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How ONDC Plans To Digitise B2B Procurement For Kirana Stores Through DigiDukaan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 08:24:25 +0000

India’s neighbourhood kirana stores form the backbone of the country’s retail economy. More than 1.4 Cr kirana stores account for nearly 75-80% of FMCG sales, making general trade the dominant channel for consumer goods distribution.

Yet, despite their scale, most kirana stores continue to rely on fragmented ordering systems, manual sales processes and limited inventory visibility. Orders are often placed through distributor sales representatives, over phone calls or via informal channels, leaving retailers with little visibility into stock availability, promotional schemes or delivery timelines.

Now, the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), along with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), is looking to address this issue through ‘DigiDukaan’.

What Is DigiDukaan?

An ONDC-powered initiative launched by DPIIT, DigiDukaan aims to digitise B2B procurement for India’s kirana ecosystem. The platform connects retailers, distributors and brands through a common digital network, enabling neighbourhood stores to place orders, access promotional schemes, and manage procurement more efficiently.

For retailers, DigiDukaan claims to offer better visibility into products, pricing and schemes. Distributors can digitise order collection and expand retailer coverage without a corresponding increase in manpower costs, while brands can gain access to retailer demand signals and better visibility into secondary sales.

Launched in Hyderabad in March this year through ONDC network participant Qwipo, more than 10,000 retailers and over 35 brands have been onboarded under DigiDukaan so far, the DPIIT said.

Following the pilot, DigiDukaan is set to launch in Jaipur on June 19 through Salescode.ai, an ONDC network participant and technology provider. DigiDukaan is also slated to launch in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi NCR in the coming months.

Need For DigiDukaan

For all its scale, India’s general trade network still runs largely on offline relationships and manual workflows, leading to inefficiencies across the supply chain.

While retailers grapple with stockouts and working-capital constraints, distributors spend heavily on maintaining large field sales teams. Brands, meanwhile, struggle to forecast demand, track secondary sales and measure the effectiveness of promotional campaigns.

As consumer behaviour shifts and digital-first retail models gain ground, these shortcomings have become harder to ignore.

Industry leaders at a recent consumer packaged goods (CPG) roundtable, organised by the DPIIT and ONDC, flagged rising sales force costs, fragmented retailer engagement and inventory inefficiencies as the key challenges for the sector. DigiDukaan aims to address these challenges.

The ONDC Advantage

DigiDukaan’s biggest differentiator is the infrastructure underpinning it. Rather than operating as another standalone marketplace, the initiative is built on ONDC’s open network framework, which allows retailers, distributors, brands and technology providers to transact across interoperable platforms.

The goal is to create a common digital infrastructure for retail procurement, similar to the role UPI plays in digital payments. Through the network, kirana stores can connect with multiple brands, distributors and service providers regardless of the platform they use, reducing dependence on any single commerce marketplace.

The initiative comes as ONDC ramps up efforts to expand its digital commerce ecosystem. While it continues to broaden its presence across sectors, transaction volumes have been under pressure over the past year amid intense competition from ecommerce and quick commerce platforms.

Launched by DPIIT in 2021, ONDC was conceived as an open alternative to platform-centric ecommerce models, enabling buyers and sellers to transact across interoperable applications rather than within closed ecosystems. The network has since expanded into logistics, mobility and financial services, facilitating 21.8 Cr transactions during FY26. It is currently operational in 616 cities and has onboarded more than 7.64 Lakh sellers and service providers.

As part of its next phase of evolution, ONDC raised ₹220 Cr from strategic investors, including Uber, Zoho, One97 Communications and BSE, earlier this month.

According to ONDC CFO Krishan Agarwal, the investment points to the growing confidence in the ability of open digital networks to create a level playing field for businesses.

Edited by Vinaykumar Rai

The post How ONDC Plans To Digitise B2B Procurement For Kirana Stores Through DigiDukaan appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Amazon AI For Sellers, Weekly Funding Rebounds & More

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:24:34 +0000

Amazon’s AI Gameplan For Sellers

After consumers, Amazon is now moving AI to the seller side. The ecommerce major is rolling out a 24/7 AI assistant for its 1.7 Mn Indian merchants to streamline catalogue creation, inventory planning and ads. So, can Amazon reshape how millions of businesses sell online?

AI-First Seller Tools: Called Seller Assistant, the chatbot uses Amazon Bedrock, Nova foundation models and Anthropic Claude to help merchants navigate onboarding, listings, and routine marketplace tasks. On the inventory side, machine learning models provide restocking recommendations, while simultaneously tapping into AI to improve campaign performance

Amazon further claims that the tool can:

Generate product titles, descriptions and attributes
Re-fill up to 70% of listing fields from an image or URL
Assist with image enhancement

Prime Day Test Case: The timing is important. Amazon is rolling out these tools ahead of Prime Day later this month, making the event a live stress test for adoption and performance. The company claims that sellers, using these tools, have already seen operational effort fall by nearly 70%, while listing errors are down about 10%.

AI War In Ecommerce: The rollout comes as ecommerce platforms increasingly use generative AI to manage seller workflows, not just shopper experiences. Flipkart, Snapdeal and Meesho are all pushing voice AI and AI-led seller tools in areas like discovery, catalogue management and marketing.

The Amazon Angle: However, for Amazon, the ambition is bigger than efficiency. It wants AI to strengthen its flywheel by helping sellers grow faster, operate more smoothly and ultimately offer better prices to customers. The ecommerce major claims that its long-term goal is to impact 15 Mn businesses by 2030.

Having already rolled out AI tools in over 20 cities and trained 5,000 merchants, how is Amazon leveraging to streamline its seller operations? Let’s find out…

From The Editor’s Desk

Anthropic Blocks Access To Mythos 5

Anthropic has suspended access to its new LLMs after the US government directed the AI juggernaut to block access to Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 for all foreign nationals, including non-US employees working at the company.
The order has forced Anthropic to disable the models globally for all its customers, highlighting how rapidly advancing AI systems are being viewed not merely as software products but as technologies with potential national security implications.
Meanwhile, the US government directive has reignited a long-running debate over India’s dependence on foreign AI platforms and the need for a more effective national AI strategy.

Weekly Startup Funding Rebounds

Indian startups cumulatively managed to raise $242.6 Mn across 25 deals last week, up nearly 30% from $187.4 Mn bagged in the preceding week. GPS Renewables and Equal AI took home the biggest cheques at $66 Mn and $30 Mn, respectively.
Cleantech emerged as the most funded startup sector last week, bagging $87.5 Mn across two deals. Advanced hardware & technology saw the highest number of deals materialise at five this week, raising a total of $42.3 Mn.
Seed stage funding skyrocketed to $22.3 Mn compared to $3.1 Mn in the preceding week. Meanwhile, Peak XV Partners and Finvolve emerged as the most active investors last week, backing three startups each.

Zumutor Biologics Bags $7.3 Mn

The biotech startup has raised about ₹70 Cr in its Series B round led by existing backers Accel, Bharat Innovation Fund to complete its ongoing US FDA Phase 1 clinical study of its drug ZM008.
Founded in 2013, Zumutor develops immunotherapy drugs that activate the body’s natural immune cells to attack tumours and improve cancer treatment outcomes. It began human trials for its drug ZM008 in 2024, and last raised $6.2 Mn in in 2021.
Buoyed by regulatory push, including the recent ₹10,000 Cr Biopharma SHAKTI scheme, the homegrown India’s bioeconomy is projected to become a $300 Bn market opportunity by 2030.

Mixed Week For Startup Stocks

Of the 57 startup stocks under Inc42’s coverage, 31 gained in a range of 0.05% to 24% last week. The remaining fell in the range of 0.30% to 15%. While EaseMyTrip and CarTrade gained the most, Yudiz and ideaForge emerged as the biggest losers.
The market capitalisation of the 57 new-age tech companies stood at $129.58 Bn at the end of last week as against $131.94 Bn a week ago
Developments pertaining to the US-Iran war continued to drive market sentiment, but steps announced by the RBI to strengthen the Indian rupee, improving macroeconomic conditions and lower Brent crude prices provided further comfort to investors.

Ather To Raise ₹2,500 Cr

The listed EV maker’s board has approved a proposal to raise up to ₹2,500 Cr. While ₹1,500 Cr would be raised via a QIP, the remaining ₹1,000 Cr would be secured through a preferential issue, rights issue, equity shares or foreign currency convertible bonds.
This comes days after Ather informed the bourses that its board would consider a proposal to raise fresh funds. If the plans materialise, this will be Ather’s first fundraise post its listing last year.
The development comes as Ather looks to ramp up investments in manufacturing, product development and distribution amid intensifying competition in the electric two-wheeler (E2W) space.

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How DAZZL Is Bringing Salons Home In Minutes

For many urban consumers, salon visits often face long waiting times. Even at-home service platforms require advance bookings, limiting true convenience. DAZZL is rethinking this experience by turning beauty services into something as instant as food delivery.

Salon On Fingertips: Founded in 2025, DAZZL is a hyperlocal beauty services platform offering salon, grooming and massage services at home within 15 minutes. DAZZL works with trained and verified professionals who arrive fully equipped with tools and products. This ensures a salon-like experience in the comfort of the customer’s home.

Built For Urban Indians: The platform primarily targets working professionals, young consumers, and families who value speed and flexibility. Early traction has come from premium residential communities in Bengaluru, where demand for quick, reliable services is high.

The Convenience Economy: Operating within India’s growing on-demand home services market, projected to reach $1 Bn by 2030, the startup is positioning itself at the intersection of convenience and personal care. As consumer expectations move from scheduled to instant, can DAZZL make on-demand grooming a daily convenience?

Infographic Of The Day

Delhi has officially overtaken Bengaluru in the D2C race. Consumer brands based out of the national capital have raised $3.5 Bn across 434 deals in the past decade. So, is Delhi NCR becoming the default launchpad for India’s D2C giants?

The post Amazon AI For Sellers, Weekly Funding Rebounds & More appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Amazon Bets On AI-Powered Assistant To Streamline Seller Operations

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 20:24:42 +0000

Ecommerce giant Amazon is embedding AI across its seller journey for its Indian users. At the core of this rollout is its AI-powered Seller Assistant, a 24/7 chatbot that is built into Seller Central. Seller Assistant leverages Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Nova foundation models, and Anthropic Claude to offer AI-driven guidance, surface business insights, and assist sellers with routine marketplace operations.

“Amazon has provided these AI-powered features to its 1.7 Mn sellers in India, aiming to make commerce operations more efficient and cost-effective. The rollout is phased, with India starting after Smbhav 2025. The AI models are trained on various commerce data and are part of Amazon Bedrock, leveraging advanced AI chips and robust cloud infrastructure,” said Abhijit Kamra, director of seller experience for emerging markets (Product, AI and Smart Commerce).

Amazon Smbhav is the company’s flagship event for MSME startups and entrepreneurs.

This announcement comes ahead of its annual multiday shopping event, Prime Day, which is set to take place in July. This would be the biggest rollout, in terms of scale, for Indian sellers.

Integrating Wider AI Capabilities

Amazon is positioning Seller Assistant as an AI-powered tool for small businesses, integrating capabilities across seller onboarding, catalog creation, inventory management, advertising and cross-border expansion.

The tool guides new merchants through the onboarding process and automates parts of catalog creation, including generating product titles, descriptions and attributes. Amazon said the system can pre-fill up to 70% of listing fields from a product image or URL and assist with image enhancement.

For inventory management, the company uses machine learning models to generate restocking recommendations, while its fulfillment network handles warehousing, logistics and delivery. On the advertising front, sellers can access AI-driven account diagnostics through Amazon’s Customized On-Demand Ads Experts (CODE) programme, which provides recommendations aimed at improving campaign performance. The company also highlighted its Vine programme, which enables eligible products to receive reviews from a curated pool of reviewers.

Ahead of Prime Day, Amazon has expanded Seller Assistant’s capabilities for merchants looking to sell internationally. The feature provides product recommendations, demand insights and market-level guidance to help sellers identify export opportunities. It also assists with country-specific compliance requirements, including documentation and regulatory checks, and offers step-by-step tracking of the international expansion process.

“We’ve already reached a stage where the operational effort required from sellers has fallen by nearly 70%. At the same time, listing errors, which happen due to manual processes, have declined by around 10%. As a result, sellers benefit on two fronts: they save time and costs through greater operational efficiency, while improved listing accuracy can also contribute to better sales performance,” said Kamra, when asked about how these capabilities have so far helped sellers. He added that the initiative is aimed at impacting 15 Mn businesses by 2030.

To drive adoption of its AI tools, Amazon India has rolled out Seller Connect programmes in over 20 cities. The company said more than 5,000 sellers have attended training sessions focused on catalog creation, inventory management, fulfillment operations, and growth planning.

Kamra said Amazon was particularly keen to observe how its recently launched tools, including those for product listings and inventory management, perform during high-volume shopping events such as Prime Day, especially after receiving positive feedback from sellers during the initial rollout.

Amazon views these AI tools as part of its long-term flywheel strategy. By reducing the operational effort and costs associated with running an online business, the company believes sellers can grow more efficiently and potentially pass on some of those savings to customers through lower prices.

The Ecomm Battle Turns To AI

Amazon’s move comes at a time when ecommerce and retail platforms are increasingly embedding generative AI into seller workflows. Online sellers are using the technology for tasks ranging from product listing creation and catalog management to inventory planning and marketing. The trend is also extending beyond large enterprises, with small businesses and MSMEs increasingly adopting AI-powered tools as part of their day-to-day commerce operations.

Arch-rival Flipkart and unbranded focussed Snapdeal have introduced AI-powered seller tools, while SaaS players serving merchants are also building AI capabilities for catalog management, marketing and customer engagement.

Meesho too has stepped up its efforts through voice AI and AI-powered personalisation in discovery.

The push reflects a broader shift in ecommerce from AI-assisted customer experiences to AI-powered merchant operations, where platforms are looking to reduce friction in listing, advertising and inventory management.

India’s ecommerce market is expected to reach $300 Bn by 2030, with MSMEs emerging as a key growth driver. However, while online marketplaces have expanded access to customers, many small businesses continue to grapple with challenges around onboarding, catalog management, logistics, and compliance.

The post Amazon Bets On AI-Powered Assistant To Streamline Seller Operations appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Anthropic’s Fable 5, Mythos 5 Access Suspension Rekindles Sovereign AI Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 11:24:25 +0000

Just three days after launching Claude Fable 5, which it described as its most capable AI system yet, Anthropic has been forced to suspend access to the model after an intervention from the US government.

Earlier today, Anthropic said it received an export control directive from US authorities ordering it to block access to Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 for all foreign nationals, including non-US employees working at the company.

The order effectively left Anthropic with little choice but to disable the models globally for all its customers, highlighting how rapidly advancing AI systems are being viewed not merely as software products but as technologies with potential national security implications.

Even as it complied with the directive, Anthropic said it has no clarity as to what exactly prompted the government’s intervention.

What Is The US Government Concerned About?

In a blog post announcing the suspension, the AI company said the directive offered few details about the national security concerns behind the move. Based on its conversations with officials, Anthropic said it believes the issue centres on a technique that could “jailbreak” Fable 5, allowing users to bypass some of the safeguards built into the model.

The company, however, disputed the significance of the finding. “… the level of capability displayed there is widely available from other models (including OpenAI’s GPT-5.5), and is used every day by the defenders who keep systems safe,” it said.

The company added that it has not even received the disclosure of the concerning non-universal potential jailbreak that led to a harmful result.

“… we disagree that the finding of a narrow potential jailbreak should be cause for recalling a commercial model deployed to hundreds of millions of people. If this standard was applied across the industry, we believe it would essentially halt all new model deployments for all frontier model providers,” the company said.

Notably, this is not the first time that Anthropic has come under the US administration’s scrutiny. Earlier this year, the Pentagon reportedly designated the company an “unacceptable supply chain risk”. The latest directive goes a step further by restricting access to the models based on nationality.

What Are Fable 5, Mythos 5?

The latest development came days after Anthropic announced the launch of Fable 5 and Mythos 5, describing them as a major step forward in AI capabilities.

Introduced on June 9, Fable 5 is designed as a general-purpose version of Anthropic’s new Mythos-class models, a category the company says surpasses its Opus family in areas ranging from software engineering and scientific research to visual reasoning and complex problem-solving.

Alongside Fable 5, Anthropic introduced Mythos 5, a version of the model with some cybersecurity safeguards lifted. Rather than opening it to new users, the company initially made it available only to organisations that already had access to Claude Mythos Preview under Project Glasswing, its cybersecurity-focused programme run in collaboration with the US government.

It is pertinent to mention that the launch of Claude Mythos Preview had raised concerns across countries on its potential misuse. Following that, Anthropic expanded Project Glasswing earlier this month to around 150 organisations across more than 15 countries, including India, enabling participants to identify and remediate critical software vulnerabilities before they could be exploited by attackers.

Indian Startup Ecosystem Calls For National AI Strategy

The latest developments have reignited a long-running debate over India’s dependence on foreign AI platforms and the need for a more effective national AI strategy.

It is pertinent to note that the Centre, under the ₹10,372 Cr IndiaAI Mission, is offering subsidised AI compute, startup financing support, among other AI ecosystem initiatives. However, investors and founders urged the government to do more following the US administration’s move.

Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu said the development underscores the growing link between technology and national power. “Technology is the ultimate weapon. National sovereignty, national security, all of it is now about technology,” he said, adding that “globalisation is dead and Bharat must find her own way ahead”.

Lightspeed Venture Partners’ Hemant Mohapatra described the development as a “sovereign AI is real” moment.

Mohandas Pai, chairman of Aarin Capital, called for a large-scale national AI push and proposed a dedicated annual fund of ₹50,000 Cr for deeptech and AI, arguing that India must accelerate investments in strategic technologies.

The development is also expected to lead to startup founders rethinking how AI products are built. Saurabh Awasthi, cofounder of Augmen.IO, said the suspension is a reminder that startups cannot afford to become overly dependent on a single frontier AI provider.

“This is an alarm — for startups and nations alike,” he said. “AI models being treated as strategic assets is a reminder to avoid over-dependence on frontier models.”

He argued that startups need to build resilience through multi-model architectures, open-source fallback models and on-premise deployments.

However, Shayak Mazumder, founder and CEO of Adya.ai, described the suspension as a “knee-jerk reaction” by the US government and said it is likely temporary. He argued that while Fable 5 is a strong model for long-horizon tasks, its advantages over leading models such as GPT-5.5, Gemini and Anthropic’s Opus series are often overstated.

“I don’t see this being a call to action that India needs its own large foundational models,” he said. “Instead, we should spend time and money building smaller models, creating fine-tuning studios, and creating the world’s best harnessed models.”

The post Anthropic’s Fable 5, Mythos 5 Access Suspension Rekindles Sovereign AI Debate appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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From GPS Renewables To Equal AI — Indian Startups Raised $243 Mn This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 05:24:12 +0000

Investments in the Indian startup ecosystem continued to pick up momentum in the second week of June. Twenty five startups raised $242.6 Mn between June 8 and June 12, marking a near 30% uptick from $187.4 Mn raised across 21 deals last week.

The top six startups on this week’s funding scoreboard raised more than ₹100 Cr ($10 Mn) each in new investments, indicating an improvement in investor appetite for innovations in the homegrown new-age tech ecosystem.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Jun 8- Jun 12]

Date	Name	Sector	Subsector	Business Model	Funding Round Size	Funding Round Type	Investors	Lead Investor
8 Jun 2026	GPS Renewables	Cleantech	Climate Tech	B2B	$66.4 Mn	Series C	Sojitz Corporation, PixelSky Capital, Spectrum Impact Family office	Sojitz Corporation
12 Jun 2026	Equal AI	AI	Application Layer	B2B, B2C	$30 Mn	Series B	Prosus Ventures, Tomales Bay Capital, Think Investments, Valiant Fund, Sameer Nigam (PhonePe), Zubin Bharti Mittal ( Airtel Family Office), Anshu Sharma (Skyflow AI), Sandhya Devanathan (Meta), Sridhar Pinnapureddy (CtrlS Datacenters)	Prosus Ventures, Tomales Bay Capital
11 Jun 2026	Ethereal Machines	Advanced Hardware & Technology	–	B2B	$28.5 Mn	Series B	Avataar Ventures, Peak XV Partners	Avataar Ventures
10 Jun 2026	MyGate	Real Estate Tech	Real Estate Services	B2B	$23.6 Mn	–	Dharana Capital	Dharana Capital
10 Jun 2026	Exponent Energy	Cleantech	Electric Vehicles	B2C	$21.1 Mn	–	360 ONE Asset, TDK Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Lightspeed, Eight Roads Ventures, 3one4 Capital, AdvantEdge VC	360 ONE Asset, TDK Ventures
8 Jun 2026	Immuneel Theraputics	Healthtech	Lifesciences	B2B	$10.5 Mn	Series B	Singularity AMC, Rainmatter, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital	Singularity AMC, Rainmatter
12 Jun 2026	Rekise Marine	Advanced Hardware & Technology	Maritime Tech	B2B	$9.7 Mn	Seed	Accel, NKSquared, Sameer Brij Verma (Angel), Sandeep Singhal (Angel), Industrial47, Singularity AMC	Accel, NKSquared
11 Jun 2026	Manam Chocolate	Foodtech	Bakery	B2C	$9 Mn	Series A	Omnivore, Turner Morrison consortium	Omnivore, Turner Morrison consortium
10 Jun 2026	Rivvun AI	AI	Application Layer	B2B	$7.5 Mn	Seed	Sitara Capital, 3one4 Capital	Sitara Capital, 3one4 Capital
9 Jun 2026	BazaarNow	Consumer Services	Quick Commerce	B2C	$7.5 Mn	–	Peak XV Partners, Whiteboard Capital and Antler, Vidit Aatrey (Meesho), Karthik Gurumurthy (Ex- Swiggy), Prashant Sachan (AppsForBharat & Sri Mandir), Nitin Saluja (Chaayos).	Peak XV Partners
9 Jun 2026	Celebal Technologies	Enterprise Tech	Horizontal SaaS	B2B	$5.2 Mn	Debt	BlackSoil Capital	BlackSoil Capital
10 Jun 2026	Hoola Health	Healthtech	In-Clinic Healthcare	B2C	$5 Mn	–	Surge (Peak XV), W Health Ventures, Ashish Gupta (MFV Partners), Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Bijou Kurien (Retail Association of India)	Peak XV’s Surge, W Health Ventures
11 Jun 2026	4baseCare	Healthtech	Lifesciences	B2C	$4 Mn*	Series B	growX Ventures	growX Ventures
10 Jun 2026	Uni Seoul	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$3.6 Mn	Series A	Riverwalk Holdings, Sauce.vc, Panthera Peak Ventures	Riverwalk Holdings, Sauce.vc
9 Jun 2026	The Wedding Company	Consumer Services	Matrimony	B2C	$2.8 Mn	Seed	Wellingdon Advisors LLP, LVX, Tremis Capital, Synergy Capital Partner, Vivek Mathur (ex-Elevation Capital), Rahul Garg (ex-Premji Invest)	Wellingdon Advisors LLP
10 Jun 2026	HyperNorm AI	AI	Application Layer	B2C	$2.2 Mn	Seed	Capital 2B, SenseAI Ventures, Boundless Ventures, iOPEX Technologies, Amit Sheth (Angel), Bhavin Manek (Angel)	–
8 Jun 2026	Clear Robotics	Advanced Hardware & Technology	Maritime Tech	B2B	$1.8 Mn	Pre-Series A	ShipsFocus Ventures, Katapult Ocean, SGInnovate, M7 Holdings, MSG Ventures	–
11 Jun 2026	Dream Aerospace	Advanced Hardware & Technology	Spacetech	B2B	$1.2 Mn	Pre-Series A	247VC, Campus Angels Network, Chandigarh Angels Network	247VC, Campus Angels Network (CAN)
9 Jun 2026	Integra Robotics	Advanced Hardware & Technology	Defence Tech	B2B	$1.1 Mn	Pre-Series A	Finvolve, India Accerelator, GrowthCap Venture Fund	Finvolve
12 Jun 2026	Trevel	Travel Tech	Booking Services	B2C	$1 Mn	–	India Accelerator, Finvolve, Haldiram Family Office, Rohit Qamra (Angel), RMRN Ventures, BP Jain Holdings, Bipin Preet Singh (MobiKwik), Aakash Goyal (Metro Buildtech), Aakash Anand (Bella Vita), Aditya Singh (All In Capital)	India Accelerator, Finvolve, Haldiram Family Office, Rohit Qamra (Angel)
11 Jun 2026	Biodimension	Healthtech	Lifesciences	B2B	$841K	–	Indian Angel Network, Campus Angels Network, Sampath Srisailam (Angel)	Indian Angel Network
11 Jun 2026	Dartle	Enterprise Services	–	B2C	$100K	Seed	Inflection Point Ventures	Inflection Point Ventures
12 Jun 2026	Fittr	Consumer Services		B2C	–	–	Rohit Sharma (Cricketer)	Rohit Sharma (Cricketer)
10 Jun 2026	Fold	Fintech	Investment Tech	B2C	–	–	Rainmatter	Rainmatter
11 Jun 2026	QubeHealth-Pay	Fintech	Lending Tech	B2C	–	Series A	Unicorn India Ventures, IA Growth Opportunities Fund, Brew Opportunities Fund, Finvolve Ventures, FirstPort Capital, Maithan Family Office	–
	Source: Inc42 * Part of a larger round

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

With GPS Renewables closing its Series C round at $66.4 Mn, cleantech emerged as the most funded startup sector this week. In total, two startups in the segment raised $87.5 Mn this week.
Advanced hardware & technology saw the highest number of deals materialise at five this week, raising a total of $42.3 Mn.
Peak XV Partners and Finvolve emerged as the most active investors this week, backing three startups each. Rainmatter and 3one4 Capital also backed two startups apiece.
Seed stage funding skyrocketed to $22.3 Mn across five deals this week, marking a multifold jump from $3.1 Mn raised last week.

Startup IPO Updates This Week

Quick commerce giant Zepto filed its updated DRHP with SEBI for its IPO, which will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth ₹8,010 Cr. Investors like Nexus Venture Partners, Razor Capital and Contrary Capital will also sell 11.35 Cr shares via the OFS.
Edtech startup Klassroom is planning to launch its IPO on the BSE SME platform in the second quarter (July to September) of FY27. This follows the platform receiving in-principle nod from the BSE to go ahead with its listing.
NSE-listed cloud service provider E2E Network debuted on BSE’s Mainboard exchange after securing the necessary approvals from the exchanges.

Startup Fund Updates This Week

Former Mirae Asset Venture Investments CEO Ashish Dave has floated his own venture capital firm Sanskrit Capital to back growth-stage startups. The investment firm is eyeing a target corpus of ₹700 Cr to ₹1,000 Cr
Early-stage VC firm AUM Ventures also launched its second fund, India Innovation Fund II, with a target corpus of ₹750 Cr ($80 Mn). It will back 25-30 startups operating in deeptech sectors like spacetech, semiconductors, AI, and defence tech.

Startup M&As This Week

Managed and coworking space provider Incuspaze acquired Hyderabad-based iKeva in an undisclosed financial deal to improve operational efficiency, strengthen technology capabilities, bolster revenues and standardise services across locations.
Ecommerce giant Meesho plans to acquire B2B commerce startup Kirana Club in an all-cash deal worth ₹202.08 Cr. The listed unicorn expects the transaction to be completed in three tranches by March, 2027.

Other Developments Of The Week

Recently listed NBFC Aye Finance’s board has approved a proposal to issue non-convertible debentures, on a private placement basis, for a sum of $15 Mn.
Construction and interior materials marketplace Mad Over Buildings founder Kumar Vivek told Inc42 that the startup is in talks to raise ₹30 Cr at a post-money valuation of ₹180 Cr.
IN-SPACe has selected Astrobase Space Technologies, SatSure Analytics and TakeMe2Space for funding under its Technology Adoption Fund (TAF) scheme.

The post From GPS Renewables To Equal AI — Indian Startups Raised $243 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Ather’s Board Approves Plan To Raise ₹2,500 Cr

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 19:24:29 +0000

Listed electric vehicle (EV) maker Ather Energy’s board has approved a proposal to raise up to ₹2,500 Cr via a qualified institutional placement (QIP) and other equity-linked instruments.

In a filing with the exchanges, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) said that it plans to issue securities totalling up to ₹1,500 Cr via a QIP, while the remaining ₹1,000 Cr would be raised through a preferential issue, rights issue, equity shares or foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs).

As part of this, the listed EV major’s board has constituted a committee to deal with all matters related to the proposed fund raise.

This comes days after Ather informed the bourses that its board would consider a proposal to raise fresh funds as the OEM looks to fuel its next phase of growth. If the plans materialise, this will be Ather’s first fundraise post its listing last year.

The development comes as Ather looks to ramp up investments in manufacturing, product development and distribution amid intensifying competition in the electric two-wheeler (E2W) space. Legacy giants TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto continue to maintain a strong grip, cornering a market share of 26% and 23% in May, respectively.

Then, there is the resurgent Ola Electric, which reported the highest 22% jump in registrations to 15,139 units last month, while its market share also improved to around 9%. Not just this, the Bhavish Aggarwal-led company also raised ₹780 Cr via a QIP to bolster its operations.

Meanwhile, Ather would be looking to woo investors for its fundraise with its stronger Q4 FY26 financials and rapid expansion spree. The EV maker managed to trim its net loss by 57.2% to ₹100.2 Cr in Q4 FY26 as against ₹234.4 Cr in the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, operating revenue surged 73.7% YoY to ₹1,174.7 Cr during the quarter under review.

On the operational front, Ather claims to have doubled its retail network during the fiscal to 700 experience centres (ECs) from 351 at the end of FY25. It also increased the number of service centres to 548 in FY26, up nearly 2X YoY. Ather also operated more than 6000 EV charging points by the end of FY26.

On the back of the positive financials, brokerages maintained a positive stance on the stock. HSBC retained its ‘Buy’ rating with a target price of ₹1,050, citing strong brand and execution capabilities. Nomura also maintained a ‘Buy’ call with a target price of ₹1,120, noting strong growth visibility, upcoming platform launches and network expansion despite near-term margin pressure.

As a result, Ather’s stock hit an all-time high of ₹1,068.8 on the BSE on June 8. Shares of the EV maker have surged 44.8% in the past three months, while the stock is up more than 227.5% in the past year.

Shares of Ather closed Friday’s trading session 0.03% higher at ₹1,028.15 on the BSE.

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IPO-Bound PRISM Gets Relief In ₹3,885 Cr Angel Tax Demand Case

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 09:24:33 +0000

Hotel aggregator OYO, now rebranded as PRISM, has received a tax relief of ₹3,885.51 Cr, which was in relation to its share premium received by it from parent entity Oravel Stays Ltd (OSL).

“The action of the assessing officer in bringing to tax an amount of ₹3885,51,75,255 as income under section 56(2)(viib) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, is contrary to the facts of the case and the legal position. The same, therefore, calls for being reversed and the aforesaid addition deleted,” the court order read.

Before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), the company argued whether the valuation was correct, but whether the tax department can change the valuation methodology chosen by the company.

PRISM declined to respond to Inc42’s queries on the development.

For context, this case is connected to OYO’s compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) issue to the parent entity in 2021-22, after it was demerged from Oravel Stays into OYO Hotels and Homes.

During this period, the assessing officer (AO) observed that the net worth of OYO, as of March 31, 2020 (FY20),stood at negative ₹36,663 Cr and it was reduced to ₹376.57 Cr after the infusion of large share capital and share premium from OSL within the next two fiscal years.

Further, the AO claimed the premium to be excessive and rejected the valuation report of the company. Following this, OYO was taxed ₹3,737.99 Cr as excess share premium.

On top of this, ₹147.52 Cr was added in relation to conversion of CCPS into equity shares, taking the total tax value to ₹3,885.51 Cr.

Last year, the Delhi High Court reportedly stayed the recovery of tax demand worth nearly ₹1,140 Cr from the hospitality giant for the CCPS issue during 2020-21. Back then, the IT department argued that Oravel’s investment into OYO Hotels & Homes in lieu of the shares was an income, and was taxable.

Meanwhile, in December last year, PRISM is on the road of the bourses as of now, making its third attempt at a public listing in India. After filing for a public issue confidentially, the markets regulator SEBI greenlit the company’s IPO bid last week. It is now expected to file its updated DRHP soon.

Last year, PRISM received the approval from its shareholders to raise up to ₹6,650 Cr via a fresh issue of equity shares as part of its proposed IPO. Back then, sources told Inc42 that the company is eyeing a valuation of $7 Bn to $8 Bn for the public issue.

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Equal AI Raises $30 Mn To Expand AI Assistant Offerings Beyond Calls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 07:24:24 +0000

Call management and identity verification startup Equal AI has raised $30 Mn (around ₹286 Cr) in its Series B funding round co- led by existing backers including Prosus Ventures and Tomales Bay Capital.

The funding round, which was completed in tranches, also saw participation from Think Investments, Valiant Fund, PhonePe founder Sameer Nigam, Zubin Bharti Mittal from Airtel Family Office, Skyflow AI cofounder Anshu Sharma, Meta India and Southeast Asia VP Sandhya Devanathan, and CtrlS Datacenters chairman Sridhar Pinnapureddy.

The Hyderabad-based startup plans to deploy the fresh capital to expand its offerings beyond call management into shopping, financial services, communications and lifestyle use cases. The startup is aiming to be “India’s AI Assistant” by building a single, intelligent layer which can be deployed on smartphones.

Founded in 2022 by Keshav Reddy and former Swiggy executive Rajeev Ranjan, Equal AI initially operated as a B2B identity verification aggregator, helping businesses streamline KYC processes. Later in October 2025, it diversified into consumer AI space by rolling out an AI call assistant to tackle spam call problems.

The AI agent is designed to answer unknown calls on a user’s behalf, speak with callers using conversational AI, determine the purpose of the call, and then provide the user with a live transcript, summary, and recording.

On the enterprise side, the startup serves more than 350 enterprise customers across sectors including banking, lending, insurance, telecom, and digital services. Meanwhile, on the consumer front, Equal AI claims to have crossed 10 Lakh monthly active users and 3.5 Lakh daily active users across India.

Prior to this round, Equal AI raised $10 Mn in a Series A funding round to scale operations and forge strategic partnerships. It is pertinent to note that during this round, Equal AI was only offering enterprise services.

The fundraise comes amid growing investor interest in voice AI and consumer-facing AI agents, a category that has gained traction globally as users increasingly rely on AI for communication, commerce and everyday digital tasks.

In line with the growing penetration of AI across everyday lives, more consumers are experimenting with AI agents to simplify everyday tasks such as shopping, research, phone calls and financial transactions. India’s voice AI segment is getting significant traction from investors.

For instance, GenAI startup Gnani.ai recently raised $10 Mn to offer B2B agentic AI solutions which enhance customer experience for large enterprises as well as customer-facing businesses by leveraging its speech-to-text model Vachana STT.

Meanwhile, Indian AI startup Sarvam AI, which is in discussions to raise fresh capital at a unicorn valuation, is also mulling opening up access for its voice AI agents platform Sarvam Samvaad, to the general public.

At the heart of this is the growing Indian AI opportunity. India’s AI market is projected to reach $126 Bn by 2030, representing a 5.3X expansion and a potential $1.7 Tn contribution to GDP by 2035.

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US-Based Opendoor Lays Off Entire India Team Of 250 Employees

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 06:24:27 +0000

US-based proptech company Opendoor has laid off its entire India team, affecting around 250 employees in total as it builds leaner AI-native teams on its home turf.

“We are finalising bringing these (India-based) roles closer to our customers in America and beginning the process of winding down our India-based operations. This affects all of our colleagues in India who have done meaningful work for Opendoor,” CEO Kaz Nejatian said on X.

The executive noted that the company has unified its manual workflows that were earlier handled by offshore Indian employees, and hired small AI-native teams for customer facing roles which would operate better closer to its customer base in the US.

Opendoor will provide severance packages, outplacement services and other resources to affected employees in India, he said, without specifying details. A small subset of the team will stay on till the transition is complete.

Notably, the company did not take similar steps for its teams in the EU, where it is expanding operations. However, Nejatian noted that going forward, Opendoor will stop stacking manual workflows on top of point-solutions tools and instead be mindful of the processes being integrated into its business.

Opendoor was earlier backed by Sam Altman, Khosla Ventures, General Atlantic, SoftBank Vision fun, Andreessen Horowitz, among other marquee investors.

The company expanded its operations in India less than two years ago when it opened new offices in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. However, calls to reduce dependence on Indian IT workers and prioritise domestic hiring in the US have gained momentum over the past two years, with both onshore and offshore technology sector employees facing visa cancellations and layoffs.

At the same time, rising automation due to rapid adoption of generative and agentic AI has also led to thousands of layoffs globally across tech companies, including India.

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ZEE5’s Sports Era Begins Tonight, Crisis Deepens At WinZO & More

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 04:24:30 +0000

ZEE5’s FIFA Litmus Test

After months of uncertainty, Zee recently locked both TV and digital rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, looking to revive its lost glory in the live sports and on-demand sports segment. Zee and its OTT platform ZEE5 are betting big and it all starts tonight as the first match kicks off in Mexico. But what is the real prize on offer for ZEE5?

Zee’s Big Bet: For the media giant, the rights deal offers something valuable: live content that can pull large audiences at once, high engagement and a long list of advertisers. This also offers ZEE5 a chance to re-enter the premium sports conversation and grab market share.

Monetisation Tightrope: However, the economic potential of football streaming in India has historically trailed cricket. Despite a sizeable following, platforms have not been able to increase ad revenue and uptake remains low. Plus, the FIFA World Cup this time around presents a time zone conundrum with most matches happening late at night.

Experts we spoke to estimate that ZEE5 must acquire at least 3 Mn subscribers just to recoup the estimated $35 Mn annual rights fee, which could put a stress on near-term unit economics.

Beyond FIFA World Cup: The challenges are real, which is why Zee and ZEE5 are looking past immediate revenues from FIFA World Cup and are looking to garner long-term fan engagement. It is looking to invest in streaming and supporting youth competitions and bringing exclusive documentary features across its network to drive year-round engagement.

Bavesh Janavlekar, the business head of Zee Sports told us ZEE5 is targeting conversions from FIFA World Cup to bring in more long-term ZEE5 subscribers. One can expect heavy promotion of ZEE5 properties during the course of the World Cup.

The Audience Bet:. ZEE5 is betting on the demographic that typically consumes football. Football tends to connect with younger, urban and digitally engaged viewers, and these users typically tend to pay a lot more for live sports experience than the average OTT subscriber.

Zee sees the FIFA rights as a strategy to establish credibility in sports and strengthen its overall franchise through ZEE5. But its ability to extract the maximum potential of the FIFA World Cup will determine whether it can stand up to JioHotstar and SonyLIV in the sports streaming space.

The next month will show whether it can. Here’s our deep dive into the ZEE5 plan…

From The Editor’s Desk

Crisis Deepens At WinZO

Nearly a year after the RMG ban crippled its core business, the gaming startup is trying to douse fires on multiple fronts. With bank accounts frozen and employees leaving in droves, WinZO has not paid salaries for the past six months.
Meanwhile, WinZO is still attempting to build new revenue streams. It has been tinkering with short dramas and digital gold, but each new bet has run into execution trouble, from weak traction to operational disruption, post the ED probe.
Founded in 2018, WinZO scaled on the back of real money gaming until the category collapsed overnight after the Centre’s ban. The crackdown was compounded by ED raids, money laundering allegations, arrests of cofounders and court battles.

Uni Seoul Bags ₹35 Cr

The D2C Korean-inspired lifestyle and gifting platform has raised $3.6 Mn in its Series A round co-led by Riverwalk Holdings and Sauce.vc to expand its offline footprint across, strengthen supply chain and launch private label offerings.
Founded in 2023, Uni Seoul operates an offline-first platform that sells Korean-inspired lifestyle and gifting products. It claims to have more than 1,000 SKUs under its belt and runs 15 stores across Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, among others.
Going forward, the startup aims to scale its store network to more than 50 in the near term and build 500 retail touchpoints over the next five years. It is eyeing a piece of India’s K-beauty market, which is projected to become a $1.5 Bn opportunity by 2030.

Zepto’s IPO Math

Earlier this week, Zepto filed its updated DRHP with SEBI for a public listing, which will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth ₹8,010 Cr and an OFS of up to 11.35 Cr shares. But the draft IPO documents revealed much more.
The top line almost doubled YoY to ₹22,624 Cr in FY26, but the key takeaway was not just scale. Adjusted EBITDA loss per order fell 41% YoY to ₹79 and free cash flow burn per order declined by half to ₹68, showing the unicorn is becoming more efficient.
Even with better density and ad revenues, Zepto’s runway is tight. With roughly 1.3 years of cash left at current burn levels, its transacting user base has slipped from 49.54 Mn to 47.97 Mn amid rising competition from rivals like Blinkit and Instamart.

Honasa’s ₹5,500 Cr Revenue Arc

The listed D2C giant has set its eyes on cinching a consolidated revenue of ₹5,500 Cr by FY31, more than double its ₹2,391.9 Cr top line in FY26. It also plans to scale its flagship brand Mamaearth to ₹2,000 Cr in revenue in the next four years.
To achieve its target, the company has outlined plans to create more flagship brands by scaling The Derma Co, crack new categories and expand its EBITDA margin by 500 bps to cross the 15% EBITDA margin milestone.
Another key cog in Honasa’s growth plan is strengthening its omnichannel distribution network. By FY31, the company aims to tap into general trade to contribute the biggest chunk of its revenues, followed by modern trade and ecommerce.

Meta’s India Data Centre Play

The big tech giant has partnered with Reliance Industries to set up its first AI-enabled data centre in the country. The data centre will be set up in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, with an initial capacity of 168 MW and an option to scale it further.
The facility is expected to become operational within two years. Under the agreement, RIL will act as a single-window solutions provider, handling end-to-end services across design, construction, utility management and power supply.
Meta also said that it has tied up with other Indian companies to build nearly 1 GW of renewable energy capacity in the country. While CleanMax will install 837 MW of new solar and wind capacity, Fourth Partner Energy will install 88 MW.

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How NORI Is Designing Luggages For Indian Women

India’s luggage market may be vast, but it is still not relevant to how women travel today. Most travel gear is built for a generic consumer, missing nuances in ergonomics, storage, and usability. NORI is stepping in to redesign travel essentials around how women actually pack.

Luggage For Ladies: Founded in 2025, NORI positions itself as a women-first travel gear brand. Its products are designed around female-centric needs, from compartmentalisation to more ergonomic handling, aiming to make travel more intuitive and comfortable.

The Product Differentiation: NORI offers a range of hard-shell luggage, weekenders, travel bags, foldable totes, and packing organisers. Instead of competing purely on price or brand recall, it focuses on design-led differentiation, tailoring products to real-world travel behaviours and preferences.

Built To Scale: The startup follows a hybrid sourcing and local assembly model, allowing flexibility in production while maintaining quality. As it grows, NORI is expanding its online presence alongside building premium offline retail touchpoints across metro cities.

With the homegrown luggage market projected to become a ₹26,700 Cr opportunity by 2028, can NORI redefine travel for Indian women?

Infographic Of The Day

Zepto is heading for the public markets. But the quick commerce giant’s founders own less than 20% of the company. Ahead of its IPO, we break down who really owns Zepto and the investors backing one of India’s most valuable startups.

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4baseCare Bags ₹38 Cr To Close Series B Round At ₹128 Cr

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 02:24:45 +0000

Months after raising ₹90 Cr, healthtech startup 4baseCare has now secured an additional ₹38 Cr (nearly $4 Mn) to finally close its Series B round at ₹128 Cr ($13 Mn). The latest infusion was led by growX Ventures, with participation from undisclosed existing investors.

In a statement, the startup said that it plans to continue deploying the freshly raised funds to fuel the expansion of its genomics laboratory network across India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Central Asia. A portion of the capital will also be utilised to scale its AI-driven precision oncology platform, OncoTwin.

“… The additional capital will help us expand our genomics lab network globally and further scale OncoTwin, our AI-based precision oncology platform, to support clinicians with deeper, real-world, clinically actionable insights,” said 4baseCare cofounder and CEO Hitesh Goswami.

Founded in 2018 by Goswami and Kshitij Rishi, 4baseCare leverages advanced genomics, bioinformatics, and AI to develop personalised oncology (cancer-related) care for patients. The startup also creates databases that combine genomic data with clinical, environmental, and lifestyle information to enhance precision medicine.

This comes six months after the healthtech startup raised ₹90 Cr in its Series B round co-led by ace investors Ashish Kacholia and Lashit Sanghvi. Prior to this, the Bengaluru-based startup also raised ₹50 Cr in a Series A round led by Yali Capital in 2024.

The fundraise comes as investors continue to double down on healthtech in India. Buoyed by the rise of AI, many players in the space are pivoting from episodic care to longevity, prevention, and continuous health optimisation. Many of these new-age tech companies are also focussing on health and wellness through wearables and full-stack platforms.

As a result, investor interest continues to trickle into the sector. Last month, StrainX Bioworks raised $13 Mn in a funding round led by Prime Venture Partners and Leo Capital. In March, Practo cofounder and CEO Shashank ND’s new healthtech venture Cent also raised $5 Mn in a seed round from OneFlow Holdings and South Park Commons.

In January this year, longevity-focussed healthtech startup Biopeak bagged $2.7 Mn in a round led by Nikhil Kamath’s investment firm NKSquared.

As per Inc42 data, the Indian healthtech market is projected to become a $37 Bn opportunity by 2030.

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Honasa Eyes ₹5,500 Cr Revenue For FY31

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 19:24:47 +0000

Honasa Consumer, the parent entity of BPC brands like Mamaearth, Aqualogica, and BBlunt, laid out its long-term vision to reach a consolidated revenue of ₹5,500 Cr by FY31.

In essence, the company is targeting to more than double its top line over the next five fiscal years. In the fiscal year FY26, the company’s top line increased by about 16% YoY to ₹2,391.9 Cr. Meanwhile, its net profits surged by 175% YoY to ₹200.2 Cr…

Besides the consolidated financial projection, Honasa outlined the following five goals that would strive to achieve over the next five years:

Fastest-Growing FMCG: Become the fastest FMCG company in India to cross the ₹5,000 Cr revenue milestone
Mamearth Growth Milestone: Scale its flagship brand Mamaearth to become the fastest brand to reach ₹2,000 Cr in revenue
Portfolio Diversification: Create more flagship brands by scaling The Derma Co to over ₹1,500 Cr revenue and growing at least two other portfolio brands to over ₹500 Cr each

Market Share Leadership: Become the national market leader in at least two skincare categories, and crack the top three in two additional categories

Margin Improvement: Expand its EBITDA margin by 500 bps to cross the 15% EBITDA margin milestone

Let’s dive into the company’s ambitious plans to grow its top line and bottom line.

Honasa To Move Beyond Mamaearth

The BPC major, which rose to prominence through the success of its flagship brand Mamaearth, is betting that future growth will be driven by a combination of mature, emerging and experimental product categories.

However, it expects core brands — Mamaearth and The Derma Co — to remain the primary growth engines, contributing ₹3,750 Cr of the projected ₹5,500 Cr revenue target.

For the younger brands in its portfolio — Aqualogica, Reginald Men, Dr Sheth’s, Staze 9to9 and BBlunt — the company expects to achieve an FY31 revenue of ₹1,500 Cr. The remaining ₹250 Cr is expected to come from what Honasa classifies as ‘next horizon categories’.

The company disclosed that these categories would encompass offerings in the nutraceuticals, fragrances, and oral care segments. Important to mention that the company expanded into the oral care segment recently by investing ₹10 Cr to acquire a significant stake in the premium oral wellness and beauty startup Fang Oral Care. While it is yet to foray in the two remaining categories under separate brands, it has experimented with fragrance under Mamaearth banner in the past.

Evolving The Distribution Model

Another key cog in Honasa’s growth plan: strengthening its omni-channel distribution network and reshaping its channel mix.

By FY31, the company aims to make General Trade (GT) the channel contributing the maximum to its revenue mix, bringing in ₹750-800 Cr, followed closely by Modern Trade (MT) and standard e-commerce platforms, which are expected to contribute ₹700-750 Cr each.

Quick commerce platforms are projected to bring in ₹550-600 Cr, while Honasa’s own D2C channel is expected to account for just ₹400-450 Cr.

To support the offline expansion, Honasa plans to increase its direct retail presence from its current reach of approximately 120,000 outlets to more than 300,000 outlets across India, adding that AI would “supercharge” this model to enable further scale.

It also noted that its transition from its initial online-first approach to its current omni-channel approach was driven by cutting out super-stockists and moving to a direct distribution model, enabling 6X growth in its direct reach over the last two years.

Important to highlight that the company undertook a major rearrangement of its offline distribution in 2025. Under Project Neev, the company overhauled its offline general trade distribution network by launching modernised supply chains to move beyond a complex, multi-layered distribution setup (involving super-stockists) to a direct, single-layer distributor system in top 50 Indian cities.

Understanding The Margin Expansion Bid

Honasa also rejected the “myth” that it is cutting down brand spending to achieve profitability rather than prioritising growth.

“About 20% EBITDA can be reached with efficiencies in channel mix, performance spends and procurement spends – while maintaining similar brand spends,” the company claimed.

Honasa stated that its general trade is about 3X as profitable as D2C in terms of weighted average contribution margin, while modern trade and quick-commerce are 2.5X more profitable relative to its own digital channels. Hence, the changing channel mix is expected to add around 100-150 bps in EBITDA margin as the company aims to cross the 15% margin milestone.

Further, the company projects an improvement of 100-150 bps in its EBITDA margin to be driven by channel spend efficiencies, and another 100-150 bps from changing category mix driven by scaling into higher-margin product partitions.

Honasa also aims to achieve additional operating leverage in terms of payroll, distribution efficiency, and other fixed overheads, which would add a further 150-200 bps to its EBITDA margins.

Shares of Honasa ended today’s trading session 1.32% higher at ₹413.9.

[Edited by Akshit Pushkarna]

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Mygate Secures ₹225 Cr To Fuel Footprint Expansion

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 01:24:28 +0000

Community management and security startup Mygate has raised ₹225 Cr ($23.6 Mn) in a fresh funding round from Dharana Capital to expand its gated community footprint and strengthen its integrated platform.

In conversation with Inc42, cofounder and CEO Abhishek Kumar also shared the startup’s plans to invest heavily in the product to make it more robust and user friendly. Some of the investments would be centred around enhancing the Mygate platform’s capabilities by introducing features like household calendar of payments.

“We are looking to capitalise on our strength and expand MyGate rapidly from nearly 5.7 Mn homes to 10 Mn homes, by accelerating sign ups across communities in India,” he added.

In line with the scale ambitions, Kumar hinted that the startup is working on expanding Mygate’s presence into international markets like the East Asian market. A part of the capital will be allocated to enhance the product for the international market as well.

Founded in 2016 by Kumar, Shreyans Daga and Vijay Arisetty, Mygate provides security solutions for gated communities, managing entry and exit points through its app-based system. It offers a comprehensive alternative to traditional security tools like RFID cards, biometrics, and vehicle stickers.

The startup generates its primary revenue through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription model, where residential communities and housing societies pay annual or multi-year fees. This subscription model provides communities with access to security and management tools.

Important to highlight that Mygate has seen some top-deck reshuffling over the past few years. In 2024, Arisetty transitioned from his erstwhile advisor role to the role of CEO and founder at Aurm. In June 2025r, Mygate elevated its chief business officer Rohit Jindal as cofounder of the startup.

Prior to this round, the Bengaluru-based startup had raised close to $80 Mn from investors like Tiger Global, Prime Venture Partners, Urban Company, among others.

On the financial front, Kumar claimed that the startup closed FY26 with a top line of ₹232 Cr, marking a 34% uptick from ₹173.5 Cr in the previous fiscal year. The cofounder claims to have registered an EBITDA margin of 10-12% in the fiscal. He didn’t disclose the bottom line performance for the fiscal year.

In FY25, the startup managed to cut its net loss by 61% to ₹15.4 Cr from ₹39.7 Cr loss incurred in the previous fiscal. The startup would have been profitable if not for ESOP and stock related expenses of ₹22.5 Cr during the year under review.

Looking ahead at FY27, Mygate is expecting to achieve a 37% year-on-year growth on operating revenue while being PAT positive as well.

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Govt Withholds Starlink Clearances Over Security Concerns: Report

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 21:24:34 +0000

The Centre has reportedly withheld final clearances to Elon Musk-led satellite communication (satcom) operator Starlink over security concerns.

Sources told Bloomberg that the home ministry (MHA) effectively froze approvals after reports emerged that Starlink terminals were in use in Iran during the ongoing geopolitical tensions, despite not being licensed to operate in the West Asian nation.

As per the report, the development appears to have heightened fears among officials about the Centre’s ability to control a US-based operator during geopolitical tensions. With this, Starlink appears to have been shut out of India, one of the world’s largest internet markets.

Indian authorities have reportedly sought clarification from Starlink on how it plans to guarantee compliance with local security mandates during geopolitical tensions, which could generate conflicting demands from foreign governments.

Meanwhile, Starlink reportedly continues to engage with Indian authorities, submitting affidavits that it meets local data-storage requirements. As per the report, senior company executives also periodically met ministers and government officials to break the impasse. However, the MHA appears reluctant to grant the clearances till security concerns are resolved.

The scrutiny appears to extend beyond Starlink, with local authorities also reportedly adopting a more cautious stance towards other players in the satcom sector amid the Iran conflict.

People familiar with the development said that the satcom joint ventures (JVs) of telcos Airtel and Reliance Jio were also being reviewed. However, the Centre is said to be viewing the arrangements of local players as relatively less problematic.

Meanwhile, the matter is said to have also stalled telecom department’s (DoT) plan to formulate the pricing for satcom spectrum. While the DoT has reportedly finalised the framework, it is yet to send it to the Union Cabinet for approval.

The development lands a tricky time for Starlink as its parent entity SpaceX is all set to list on the Nasdaq in the coming days, targeting a $1.7 Tn valuation. The delays in getting approvals in India could potentially spook investors and play a spoilsport for the IPO.

It is pertinent to note that Starlink secured the Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) license from the DoT last year. It subsequently also received authorisation from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to begin commercial operations in India through LEO satellites constellation.

Previous reports suggested that Starlink is planning to set up 20 earth stations or gateways across Noida, Chennai, and Navi Mumbai. Reports estimate that the company, with its current capacity, can onboard up to 20 Lakh users in India, with the user terminal likely to cost around ₹33,000.

Amid all this, telecom operators have been lobbying for spectrum allocation for satcom services to happen through an auction. In contrast, Starlink has advocated for administrative allocation, which the government has largely sided with.

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IvyCap, Accel & 360 ONE Offload BlueStone Shares Worth ₹243 Cr

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 19:24:40 +0000

Investors IvyCapVentures, Accel and 360 ONE yesterday offloaded 46.4 Lakh shares of omnichannel jewellery brand BlueStone via multiple open-market transactions for ₹242.8 Cr.

As per BSE data, IvyCap Ventures sold the biggest chunk of 26.04 Lakh shares at ₹524.97 apiece to bag ₹136.7 Cr, while asset management firm 360 ONE, via its 360 One Special Opportunities Fund, offloaded 10.6 Lakhs shares for ₹55.1 Cr.

Early backer Accel also dumped 9.8 Lakh shares at ₹522.08 apiece to rake in ₹51 Cr.

Of the shares that flooded the market, 25 Lakh were lapped up by Nippon India Mutual Fund at ₹522.05 each for a total of ₹130.5 Cr.

The three investors sold the shares at an average of ₹523.08 apiece, a discount of 0.9% to the stock’s last closing price on the BSE on Tuesday.

The block deals come as investors look to book profits amid an uptick in BlueStone shares. The stock has risen more than 6.7% in the past one week, and is up more than 12.1% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.

The upward swing has come on the back of healthy financial performance. The omnichannel jewellery brand posted a net profit of ₹31.2 Cr in Q4 FY26 as against a net loss of ₹51.3 Cr in the year ago quarter. Meanwhile, operating revenue zoomed 48% YoY to ₹681.5 Cr in the quarter under review.

Just a few days ago, BlueStone claimed that it was on track to achieve an annual revenue of ₹12,000 Cr by FY30, almost 5X of its FY26 total revenue, on the back of aggressive store expansion. The company is also targeting a Pre-IndAS EBITDA margin of 14.7% by FY30, up from 7.4% in FY26.

As a result, brokerages also continue to be bullish on the company. JM Financial maintained a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of ₹650, citing growing consumer demand and the company’s technology-driven omnichannel model. Nuvama also underlined the expanding store network and improving unit economics as key drivers of BlueStone’s future growth.

Shares of BlueStone closed yesterday’s trading session 3.64% lower at ₹528.35 on the BSE.

The post IvyCap, Accel & 360 ONE Offload BlueStone Shares Worth ₹243 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Zepto FY26: Loss Jumps 26% YoY To ₹5,905 Cr, Revenue Doubles

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 06:24:25 +0000

IPO-bound quick commerce major Zepto’s consolidated net loss jumped 26% during the financial year ended March 2026 (FY26) to ₹5,905 Cr from ₹4,695.4 Cr in the preceding fiscal year.

As per the company’s updated DRHP filed yesterday, Zepto’s operating revenue more than doubled to ₹22,623.6 Cr during the year from ₹11,109.9 Cr in FY25.

While it earned ₹17,587.9 Cr through the sale of goods, ₹5,022 Cr was earned through the sale of services, which included warehousing, packaging and last-mile charges, platform services, subscription fee, advertisement revenue, licence (IP) charges and franchisee fees.

Including other income, Zepto’s total income during the year stood at ₹23,128.4 Cr.

The quick commerce company’s adjusted EBITDA loss in FY26 rose 11.5% to ₹5,041.5 Cr from ₹4,521.7 Cr reported in FY25. Zepto lost ₹78.75 per order on an adjusted EBITDA basis in FY26, improving from ₹136.15 in FY25.

Meanwhile, total expenses during the year stood at ₹29,026.7 Cr, a 79% jump from ₹16,241.1 reported in the prior fiscal year. Here’s a breakdown of the company’s expenses:

Delivery & Handling: This expense more than doubled YoY to ₹3,046.3 Cr and jumped more than 5X from ₹580.8 Cr in FY24.

Employee Costs: Employee benefit expenses zoomed 44% YoY to ₹1,784.7 Cr in FY26.

Warehousing Costs: Expenses under this head jumped 56% to ₹2,150 Cr in FY26. This was also an increase of over 4X from ₹495.5 Cr in FY24.

Other Expenses: The spending under this head zoomed 46% to ₹4,838.3 Cr from ₹3,317.5 Cr in FY25. The company accounted for warehousing costs under this head.

In Q4 FY26, Zepto’s operating revenue rose 27% QoQ to ₹7,497.6 Cr while it managed to narrow net loss by 9% to ₹1,538.7 Cr. Adjusted EBITDA loss during the quarter stood at ₹1,248 Cr, a 29% improvement from ₹1,764 Cr in Q4 FY25. On a QoQ basis, adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed 5% from ₹1,308.7 Cr.

Zepto lost ₹59.4 per order on an adjusted EBITDA basis in Q4 FY26, which was an improvement from ₹142.68 per order in Q4 FY25 and ₹78.4 in Q3 FY26.

Zepto Moves Closer To Public Listing

As per Zepto’s UDRHP, the company’s public offering will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth ₹8,010 Cr and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of 1,135 Cr equity shares. Nexus Ventures, Contrary ZEP Holdings, Razor Ventures and Kaiser Foundation are among the existing shareholders who plan to offload shares via the OFS.

The company plans to utilise the funds raised via the fresh issue of shares to expand its dark store network and fund the rental expenses of existing dark stores. Zepto operated 1,139 dark stores at the end of the fiscal year 2026, compared to 1,029 a year ago.

Additionally, the company plans to use a part of the proceeds from the fresh issue for investing in technology and cloud infrastructure and in its subsidiary Zepto Marketplace Pvt Ltd to fund marketing and business promotion expenses for enhancing brand awareness and visibility. It spent ₹1,389 Cr on advertising in FY26.

Lastly, it plans to utilise some of the fresh capital for inorganic growth through unidentified acquisitions and general corporate purposes.

Prior to the IPO, Zepto is also looking to raise ₹1,602 Cr (about $167.5 Mn) through a pre-IPO private placement round. If the round goes through, this amount will be deducted from the proposed fresh issue.

Zepto, which competes with Eternal’s Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart, Amazon Now, Flipkart Minutes, BigBasket, and JioMart, is looking to become the first pure-play quick commerce player to list on the Indian exchanges.

The post Zepto FY26: Loss Jumps 26% YoY To ₹5,905 Cr, Revenue Doubles appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Zepto Files UDRH, GPS Renewables Bags ₹635 Cr & More

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 03:24:15 +0000

Zepto’s ₹8,010 Cr Fresh Issue

A dilemma over making the public market move seems to have gripped India’s startup ecosystem lately. While companies such as PhonePe and Curefoods have slowed their IPO plans amid valuation concerns and cautious investor sentiment, quick commerce major Zepto is charging ahead with its stock market debut.

Betting Big Despite Losses: Weeks after receiving SEBI’s approval, Zepto has filed its updated draft papers for an IPO comprising a fresh issue of ₹8,010 Cr and an offer-for-sale by existing investors. The company plans to use the proceeds to expand its dark store network, invest in its subsidiaries and pursue inorganic growth opportunities.

Zepto’s IPO push comes at a time when public market investors are increasingly prioritising profitability and predictable cash flows. Yet, the startup’s losses widened 26% year-on-year to ₹5,905.2 Cr in FY26. However, the silver lining is its operating revenue, which more than doubled to ₹22,623.6 Cr.

A Test For Public Markets: Zepto’s decision to proceed highlights a growing divide among late-stage startups. While some are choosing to wait for better market conditions and valuation clarity, others are betting that investors will continue to back category leaders with strong growth trajectories, even if profitability remains elusive.

The Not-So-Confident Lot: Meanwhile, startups like Curefoods are fighting shy of making the IPO move. Sitting on a loss of ₹170 Cr against an operating revenue of ₹745.8 Cr in FY25, the company last sought a valuation of about ₹4,000 Cr for its stock market debut. As expected, mutual funds and institutional investors were not aligned with its expectations, making it difficult for the company to proceed on favourable terms.

Amid mixed signals from Indian startups about their listing plans, Zepto has filed its updated draft IPO papers, and this is what it says.

From The Editor’s Desk

Klassroom All Set For IPO

The edtech startup is planning to launch its initial public offering on the BSE SME platform in Q2 FY27. The startup has also received the in-principle approval from BSE in May to go ahead with its public offering.
The startup’s proposed IPO comprises a fresh issue of up to 19.89 Lakh equity shares and an offer-for-sale component of up to 4.66 Lakh shares. Klassroom plans to use the funds to bolster content development and strengthen tech stack and partnership.
Founded in 2016, Klassroom operates a hybrid learning platform that combines offline coaching centres with an education OTT app. The startup claims to have more than 4 Lakh registered users, over 1 Lakh subscribers and a network of 30 partner centres.

GPS Renewables Bags ₹635 Cr

The cleantech startup has raised about $66.4 Mn in its Series C round led by Sojitz Corporation to accelerate its large-scale compressed biogas projects across India and scale its project development platform, GPSR Arya.
Founded in 2012, GPS Renewables offers end-to-end solutions for the development, production and distribution of biofuels. It converts agricultural residue, food waste and other organic feedstock into clean fuels such as CBG, ethanol and aviation fuel.
GPS Renewables claims to have an annual revenue of about ₹1,000 Cr. The startup said it has 30 operational or near-complete projects, and recently secured an engineering, procurement and construction contract from NTPC.

Incuspaze Acquires iKeva

The managed and coworking space provider has acquired a 100% stake in the Hyderabad-based startup for an undisclosed amount. Incuspaze said the acquisition is expected to add nearly ₹100 Cr to its revenue and 5 Lakh square feet of workspace.
According to Incuspaze, the acquisition will help improve operational efficiency, strengthen technology capabilities, generate revenue synergies and standardise services across locations.
Founded in 2016, Incuspaze currently operates more than 50 offices across 18 cities, with a portfolio spanning over 40 Lakh square feet. The IPO-bound startup also plans to expand its footprint by another 5 Lakh square feet in FY27.

Aye Finance Eyes $15 Mn Debt

The NBFC’s board has approved the issuance of non-convertible debentures of up to $15 Mn on a private placement basis, with a face value fixed at ₹1 Lakh per debenture. The securities will be allotted on June 25, with a maturity tenure of five years.
For the fundraise, Aye Finance will provide investors with security in the form of pledged loan assets and receivables. The company will commit to maintaining the value of these pledged assets at a minimum of 1.1X the outstanding debenture amount at all times.
Aye Finance is in the business of processing and providing business loans to MSMEs across India. For the full FY26, the NBFC’s PAT increased 13% YoY to ₹193.6 Cr, while its operating revenue jumped 24% YoY to ₹1,814.7 Cr.

Immuneel Therapeutics Bags ₹100 Cr

The biotech startup has received backing from Singularity AMC, Rainmatter, while existing backers founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital doubled down on their bets. The biotech startup has now raised $38 Mn in funding till date.
It intends to deploy the freshly raised funds towards scaling its manufacturing capacity, advancing its next-gen deeptech cell and gene therapy pipeline and expanding its geographical footprint.
Founded in 2018, Immuneel offers affordable cancer therapy with its cell and gene therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy in India to fight cancer. Available CAR-T technology is for blood cancers—specifically leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How Adiabatic Tackles Thermal Stress In EV Batteries

As electric vehicles gain ground in India, heat remains a silent disruptor. Battery packs often overheat under heavy usage, leading to safety risks, faster degradation, and inconsistent range. Adiabatic is building battery systems that stay stable in the country’s tropical climate.

Built For Tropics: Founded in 2022, Adiabatic develops lithium-ion battery packs for electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, e-cycles, and drones. It focuses on engineering batteries that can perform reliably for Indian use cases such as high-temperature and high-load environments.

The Intelligent Stack: At the core of Adiabatic’s offering is its proprietary battery management system. Connected via smartphone, it enables real-time monitoring of temperature and battery health, allowing users and operators to detect risks early and optimise performance. This added visibility helps extend battery life and improve safety.

Scaling Deployments: The startup claims to have already deployed over 15,000 battery packs and works with more than 25 OEM partners, serving upwards of 200 customers. Its 6,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Ahmednagar underpins its production and supply capabilities. Going forward, Adiabatic plans to scale production and deepen market penetration.

Operating in the homegrown EV battery market, which is projected to cross $16 Bn by 2034, can Adiabatic disrupt India’s battery stack with its temperature-first approach?

Infographic Of The Day

Gold-plated jewellery, lab-grown diamonds and Gen Z spending habits are building India’s next jewellery wave. So, who is leading the demi-fine jewellery category in the country?

The post Zepto Files UDRH, GPS Renewables Bags ₹635 Cr & More appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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The Wedding Company Nets $2.8 Mn To Bolster Its Wedding Services

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 02:24:07 +0000

Matrimony startup The Wedding Company has secured $2.75 Mn (₹26.3 Cr) in a seed funding round led by Wellingdon Advisors LLP. While existing investors LVX and Tremis Capital doubled down on their earlier bet, new investors Synergy Capital Partner, Vivek Mathur (ex-Elevation Capital) and Rahul Garg (ex-Premji Invest) also joined the startup’s cap table.

With the fresh capital in the intend, The Wedding Company intends to penetrate India’s vast wedding market deeper by expanding its vendor partner network, build a robust category management function and strengthen its wedding services catalogue.

“This fundraise validates our approach of combining technology with strong on-ground execution to deliver a superior and premium wedding planning experience,” cofounder and chief executive Pawan Gupta said.

Since its inception three years ago, the startup has been working on building a name for itself by providing an end-to-end online platform that helps Indians simplify the cumbersome planning and execution of weddings.

From venue booking, decor, and catering to photography and guest logistics, The Wedding Company claims to help people plan their wedding under their respective budgets.

The startup has accrued a network of over 30,000 wedding venues and 2,000 vendors across India, where it has planned and executed over 1,000 wedding ceremonies.

At $130 Bn, the Indian wedding market is the second largest in the world. The country sees roughly 8-10 Mn couples tie the knot every year. And, in line with the culture, an Indian wedding is typically seen as a grand affair.

The startup bids to crack the vastly unorganised Indian wedding market with its tech-enabled approach. Till now, The Wedding Company has seemingly been successful in creating a niche in the bustling market.

In a statement, the startup claims to have scaled service orders from ₹51 Cr in FY25 to ₹115 Cr in FY26, marking a 225% growth. Expecting to execute 1,500 new weddings in the ongoing fiscal, the wedding company is targeting to close the year serving orders worth ₹350 Cr.

In the bustling market, The Wedding Company takes incumbents and emerging players like Matrimony.com, Weddingz by OYO and Meragi head on.

The post The Wedding Company Nets $2.8 Mn To Bolster Its Wedding Services appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Immuneel Therapeutics Raises ₹100 Cr To Take Its Gene Therapy For Blood Cancer Global

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 07:24:45 +0000

Biotech startup Immuneel Therapeutics announced a ₹100 Cr Series B fundraise from Singularity AMC, Rainmatter by Zerodha, along with participation from existing backers including founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital, and a host of undisclosed HNIs.

The Bengaluru-based company plans to deploy the freshly raised funds towards scaling Immuneel’s GMP manufacturing capacity, advancing its next-gen deep tech cell and gene therapy pipeline and pushing geographical footprint across Asia Pacific and Middle East.

Founded in 2018 by Mazumdar-Shaw, Kush M Parmar and Siddhartha Mukherjee, Immuneel Therapeutics offers cell and gene therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy in India to fight cancer. The company claims to provide affordable cancer therapy and works to offer advanced options for care, improve access and drive better patient outcomes.

“We are scaling up our manufacturing capacity, so we are putting capital into that. Additionally, investment is going into localisation and manufacturing know-how that’s going to leverage Immuneel’s base for our current as well as our future programs,” CEO Amit Mookim told Inc42.

A significant part of funds will go towards supporting the commercialisation of Qartemi, an approved CAR-T therapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

For context, the mentioned disease is a type of blood cancer affecting the lymphatic system and Qartemi is a CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell) therapy, in which a patient’s own immune cells are modified to identify and attack cancer cells.

Currently, available CAR-T technology is for blood cancers—specifically leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma.

“We are treating patients in India with lymphoma right now, and we’ll soon start treating patients with leukemia. We have other programs going on as we speak; there’s a lot of work happening in solid tumors as well, though none of those have moved to the clinic commercially yet,” Mookim added.

Following the commercial launch of Qartemi, Immuneel is now focused on expanding its presence in high-growth emerging markets and advancing clinical co-development partnerships across Australia and Southeast Asia.

Immuneel’s Gene Therapy Edge

Immuneel began taking in patients for its commercialised gene therapy solutions in late 2024. And thus far more than 100 patients have come through the therapy according to the CEO, who added that the next goal is to take this global and compete with more expensive solutions in regions like North America and Europe.

Mookim told us that the first CAR-T was infused about 13 or 14 years ago in the US, and it was given to a nine-year-old girl who is still cancer-free today. “It’s a groundbreaking therapy. But the West has never thought of solving the cost and scale equation. Part of it is the value chain and supply chain, part of it is the manufacturing technology, and part of it is just thinking of it in terms of innovation at scale. Which is what we are trying to do.”

The CEO added that while such treatments typically cost $400,000 to $500,000 for a patient in the West, Immuneel is looking to offer it at less than 10% of that cost. “We believe that we can actually solve this problem not only for India but for the rest of the world, starting with the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia, where cancer patients don’t have access to these treatments,”

Prior to this, the company raised INR 100 Cr as a part of its extended Series A funding round from Taiba Middle East FZ LLC in 2024. In April 2022, the Bengaluru-based startup raised close to $15 Mn in a Series A funding. With the fresh round, the company has raised to a close of $38 Mn in funding till date.

“This fundraise strengthens our ability to build a globally competitive CAR-T platform from India combining deep science, scalable manufacturing and significantly improved affordability. We believe India can play a meaningful role in shaping the future of cell and gene therapy for the world,” said Mazumdar-Shaw.

India’s Biotech Moment

In fact, gene therapy is having a major moment in India with a number of new startups emerging to compete against those in the West who have not yet managed to crack the affordability barrier.

Immuneel’s pitch is similar to Natco Pharma-backed Cellogen, which also develops more affordable therapies utilising CAR-T cells to treat cancers and blood disorders.

The startup recently raised ₹20 Cr from Kotak Alts to continue its research-led platform. Similarly, oncology startup Oncare has raised ₹27 Cr in a Series A funding round.

Mookim noted that while China already boasts hundreds of gene therapy companies, India’s biotech sector is just now experiencing a boom. “India’s moment in biotech has arrived, much like the tech and fintech boom a decade ago. ”

This momentum is being driven by new government funding and developing investor and regulatory ecosystems. However, he cautioned that long-term success in the space requires more than just strong science and that manufacturing, supply chains and GTM strategies will all come into play eventually as biotech startups scale up.

The post Immuneel Therapeutics Raises ₹100 Cr To Take Its Gene Therapy For Blood Cancer Global appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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After PhonePe, Curefoods Puts IPO Plans On Hold Amid Market Turmoil: Report

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 06:24:29 +0000

Cloud kitchen startup Curefoods has put its IPO plans on hold amid the ongoing turmoil in the Indian equities market and concerns over its potential valuation.

The Olio’s Pizza owner had secured SEBI’s nod to proceed with its public listing in October last year.

Citing sources, ET reported that mutual funds were not aligned with the ₹4,000 Cr (about $419 Mn) valuation sought by Curefoods during its roadshows, especially due to the current market conditions.

As per its DRHP, the startup’s IPO was to comprise a fresh issue of ₹800 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 4.85 Cr equity shares by early investors like Accel, Chiratae Ventures, Nordstar Partners, Iron Pillar, Alteria Capital, and Curefit Healthcare.

“In a market like this, especially for loss-making companies, it is hard to get a good premium, and they were seeking a ₹4,000 Cr valuation… They have decided to hold it, and will attempt to get listed next year, if the markets are better. They don’t immediately need capital infusion,” the report quoted a person close to the discussions as saying.

Questions sent to Curefoods remain unanswered till the time of publication. The story will be updated on receiving responses.

The startup was expected to utilise the fresh funds raised from the IPO to expand its cloud kitchen network, adding over 66 new kitchens to its kitty for its existing brands like Olio’s Pizza and Krispy Kreme, for which it had allocated ₹152 Cr.

The startup’s losses jittered investors, especially as it was also the first cloud kitchen platform looking to go public. Its main rival Rebel Foods was also said to be eyeing an IPO but there have been no updates on it.

Curefoods marginally narrowed its net loss to ₹172 Cr in FY25 from ₹170 Cr in FY24, while total revenue rose 27% to ₹775.4 Cr from ₹635 Cr reported in FY24.

Founded in 2020 by ex-Flipkart executive Ankit Nagori, the startup’s inception came when it broke off from fitness startup Cult.fit. Initially operating under the name Eat.fit, which was also the only brand under its umbrella, the startup has since grown to become a complete house of brands following an elaborate acquisition strategy for expansion.

At the time of filing its DRHP, Curefoods operated through 502 service locations across over 70 cities in India, which included five central kitchens, 281 cloud kitchens, 99 kiosks, 122 restaurants and 13 warehouses. It operates over 20 brands, including Rolls On Wheels, Cake Zone, Canteen Central, Nomad Pizza, among others.

It has raised $150 Mn to date from the likes of Accel, Iron Pillar and 3State Ventures, including a pre-IPO round of ₹160 Cr in September last year.

The post After PhonePe, Curefoods Puts IPO Plans On Hold Amid Market Turmoil: Report appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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Thank You, Partners, For Making Inc42 AI Summit 2026 A Grand Success

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 05:24:41 +0000

On May 28, Inc42 hosted the third edition of the Inc42 AI Summit 2026 at Sheraton Grand, Bengaluru, bringing together more than 600 founders, AI builders, enterprise leaders, and investors under one roof.

The strong turnout marked the overwhelming interest in the Summit, which received over 7,000 pre-registrations and 1,500 paid applications, with only around one-third of applicants ultimately making the cut. With over 60 speakers and a packed agenda across 20+ sessions, roundtables and workshops, the Inc42 AI Summit 2026 brought together some of the leading voices in India’s AI ecosystem for candid conversations on the opportunities, challenges and real-world applications of AI.

The discussions went beyond the hype to explore a simple but critical question — what does it take to move AI from experimentation to large-scale deployment in India?

Across sessions, speakers unpacked the realities of building and scaling AI businesses, covering everything from agentic AI systems and enterprise adoption to AI-powered fintech infrastructure, ecommerce transformation and the challenges of turning AI interest into paying customers.

Discussions also explored what investors are looking for in the next wave of AI startups and the common pitfalls that prevent companies from scaling. Beyond the tech, the conversations also revolved around the operational and commercial playbooks shaping India’s AI ecosystem.

Industry leaders like V Vaidyanathan, MD and CEO, IDFC First Bank; Rahul Chari, cofounder and CTO, PhonePe; Rishikesh SR, cofounder, Rapido; Mohit Saxena, cofounder and CTO, InMobi; Ish Babbar, cofounder and CTO, InsuranceDekho; Vaibhav Khandelwal, cofounder and CTO, Shadowfax, and Anish Achuthan, cofounder and CEO, Open Financial Technologies among others, shared their playbooks for building sustainable competitive advantages in an increasingly crowded market.

For Vaidyanathan, technology remains the cornerstone of long-term growth. Reflecting on IDFC First Bank’s journey, he said that combining a customer-first mindset with technology is the only way to achieve scale.

“Our magic carpet is technology. If we had gone the traditional way, we would not be anywhere close to the growth we have seen in the past seven years,” he added.

Meanwhile, the investors panel underscored the need to look beyond the AI buzzword and assess whether startups are creating genuine value. Beyond discussions on execution and funding strategies, speakers and attendees also grappled with difficult questions.

In one such discussion, InMobi and Glance cofounder and CTO Mohit Saxena pointed to the structural challenges facing the country’s AI ambitions.

“We are competing with the US on one side and China on the other. The US has trillions in funding and access to chipsets, while China is a manufacturing powerhouse,” Saxena said, arguing that India still has significant ground to cover in the AI race.

At the end, all the exchanges brought up a common theme — India has to produce globally competitive AI solutions, and that is only possible when the country can pair innovation and execution with strong infrastructure, talent pipelines and long-term ecosystem support.

But none of these dialogues would’ve been possible without the support of our sponsors and partners, who helped make the Inc42 AI Summit 2026 a significant milestone in India’s AI-first journey. Thank you for powering this movement.

Our Presenting Partner

IDFC FIRST Bank

The private sector bank, formed through the merger of IDFC Bank and Capital First in 2018 under the leadership of V Vaidyanathan, offers a suite of financial products and services across retail, MSME and corporate segments.

With a strong focus on technology-driven banking, customer-first products and ethical practices, IDFC FIRST Bank has built a differentiated franchise centred around transparency and accessibility. The bank continues to support India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by enabling businesses with tailored financial solutions and long-term partnerships.

IDFC FIRST Bank MD and CEO V Vaidyanathan also joined Vaibhav Vardhan, cofounder and CEO, Inc42 for a fireside chat on ‘The Transformative Role Of AI In Banking’. During the chat, Vaidhyanathan talked about a future where banks proactively solve customer problems instead of waiting for support calls. He also talked about the possibility of AI expanding banking access and inclusion in India, especially for customers without formal credit histories.

Co-Presenting Partners

Skyflow

Skyflow is a data privacy and security company that helps businesses store and manage sensitive customer information safely. Instead of keeping personal data such as names, phone numbers, banking details or health records across multiple systems, companies can store it in Skyflow’s secure data vault.

The platform allows businesses to use customer data when needed while limiting unnecessary exposure. This helps organisations meet privacy regulations, reduce security risks and build greater trust with customers.

At the Inc42 AI Summit 2026, Amruta Moktali, CPO at Skyflow, also participated in a panel discussion titled ‘The Operator Playbook for Building and Scaling Agentic AI Systems That Deliver Real Business ROI.’

Loti AI

Loti AI helps individuals, creators, celebrities and brands protect their digital identity from misuse online. The company specialises in detecting and removing unauthorised content, including AI-generated deepfakes, fake advertisements and impersonation attempts.

Loti AI continuously scans the internet for content that misuses a person’s likeness, voice or brand assets. When harmful or fraudulent content is identified, Loti AI helps clients take action to remove it.

Loti AI’s cofounder and CTO Hirak Chhatbar also joined a panel discussion themed ‘Algorithms, Attention & Distribution In The AI Era’, where he shared insights on how AI is reshaping content discovery, audience engagement and distribution strategies.

Powered By Partners

Intellemo.ai

Intellemo.ai provides AI marketing tools that help businesses create, optimise and manage digital campaigns. The platform uses AI to generate content, analyse audience behaviour and ensure that the campaign reaches the right audience at the right time.

It automates content creation and campaign management and helps businesses reach customers more efficiently. Saurabh Gupta, founder and CEO of Intellemo was also a part of a panel discussion on the topic, ‘How Consumer AI Products Are Winning Distribution And Retention In India.’

Avalara

Avalara develops tax compliance software that helps businesses calculate, collect and file taxes accurately across different regions and jurisdictions. Managing tax regulations can be complex, especially for companies operating in multiple markets.

Its platform automates tax calculations and compliance processes, reducing the risk of errors and regulatory issues. Businesses use Avalara to simplify tax management and stay compliant with changing regulations.

Job Sam Koshy, APAC head – partnerships and alliances, Avalara, participated in the panel discussion titled, ‘The Operator Playbook For Building And Scaling Agentic AI Systems That Deliver Real Business ROI.’

Vobiz.ai

Vobiz.ai is an AI-first telephony infrastructure startup that helps businesses build and scale voice-based AI applications. To put it simply, Vobiz acts as the bridge between AI software and phone networks, allowing companies to deploy AI-powered customer support, sales and communication systems.

The platform is designed for low-latency, real-time conversations and helps developers build voice AI products without dealing with complex telecom infrastructure. Vobiz.ai’s cofounder and CEO Suman Gandham also shared his insights during a session titled ‘How Companies Are Using Voice AI To Reach The Next 500 Million Users’, where he discussed the growing role of voice AI at scale.

kAIgentic

kAIgentic helps businesses capture internal knowledge and turn it into AI agents that can perform business tasks autonomously. Instead of relying on employees to manually share expertise, the platform converts institutional knowledge, workflows and processes into governed AI systems that can assist with operations and decision-making.

Ahmed Mazhari, CEO and founder of kAIgentic, also took part in a session titled ‘The Playbook For Turning Enterprise Interest Into Signed AI Contracts’, where he shared insights on converting enterprise AI demand into commercial engagements.

StockGro

StockGro is a social investing and financial learning platform that allows users to learn about stock markets through virtual investing. Users can create portfolios, participate in market simulations and follow experienced investors.

The platform is designed to make investment education more accessible, allowing users to practise with virtual money before investing real funds. During the Summit, StockGro’s founder and CEO Ajay Lakhotia joined Digio’s Kshitij Shah for a fireside chat on ‘Inside StockGro’s Bet On AI As The Next Investing Edge’, where they explored how AI is shaping the future of investing.

Rubrik

Rubrik offers cybersecurity and data protection solutions that help enterprises back up, secure and recover critical data across cloud, on-premise and hybrid environments.

As cyberattacks and ransomware threats continue to rise, businesses use Rubrik to ensure their data remains protected and recoverable. The company focuses on helping organisations strengthen resilience while maintaining uninterrupted access to important information.

Rubrik’s Vipul Nayak also joined a panel discussion titled ‘How SaaS Companies Are Building Agentic Products Without Breaking Margins.’

Our Associate Partners

Rocketlane

Rocketlane provides software that helps businesses manage customer onboarding, implementation and service delivery after a sale is completed. Its platform combines project management, customer communication, document sharing and workflow tracking in a single solution. It is widely used by SaaS and enterprise technology companies to accelerate customer onboarding and improve project outcomes.

Gupshup

Gupshup is a conversational messaging platform that enables businesses to interact with customers through channels such as WhatsApp, SMS, Instagram and RCS. It helps companies manage customer communication at scale. The platform is widely used by banks, ecommerce firms and consumer brands to improve customer engagement.

Nurix AI

Nurix is an AI startup that builds human-like voice and chat agents that automate enterprise sales, support, and operational workflows. Unlike traditional Q&A chatbots, Nurix’s agents execute real-world actions like qualifying leads, scheduling appointments, and updating internal business systems.

WeWork India

WeWork India provides flexible office spaces for startups, freelancers, small businesses and large enterprises. The company allows businesses to rent office space based on their requirements instead of committing to long-term leases. The company provides fully managed offices with meeting rooms, internet connectivity, security and community events.

DialNexa

DialNexa is a cloud communication platform that streamlines customer interactions across voice calling, sales outreach, and support operations. It enables businesses to manage high-volume conversations efficiently through built-in automation and performance analytics.

Superleap

Superleap is an AI-powered customer relationship management (CRM) platform that helps businesses manage leads, automate customer communication and improve sales productivity. The platform combines lead management, marketing automation, voice intelligence, workflow automation and reporting tools into a single system for revenue teams.

AceCloud

AceCloud provides cloud infrastructure and managed IT services to businesses of all sizes. It helps companies host applications, store data securely and access software remotely through cloud-based environments. Its offerings include virtual desktops, cloud hosting and disaster recovery solutions.

CloudKeeper

CloudKeeper is a cloud cost optimisation and FinOps startup that helps businesses reduce their cloud infrastructure expenses across platforms such as AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. The company serves hundreds of global customers and specialises in helping fast-growing companies manage cloud costs at scale.

SoftCore Solutions

SoftCore Solutions is a technology services company that develops software and digital solutions for businesses to improve operations, customer experiences or internal workflows. The company offers services such as software development, system integration and IT consulting to help businesses adopt modern technology without having to build large in-house engineering teams.

Intugle

Intugle.ai is an enterprise data intelligence platform that transforms fragmented business data into AI-ready knowledge. Acting as a critical intelligence layer, it helps AI models understand complex business context, relationships, and workflows. By bridging the gap between raw data and AI systems, the platform enables enterprises to build highly accurate AI agents and generate faster insights.

Rukam Capital

Rukam Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in consumer products and services companies with strong growth potential. The Delhi NCR-based investment firm backs startups focused on innovation and transformation. It counts startups like GO DESi, Sleepy Owl, Burger Singh, Curefoods, Beco, and Yoho in its portfolio.

Peak XV Partners

Peak XV Partners, previously Sequoia Capital India and SEA, is a global venture capital and growth investing firm that backs startups in India, Southeast Asia, and beyond. The VC firm manages over $9 Bn in capital across 13 funds and has a portfolio of more than 400 companies. Of these, 40 companies have revenue above $100 Mn. Peak XV has invested in 33 Indian unicorns, including Ola and Zomato.

Mobavenue

Mobavenue offers an AI-powered adtech platform that helps digital-first brands advertise more effectively. It helps its clients acquire users, increase engagement, and monetise their digital inventory. The company specialises in digital advertising, performance marketing, and data intelligence to drive ROI.

Brite Systems

Brite Systems is a technology consulting and software services company that works with enterprises and government organisations, helping them modernise systems and improve operational efficiency. The company provides services ranging from software implementation to digital transformation projects.

InterviewPanel

InterviewPanel provides hiring software that helps companies evaluate job candidates more effectively. Its platform enables recruiters and hiring managers to conduct technical assessments, coding tests and structured interviews online, helping reduce hiring time and improve candidate selection.

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Films Get The AI Treatment, Wagh Bakri’s Slow Brew & More

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 03:24:43 +0000

AI Takes On Filmmakers

AI is starting to change what cinema is. From AI-assisted pre-production to experiments like JioStar’s AI Mahabharat clocking millions of views, the technology is ushering the film industry into an entirely new medium. So, will AI democratise storytelling?

A New Medium: For years, filmmakers treated AI as a backstage utility for storyboarding, dubbing and VFX cleanup, but rarely central to the creative process. This has now changed. Studios and creators are now using GenAI systems to build entire scenes and worlds that would once have been too expensive or technically difficult.

Startups Fill The Gap: AI startups, too, are carving out a niche in filmmaking by building AI-native studios, tools, and infrastructure that go beyond traditional production workflows. This has enabled faster iteration, lower costs, and entirely new storytelling formats designed specifically for scalable cinematic experiences.

The Shifting Economics: The deeper disruption is economic. Epics, fantasy worlds, war sequences, and stylised cinematic universes have traditionally demanded huge budgets, large crews and long timelines. AI is beginning to compress those constraints, lowering the cost of experimentation and making storytelling more accessible to smaller studios and independent creators.

The Caveat: But cheaper does not mean effortless. AI-native productions still require compute, proprietary workflows, middleware, refinement, and human oversight. In many cases, the biggest expense remains people, not models.

Need For Human Control: Even as generative video matures, the hardest problems are consistency, controllability, and cinematic coherence. Studios still rely on directors, editors, VFX artists, and production designers to preserve intent and quality. This is why the emerging model appears to be hybrid – AI is expanding scale and flexibility, while humans retain authorship and judgement.

As studios build AI-native pipelines and platforms, will the next era of Indian cinema be defined by who can orchestrate the story? Let’s find out…

From The Editor’s Desk

Weekly Startup Funding Rebounds

Indian startups cumulatively managed to raise $187.4 Mn last week , up 260% from $52 Mn raised in the preceding week. Deal count also improved to 21 deals as against 14 recorded in the preceding week.
FirstClub and Innefu emerged as the most funded startups last week, bagging $55 Mn and $30 Mn, respectively. Ecommerce saw the highest number of deals at eight, while consumer services emerged as the most funded sector with $55 Mn infusion.
Seed stage funding jumped to $3.1 Mn last week, more than double from the $1.5 Mn raised by startups at this stage in the preceding week. Antler, IAN Alpha Fund and Rainmatter emerged as most active investors, backing two startups each.

Wagh Bakri’s Slow Brew

Wagh Bakri began its digital journey in 2016. But instead of treating ecommerce and quick commerce as a standalone disruption, the 1919-founded tea company layered online channels as a support engine onto its deep offline network.
Today that patient approach has produced a channel mix where ecommerce drives 8% of the revenue. This means the digital layer, despite being small in proportion, is already worth more than ₹200 Cr on the projected FY26 revenue of ₹2,500 Cr.
Now, the legacy tea brand is trying to future-proof its business by leveraging AI models for seasonal forecasting, yield estimation, demand planning and tracking to improve planning accuracy and procurement efficiency.

Nazara Raises ₹474 Cr

The listed gaming giant’s board has approved the allotment of 1.82 Cr warrants via a preferential issue at ₹260 apiece, raising over ₹474 Cr. Fidelis Global, S Gupta Family Enterprises, Founders Collective Fund, among others participated in the issue.
Nazara has received around ₹118.5 Cr upfront as the initial 25% warrant subscription amount from the investors. Under the structure, warrant holders can convert the instruments into equity shares within 18 months by paying the remaining 75%.
The company intends to use the proceeds from this fundraise to primarily be used to support strategic acquisitions, including the recently announced Bluetile and BestPlay transaction, and to accelerate growth across its existing business verticals.

Mixed Week For Startup Stocks

Of the 57 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage, 31 fell in the range of 0.03% to nearly 10% last week. The remaining 26 gained between 0.04% and 16%. The mixed week came amid the broader market turmoil due to ongoing geopolitical tensions.
BlueStone and CarTrade emerged as the biggest winners, while PB Fintech and Meesho were the biggest losers.
Next week, Indian markets are expected to react to developments around inflation data, foreign portfolio flows, global cues, and ongoing monsoon progression. The conflict in West Asia will also likely weigh on the markets.

The Token Bill Comes Due

GitHub’s shift to usage-based Copilot pricing is all set to make AI coding far more expensive for startups. As token consumption replaces flat subscriptions, engineering teams are being forced to rethink budgets, workflows and tool choices.
Many startups are already reacting, searching for cheaper models to rein in costs. Others are reworking how they use Copilot and reserving it for selective tasks and breaking work into modular chunks to avoid token-heavy loops.
Industry executives see this as part of a bigger pricing reset as agentic coding drives up compute intensity. This has resulted in a new operating reality where AI tools are increasingly managed like infrastructure rather than software subscriptions.

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

Fixing The Invisible Layer Of India’s Voice AI Boom

Voice AI may be booming, but its weakest link lies beneath the surface. The underlying telecom infrastructure struggles with latency, routing, and reliability at machine scale. Vobiz.ai is betting that fixing this invisible layer will define the next phase of voice AI.

Vobiz’s Telecom Stack: Founded in 2025, the Bengaluru-based startup is creating an AI-first telephony infrastructure layer. At its core is a single-hop architecture designed to minimise latency and improve call quality. The platform offers programmable APIs and AI-optimised routing to dynamically route workloads to balance performance, cost, and language needs.

The AI Edge: Vobiz.ai embeds AI to offer a host of features, including handling noise suppression, echo cancellation, packet routing, and spam detection. On the back of this, it claims to have reduced telephony latency to under 80 milliseconds (P95), a critical threshold for maintaining natural conversations between humans and AI agents.

All Set For Production: Since launching in late 2025, the platform claims to have scaled from 1 Lakh monthly calls to over 10 Lakh daily calls, with 98% customer retention. While early traction came from voice AI startups, enterprises across fintech, logistics, and real estate are now adopting the platform as voice AI moves into production.

As voice AI matures, can Vobiz.ai quietly become the backbone of scalable AI communication in India?

Infographic Of The Day

India’s luggage market is now packed with everyone from legacy leaders to fast-growing D2C challengers. From Safari to Mokobara, which luggage brands are trying to define the modern Indian traveller?

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New-Age Tech Stocks: BlueStone, ideaForge Lead Weekly Gains; PB Fintech, Meesho Slip

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 13:24:45 +0000

New-age tech stocks saw another mixed week amid the ongoing broader market turmoil due to ongoing geopolitical tensions. While 31 out of the 57 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage fell in a range of 0.03% to close to 10% this week, the remaining 26 gained between 0.04% to about 16%.

The list of losers was topped by PB Fintech, with the stock falling 9.86% to end at ₹1,534.6. Investors turned bearish on the insurance aggregator after chairman Yashish Dahiya, in an interview with ET, expressed concerns over reports of IRDAI bringing in caps on distributor commissions.

The second biggest loser this week was ecommerce giant Meesho, whose shares have now fallen across nine consecutive trading sessions. The stock ended the week at ₹165.85, down 9.74% on a weekly basis. Brokerage firm Choice Institutional Equities highlighted that the upcoming six-month lock-in expiry for shares on Tuesday (June 9) is creating a downward pressure.

Meanwhile, Wakefit, Zappfresh, Swiggy and Go Digit plummeted to fresh lows this week. These stocks have been under pressure for weeks now.

BlueStone emerged as the biggest gainer this week, as investor interest in the stock rose following the company’s bullish projections.

The second biggest gainer this week, CarTrade, rose 12.84% to end at ₹1,960.45. The stock jumped in the latter half of the week after Kotak Institutional Equities upgraded its rating to “BUY” from “SELL” earlier. The brokerage also raised its price target to ₹2,300 per share from ₹1,800 apiece previously.

Shares of Kissht, Aye Finance, RateGain, Ather Energy, SEDEMAC, MobAvenue and ideaForge also touched fresh highs this week.

With that, here’s a look at the key developments at new-age tech companies this week.

Ola Electric Gets QIP Boost: With backing from marquee investors like Goldman Sachs, Motilal Oswal, JM Financial, the EV company closed its QIP at ₹780.24 Cr.

ixigo’s Acquisition Spree: The travel tech company’s board approved stake acquisitions in hotel booking startup Brevistay for ₹65.7 Cr, AI surveillance startup ProctAI for ₹7.5 Cr and agentic AI startup Vestra of ₹4.5 Cr.

PhysicsWallah’s Troubled Week: The edtech major’s NBFC plans, announced along with its financials, didn’t sit well with investors, triggering a bloodbath for the shares this week. Later, the company took a U-turn on its ₹120 Cr NBFC investment plan, leading to a jump in share price.

OYO, Kuku Set Sail For D-Street: Hospitality giant OYO’s parent PRISM received SEBI approval for its confidentially filed DRHP this week, while entertainment brand Kuku FM pre-filed its IPO papers.

Nazara Allots Shares Worth ₹474 Cr: The gaming company completed its preferential issue yesterday, raising ₹118.5 Cr from investors like Fidelis Global, S Gupta Family Enterprises, promoter Plutus Investments and Founders Collective Fund.

Awfis’ GST Woes: The coworking major received a fresh GST show-cause notice over alleged discrepancies in FY23 filings, involving a demand of about ₹7.1 Cr.

Block Deals Galore: While SoftBank sold Lenskart shares worth ₹2,873 Cr, Peak XV Partners offloaded ₹100 Cr worth Go Digit shares. Meanwhile, Friale sold Groww shares in a ₹210 Cr block deal.

Paytm Sets Up DLG For Lending Partners: The fintech major approved default loss guarantee arrangements of up to ₹90 Cr each for lenders Muthoot Fincorp and Kisetsu Saison as it looks to scale its loan distribution business under RBI-compliant structures.

Zappfresh Doubles Down On Frozen Snacks: The online meat delivery brand completed the acquisition of subsidiary Avyom Foodtech, revising the terms of the acquisition deal to ₹10 Cr for 100% ownership against the pre-set ₹7.5 Cr investment for 51% stake.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the broader market trends.

Correction Continues In The Broader Market

Indian equity markets ended the week on a subdued note, with benchmark indices declining amid persistent geopolitical tensions and uncertainty around global trade flows. However, supportive domestic macroeconomic factors helped cap the downside.

The Nifty 50 and Sensex fell over 0.5% each during the week to close at 23,366.70 and 74,243.34, respectively. Broader markets remained under pressure, with the midcap index declining more than 1.5% and the smallcap index ending largely flat, indicating selective investor participation.

The RBI’s monetary policy announcement remained the key domestic trigger during the week.

The MPC kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% while retaining its neutral stance. However, the RBI raised its FY27 inflation forecast to 5.1% from 4.6% earlier and cut its GDP growth projection to 6.6% from 6.9%.

The central bank flagged elevated energy prices, supply-side disruptions, weaker monsoon expectations and potential El Nino risks as key concerns weighing on the growth outlook.

On the global front, cues remained mixed. Stronger-than-expected manufacturing data from China offered some support to investor sentiment, while economic weakness and sticky inflation in the Eurozone kept markets cautious. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions, volatility in crude oil prices and elevated US bond yields continued to add to global uncertainty.

India’s provisional GDP data, released after market hours yesterday, provided some positive news for investors. While the real GDP is estimated to have grown by 7.7% in FY26, real GDP growth in Q4 FY26 came in at 7.8%.

Now, let’s take a deeper look at the factors behind the performance of BlueStone and ideaForge this week:

BlueStone Gains On Aggressive Growth Projections

After reporting its first profitable fiscal year in FY26, jewellery retailer BlueStone is banking on aggressive offline expansion to drive its next phase of growth.

In an investor presentation, the company projected annual revenue of ₹12,000 Cr by FY30, nearly 5X higher than its FY26 revenue of ₹2,486 Cr.

BlueStone highlighted its rapid scale-up over the past four years, with revenue growing nearly 12X from ₹211 Cr in FY22 to ₹2,486 Cr in FY26, translating to a CAGR of 83%.

Going ahead, the company expects growth to be driven by both higher sales from existing stores and continued expansion of its retail footprint. It projected a 30% CAGR same-store sales growth (SSSG), while new store additions are expected to contribute 20% CAGR growth.

The company plans to continue expanding its offline network aggressively. It reiterated that while its D2C platform serves as a discovery channel, a majority of transactions are eventually completed offline.

Brokerages also maintained a bullish outlook on the company following the investor presentation. JM Financial retained its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of ₹650, implying an upside of around 20% from current levels.

Meanwhile, Nuvama also maintained a positive outlook, citing BlueStone’s expanding store network and improving unit economics as major growth drivers. The brokerage expects growth to accelerate further as newer stores mature, supported by higher repeat purchases, increasing average order values and sustained momentum across both online and offline channels.

The company’s shares ended the week 15.99% higher at ₹554.85.

Strong Week For ideaForge

Shares of drone maker ideaForge rose sharply this week after its board approved plans to raise up to ₹500 Cr via a qualified institutional placement (QIP) or preferential allotment or private placement.

The proposed fundraise is aimed at supporting the company’s acquisition plans, expansion and modernisation initiatives, as well as investments in research and development.

Investor sentiment was further boosted by reports that India is preparing its largest-ever military drone procurement programme worth more than $2 Bn, with the orders expected to be placed entirely with domestic manufacturers.

The accelerated procurement drive is reportedly aimed at meeting urgent operational requirements over the next 18 to 24 months, signalling a broader strategic shift towards unmanned warfare capabilities.

The development is expected to significantly benefit India’s domestic drone manufacturing ecosystem, especially after the government restricted imports of foreign drones to encourage indigenous production.

Shares of the company gained 11.61% to end the week at a fresh 52-week high of ₹943.5.

Edited by Vinaykumar Rai

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[Update] Nazara Raises ₹474 Cr Via Preferential Issue

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 12:24:31 +0000

Update | June 6, 17:15 IST

Nazara’s board has approved the allotment of 1.82 Cr warrants through a preferential issue at ₹260 apiece, raising over ₹474 Cr from investors Fidelis Global (Riambel Capital PCC-RCC1), S Gupta Family Enterprises, promoter Plutus Investments and Founders Collective Fund.

While Fidelis Global’s Riambel Capital PCC-RCC1 was allotted the highest 94.85 Lakh shares, S Gupta Family got 40 Lakh shares. The promoter entity received 38.46 Lakh shares and Peter Thiel’s Founders Collective Fund was allotted 9 Lakh shares.

Under the structure, warrant holders can convert the instruments into equity shares within 18 months by paying the remaining 75% of the issue price.

The company has received around ₹118.5 Cr upfront as the initial 25% warrant subscription amount from the aforementioned investors.

Besides, Nazara also disclosed that one proposed allottee became ineligible before the allotment process, leading to a reduction of 10 Lakh warrants from the originally planned issuance size. In its prior disclosure, the company had shared plans to raise Classic Enterprises ₹26 Cr from Classic Enterprises, a partnership between Sanjeev Singhal, Gaurank Singhal and Aditya Singhal.

Original | March 30, 19:38 IST

Gaming major Nazara’s board has approved raising over ₹500 Cr via a preferential issue. The company plans to issue up to 1.92 Cr warrants at an issue price of ₹260, a 12% premium from its closing price of ₹232.35 today.

While promoter Plutus Wealth Management will participate in the round, other investors like Riambel Capital, S Gupta Family Investments, Classic Enterprises and Founders Collective will be investing in the company.

The company intends to use the proceeds from this fundraise to primarily be used to support strategic acquisitions, including the recently announced Bluetile and BestPlay transaction and to accelerate growth across its existing business verticals.

Important to mention that Nazara announced that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire about 50% stakes in Spanish casual gaming studio Bluetile Games and player engagement platform BestPlay Systems for a total of $100.3 Mn last week.

Back then, Nazara said that the acquisition would help it establish a scalable platform for AI-enabled game development, distribution and publishing across its global gaming portfolio.

“This ₹500 Cr fundraise comes at an important phase in Nazara’s journey as we execute on our most ambitious growth initiatives, including the Bluetile and BestPlay acquisition. This fresh capital, combined with our acquisition strategy, positions Nazara to build globally scalable AI-enabled gaming businesses and further strengthen our leadership in the sector,” Nazara MD and CEO Nitish Mittersain said.

Besides powering the aforementioned acquisitions, Nazara also intends to grant a loan of ₹4 Cr to its subsidiary Smaash Entertainment.

The fundraise comes weeks after Morgan Stanley picked up a stake worth about ₹69.2 Cr in the company via a block deal. Its Asia Singapore arm bought 28.85 lakh shares at ₹239.80 apiece. The deal had briefly pushed Nazara’s stock up nearly 4% intraday, even as the stock has been under pressure over the past year.

Nazara plans to use the fresh capital for acquisitions, including Bluetile and BestPlay, and to grow its existing businesses. Nazara completed the acquisition of the insolvency-ridden sports entertainment for ₹125 Cr back in June 2025. Smaaash has been under insolvency proceedings since May 2022 over dues owed to creditors, including the likes of Edelweiss ARC, Yes Bank, SIDBI and Mabella Investment Advisors.

On the financial side, the company returned to profit in Q3 FY26 with a net profit of ₹8.8 Cr, recovering from a loss in the previous quarter. However, revenue fell 24% YoY to ₹406 Cr.

Shares of Nazara ended today’s trading session 3.25% lower at ₹232.35.

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From FirstClub To Innefu— Indian Startups Raised $187 Mn This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 04:24:33 +0000

Indian startup funding trends saw a recovery in the first week of June. During the past week, Indian startups cumulatively raised $187.4 Mn, a 260% week-on-week jump from $52 Mn raised last week.

The ecosystem saw 21 deals in the period under review, from 14 funding deals recorded in the last week.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Jun 1- Jun 5]

Date	Name	Sector	Subsector	Business Model	Funding Round Size	Funding Round Type	Investors	Lead Investor
4 Jun 2026	FirstClub	Consumer Services	Quick Commerce	B2C	$55 Mn	Series B	Peak XV Partners, Sofina, Accel, RTP Global, Paramark Ventures	Peak XV Partners, Sofina
5 Jun 2026	Innefu	Enterprise Tech	Horizontal SaaS	B2B	$30 Mn	Series B	Panthera Growth Partners	Panthera Growth Partners
1 Jun 2026	Simple Energy	Cleantech	Electric Vehicles	B2C	$26.3 Mn**	Series B	Dr. Arokiaswamy Velumani Family Office, Suhas Rajkumar (Simple Energy), Ankit Gupta (Simple Energy)	Dr. Arokiaswamy Velumani Family Office
3 Jun 2026	Aglitias Sports	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$23.5 Mn	–	Nexus Venture Partners, Rainmatter	Nexus Venture Partners
1 Jun 2026	Anveshan	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$15.8 Mn	Series B	Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, International Finance Corporation, Sriharsha Majety (Swiggy), Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, Titan Capital Winners Fund, Force Ventures, Aman Gupta (boAt), Sameer Mehta (boAt)	Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India
4 Jun 2026	TrueFan AI	AI	Application Layer	B2B	$10 Mn	Series A	Baring Private Equity Partners India, Z3Partners, Indian Angel Network, 3Lines Venture Capital	Baring Private Equity Partners India, Z3Partners
4 Jun 2026	WeRize	Fintech	–	B2C	$7 Mn	Pre-Series C	Sony Innovation Fund, 3one4 Capital	Sony Innovation Fund
3 Jun 2026	Phab	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$4 Mn	Pre-Series A	OTP Ventures, Chona Family Office	OTP Ventures, Chona Family Office
2 Jun 2026	ProLearn	Edtech	Digital Learning Platform	B2C	$3.2 Mn	Pre-Seed	BEENEXT, Eximius Ventures, Antler India	BEENEXT
3 Jun 2026	Fraganote	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$3 Mn	Series A	V3 Ventures, Rukam Capital	V3 Ventures
2 Jun 2026	Aquapulse	Agritech	Farmtech	B2B	$2.1 Mn*	Series A	Indian Angel Network	Indian Angel Network
3 Jun 2026	Propsoch	Real Estate Tech	Property Listing & Discovery	B2C	$2 Mn	Seed	Athera Venture Partners, Sparrow Capital, Vakil Group	Athera Venture Partners, Sparrow Capital, Vakil Group
3 Jun 2026	Zuvees	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$1.6 Mn*	Series A	IvyCap Ventures	IvyCap Ventures
4 Jun 2026	VoltSeal	Cleantech	Electric Vehicle	B2B	$1.5 Mn	Pre-Seed	Theia Ventures, Rainmatter, Momentum Capital, Social Alpha	Theia Ventures
1 Jun 2026	Rovia	Fintech	Wealthtech	B2C	$1 Mn	Pre-Seed	Antler India, CDM Capital, AC Ventures, Operators Studio	Antler India
1 Jun 2026	KorinMi	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$1 Mn	Seed	Lotus Herbals Innovation Fund	Lotus Herbals Innovation Fund
4 Jun 2026	The Sweet Change	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$187K	Pre-Seed	Rebalance	Rebalance
5 Jun 2026	Estro Tech Robotics	Advanced Hardware & Technology	Robotics	B2B	$105K	Seed	Genrobotics	Genrobotics
1 Jun 2026	MediElaj	Healthtech	Diagnostics	B2C	$100K	–	–	–
1 Jun 2026	InterCosmos	Advanced Hardware & Technology	Spacetech	B2B	–	–	a99 VC	a99 VC
2 Jun 2026	Rosada	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	–	–	Shilpa Shetty Kundra	Shilpa Shetty Kundra
	Source: Inc42 Mix of equity and debt *Part of larger round

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

Out of 21 funding deals recorded this week, ecommerce accounted for 8 deals — making it the sector with the highest investment activity. Startups in the sector cumulatively raised a total of $49.1 Mn this week.
Quick commerce startup FirstClub raised the biggest $55 Mn cheque this week. The deal alone landed the consumer services sector the top spot in the cumulative fund infusion list.
Seed stage funding jumped to $3.1 Mn across three deals this week, more than double from the $1.5 Mn raised by startups at this stage last week.
Antler, IAN Alpha Fund and Rainmatter emerged as most active investors this week, backing two startups a piece.

Startup IPO Updates This Week

OTT startup Kuku filed its DRHP via confidential route to raise up to ₹2,500 Cr – ₹3,500 Cr through its IPO at a targeted valuation of up to ₹15,000 Cr. The fresh funds are likely to be utilised toward improving its technology and AI infrastructure, content production, and geographic expansion

Hospitality major OYO’s parent entity PRISM received SEBI approval for its proposed IPO after the company confidentially filed its DRHP in December 2025.

Other Developments Of The Week

Wealthtech startup Scripbox acquired the mutual fund distribution business of wealth management firm Bluechip Capital to expand its footprint in Delhi NCR.
EV maker Ola Electric completed its QIP, raising ₹780.24 Cr by issuing 21.75 Cr equity shares at an issue price of ₹35.86 apiece.
Dronetech company ideaForge’s board approved a proposal to raise up to ₹500 Cr via preferential allotment, private placement or a QIP. The company did not disclose when or at what price the securities would be issued.
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) raised ₹220 Cr from four strategic investors, including Uber, Zoho, Paytm and BSE.
Kyro Capital launched a SEBI-registered Category II alternative investment fund (AIF) with a target corpus of ₹100 Cr to back growth-stage companies preparing for public listings.

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