Startups

Celebrity investors move beyond endorsements, take equity in startups

Celebrities are increasingly taking equity stakes in Indian startups and getting involved in products, creative direction and brand-building beyond advertising

Brics 2026: Delhi Declaration backs startup fund, incubator network

Brics members back greater startup cooperation through a proposed innovation fund, incubator network and virtual platform for youth-led startups under the New Delhi Declaration

Brics Summit 2026: Govt pitches 37 deep-tech startups to investors

The two-day exposition seeks to facilitate investment discussions, technology partnerships, business linkages and international market access for Indian startups

Appointment of RDI's second level fund managers in process: Jitendra Singh

The government had invited applications from venture capital funds and other organisations to become fund managers; the application process closed on January 31

Agnikul Cosmos opens two units, scales infra for reusable rockets

Agnikul Cosmos expands reusable rocket capabilities with new Chennai testing and manufacturing facilities

IIM Lucknow to incubate rural women-led startups, enterprises in UP

Under this programme, nearly 150 women-led rural enterprises will receive structured incubation support from IIM Lucknow for a period of 18 months

Statsguru: Gaps in funding space despite India's growing startup ecosystem

India's space-tech ecosystem is expanding rapidly, but funding remains a key challenge despite a surge in startup formation

Piper Serica plans to deploy ₹180-220 crore in 4-6 deeptech startups

Armed with a fresh investment war chest, Piper Serica expects to deploy Rs 180-220 crore across 4-6 deep-tech startups this fiscal, as it scouts opportunities in areas like space technology, semiconductors, advanced electronics, energy and life sciences, according to its Director Ajay Modi. The investment firm's new Bharat Tech Fund, a Category II AIF, targeting a corpus of Rs 600 crore, alongside a greenshoe option of Rs 200 crore, has already raised about Rs 400 crore and evaluated around 30-35 startups in the hunt for the next investment, Modi told PTI. The fund expects to make some of its first commitments over the next month or so, with investments typically ranging from Rs 25 crore to Rs 50 crore per company. "We have already started the process of identifying opportunities; we have evaluated almost 30-35 startups already in the hunt for the next investment by the Bharat Tech Fund. We are close to making some advancements in our commitments in the next month or so," he ...

Leanwatts raises ₹18.15 crore in seed funding led by Trivest Partners

The Hyderabad-based startup is also expanding its portfolio across public charging solutions, rectifiers, power modules, hybrid inverters and broader power conversion systems for the energy ecosystem

Whatfix CEO Khadim Batti, a prominent SaaS entrepreneur, passes away

Batti helped build Whatfix into a global enterprise software company and was a mentor to India's startup community

TILT Capital launches ₹250 crore fund to back next-generation startups

The/Nudge Foundation's investment platform will provide ₹2 crore to ₹16 crore in patient capital to seed-to-Series A ventures serving India's Next Billion across livelihoods and climate resilience

Homegrown direct-to-consumer companies raise $6 billion in five years

India's homegrown D2C startups raised nearly $6 billion across 2,000 equity funding rounds between 2021 and 2026 YTD, but funding has slowed sharply this year

Goyal proposes India-Japan 'Shark Tank' to boost investment, business ties

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday proposed an India-Japan startup pitching series, on the lines of the popular 'Shark Tank' format, to connect young startups from the two countries with investors and potential business partners. Addressing a roundtable on startups, Goyal said such pitching sessions could be organised virtually, leveraging digital connectivity, to facilitate greater interaction between Indian and Japanese startups. "India and Japan can develop a pitching series, something like the Shark Tank initiative, that can help young startups pitch," Goyal said. He said Indian startups could pitch their ideas to Japanese investors, while Japanese startups could seek partners and business opportunities in India. "In this world of global connectivity through Zoom calls and the internet, I think we can have more and more pitching sessions where Indian startups pitch for Japanese investments and Japanese startups pitch for partners in India," he said. Goyal

AI boom's high salaries stifling Indian chip-design startups: TDK Ventures

Soaring AI-driven salaries and stock options are discouraging Indian chip-design talent from taking the risk of building deep-tech startups, TDK Ventures says

AI-led startups face takeoff hiccups as overreliance poses challenges

AI is helping Indian founders build prototypes faster, but scaling these startups is proving harder as technology costs, bugs and weak product understanding emerge

IDFC First Bank, IIMCIP launch ₹2 crore startup incubation initiative

IDFC First Bank has partnered with the IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) to launch a pan-India programme aimed at nurturing enterprises working on sustainable business solutions, officials said on Monday. The 'IGNITE' programme will provide total financial and operational support of Rs 2 crore, including a direct startup grant corpus of Rs 1.36 crore, they said. It aims to help early-stage ventures strengthen their business models, expand market reach, and deliver measurable environmental and social outcomes, according to an official statement. Under the programme, 16 startups from across the country will be selected through a competitive evaluation process, it said. The focus areas include green manufacturing, waste recycling and upcycling, cleantech, renewable energy, water management, environmental technologies, and the sustainable use of indigenous resources. The selected startups will undergo a structured incubation journey comprising business diagnostics, expert mentorin

PM Narendra Modi meets founders, CEOs of 20 homegrown space-tech startups

The Prime Minister said private participation had strengthened India's space ambitions and urged startups to explore applications in agriculture, environment and education

Over 85% of India's deeptech funding raised in past six years: IVCA

More than 85 per cent of India's $11.4 billion deeptech funding since 2015 was raised in the past six years, as the sector moved from early-stage proof points to commercial validation

IIM-B incubator tops $7 billion in startup value as it turns to AI

NSRCEL plans specialised sector centers and AI tools to expand its entrepreneur network toward one million

In an age of social media, founder-led brands are the new business model

Interestingly, founder-led brands follow a very different marketing formula