Start- Ups

Home services platform Snabbit raises $56 mn in Series D funding round

Home services platform Snabbit has raised USD 56 million (about Rs 530 crore) in a funding round co-led by Susquehanna Venture Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investments' Unicorn Growth Fund, and Bertelsmann India Investments, the company said on Tuesday. Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Lightspeed also participated in the round. Snabbit Founder and CEO Aayush Agarwal told PTI that the company plans to utilise the fund to build a strong balance sheet as it is gearing up to expand service in micro markets and foray into new categories in near future. "We have raised USD 56 million in Series D round funding, led by SIG, along with Mirae and Bertelsmann. This also marks Miraeas first investment from the Unicorn Growth Fund that was recently launched. We already have strong investors like Lightspeed, Elevation, and Nexus. Bertelsmann, which led our previous round, is doubling down significantly," Agarwal said. Global marketplace investor FJ Labs also participated in the fund

Govt issues norms for ₹10,000 crore startup fund's second tranche

The government on Saturday issued detailed guidelines for operationalisation of the second tranche of Rs 10,000 crore fund of funds (FoF) scheme for startups. The guidelines include mechanisms for fund deployment, governance, and monitoring, with the objective of improving the efficiency of capital flows into India's startup ecosystem, the commerce and industry ministry said. The scheme will be implemented through commitments to SEBI-registered Category I and II Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), which will invest in DPIIT-recognised startups. "This approach is expected to ensure disciplined capital allocation, crowding-in of private investments, and wider access to funding across sectors, stages, and geographies," it said. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), it said, will act as the initial Implementation Agency and will undertake execution through a structured AIF selection and monitoring process. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

CoRover claims 1.8 billion users globally as it expands agentic AI platform

Indian startup bets on agentic AI for governments and enterprises as adoption scales across sectors, driven by multilingual capabilities, high-volume interactions, and sovereign AI infrastructure

Follower to leader: India's AI application shifts reshape tech landscape

India emerges as a leader in AI's application layer, with startups driving real-world deployment, enterprise adoption and revenue generation, says SenseAI Ventures

India fourth-highest funded country in FY26, with funding falling 18%

India retained its position as the fourth-highest funded startup ecosystem globally in FY26 despite an 18 per cent drop in funding, with early-stage investments and IPO activity showing resilience

Nearly 86% startups increase AI spend, says Elevation Capital report

In addition, more than half expect to double their spend, reflecting a strong and growing conviction in AI's role in driving future growth

JIIF plans to invest ₹80-100 cr in 12-18 months in early-stage startups

Investment platform JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation on Monday said it plans to invest Rs 80-100 crore in early-stage startups in the next 12-18 months. The platform has invested over Rs 150 crore across more than 100 pre-seed and seed-stage startups over the past two years, and reported over 15 exits during the period. "Over the next 1218 months, the platform plans to invest approximately Rs 80100 crore, with an aim to back 2025 startups annually. Its investment ticket size currently ranges between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2 crore, depending on stage and sector," JIIF said in a statement. The platform has also made a Rs 26.5-crore investment in Mumbai-based Atomic Capital. The move allows JIIF to participate in a wider set of investment opportunities beyond direct startup investments. JIIF further said that it plans to launch an accelerator programme focused on the Asia-Pacific region, covering India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, where the programme will target early-st

UAE's Valura.ai makes India debut, onboards 1,000 wealth advisors

Valura.ai, an AI-native global investment platform, on Monday announced the onboarding of over 1,000 wealth advisors across India ahead of its official launch, with a collective AUM pipeline exceeding Rs 3,000 crore over the next 12-18 months. The platform provides access to over one lakh global securities with client assets held in local custody within the IFSC at GIFT City under IFSCA regulation, rather than being routed through offshore brokers. The onboarded network includes independent financial advisors (IFAs), registered investment advisors (RIAs), mutual fund distributors, and chartered accountants. The pre-launch response signals strong demand for a credible global investing infrastructure at a time when India's outbound investment surged 67 per cent to USD 41.6 billion in FY25, and the rupee has depreciated over 8 per cent against the US dollar in the past 12 months, Valura.ai said in a release. "Valura combines AI-driven research and portfolio construction with seamless

Poor product data, rising returns push up e-commerce logistics costs

E-commerce and quick commerce platforms are using artificial intelligence to improve product data quality, reduce returns, and ease rising logistics costs amid growing customer expectations

G+D to scale passkey authentication push in India over next two years

German firm Giesecke+Devrient plans to scale passkey-based biometric authentication in India, partnering with banks and card networks to boost trust and improve transaction success rates

Beyond Bengaluru, startups are rising but big capital remains unconvinced

A recent report shows that more than 68,000 startups are now headquartered outside key startup hubs like Bengaluru and Delhi, yet they attracted only 2.1 per cent of capital deployed in India between

India start-ups raise $9.1 billion funding as focus shifts to execution

Selective capital is backing scalable ventures, while AI-led DeepTech gains momentum as investors prioritise proven models, monetisation, and commercial readiness

Hiring to rise 4.7% in H1FY27, led by ecommerce, tech startups: Report

India's workforce is projected to expand 4.7 per cent in the first half of FY27, driven largely by growth in e-commerce, tech startups, healthcare, pharma and manufacturing, a report said Wednesday. This improving sentiment is most visible among large enterprises, where 74 per cent indicate expansion, compared to 57 per cent of mid-sized firms and 38 per cent of small businesses, pointing to a scale-driven recovery in employment growth, TeamLease Services projects in its Employment Outlook Report (EOR) for April-September FY27 noted that the momentum carries across sectors, with both digital and core economy industries contributing to the demand. E-commerce and tech startups led with a net employment change (NEC) of 8.9 per cent, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals at 7 per cent, followed by manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure at 6.6 per cent, said the report. It projected an NEC of 4.7 per cent during the period. The report is based on insights from 1,268 employers across 2

Meesho bets on Voice AI to bring conversational shopping online

Meesho launches "Vaani-Your Meesho Dost", a generative AI voice assistant to simplify online shopping, improve engagement, and drive conversions among new internet users

Odisha unveils AI roadmap, to set up mission and labs across institutes

Odisha unveils AI policy roadmap with plans for AI Mission, research labs and innovation initiatives to drive governance, startups and digital ecosystem growth

West Asia conflict sends Indian startups into wait-and-watch mode

Indian startups are turning cautious on expansion and investments in West Asia amid the ongoing conflict, with fintech and travel sectors seeing early stress while edtech remains relatively stable

Company, customers, and professionals can all win: Pronto's Anjali Sardana

Pronto's 23-year-old founder says daily bookings have grown 18-fold in seven months, as the startup targets 70,000 bookings a day by June

Tamil Nadu govt to invest ₹25 crore in space startup Agnikul Cosmos

The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) will invest Rs 25 crore in Chennai-based Agnikul Cosmos under the TIDCO Startup Investment Policy 2025. Established in 1965, TIDCO is a premier industrial development agency of the Tamil Nadu government, and undertakes joint ventures and facilitates big industrial and infrastructure projects in the state. The latest investment would help accelerate Agnikul's operational readiness, supporting the scaling of its aerospace manufacturing capabilities, advancing its stage recovery program, and strengthening the development of its integrated space campus on the 300 acres allocated by the Tamil Nadu government near Kulasekharapatnam. In a statement, Moin SPM, co-founder and COO of the company, said, "This investment from the state government is a strong motivation for all of us to build and give back to the local community." Agnikul is currently scaling its first orbital launch with Agnibaan, a small satellite launch vehicle capabl

TIDCO board approves investment of ₹25 crore each in AgniKul Cosmos, Raptee

The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation will invest ₹25 crore each in AgniKul Cosmos and Raptee Energy under the Startup Investment Policy 2025

Snabbit founder seeks fresh funding in India's $60 bn housework market

Less than 1 per cent of paid household help is currently ordered through online platforms, Redseer estimates, leaving them with ample room to gain market share