Page 3 - Start- Ups

Recur Club eyes early, mid-stage firms for Rs 2,000 crore FY26 bet

Recur Club plans to invest Rs 2 crore on average in early and mid-stage startups, aiming to fund 1,000 firms in FY26 through its debt marketplace platform and network of 50+ lenders

India needs entrepreneurship 2.0 with risk-taking, visionary founders

India, in fact, was a major exporter to West Asia, where two large empires - the Safavid and the Ottoman - provided a lucrative marketing area

CloudSEK sees 5-fold jump in valuation in $19 million fundraise round

Cybersecurity firm CloudSEK has raised USD 19 million in a fresh funding round from a clutch of investors at a five-fold increase in valuation to around USD 118 million (about Rs 1,000 crore) compared to its previous funding round, a top company official said. CloudSEK Co-Founder and CEO Rahul Sasi told PTI that the company has raised fund after a period of three years, mainly to set up its operations in the United States. "We have raised USD 19 million from some of the strategic investors after a period of about three years. In three years, our revenue has grown five times, and so has our valuation. We have raised funds at a valuation of around Rs 1,000 crore mainly to set up our US operations," Sasi said. The round saw participation from a mix of India and US-based investors, such as MassMutual Ventures, Inflexor Ventures, Prana Ventures, Tenacity Ventures, and select strategic investors, including Commvault. Meeran Family (founders of Eastern Group), StartupXSeed, Neon Fund and

Byju Raveendran eyes return via AI model, says students will be compensated

BYJU'S CEO Byju Raveendran apologises for past service disruptions, pledges compensation to affected students, and outlines vision for AI-powered BYJU'S 3.0

AI infrastructure startup Flam raises $14 million in Series A round

Flam will use the capital to scale its GenAI product suite, expand across North America, Europe and the Middle East, and deepen mixed reality infrastructure in Asia

Pre-IPO startups seek Sebi nod for flexibility on Esops to founders

Startups with diluted founder stakes seek Sebi's nod to issue Esops post-listing as they look to retain leadership alignment and reward long-term value creation

Proptech startup Alt DRX raises $2.7 million from investors to expand biz

Alt DRX, a tokenised digital real estate marketplace, has raised USD 2.7 million (around Rs 23 crore) to expand its business. In a statement on Monday, the company said it has "closed its Pre-Series A funding round, raising Rs 23 crore (USD 2.7 million)". The round witnessed participation from investors -- Qatar Development Bank, Times of India Brand Capital, Hindustan Media Ventures, Zee Group, WeFounder Circle Angel Fund, nX Capital -- besides angel investors such as Harsha Bhogle (Golden Voice of Cricket), Parthasarathy (Founder of Mindtree), and Richard Rekhy (former CEO of KPMG India). Alt DRX aims to make residential real estate accessible to people by democratising this asset class by enabling people to buy and sell tokenised residential properties one square feet at a time, powered by algorithmic daily pricing, instant settlements, and blockchain-powered transparency. Anand Narayanan, one of the founders of Alt DRX, said the fund will be utilised for purchase of residential

Uttarakhand to strengthen startups, sets up venture fund of Rs 200 crore

CM Dhami said that a venture fund of Rs 200 crore has been set up to boost entrepreneurship in the state

GreenGrahi raises ₹32 cr in a seed funding round led by Avaana Capital

The company also plans to expand its team and enter global markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, and the European Union

Nabard buys 10% stake in 24x7 Moneyworks to boost rural credit digitisation

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has acquired a 10 per cent stake in agri fintech startup 24x7 Moneyworks Consulting Pvt Ltd. This marks Nabard's first-ever investment in a bootstrapped startup, reinforcing its commitment to digital transformation in rural India, the apex rural credit institution said in a statement. 24x7 Moneyworks Consulting Pvt. Ltd's flagship platform, eKisanCredit (eKCC), is a fully digital loan origination system designed for Cooperative Banks, PACS and RRBs, it said. The eKCC platform integrates seamlessly with land records, Aadhaar, eKYC, core banking systems and ePACS, enabling end-to-end automation of the rural credit lifecycle, it said. Over the past two and half years, Nabard has piloted eKCC across various banks and the system is now ready for nation-wide roll-out, it said. "eKCC has demonstrated the potential to improve access, transparency, and efficiency in dispensing agricultural credit This strategic collaboration

Vayudh raises $10 million in funding round led by Dharana Capital

The funds will be used to deepen the company's research and development (R&D) capabilities, expand manufacturing infrastructure, and accelerate deployments with India's defence forces

And the wait continues: Fintech funding revival still out of reach

Sectoral regulators have signalled that they expect fintechs to focus strongly on governance, risk, compliance, and conduct aspects

Nanotech startup Vimano raises Rs 25 cr in seed round led by Ankur Capital

Vimano's membranes can reshape how energy is stored across multiple formats, with green hydrogen alone projected to grow nearly 10-times to over $60 bn by 2030, according to the investor Ankur Capital

AI startup landscape in India faces tech depth woes, talent drain

India trails global peers in core AI innovation despite rising investor interest

Why Indian startups are stuck in delivery while China races ahead in deep tech

India's startups excel in food delivery and e-commerce, but lag behind China's in deep tech, AI, and EVs. As global rivals scale up, India faces key innovation hurdles

India's deep-tech startups struggle with product-market fit: Investors

Speaking at the second edition of Startup Mahakumbh on Thursday, investors emphasised that while the country's startup ecosystem is buzzing with momentum

3000 startups to participate in Startup Mahakumbh 2025: DPIIT joint secy

The second edition of 'Startup Mahakumbh' is set to take place at Bharat Mandapam from April 3-5

Pratilipi raises $20 million to expand Indian language storytelling

The company expects this to be its final primary funding round ahead of a potential public listing

Indian start-ups raised $1.23 bn venture debt in 2024: Stride Ventures

The global venture debt market has been growing at a CAGR of 14 per cent

India's VC funding surges 40% in early 2025, defying global slowdown

Deal volume also increased 11 per cent during the same period, underscoring growing investor confidence in the country's innovation-driven startup ecosystem