Page 5 - Start- Ups

Couples invite global guests to weddings via innovative startups, for a fee

From dressing in colourful lehengas and sherwanis to dancing to Bollywood tunes during the baraat, these startups are offering an immersive journey into the world of Indian weddings

Cognida.ai raises $15 million to transform enterprise AI adoption

Cognida says its practical approach reduces AI implementation time from eight months to just 12 weeks, making AI adoption predictable and profitable

Make OpenAI affordable for developers: Top Indian startup chiefs to Altman

The importance of India to OpenAI was stated by Altman, when he said that India is the second largest market for OpenAI

Budget 2025: ME-Card announced for credit access to MSMEs; key features

To facilitate credit accessibility, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced a customised credit card scheme for micro enterprises registered on the Udyam portal

Ed-tech firm upGrad to build Institute of AI Excellence in Maharashtra

Under the 'Educity' initiative of Maharashtra, upGrad will also establish an Urban University and Campus Hubs in partnership with three global universities -

Quick-service app Snabbit raises $5.5 million led by Elevation Capital

Snabbit aims to simplify urban living by connecting households with trusted and trained professionals for everyday home tasks

Startup India made country a vibrant startup hub, says PM Modi

Lauding 'Startup India' as a transformative programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on its ninth anniversary on Thursday that the initiative has propelled India to become one of the largest and most vibrant startup ecosystems globally. It is a landmark initiative that has redefined innovation, entrepreneurship and growth, he said, describing the programme as "very close to my heart," as it has emerged as a powerful way of furthering youth empowerment. He said on X, "Over the past nine years, this transformative program has empowered countless youngsters, turning their innovative ideas into successful Startups." People would doubt India's ability to thrive in this system just a decade ago, he added. The prime minister said this "transformative" programme has empowered countless youngsters, turning their innovative ideas into successful startups. From tech-driven solutions to rural innovations, healthcare advancements to biotech breakthroughs, Fintech to EdTech, clean energy to

From 500 to over 159,000 and counting: Nine years of Startup India

As the country celebrates the 9th edition of Startup India, the ecosystem now boasts over 1.59 lakh DPIIT recognised startups and 110 unicorns, making it the third-largest globally

AIFs seek specific funds from govt for new-age, sunrise, deep-tech startups

Alternate investment funds (AIFs) have sought from the government specific funds for investments in new-age, sunrise and deep-tech startups with a view to promote innovation in the country, an official said. They have also urged the government to announce a fresh round of funds under the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) scheme. These demands were raised during a meeting between AIFs and the officials of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) here last week. The department held discussions with AIFs on ways to promote funding for startups in the country, the official said. "In the meeting AIFs demanded more funds under FFS. They demanded an increase in the duration of FFS from the existing 12 years," the official added. At present FFS is sector agnostic. The AIFs have suggested specific funds for the sunrise and new-age sectors. Issues like capital mobilisation and promoting funding for startups in smaller cities were also discussed during the meeting.

Ed-tech unicorn PhysicsWallah expands offline presence to over 150 centres

PhysicsWallah offers two types of classes for students: Vidyapeeth, which are its offline centres, and Pathshala, which includes a hybrid model

upGrad's Mayank Kumar, Oyo's Ayush Mathur unveil new venture BorderPlus

BorderPlus is a talent mobility platform dedicated to connecting blue-collar workers with global opportunities

UP govt plans Rs 4,000 cr corpus to boost startups, innovation ecosystem

The proposed corpus will be facilitated by the state government and the investment managers under the aegis of the UP Innovation Fund (UPIF)

Venture capital firm Accel secures $650 million for eighth India fund

Accel earned a 35x gain on its investment in Swiggy's initial public offering (IPO), marking one of the biggest gains for the Silicon Valley fund

After rough ride this year, Indian startups look for a promising 2025

The Indian startup ecosystem experienced a rollercoaster ride in 2024, characterised by a slight-yet-concerning decline in funding activity and a shift in investor sentiment, alongside a silver lining with several startups achieving unicorn status. Despite facing global economic challenges, India's startups showcased remarkable resilience, adeptly navigating changing market conditions, while continuing to attract investments. According to data from Tracxn, Indian startups raised a total of USD 30.4 billion in funding throughout 2024, a 6.5 per cent decline from the USD 32.5 billion secured in 2023. Despite this dip, the Indian startup ecosystem demonstrated resilience, with several companies achieving unicorn status this year. Noteworthy entrants to the unicorn club include Rapido, Ather, Perfios, Porter, and Money View, highlighting ongoing innovation and investment interest in the sector. The overall funding trend reflects a cautious-yet-optimistic approach from investors, as the

Perfect human-machine interaction likely in 12-18 months: CoRover CEO

CoRover develops human-centric conversational platforms driven by generative AI (Gen AI) technology, including chatbots, avatars, and voice bots, and has already gained over a billion users

B2B robotics startup Haber raises $44 mn in funding from Creaegis, BEENEXT

Haber plans to use the capital primarily to scale its operations internationally, with a particular focus on the Americas, where demand for AI-driven industrial automation solutions is rising rapidly

Orange Health Labs raises $12 million in funding led by Amazon Smbhav

The company offers diagnostics directly to customers' doorsteps, with booking available through its website or app

Israel sees record-breaking $10.5 billion in startup acquisitions

This comes amid ongoing economic troubles in Europe and the US and as Israel faces an ongoing, multi- front war

Proptech startup Reloy sees 40% revenue growth to Rs 25 cr on strong demand

HDFC Capital-backed Proptech startup Reloy, which helps builders generate referral sales, is likely to achieve nearly 40 per cent revenue growth to Rs 25 crore this fiscal on strong housing demand. "We have now cracked the code on referral sales and are replicating this across all our clients. This is also backed by new client wins," Reloy founder and CEO Akhil Saraf told PTI. During the last financial year, Reloy had helped builders in generating Rs 1,450 crore worth of referral sales. The number will be higher in the current 2024-25 fiscal. Saraf noted that the company has benefited from a strong revival of housing demand post-COVID. "The demand continues to be strong, especially for reputed builders who have a good track record of delivering projects on time," Saraf said. Founded in 2015, Reloy has been specialising in real estate loyalty and referrals. It is a B2B2C homeowner and broker management platform that helps builders manage their builders and brokers more ...

The Earnicorns highlights profitable startups in a unicorn-dominated world

Startups, unicorns included, have been about adventure (misadventure too), independence (at least from the outside), pitches (and rounds of fund-raising in dollars