal quality and a decisive shift toward disciplined growth. If 2023 was defined by a "funding winter" and 2024 by cautious optimism, 2025 will be remembered for a historic rise in exits, particularly through the public markets. While overall funding volumes declined, the average median deal size nearly doubled to about USD 1.4 million in 2025, from roughly USD 700,000 in 2024, signalling greater investor selectivity and maturity. India's technology startups raised USD 10.5 billion in 2025, down 17 per cent from USD 12.7 billion in 2024 and 4 per cent from USD 11 billion in 2023, according to Tracxn. The number of USD 100 million-plus funding rounds fell to 14, compared with 19 in 2024, though large deals included Erisha E Mobility (USD 1 billion), Zepto (USD 450 million) and GreenLine (USD 275 million). Despite lower funding, liquidity eve

Licious crosses ₹100 crore monthly revenue mark for the first time

Omnichannel expansion and repeat demand fuel the meat retailer's post-pandemic growth rebound

SPF plans to work with govt to retain, draw deeptech talent back to India

The Startup Policy Forum is working with the government on a scheme to retain and bring back high-tech talent, while deeptech start-ups seek fixes to procurement rules and certification delays