Startups

Everest Fleet in talks with BluSmart lenders to acquire electric cabs

Company plans to purchase BluSmart EVs and integrate them under Uber Green; talks underway with multiple lenders; decision based on pricing and quality

Jaggi brothers resign from Gensol Engineering board amid Sebi fund probe

SEBI had barred Anmol and Puneet Jaggi from directorial roles over fund diversion; Gensol founders submit resignations citing regulatory order

Zopper eyes expansion after raising $25 mn, IPO likely in 3-5 years: COO

Insurtech firm Zopper is currently focussed on scaling up its operations and may consider going public in the next 3 to 5 years, a top company official said. The company has recently raised USD 25 million in growth capital from investors to accelerate its expansion and invest in new-age technology. "As such, our business has a positive gross margin. But in a growth company, you keep investing the profits into future growth, which we have also been doing for many years," Zopper co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Mayank Gupta told PTI. He also said the company is not looking to break even at this stage but is instead investing every earned money towards expansion. "If we want, we can break even today, but that will mean that we stop investing in the future, and growth will become stunted," he said. The B2B insurance infrastructure company is even open to inorganic routes for expansion. "We are not actively looking at any acquisition, but keep doing a sense check of the market.

Startups get boost as govt raises credit guarantee cover to ₹20 crore

Revised CGSS raises guarantee cover to ₹20 crore and increases protection for lenders to encourage credit flow and reduce risks for innovation-led startups

Govt clears revised credit guarantee scheme for startups, max cover ₹20 cr

The government on Thursday approved a revised Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS), under which the maximum guarantee cover per borrower has been doubled to Rs 20 crore. The broad objective of CGSS is to provide guarantee up to a specified limit against credit instruments extended by member institutions to finance eligible startups. This scheme would help provide the much needed collateral-free debt funding to startups, the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) said in a notification. This notification supersedes the earlier notification dated October 6, 2022 on the scheme and comes into effect from May 8. "Maximum guarantee cover per borrower shall not exceed Rs 20 crore," it said. It was earlier Rs 10 crore. Member institutions include a financial intermediary (banks, FIs, NBFCs, AIFs) engaged in lending/investing and conforming to the eligibility criteria duly approved under the scheme. To further catalyse entrepreneurship by providing enhanced

Celcius Logistics raises ₹250 cr in Series B to expand to 1,000 cities

With the latest round, Celcius aims to scale its tech-enabled cold chain logistics, enter new sectors, and enhance its presence in over 1,000 cities across India

Fintech-focused VC firm QED Investors eyes India in $300 mn Asia push

After investing around $200 million in India since 2020, the VC firm is pushing deeper into Asia-now operating in Indonesia, Japan, and Singapore, and setting its sights on South Korea and Australia

Delivery riders sweat through the gap between corporate hype and reality

Despite companies asserting they provide adequate support, many workers report poor earnings, limited access to rest, and a lack of basic summer relief measures

Lighthouse invests ₹225 crore in premium occasion wear Kalki Fashion

Founded by Saurabh, Shishir, and Nishit Gupta, Kalki offers premium bridal, festive, and occasion wear for both men and women

Startup leaders meet Piyush Goyal to discuss innovation, ecosystem growth

Top founders pushed for reforms to attract global talent, boost deeptech, drive investment, steps to ease business operations-including the process of "flipping" companies back to India from overseas

Perfios strengthens portfolio with IHX, its third acquisition this year

Goswami explained that deal would tackle ecosystem-level challenges such as lack of real-time transparency, inefficiencies in claim processing and the rising cost burden in healthcare for customers

Startups, MSMEs filed 310% more patents in past 5 years: Official

Patent filings by startups and MSMEs have increased by 310 per cent in the last 5 years from 1,492 in 2018-19 to 6,120 in 2023-24, an official said on Thursday. N Ramchander, Joint Controller, Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, further shared that in about three years over 2.4 million students and faculty across India have been educated about IP rights through the National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission launched in 2021. Addressing an event organised by ASSOCHAM, he informed that the filing of patent applications in India has surged by 116 per cent rising from 42,763 in 2014-15 to 92,172 in 2023-24. "Patent grants have been an even more remarkable increase of 1,624 per cent, jumping from 5,978 in 2014-15 to 103,057 in 2023-24. India has seen biggest change in resident and non-resident distribution over past 10 years with the share of resident filling increasing from 24.8 per cent in 2013 to 60 per cent in 2024," said N Ramchander. India's IPR policy has

In the eye of the storm, one BluSmart co-founder finds overwhelming support

Unlike in the past where founders have been pulled up for their role in such cases, Goyal has been spared the criticism. As if he was unaware of what was happening at BluSmart

PhonePe's Pincode app starts 24x7 medicine delivery in three cities

Pincode app is transforming the online pharmacy sector through exclusive partnerships with local medical shops, rather than utilising dark stores

Recognised startups spared Section 68 scrutiny, others under watch: CBDT

The clarification comes amid income-tax notices issued to startups for foreign funding routed via Singapore

Governance matters: Startups need strong, independent boards for growth

With Gensol, and its consumer-facing sister company BluSmart, coming under the Sebi lens, the list of startups caught on the wrong side of the law has grown longer

Tighter norms, rising compliance failures driving scrutiny for startups

Jaggi brothers case spotlights rising governance issues in startup ecosystem

India's D2C segment sees funding decline to $757 million in 2024

The decline in funding can be attributed to investor caution amid global economic slowdown, oversaturation of similar brands, and fluctuating unit economics driven by high customer acquisition costs

Startups face I-T department heat over funding through Singapore

Showcause notices issued to startups under Section 68 for capital raised over the past five years, demanding documentation on foreign investments

India can be global hub for IP-led innovation: Accel's Prashanth Prakash

Asserting that there is "limitless headroom for entrepreneurs", Prashanth Prakash, partner at Accel says the venture capital firm will use its recently announced USD 650 million fund over the next two-three years to back start-ups focused on AI and tech-led industrialisation. The company is eyeing 20-25 start-up investments this year as it mounts an aggressive push to tap into India's growing innovation landscape. "If you're a start-up entrepreneur, there's no better time to begin. The number of sectors that start-ups are impacting is also 10-fold...it is more multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral," Prakash told PTI in an interview. "There are a lot of opportunities for founders who have the capability to imagine and envision what products India and the world need. There is limitless headroom for entrepreneurs," he said. While US tariff impact remains uncertain, India does have a strong potential to position itself as a global hub for IP-led innovation and high-value manufacturing,