Page 4 - Startups In India

Delhi govt to set up food incubators, hi-tech labs to boost startups

The Delhi government will set up two new incubation centres for micro food processing firms and three advanced technology labs for startups, Industries Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said on Saturday. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship PMFME scheme, Rs 4.5 crore will be invested in food processing incubators at Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University's World Class Skill Centres in Jhandewalan and Wazirpur. Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University has already received an initial Rs 50 lakh tranche and begun procuring bakery line equipment, Sirsa said. He also said that separately, a Rs 3.06 crore corporate social responsibility grant from the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation will finance two Internet of Things labs and a fabrication lab on Netaji Subhas University of Technology's East and Main campuses. The facilities will offer prototyping, testing and upskilling support to students, faculty and local entrepreneurs, he added. Unde

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.

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

HexaHealth closes Series A round of $12 mn to redefine India surgical care

Other participants included Enzia Ventures and ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, along with existing investors Chiratae Ventures and Omidyar Network India

Uniqus Consultech raises $20 mn in Series C funding, round led by Nexus

The round was led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from Sorin Investments. Both are existing investors in the company

India's agrifoodtech startups raised $2.5 bn in 2024, 3X rise from 2023

Investments in India's agrifoodtech startups jumped over 3-fold to USD 2.5 billion last year, driven by funds raised by quick commerce company Zepto, according to a report. Omnivore, in collaboration with AgFunder, a global investment platform, on Wednesday released a report titled 'Developing Markets AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2025'. As per the report, investment in India's agrifoodtech startups stood at USD 2.5 billion in 2024 as against USD 806 million in the preceding year. Zepto raised USD 1.4 billion last year in multiple rounds. "Top rounds for India in 2024 highlight continued investment into eGrocery and restaurant-related startups, which are well-suited to the country given its dense urban settings and high population. Midstream Technologies has also been a high-performing category for India agrifoodtech investment," the report said. According to a statement, agrifoodtech investment in developing markets reached USD 3.7 billion in 2024, up 63 per cent from 2023 and .

India's startup failure isn't about ambition, it's about the economy

Criticism of Indian startups may be valid, but the real culprit behind their consumer focus and lack of innovation is the govt's economic model

Govt to give bulk of ₹10,000 cr startup fund to AI, tech sectors: Official

The commerce and industry ministry will allocate a major part of the second Rs 10,000 crore Fund of Funds Scheme (FFS) for startups to budding entrepreneurs in sectors such as new-age technology, artificial intelligence, and machine building, an official said. In the Budget, the government announced a new FFS with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore. In 2016 also, the government had launched a similar scheme. "We are going to dedicate a lot of this Rs 10,000 crore fund of funds largely for the new age tech, AI, and machine building," the official said. The 2016 scheme was set up to catalyse venture capital investments and is operationalised by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), which provides capital to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)-registered AIFs, which in turn invest in startups. SIDBI is expected to manage the second scheme also, the official added. With an intent to build a strong ecosystem of the country for nurturing innovation and promoting ...

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,

Xindus raises $10 mn in Series A funding round to scale up operations

Full stack cross-border trade startup Xindus on Thursday said it has secured USD 10-million capital in Series A funding round for scaling up its operations. The latest round was led by 3one4 Capital, co-led by Orios Venture Partners, with participation from Shastra VC and Caret Capital, Xindus said. Founded in 2022 by Saurabh Goyal (CEO and co-founder), with Madan Mohan, Jaikaar Singh and Saptarshi Datta asco-founders, the platform enables SMEs looking to access global markets in streamlining order fulfillment, worldwide shipping, trade compliance, and seamless management of financial flows. The freshly raised funds will be utilised to scale operations significantly, as it aims to onboard 10,000 customers over the next 18 months while driving GMV ( gross merchant value) to USD 200 million, it said. The company said it also plans to strengthen its foothold in India -US corridor while expanding market reach across key regions like the UK, Canada, Australia, Europe, and the Middle ...

Aman Gupta backs Piyush Goyal's push for deep-tech focus in startups

boAt co-founder Aman Gupta has come out in support of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's recent remarks urging Indian startups to focus more on deep-tech innovation. Gupta's comments come amid an ongoing debate within the startup ecosystem where several founders have countered Goyal's critique of consumer-focused ventures like food delivery and luxury goods startups. Gupta took to social media platform X to echo Goyal's call for startups to move beyond consumer-centric models like food delivery and fantasy sports apps and instead prioritise technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum computing. "It's not every day that the government asks founders to dream bigger. But at Startup Mahakumbh, that's exactly what happened. I was there. I heard the full speech. Hon. Minister @PiyushGoyal Ji isn't against founders. He believes in us. His point was simple: India has come far, but to lead the worldwe need to aim higher. "It reminded me of something I say oft

'Misplaced, illogical': BJP MP slams Zepto CEO's defence of Indian startups

BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal, who also serves as the secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders, backed Goyal's remarks made at the recently concluded Startup Mahakumbh

EaseMyTrip's Rikant Pittie enters startup debate, pens Linkedin post

Pittie took to his LinkedIn timeline to share insights into the company's evolution from a bootstrapped startup to a global travel tech leader

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

Shift focus from grocery delivery to high-tech sectors: Goyal to startups

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday asked the Indian startup community to shift their focus from grocery delivery and ice cream making to to high tech sector like semiconductor, machine learning, robotics, and artificial intelligence. He also said there is a need for more Indian investors into the startup ecosystem. "Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls... Is that the destiny of India... this is not startup, this is entrepreneurship... What other side is doing -- robotics, machine learning, 3D manufacturing and next generation factories factories," he said here at the Startup Mahakumbh. The minister said the new startups should focus on preparing the nation for the future. "Do we have to make ice cream or chips?" he asked. He also underscored the evolving role of startups in driving India's economic and technological growth. He assured that the government will handhold and support those who face challenges in their startup journey, encouragin

Startup Mahakumbh 2025: Registration, time and what's new this year?

Piyush Goyal, the commerce minister, launched the second edition of "Startup Mahakumbh" today. About 3,000 companies, more than 1,000 investors and incubators from 50 countries will participate

Nabhdrishti Aerospace raises $3 mn to develop next-gen propulsion tech

Founded in 2023, Nabhdrishti is focused on building sustainable, indigenous propulsion systems that can reduce India's reliance on imported aerospace technology

India's tech startups raise $2.5 billion in Q1 2025, up 8.7% from 2024

Across different stages of investment, late-stage startups attracted the highest total funding of $1.8 billion in Q1 FY25, compared to $1.3 billion in Q4 FY24

Many nations want to adopt India's development model, says Piyush Goyal

Several nations want to adopt India's development model, which has given prominence to initiatives such as Startup India that encourage innovation, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said here on Saturday. Addressing the valedictory function of Vejalpur Startup Festival 2.0, Goyal also said India aims to take the number of unicorns from the existing 118 to 1,000 and 5,000. The startup ecosystem created in the country has encouraged job seekers to become job creators, the Union minister asserted. "Narendra Modi as the then chief minister of Gujarat ensured fast paced development of the state. Gujarat's development then became the country's development. And slowly, several countries, especially developing countries, today want to adopt India's development model," Goyal said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated to the nation several jewels in this development model, like Swachh Bharat Mission, Make In India, Digital India, Startup India, International Yoga ...

India to see $600 bn in investments over next 3 yrs for startups: Experts

India can expect over USD 600 billion in alternative investments in next three years to fuel the startup ecosystem, according to experts. This influx of capital is anticipated to foster innovation, support entrepreneurship, and create an enabling environment for new ventures to thrive, they said at the launch of Centre for Financial Markets (CFM) by IMT in Mumbai last week. India's startup ecosystem is poised for significant growth, with projections indicating that over USD 600 billion in private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) investments will flow into the country over the next three years, Atish Chattopadhyay, Director of IMT Ghaziabad said in a statement. This figure represents 13 per cent of the estimated USD 4.7 trillion required (including government investments, corporate retention, PE/VC funding, corporate debt, initial public offerings (IPOs), and other sources) to achieve a USD 5 trillion economy by FY2027, he added. As investors recognize the immense potential of Ind