🎯Today's Entrepreneurship Pulse
Updated 1h agoWhat's happening: Neo launches low‑dilution accelerator with $750k uncapped SAFE
Neo has introduced Neo Residency, an accelerator that backs each startup with $750,000 via an uncapped SAFE. Depending on the next round’s valuation, founders could give up as little as 0.75% equity, far below the typical 7‑10% taken by other top programs.
Also developing:
News•Feb 13, 2026
FAST42 2026: Announcing The Ranking Of India’s Fastest-Growing D2C Brands
Inc42 unveiled FAST42 2026, its fifth edition ranking the 42 fastest‑growing Indian direct‑to‑consumer (D2C) brands. The list, compiled from over 250 applications, uses FY23‑FY25 CAGR and a minimum ₹1 Cr FY23 revenue threshold. Collectively the winners generated ₹2,100 Cr in revenue, secured more than ₹1,400 Cr in funding and created over 7,000 jobs. The announcement underscores the sector’s role in a projected $300 bn market by 2030.
By Inc42
News•Feb 13, 2026
Exclusive: D2C Brand ClayCo Raises ₹30 Cr From Twenty Nine Capital Partners
ClayCo Cosmetics, a 2023‑founded D2C beauty brand, closed a fresh Series A round of ₹29.99 crore (about $3.3 million) from London‑based Twenty Nine Capital Partners. The funding was issued as 1,529 non‑cumulative CCPS at a premium exceeding ₹1.96 lakh per share. This capital...
By Inc42
Social•Feb 13, 2026
Validate Early, Build Moat Before Hype-Driven Launch
From now on, hype-centric splashy launches will likely be strongly uncorrelated with success. If by the time you launch you don’t have escape velocity, you will likely get Sybil attacked¹. Agents will spin up 10 competing products with your same interface. Start...
By Guillermo Rauch
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News•Feb 13, 2026
Addverb’s Humanoid Bet: How This Noida Robotics Startup Is Building Physical AI
Addverb, a Noida‑based robotics firm backed by Reliance, has introduced its first humanoid robot—a six‑foot, 80 kg machine capable of carrying 15 kg and equipped with wheels for legs. The humanoid is designed for unstructured factory and warehouse settings where traditional automation...
By Inc42
News•Feb 13, 2026
How Freelancers Can Stay Profitable in Every Economy — From Crushing Recessions to Crazy Booms
Freelancers must treat economic cycles and AI disruption as catalysts for change, not threats. By broadening skill sets, offering multiple services, and positioning themselves as strategic advisors, they can convert slow periods into growth opportunities. Financial discipline—cash reserves, expense audits,...
By Entrepreneur
News•Feb 13, 2026
Anthony Edwards Has a Plan to Get Your Attention
NBA star Anthony Edwards is turning his on‑court fame into a media empire through Three‑Fifths Media, which now produces the unscripted series *Year Six* and the viral Believe That Awards. The company, co‑founded with manager Justin Holland, secured a production...
By Fast Company
News•Feb 13, 2026
Why World Models Will Become a Platform Capability, Not a Corporate Superpower
The article argues that large language models have become commoditized, offering generic linguistic intelligence but lacking real‑world understanding. It proposes that world models—systems that learn environment dynamics, causality, and feedback—will evolve into a shared platform capability rather than a proprietary...
By Fast Company
Social•Feb 13, 2026
Ecom Founders Stay Quiet, Letting Results Speak
Everyone at dinner: Let me tell you about my business idea. Ecom founders at dinner: Quiet because they're actually building and have nothing to prove. Different mindset. Different life.
By Kamil Sattar
News•Feb 13, 2026
Battery Tech Startup E-TRNL Energy Raises ₹27.4 Cr For Product Development
e-TRNL Energy, a battery‑tech startup founded in 2021, secured ₹27.4 cr ($3 mn) in a seed round led by IAN Alpha Fund. The capital will fund completion of its chemistry‑agnostic lithium‑ion and future sodium‑ion cell technology and demonstrate large‑scale manufacturing in India....
By Inc42
News•Feb 13, 2026
Six Sense Mobility Bags $4.8 Mn To Build New Electronics Manufacturing Unit
Six Sense Mobility secured $4.8 million (₹44 cr) in a Pre‑Series A round led by Ashish Kacholia, with Piper Serica Angel Fund participating. The capital will finance a new electronics manufacturing facility in Noida, designed for an initial output of one million units...
By Inc42
News•Feb 13, 2026
Fraud Detection Startup IDfy Nets ₹476 Cr To Enter New International Markets
IDfy, an Indian fraud detection and identity verification platform, secured ₹476 Cr ($52.5 M) in a Series F round led by Neo Asset Management. The mix of primary and secondary capital will fund strategic acquisitions, entry into new international markets, and enhancements to...
By Inc42
Social•Feb 13, 2026
Listen to Customers: The only Guide for Next Steps
What is the most important thing to do next? The answers lie with the customers -- what they want, why they will buy, or stay. Not inside Visual Studio, not in ChatGPT, not on social media. The customer, and you facing the truth.
By Jason Cohen
Social•Feb 12, 2026
Pair Big Distribution with Startup Innovation for Win‑Win Deals
Large companies have distribution; startups have innovation, and maybe even a product people love. When each party's weakness maps onto the other's strength, that feels like the kernel of a deal. But typically it isn’t. Here’s how to make it work: https://t.co/tWykmze29I
By Jason Cohen
News•Feb 12, 2026
Nuclear Power Group Alva Energy Launches with $33 Million in Funding
Alva Energy, a Massachusetts‑based nuclear startup, closed a $33 million Series A round led by Playground Global to fund retrofits of existing U.S. reactors. The company will replace steam generators and add a second turbine, boosting each plant’s output by 200‑300 MWe and...
By POWER Magazine
Social•Feb 12, 2026
Sourcing and Securing Cap Tables: Venture’s Toughest Challenges
Sourcing is the single hardest part about venture. Equally followed by actually getting on the cap table of the best companies.
By Nicole DeTommaso
Social•Feb 12, 2026
Student-Built Livestorm Scales to $20M ARR
Gilles Bertaux built Livestorm for a university final exam in 2016. Nearly $20M ARR. 3,500 customers. $35M raised. Last round was 2020. https://t.co/DXieBIwtcs
By Omer Khan
News•Feb 12, 2026
Subba Rao Joins Vertex Group as Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer
Subba Rao Bhairavabhatla joins Vertex Group as co‑founder and chief growth officer after four years at Teleperformance. He brings two decades of process excellence, quality, and digital transformation experience from Asian Paints, HSBC, Wipro, Capita, WNS and Teleperformance. At Vertex,...
By HR Katha (India)
Social•Feb 11, 2026
Spot Tiny Trends Early for Explosive Startup Returns
I like to think of startup investing like surfing 🏄♀️ You don't want to paddle out too early (market doesn't exist yet). You don't want to be too late (already crowded with competitors). And sometimes the wave you're betting on just... fizzles out. At...
By Elizabeth Yin
Social•Feb 11, 2026
Valuation Blends SaaS Metrics with Deal Structuring
Valuation is understandably one of the most top-of-mind topics founders want to cover in our conversations. Something we often emphasize is that there are two sides of valuation: the objective side based on core SaaS metrics, and the subjective side influenced...
By Michael Lyon
News•Feb 11, 2026
Faraday Future Follows Tesla’s EV Playbook, Only Better
Faraday Future is rolling out its Super One, an AI‑centric luxury electric SUV priced between $20,000 and $80,000, positioning it as a direct challenger to high‑end models like the Cadillac Escalade. The company recently secured $30 million to fund the broader...
By CleanTechnica
Social•Feb 11, 2026
Start with Familiar Use Case, Not Lofty Vision
Most founders position their products around their ultimate vision rather than what users can immediately understand. This is why so many brilliant products struggle to gain traction early on. Flo Crivello from Lindy shared a perfect case study with me: Notion....
By Omer Khan
Social•Feb 11, 2026
AI‑Native Mindset: Redefine Teams, Growth, and Assumptions
The Mental Shift Required In An AI-Native World In my second piece in Forbes, I explore how founders should rethink what it would mean to start their companies from scratch in an AI-native world. AI isn’t just a product or tooling shift,...
By Henri Pierre-Jacques
News•Feb 11, 2026
AI Industry Rivals Are Teaming Up on a Startup Accelerator
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft and others have united to launch F/ai, a Paris‑based accelerator for European AI startups. Hosted by Station F, the program runs twice yearly, each three‑month cohort featuring 20 companies building on the partners' foundational models. Startups...
By WIRED AI
News•Feb 11, 2026
How to File Tax Returns for Individuals with Multiple Streams of Income
The Nigeria Tax Act 2025 mandates that every resident file a personal income‑tax return by 31 March, consolidating earnings from salaries, freelance gigs, rentals, dividends and other streams. Taxpayers must use their State Internal Revenue Service’s portal—or visit the office where digital...
By Techpoint Africa
News•Feb 11, 2026
BigHaat Raises $10 Mn Led by OCP Group’s Arm Bidra Innovation
Indian agri‑tech platform BigHaat secured $10 million in a funding round led by Bidra Innovation Ventures, the U.S. VC arm of global fertilizer giant OCP Group. Existing backers JM Financial and Ashish Kacholia also participated, bringing total funding to roughly Rs 300 crore....
By Entrackr
Social•Feb 11, 2026
Fix Activation, Not Features, to End Plateaus
A plateau is not a failure. It means people are paying. Every month. They find enough value to stay. The problem isn't your product. It's your funnel. We found that only 25% of signups ever made their first post. That was the whole leak. Not...
By Luca Restagno
Social•Feb 11, 2026
Amazon Launches AI Content Marketplace, Shifting Arms Race to Licensing
Amazon wants to build an AI content marketplace. Publishers would upload their articles. AI companies would pay to train on them. This means less copyright risk, more profit sharing, and fewer lawsuits. The AI arms race is turning into a licensing war.
By Ask Dr. Brown
News•Feb 11, 2026
HUL-Owned Minimalist Revenue Spikes 48% to Rs 515 Cr in FY25
Hindustan Unilever‑owned Minimalist posted a 48% jump in operating revenue, reaching Rs 514.8 crore in FY25, surpassing the Rs 500 crore mark. The brand’s expenses rose 51% to Rs 504 crore, driven by higher advertising spend and material costs, yet EBITDA remained positive at Rs 18 crore. A...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 11, 2026
EximPe Gets Final PA-CB Licence to Process UPI Cross-Border Payments
EximPe, a cross‑border payment startup, has secured the Reserve Bank of India’s final Payment Aggregator Cross‑Border (PA‑CB) licence. The authorisation lets the firm enable global merchants to collect Indian consumer payments via UPI, cards, wallets and other methods, with settlements...
By Entrackr
Social•Feb 11, 2026
Prioritize Simplicity, Shipping, Consistency, and Feedback for Success
Simple > Complex Shipped > Perfect Consistent > Viral User feedback > Your assumptions These 4 principles built every successful product I've made.
By Luca Restagno
News•Feb 11, 2026
How Shiprocket Became the Bridge Between Bharatpreneurs and National Markets
Shiprocket has emerged as a critical logistics and commerce platform that bridges India’s small‑town entrepreneurs, known as Bharatpreneurs, with national markets. By consolidating courier networks, payment processing, order management, and offering rapid working‑capital financing, the service enables regional MSMEs to...
By YourStory
News•Feb 11, 2026
Create Value, Valuation Will Follow: How Dr Sanjay Salunkhe Built Jaro Education
Jaro Education, founded in 2009 by Dr. Sanjay Salunkhe, tackles the lack of access to premium education for Indian professionals through a partner‑led, technology‑enabled model. The company has served over 350,000 learners and remained profitable from day one, financing growth...
By YourStory
News•Feb 11, 2026
Malsons Ventures Makes Strategic Pre-Series A Bet on Mumbai-Based Fintech Startup Seven
Seven, a Mumbai fintech startup known for its 7 Ring wearable payment device, secured a strategic pre‑Series A investment from Shivam Malhotra, founder of Malsons Ventures, acquiring a 1% equity stake. The capital will fund product innovation, market penetration, team...
By YourStory
News•Feb 11, 2026
Spacetech Startup EtherealX’s Valuation Jumps 6X in Series A
Indian spacetech startup Ethereal Exploration Guild (EtherealX) announced a $20.5 million Series A round led by BIG Capital, issuing 9,763 preference shares at Rs 1,87,920 each. The financing lifts its post‑money valuation to roughly $80 million, a six‑fold jump from the $12 million seed round....
By Entrackr
News•Feb 11, 2026
Showroom B2B Raises Rs 150 Cr in Series A Round Led by Cactus Partners
Showroom B2B, a Gurugram‑based fashion supply‑chain platform, secured Rs 150 crore (about $17 million) in a Series A round led by Cactus Partners, with participation from Zephyr Peacock and existing backers. The financing combines equity and debt and follows a $6.5 million pre‑Series A raise in...
By Entrackr
News•Feb 11, 2026
India’s Startup Wave in Manufacturing Is Reshaping Demand for Digital Design Tools: Dassault
Dassault Systèmes reports a rapid shift in Indian manufacturing toward digital design tools, driven by post‑COVID acceleration and a growing hardware startup ecosystem. Companies are embracing virtual twins to simulate products and factories, slashing prototype costs and waste. The firm’s...
By YourStory
Social•Feb 11, 2026
Ship Only What Users Actually Need, Backed by Data
The best teams ship what they can prove users need. User research turns opinions into evidence and protects you from confident guesses. Get the receipts on your users with Seena Labs — seenalabs.io
By Dr. Axali (Seena Labs)
Social•Feb 11, 2026
Monaco Launches AI-Powered Startup Sales Automation
We're launching Monaco today. Monaco automates customer acquisition and revenue growth for startups. The platform disrupting sales with AI has finally arrived. https://t.co/mH03HIOdx8
By Sam Blond
News•Feb 11, 2026
Europe Urged to Follow China’s Industrial 3D Printing Strategy
Europe risks falling behind China in additive manufacturing as Beijing embeds 3D printing in its Made in China 2025 plan, while EU leaders treat the technology as a niche. Chinese firms now ship 94% of desktop printers worldwide, outpacing the...
By KrASIA
Social•Feb 11, 2026
UncorkCap Secures Investment Led by Inertia’s Jeffiel
We at @uncorkcap couldn't be more excited to share this news about a recent investment of ours: Inertia led by my old friend @jeffiel. https://t.co/DgUzgdgvhM
By Jeff Clavier
Social•Feb 11, 2026
More Projects, Same Few Great Products: Building Is Hard
It seems like the number of things people claim they are building is up but the number of great products is roughly the same. I find this particularly interesting about what it means is actually hard.
By Suhail Doshi
News•Feb 11, 2026
‘Unsustainable’ Gaps in Policing of Franchise Businesses Must End, MPs Say
The UK House of Commons business and trade committee warned that gaps in policing franchise businesses are “unsustainable” after scandals involving Vodafone and McDonald’s. It called for a statutory code of conduct and stronger independent enforcement to protect franchisees and...
By The Guardian » Business
Social•Feb 10, 2026
Building a Trusted Audience Is Ultimate Leverage
Is there a higher leverage activity than building an audience of people who know and trust you? I can't think of one.
By Nathan Barry
News•Feb 10, 2026
Former Canva Exec’s Product Mapping Startup, Adora, Designs $9.9 Million Seed Round
Adora, an AI‑powered journey‑mapping platform co‑founded by former Canva product head Omar Salem, closed a $7 million seed round led by Blackbird Ventures. The tool automatically captures screens, interactions and user paths, turning them into live visual maps enriched with analytics...
By Startup Daily (ANZ)
News•Feb 10, 2026
Shorooq, PayLater Sign MOU to Explore Institutional Credit Facility
UAE‑based investment firm Shorooq has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Qatar’s first QCB‑licensed, Sharia‑compliant BNPL provider PayLater to explore a scalable, institutional‑grade credit facility. The proposed financing would be non‑dilutive and aligned with Sharia principles, giving PayLater capital to...
By Wamda
News•Feb 10, 2026
CedarBridge Begins Deploying Third Private Equity Fund Across the GCC
CedarBridge Partners has started deploying capital from its third private equity vehicle, CedarBridge High Growth III (CBHG III), a $150 million fund aimed at building platform businesses in education, healthcare, beauty, wellness and pet care across the GCC. Managed by Access...
By Wamda
News•Feb 10, 2026
Shorooq Deepens Doha Roots as Snoonu Founder Backs Its Growth and AI Funds
UAE‑based Shorooq announced that Hamad Al‑Hajri, founder of delivery platform Snoonu, will invest in both its newly launched late‑stage growth fund and its global AI fund. The growth vehicle is backed by the Qatar Investment Authority, while the AI strategy...
By Wamda
News•Feb 10, 2026
Egypt’s Tactful AI Raises $1 Million Pre-Series A to Scale Agentic CX
Tactful AI, an Egyptian CX platform specializing in agentic AI, secured $1 million in a pre‑Series A round co‑led by Foras AI and M Empire. The funding will bolster growth in Egypt, validate expansion across EMEA, and accelerate R&D to enhance scalability...
By Wamda
News•Feb 10, 2026
Egypt Introduces Unified Framework to Support Startups
Egypt has unveiled the Egypt Startup Charter, its first government‑backed framework dedicated to nurturing startups and entrepreneurship. The charter, shaped by a year of consultations with 15 ministries and over 250 ecosystem stakeholders, defines startups officially and bundles incentives, a...
By Wamda
News•Feb 10, 2026
UAE Startup ThrowMeNot Secures $550k Pre-Seed
UAE‑based ThrowMeNot closed a $550,000 pre‑seed round led by Sheikh Ahmed bin Mana Al Maktoum. The startup, founded in 2025 by Archie Rudyuk, operates a marketplace for near‑expiry and surplus food, offering discounts up to 90% and currently lists over 2,700...
By Wamda