Startup

Moreover, UP has planned to develop India's first artificial intelligence city in Lucknow, and set up an exclusive fund for the emerging technology to boost the AI ecosystem and foster AI startups

Venture capital firm Antler India is planning to invest USD 25 million, or about Rs 211 crore, in 50 startups in 2025, the company said on Wednesday. The venture capital firm has invested in 30 startups in 2024 through its maiden USD 75 million fund. "Antler plans to ramp up investments further in the next year and make 50 investments in 2025. We plan to invest USD 25 million in the 50 companies," Antler India Partner Rajiv Srivatsa told PTI. The company's 2024 investments include a wholesale marketplace for fashion retail Bizup, aluminium-air fuel cell technology company Meine Electric, open mobility platform Namma Yatri, personal loan facilitator firm Keeper, which uses paid leaves as digital assets for salaried employees, AI-powered dashcam provider Cautio, etc. "Our investment pace reflects both the quality of the founders we're meeting and our conviction that the next wave of global technology companies will emerge from India. We have invested in 30 companies this year, many o

SpeedForce, which operates in over 350 locations and services around 150 vehicles per outlet monthly, will now provide sales and service support for Joy e-bikes

This comes on the heels of the group's completion of its Sirona transaction and increases in shareholding in other portfolio brands Organic Harvest and Winkl

Investors attribute the revival to the country's strong public markets, which are boosting confidence in initial public offering (IPO)-bound startups offering viable exit opportunities

Airbound will deploy its R&D efforts to initially focus on medical deliveries and then expand into other areas such as food and groceries

Zetwerk's technology platform helps connect suppliers and customers in areas such as aircraft engine manufacturing, consumer electronics and home appliances

India heads the list of non-US-born unicorn founders, with 90 from the country, followed by Israel with 52, Canada with 42, the UK with 31, and China with 27 founders

Marut Drones is also exploring disaster management and surveillance applications

With this launch, EMOBI aims to capture 20-25 per cent of the market share in India's B2B last-mile delivery sector over the next three years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked civil servants on Saturday to keep themselves abreast with latest technological developments so as to meet the rising standards and stressed the need for following a citizen-centric approach. Addressing an event here, the prime minister also suggested seeking help from startups, research agencies and youngsters for getting new ideas. With artificial intelligence, information processing is also becoming equally easy, making the citizenry informed and empowering them to keep a tab on all the activities of the government, he said. "So the civil servants need to keep themselves abreast with latest technological developments so as to meet the rising standards, wherein Mission Karmayogi can prove to be of help," Modi said after launching the "Karmayogi Saptah" -- National Learning Week -- at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre here. The National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building or Mission Karmayogi was launched in September 2020 to foster

Weaver Services, a non-bank lender formed by former executives of erstwhile home finance major HDFC, on Thursday, announced that it has bagged Rs 800 crore in commitments from private equity funds. Gaja Capital and Lok Capital have made the commitment, which will be utilised for fuelling the company's pan-India plans and also for a Rs 267-crore acquisition of Capital India Home Loans, as per an official statement. "I am happy to see a team of former colleagues and partners unite to establish a housing finance company dedicated to addressing the needs of an under-served segment of society," Keki Mistry, former vice chairman and chief executive of HDFC, said in the statement. After securing necessary regulatory approvals and acquisition completion, Weaver is aiming to launch home loan products for self-employed individuals in the unorganised sector, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns, the statement added. HDFC's former head of merger and acquisitions Satrajit Bhattacharya, and .

Quick commerce startup Zepto is seeking funding from domestic sources, including Indian family offices and high-net-worth individuals, as it prepares for its upcoming IPO

Jewellery retailer GIVA on Monday said it has raised Rs 255 crore in a funding round, as it looks to expand its offline presence and bolster its lab-grown diamond offerings. The extended Series B funding round was led by Premji Invest, Epiq Capital, and Edelweiss Discover Fund, with participation from GIVA's top management. GIVA plans to use the funds for expansion across India and to enable strategic investor exits, the company said in a statement. The round facilitated partial exits for early investors A91 Partners and India Quotient. "Our focus remains steadfast on holding our position as the number one silver jewelry player in the market, while further fortifying our lab-grown diamond segment," GIVA Founder and CEO Ishendra Agarwal said. The company also aims to broaden its gold offerings and consolidate its market presence, Agarwal added. GIVA did not disclose the new valuation or the size of the stakes sold by existing investors.

Logistics automation startup Elixia has raised USD 1 million (about Rs 8.4 crore) in a funding round led by JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF). Other investors include Motilal Oswal (Motilal Oswal Financial Services), Vimal Shah (Bidco Oil), Sparsh Jain (JG Group), Vinod Dugar (RDB Group) and Vimal Khinvasara (WMA Group), Ashok Shah (vtransgroup) and Amit Chandwar (K M Trans Logistics). The company aims to use the new funding to expand in the Middle East, offering advanced logistics solutions for local businesses. This investment will also enhance their product offerings by integrating Generative AI and Machine Learning to boost multimodal visibility and operational efficiency, the company said in a statement. *** Robotics startup Perceptyne raises USD 3 mn * Deeptech robotics startup Perceptyne has raised USD 3 million (about Rs 25 crore) in a funding round led by Endiya Partners and Yali Capital. Whiteboard Capital and other angel investors also participated in t

Auger will provide a software-as-a-service platform which uses an artificial intelligence operating system along with automation to provide real-time data

September was the busiest month for healthcare IPOs this year, Dealogic data showed. Strong debuts by companies such as BioAge Labs and Bicara Therapeutics have also encouraged listings

The new parks are expected to provide more than just office spaces; they will be equipped with high-performance computing infrastructure, including cloud and GPU services

Supporting 80+ Fortune 500 companies, Whatfix registered top-decile performance with a 4.5x increase in annual recurring revenue since 2021 round, with new products contributing 15 per cent of revenue

The fresh capital will fuel Atlys' expansion strategy, empowering the company to enhance its product and engineering capabilities, enter new markets, and scale operations globally