Tier II, III Cities To Drive Next Wave Of Startup Growth: MeitY Startup Hub CEO
At the NextGen Startup Summit in Jaipur, MeitY Startup Hub CEO Panneerselvam Madanagopal announced that tier‑II and tier‑III cities will drive India’s next wave of startup growth, with hundreds of new companies expected from regions such as Jaipur and Udaipur. The Genesis programme will mobilise a network of 65 partner incubators to build a robust ecosystem beyond metropolitan hubs. Over 150 founders, mentors and investors attended, culminating in a Shark‑Tank style pitch where 15 startups presented to three investors. Stakeholders emphasized that collaboration, rather than policy alone, is critical to scaling these emerging ecosystems.
The Making Of A $500Mn SaaS Powerhouse: Inside Wingify’s Merger With AB Tasty
Wingify, the maker of Visual Website Optimizer (VWO), merged with French competitor AB Tasty in January 2026, forming a $500 million SaaS powerhouse. The combined entity now reports roughly $120 million in annual revenue and serves about 4,000 customers across the US...
Perfios FY25: Profit Soars 46% To ₹104 Cr, Revenue Crosses ₹700 Cr
Bengaluru‑based fintech SaaS unicorn Perfios posted a 46% rise in consolidated net profit to ₹104.3 cr for FY25. Operating revenue grew 20% to ₹669.5 cr, with total income of ₹708.5 cr after other income. SaaS services accounted for over 95% of revenue, while...
Tesla Plans Entry Into India’s Energy Storage Market
Tesla announced it is hiring a business‑development lead to launch utility‑scale energy storage in India, signalling a move beyond its modest electric‑vehicle sales. The company will likely introduce its Megapack and Powerwall systems to tap the rapidly expanding solar‑plus‑storage market....
Digital Arrest Scams: Centre Directs WhatsApp To Block Involved Device IDs
India’s Union Home Ministry has instructed WhatsApp to block the device IDs of users involved in digital‑arrest scams and retain data from deleted accounts for 180 days. The platform will add AI‑driven safeguards, logo‑detection, deep‑fake warnings, and a mandatory SIM‑binding...
Neo Group Bags $53 Mn At Unicorn Valuation
Neo Group, a Mumbai‑based wealth advisory and asset management firm, secured ₹500 crore ($53 million) from TVS Capital, valuing the company at ₹10,000 crore ($1.08 billion) and officially making it a unicorn. The round marks the fourth capital raise in twelve months, following $20 million,...
Zetwerk To File DRHP Within Two Weeks For $550 Mn IPO
Zetwerk, the full‑stack B2B manufacturing platform, plans to raise up to $550 million through an IPO that could value the company near $4 billion. The offering will consist of a $300 million fresh issue and an offer‑for‑sale component for the balance. The firm...
Exclusive: Celesta Capital To Launch ₹2,000 Cr India-Focused Deeptech Fund
Celesta Capital, a San‑Francisco‑based venture firm, is preparing to raise a ₹2,000 crore (approximately $24 billion) Category II AIF dedicated to Indian deep‑tech startups. The fund will focus on early‑stage companies at Series A and B, with typical checks of $3‑7 million per deal. Celesta,...
Mave Health Nets $2.1 Mn To Launch Its Mental Health-Focused Wearables
Mave Health, a 2023 health‑tech startup, secured $2.1 million in seed funding led by Blume Ventures to commercialize its mental‑health wearable headset. The device uses low‑intensity transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve focus, mood and stress regulation, and is now...
Assiduus Global Bags $25 Mn To Scale Digital Commerce Accelerator
Assiduus Global, an AI‑led SaaS accelerator for ecommerce, raised $25 million in a pre‑Series B round led by Bajaj FinServ. The funding will boost its AI and data capabilities, expand globally into the Middle East, Europe and APAC, and deepen enterprise and...
Inside FinSight Ventures’ Bet On A Pricey Yet Durable Indian Fintech Market
FinSight Ventures, led by Pavel Gurianov, has committed roughly $20 million per deal to Indian fintech and consumer super‑app companies, backing firms such as Razorpay, Easy Home Finance, Gupshup and Car Dekho after an initial fund‑of‑funds strategy. While Gurianov acknowledges that...
RBI Fines Cashfree For Flouting Payment Aggregator Norms
India’s central bank has fined fintech payments platform Cashfree Payments ₹3.1 lakh for breaching payment aggregator and gateway regulations. The RBI’s inspection of Cashfree’s activities from April 2024 to June 2025 uncovered an impermissible debit from the company’s escrow account, prompting a show‑cause...
Ola Electric To Raise ₹2,000 Cr By Selling Stake In Ola Cell Technologies: Report
Ola Electric plans to raise up to ₹2,000 Cr by selling a minority stake in its battery arm, Ola Cell Technologies. The fundraise targets sovereign wealth funds and global infrastructure investors, with Avendus Capital and Motilal Oswal advising. The move follows...
Fino Payments Bank Shares Slump Over 17% On Report Of Potential ED Probe
Fino Payments Bank’s shares tumbled 17% to a 52‑week low after a report that the Directorate General of GST Intelligence may recommend an Enforcement Directorate probe into online‑gaming related transactions. The bank refuted the claim, labeling it speculative, while its...
How Quick Commerce Is Turning Into A Visibility Engine For Retail & D2C Brands
Quick commerce has evolved from a niche last‑minute service into a mainstream habit, with Indian consumers ordering multiple times a week. The 10‑minute delivery market, worth roughly $6 bn today, is projected to reach $35‑40 bn by 2030, while gross order value...
NODWIN Gaming Ropes In MTG’s Arnd Benninghoff To Board Amid Fundraise Plans
Indian esports platform NODWIN Gaming has appointed Modern Times Group EVP‑Gaming Arnd Benninghoff to its board as it prepares a pre‑IPO funding round. The round will combine fresh primary capital for global expansion and acquisitions with a secondary component to...
Grapevine Bags $4.1 Mn To Scale Its AI Job Discovery Platform TAL
Grapevine, a corporate networking platform, secured $4.1 million from Kae Capital, Peak XV Partners, and upGrad founder Ronnie Screwvala to expand its AI‑driven job discovery service, TAL. TAL acts as a talent agent, scanning listings and recommending matches for users. The round...
Exclusive: Workspace Interiors Startup OfficeBanao Raises ₹34.8 Cr
Workspace interiors startup OfficeBanao secured ₹34.8 Cr (≈$3.76 M) in a funding round led by Lightspeed, with Mangum II and Medra Family participating. The round valued the company at a pre‑money ₹522.7 Cr (≈$56.5 M) and was split into two tranches, allocating ₹10.62 Cr to Lightspeed,...
How Longevity Startup Foxo Wants To Turn Individuals Into “CEOs Of Their Health”
Foxo, a Bengaluru‑based longevity startup, offers a premium, membership‑driven health platform that combines systems biology with AI‑assisted clinical coaching. The company raised $0.5 million in a pre‑seed round led by Blume Ventures and targets high‑income executives willing to invest lakhs annually...
Parliamentary Panel Calls For MDR On UPI To Ensure Sustainability
A parliamentary standing committee on finance has recommended re‑introducing a merchant discount rate (MDR) on UPI transactions, arguing that the zero‑MDR regime strains government finances and limits fintechs’ ability to fund long‑term infrastructure. The committee notes that current government incentives...
LenDenClub Eyes ₹350 Cr In FY26 Revenue After Turning Profitable In FY25
LenDenClub projects FY26 revenue of ₹330‑350 cr, roughly a 50% year‑on‑year increase after posting a ₹28.6 cr net profit in FY25. FY25 revenue rose 28% to ₹227 cr, with total earnings of ₹241.4 cr including other income, while expenses grew only 5% to ₹201 cr....
Snabbit Says The Discount Game Is Almost Over; The Hard Part Comes Next
Snabbit, one of India’s leading instant‑home‑services platforms, says its era of heavy discounting is ending as it shifts focus to market depth and higher average order values. The company processed 8.3 lakh monthly orders in February 2026, nearly matching Urban Company’s...
Netflix Unveils Visual Effects Studio In Hyderabad
Netflix announced the launch of Eyeline Studios, a 32,000‑sq‑ft visual effects and virtual production hub in Hyderabad. The facility will operate on a hybrid cloud architecture and join Eyeline's existing sites in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Seoul and London. By leveraging...
Exclusive: GalaxEye Raises ₹44 Cr In Ongoing Series A Funding Round
Indian spacetech startup GalaxEye announced it has secured about ₹44.2 cr (≈$4.8 m) in an extended Series A round. The round featured existing backers such as Mela Venture, Rainmatter, Mounttech Growth Fund and Speciale Invest, with institutional commitments ranging from ₹8 cr to ₹18 cr....
Will CynLr’s Bet On Object Intelligence Revolutionise Industrial Robotics?
CynLr is commercialising an "object intelligence" layer that lets industrial robots perceive, understand and manipulate previously unseen parts in real time. After early vision‑only prototypes and a shift to multi‑arm configurations, the startup has raised roughly $15 million and is targeting...
Eat App Acquires inResto Cofounder’s Table Reservation Platform ReserveGo
Dubai‑based Eat App announced the acquisition of ReserveGo, the B2B table‑reservation platform founded by inResto co‑founder Vijayan Parthasarathy, to broaden its Indian footprint. The deal brings ReserveGo’s technology, customer base and team under Eat App’s umbrella, though financial terms were...
Toy Manufacturer Aditi Toys Raises ₹36 Cr For Global Expansion
Aditi Toys, a Rajkot‑based toy manufacturer, raised ₹36 crore ($3.9 million) in a funding round led by GVFL. The capital will be used to boost product development, especially in STEM and electronic toys, and to expand manufacturing capacity. The startup also plans...
Constems-AI Raises $2 Mn To Scale Vision AI SaaS Platform
Constems-AI, a deep‑tech startup founded in 2017, secured $2 million in a pre‑Series A round led by Finvolve, with participation from existing backers. The funding will accelerate development of its CAInatics vision‑AI SaaS platform, which analyzes retail shelf images using models trained...
CRED Gets RBI’s Final Nod To Operate As Payment Aggregator
Fintech unicorn CRED has received the Reserve Bank of India's final payment aggregator licence, allowing it to onboard merchants, collect payments and manage settlements directly. The approval builds on its in‑principle nod from April 2024 and adds to its suite...
OpenCFO Bags $2 Mn To Scale Agentic AI-Powered B2B Finance Platform
Fintech startup OpenCFO secured $2 million seed funding, led by Endiya Partners, to accelerate its AI-driven B2B finance platform. The solution automates accounts payable, receivable, and treasury functions for mid‑market companies with multinational operations, integrating ERP, banks, and payment rails. OpenCFO...
SEDEMAC IPO: A91 Partners Nets ₹325 Cr, Most Investors Post Over 3X Gains
SEDEMAC, a deep‑tech firm, launched an offer‑for‑sale IPO of 80.43 lakh shares worth ₹1,087 cr, valuing the company at up to ₹5,970 cr. A91 Partners emerged as the top seller, earning ₹325 cr and achieving a 3.6× return while retaining a 56.2 lakh‑share stake. Nandan...
Maharashtra Govt Revokes Provisional Licences Of Bike Taxi Operators
The Maharashtra government has revoked the provisional bike‑taxi licences granted six months ago to Ola, Uber and Rapido. The decision follows repeated complaints of rule violations, including harassment of women riders, use of petrol bikes instead of mandated electric models,...
Calm Amid Storm: Indian Founders Hold Steady As Middle East Tensions Rise
Escalating US‑Israel and Iran conflict is disrupting tech hubs across the Middle East, prompting global giants like Microsoft, Nvidia and Amazon to shut their Dubai offices and shift staff to remote work. Indian founders based in Dubai report that day‑to‑day...
StrideOne Raises ₹100 Cr, Onboards Ex-Max Life Insurance Rajesh Sud As Cofounder
StrideOne, an Indian NBFC that serves MSMEs and SMEs, secured ₹100 cr (≈$11 mn) in a blend of equity and debt from undisclosed investors. The capital will fund expansion of its enterprise‑anchor programmes, broaden its partner‑lender network, and upgrade technology and risk...
Exclusive: Cars24’s India Used Cars CEO Himanshu Ratnoo To Quit, Vikram Chopra Takes Charge
Cars24’s India used‑car chief Himanshu Ratnoo announced his departure after more than five years, having led the unit since July 2024. Founder‑CEO Vikram Chopra will now directly oversee the Indian used‑car operations, consolidating leadership ahead of an imminent IPO. The...
New Ventures, Old Hands: India’s Startup Founders In Encore Mode
India’s startup ecosystem is seeing a surge of serial entrepreneurs launching new ventures after successful exits. Figures like Deepinder Goyal (Zomato), Aman Gupta (boAt), Shashank ND (Practo) and Mukund Jha (Dunzo) are now backing health‑tech, venture studios and AI startups,...
Exclusive: Prosus Joins Mukesh Bansal-Led Nurix AI’s Cap Table With Fresh Capital Infusion
Mukesh Bansal’s AI startup Nurix AI has secured a fresh ₹28 Cr investment from global investor Prosus, bringing its pre‑money valuation to $67 million. The round adds to earlier seed‑Series A funding of $27.5 million, with existing backers General Catalyst, Accel and Bansal himself...
![[Update] SEDEMAC IPO Closes With 2.68X Oversubscription](https://inc42.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=90/https://asset.inc42.com/2026/03/SEDEMAC-social.jpg)
[Update] SEDEMAC IPO Closes With 2.68X Oversubscription
SEDEMAC’s IPO closed with a 2.68X overall oversubscription, as investors bid for 1.51 cr shares against the 56.32 lakh on offer. Qualified institutional buyers led the demand, oversubscribing their 16.07 lakh quota by 8.46X, while non‑institutional and retail investors lagged, subscribing only 77%...
Centre Ropes In Spacetech Startups To Build ‘Bodyguard’ Satellites
India’s security agencies have moved to partner with deep‑tech spacetech startups to create “bodyguard” satellites that can shield high‑value space assets. Bloomberg reports that Galaxeye, Agnikul and Dhruva Space are in advanced talks, with a test flight slated for June...
The New Media Stack & The AI Video Gold Rush
AI video platforms are democratizing content creation, allowing solo creators to produce cinema‑grade shows and brands to generate hundreds of ad variants at scale. Experts say speed and output will increase tenfold, but success will hinge on owning strong intellectual...
How Fambo Is Fixing The Broken Supply Chain For India’s QSR Boom
India’s quick‑service restaurant (QSR) sector, now worth $27.8 bn and projected to hit $47.3 bn by 2031, is grappling with high food‑waste rates. Traditional agri‑supply chains lose 25‑35% of produce, inflating costs for chains that need consistent, low‑margin ingredients. Fambo, founded in...
BoAt Cofounder Aman Gupta Launches New Venture ‘OffBeat Studios’
Aman Gupta, co‑founder of consumer‑electronics brand boAt, announced the launch of a new, undisclosed venture called OffBeat Studios, stepping back from daily operations to serve as a non‑executive director. The move follows a leadership reshuffle that installed Gaurav Nayyar as...
SEDEMAC Raises ₹325.9 Cr From Anchor Investors
SEDEMAC Mechatronics secured ₹325.9 crore from anchor investors at the top of its ₹1,287‑₹1,352 price band, allocating 24.10 lakh shares. The anchor tranche was 68% held by domestic mutual funds, while the OFS‑only IPO totals ₹1,087 crore and targets a valuation of about...
Fireside-Backed Nester Ropes In Former Honasa Exec Kunwarjeet Grover As Cofounder
Nester, the Fireside‑backed D2C home‑appliance startup, has appointed former Honasa senior vice‑president Kunwarjeet Grover as cofounder and chief business officer. Grover arrives with more than 15 years of experience leading growth for brands such as Himalaya, CavinKare, Philips and Havells....
Exclusive: EV Startup Bounce Raises ₹36 Cr From Existing Investors
Bounce, the Indian EV startup, secured ₹36 cr ($3.9 mn) in a Series F round led by existing backers Accel and B Capital, with plans to raise an additional ₹10 cr to bring the total to ₹46 cr. The capital will fuel a strategic pivot...
Exclusive: Turiyam.ai Raises $4 Mn To Build Full-Stack AI Hardware Platform
Bengaluru‑based Turiyam.ai has closed a $4 million pre‑seed round led by Ankur Capital and Axilor’s Micelio Fund. The startup will accelerate development of a full‑stack AI inference platform that tightly integrates custom chips with optimized software. It is already piloting deployments...
The Fintech Showdown Before PhonePe’s IPO
PhonePe is positioning an IPO for FY27, with an April filing window being discussed, while investors scrutinize its path to sustainable profitability. The fintech’s latest filing shows a shift from consumer‑centric payments to a higher share of merchant transactions and...
EaseMyTrip, Ixigo Brace For Turbulence Amid Iran-Israel Conflict
Indian online travel aggregators EaseMyTrip and ixigo are issuing travel advisories as the Iran‑Israel conflict escalates into major combat operations, prompting Middle Eastern airspace closures. Both platforms urge customers to monitor airline updates, expect longer flight times, and remain flexible...
Exclusive: Innoviti Closes Series M Funding Round At ₹104 Cr
Innoviti, the Indian merchant‑facing fintech, closed its Series M round at ₹104 crore ($11.4 million), with both new backers and existing investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners and Patni Family Office doubling down. The capital will be used to reduce debt, boost sales...
Inside Lemnisca’s Big Leap For Digital Twins To Make Biotech More Scalable
Lemnisca, a Bengaluru startup, is launching a digital‑twin platform that models fermentation at industrial scale, merging microbial biology with physical process conditions. The hybrid model, paired with an in‑house wet lab, creates a feedback loop that refines simulations and cuts...
