Start- Ups

"Platforms that combine scale with sustainable unit economics will win"

Kapil Thirani, vice president for Shopsy and Flipkart Marketplace, shares insights about Flipkart's zero-commission push to capture India's value-conscious Gen Z and first-time rural shoppers

How two engineers built Sarvam AI from an idea to a summit showcase

The summit spotlight was recent, but Sarvam AI's rise began years earlier, as two engineers built an India-first AI startup focused on sovereign models, local datasets and real-world applications

India placed third in global AI vibrancy index after US, China: Report

India placed third after the US and China in AI vibrancy index, scoring strongly on R&D and talent while advancing data governance and policy frameworks

TN must join hands with Centre to boost startup ecosystem: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday urged the Tamil Nadu government to work closely with the Centre to further strengthen the state's startup ecosystem, noting that despite significant progress, it still has immense untapped potential. Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Research, Industry, Start-up and Entrepreneurship (RISE) Conclave here, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences highlighted India's exponential growth in the sector, which has increased from 350 startups in 2014 to over 2 lakh today. "Tamil Nadu has contributed 34,000 registered startups, but there is still significant untapped potential. We need to create an enabling ecosystem, particularly in tier-II and tier-III cities, to accelerate innovation-driven entrepreneurship," Singh said. He encouraged youth in growth hubs like Chennai and Coimbatore to leverage central initiatives to scale up their ventures, pointing out that startups have already ...

Delhi-NCR startups raise $2.9 bn in 2025; auto tech jumps: Report

Total funding in the Delhi-NCR tech ecosystem rose 9 per cent to USD 2.9 billion in 2025, driven by a massive surge in late-stage investments and a blockbuster year for the auto tech sector, according to a report by data intelligence platform Tracxn. While the total capital raised saw an uptick from USD 2.7 billion in 2024, the ecosystem witnessed a significant 34 per cent decline in deal volume, with the number of funding rounds dropping to 415 from 630 in the previous year. This indicates a "shift toward higher conviction in fewer assets", the report noted. Total funding growth was driven by a sharp rise in late-stage investments, while seed and early-stage funding fell compared to previous years. Late-stage funding witnessed a 47 per cent surge, reaching USD 1.8 billion in 2025. In sharp contrast, seed-stage funding plummeted by 38 per cent to USD 260 million, while early-stage funding dropped 18 per cent to USD 839 million. The auto tech sector emerged as the frontrunner of ...

UIDAI plans fund to back tech companies innovating around Aadhaar

UIDAI is exploring setting up a fund to back seed-stage start-ups building innovative Aadhaar-based solutions, aimed at improving the quality, security and trustworthiness of the system

Homegrown Indian startup founders outperform returnee diaspora, finds study

A study by AnnaLee Saxenian and Vivek Wadhwa reveals that domestic founders lead in commercial outcomes, while returnees play specialized roles

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