Page 2 - Startup

Pronto raises $25 million to expand instant-home services across cities

Epiq Capital leads the round; Pronto's daily bookings surge to over 18,000

Tattvam AI raises $1.7 million to speed up semiconductor chip design

Seedcamp-backed Tattvam AI is building a reasoning-driven AI system to automate complex semiconductor design tasks, aiming to compress multi-year development cycles into weeks

Don't dampen MSME ambition: Compliance must ease without lowering standards

Easing compliance is welcome, but exemptions that discourage growth risk weakening governance; India's small firms need scale, finance and strong digital compliance systems

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

Deep-tech, AI bets gather pace as investor appetite strengthens: VCs

Venture capitalists say stronger IPO exits have boosted LP confidence in long-gestation deep-tech and AI ventures, with family offices also stepping up bets in the sector

How Meesho's co-founder built e-commerce for price-conscious India

Sanjeev Kumar engineered AI-led systems tailored to low-end smartphones, regional languages and first-time shoppers, helping Meesho scale to 250 million annual transacting users

Cabinet approves Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 with ₹10,000 crore corpus

The Cabinet has approved the second tranche of the Startup India Fund of Funds Scheme with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday. The key focus would be on deep tech startups, early growth stage startups through smaller funds, tech-driven innovative manufacturing startups, and sector/stage agnostic startups, he added. There will be operational flexibilities, including higher government contribution in AlFs (alternative investment funds) funding deep tech and high-tech manufacturing, the minister said. The Union Cabinet approved the scheme in a meeting on Friday. The fund will encourage the long-term investing culture and patient capital. The government in 2016 had constituted a Fund of Funds worth Rs 10,000 crore to provide seed capital and enable startups take calculated risks. Following the successful utilisation of the first tranche, a second phase of Rs 10,000 crore was sanctioned in the Union Budget for 2025-26. So far, over 2 lakh en

India AI Summit: Sarvam AI, 11 other startups building indigenous LLMs

India AI Impact Summit: The following 12 startups under the IndiaAI Mission are building indigenous large language and multimodal AI models trained on Indian datasets

Women-led startups see 30% jump to over 9,600 in Uttar Pradesh

At present, there are over 19,000 startups recognised by the Central Government's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in the state, according to a senior official

Budget 2026 boosts startups, MSMEs with ₹10,000 crore funds, credit push

FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced a ₹10,000 cr SME Growth Fund and additional credit and equity support for micro enterprises and startups to cushion them against global economic uncertainty

Kitchenware startup Cumin Co. raises $5 mn in pre-Series A funding round

The direct-to-consumer kitchenware brand has raised $5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Fireside Ventures to expand R&D-led product portfolio and strengthen supply chain, innovation capabilities

AI startup Emergent raises $70 million in SoftBank, Khosla-led round

The firm has raised $100 million in seven months, with over 5 million users creating and shipping products in more than 190 countries

10 years of the mission: Startup India a revolution, says PM Modi

As Startup India turns 10, a surge in IPOs and AI-led innovation shows how India's startup ecosystem is maturing from rapid growth to sustainable scale

Tech startup hiring likely to remain subdued in 2026: Xpheno data

Echoing Ethanur's views, Shantanu Rooj, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of TeamLease Edtech, said that while hiring sentiment seems steadier than in 2025, it will still remain selective

Thinking of a startup? Abu Dhabi's Hub71 offers a global incubation base

Platform doubling down on India as a strategic bridge between Asia and the West

Startup founders meet in Delhi to discuss solutions to air pollution

About 40 startup founders and business representatives met here on Saturday to discuss problem-focused solutions to tackle Delhi's air pollution, a statement said. The meeting, held at Central Park here, was attended by representatives from venture capital and private equity firms. Startups working in areas such as mobility, agriculture and air purification shared their approaches and discussed challenges in expanding these interventions, the statement added. Vishal Lavti, co-founder of carpooling and bike-pooling platform Quick Ride, said private vehicles contribute significantly to the city's pollution levels. "While long-term solutions like electric vehicles will help, there are simple actions that can be taken immediately. Carpooling is one of the easiest and most effective options as it requires no additional infrastructure, only awareness and participation," he said. Another entrepreneur, Roshan Shankar of Saroja Earth, said incomplete burning of crop residue remains a major

SpaceTech startup ULOOK raises ₹19 crore from growX, InfoEdge Ventures

The funding will accelerate ULOOK's mission to build indigenous capability in radio-frequency intelligence, marking a decisive step toward strengthening India's technological sovereignty in space

SMBC to invest $200 million in Indian startups amid booming IPO market

A fund co-run by the banking arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. plans to pour the bulk of the $200 million it has raised into Indian startups

How this Retail-tech company became Reliance-backed

In this episode of Manager’s Mantra, Co-founder of Fynd, Sreeraman Mohan Girija shares insights on innovation, leadership, and what it takes to scale in the age of AI >

Beyond KYC: Lenders turn to 'alternative' data to assess risk, detect fraud

Risk assessment firms are using data available publicly or obtained through user consent but is not available through credit bureaus to detect mule accounts, syndicates, and risky borrowers