From GRB Balasubramaniam turning into India’s ghee king and Indian cricket legend MS Dhoni’s new funding to different main developments throughout sectors, YourStory brings you at this time’s headlines.
Featured tales
He offered butter on a bicycle, now his GRB is India’s ghee king
Ask G.R. Balasubramaniam whether or not he suffered to construct what he constructed, and he’ll shut you down politely however firmly.
“A labourer carries 100 kilograms on his again,” he says. “How can I say I suffered? A person who can not feed his household—that’s struggling. The whole lot else is simply life.”
He’s not being modest for the microphones or cameras. He has clearly considered this for a very long time, and he believes it utterly. The difficulty is that his personal story retains getting in the best way of the argument.
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The important thing indicators that Inflexor Ventures seems for whereas investing in deeptech startups
Whereas the deeptech ecosystem has gathered momentum in current occasions, Inflexor Ventures realised the potential of the sector greater than a decade in the past.
The Mumbai-based VC agency started investing in technology-led companies as early as 2015, properly earlier than ‘deeptech’ grew to become an outlined class in India. Its bets within the phase embody engineering-led equipment model Atomberg, Bellatrix Aerospace, and NoPo Nanotechnologies.
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Newest information
Girish Mathrubootham weighs in on Emergent income debate
Freshworks founder Girish Mathrubootham has stepped right into a public debate concerning the reported income of AI startup Emergent, urging folks to be cautious about judging personal firm numbers from the skin. Mathrubootham’s Collectively fund is an early investor in Emergent.
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Funding information
MS Dhoni joins Kuku as investor and model ambassador of microdrama app
Indian cricket legend MS Dhoni has invested in Kuku, an AI-driven storytelling platform. Along with his monetary backing, Dhoni has additionally taken on the function of brand name ambassador for Kuku TV, an app designed for microdramas.
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BlackSoil Capital invests Rs 40 crore in Indifi
BlackSoil Capital has invested Rs 40 crore in Indifi, a digital lending platform targeted on small and medium enterprises. The funding is meant to assist Indifi’s enlargement in offering financing to underserved companies throughout India.
Based in 2015, Indifi makes use of data-led credit score evaluation to supply customised loans to MSMEs in sectors together with journey, hospitality, e-commerce, retail and eating places, which have traditionally had restricted entry to formal credit score.
Indifi has disbursed greater than 150,000 loans throughout over 400 cities in partnership with over 80 lending establishments. The corporate reported a income of Rs 378 crore in FY25, representing 22% year-on-year development.
The funding displays BlackSoil Capital’s give attention to different credit score and MSME financing.
Bacancy Programs raises Rs 40 Cr in Sequence A funding
Bacancy Programs, a Gujarat-based embedded electronics and energy methods firm targeted on electrical car and railway electronics, has raised Rs 40 crore in a Sequence A funding spherical led by Sabre Companions and Greenstone Capital, each of which acquired minority stakes by main investments.
The corporate plans to make use of the funds to develop manufacturing capability, speed up product growth, strengthen analysis and growth, and enter worldwide markets.
Based in 2021 by Binal Patel, together with Krunal Patel and Hardik Sheth, Bacancy develops {hardware}, firmware, and cloud-based methods, with a give attention to energy electronics and management methods. Its merchandise embody DC charger controllers and associated methods for EV producers and charging infrastructure suppliers.
The corporate can be growing railway electronics merchandise, together with practice management and administration methods, management methods for traction and auxiliary converters, embedded modules, passenger data methods, and distant monitoring platforms.
Cedar Hill Capital leads $1.5M funding in Sign3
Cedar Hill Capital has led a $1.5 million funding in Sign3, an AI-based fraud intelligence and threat administration platform. The spherical additionally included participation from Smile Group and a number of other angel traders.
Based in 2022 and headquartered in Gurugram, Sign3 develops buyer intelligence software program for real-time fraud detection and threat evaluation. Its system combines gadget information, behavioural biometrics, and different information to generate threat insights for monetary establishments and on-line platforms.
The corporate claims that greater than 20 banks, fintech corporations, and marketplaces are utilizing the platform to detect fraudulent accounts and determine high-risk customers. The funding will likely be used to develop the product, enhance AI fashions, develop go-to-market efforts, and rent engineering and analytics workers.
Epik baggage $1M in pre-seed spherical led by InfoEdge Ventures
Epik, a fast commerce startup targeted on shopper electronics and residential home equipment, has raised $1 million in a pre-seed spherical led by InfoEdge Ventures, with participation from angel traders.
The Bengaluru-based firm plans to make use of the funds to construct fulfilment infrastructure, develop its product catalogue, and strengthen its in-home demonstration community throughout Indian cities.
Based by Gotama Gowda, Varun Chopra and Harsha Reddy, Epik affords merchandise to clients’ properties inside 60 minutes together with a educated demonstrator, permitting clients to match a number of merchandise in particular person earlier than buy.
The corporate;s operations depend on educated personnel, demo items, and hub-based logistics to allow scheduled demonstrations and fulfilment.
Cropcoin secures Rs 12 Cr in pre-Sequence A spherical
Agritech startup Cropcoin (Pehle Jaisa) has secured Rs 12 crore in a pre-Sequence A spherical led by Unicorn India Ventures, with participation from Local weather Angels.
The corporate plans to make use of the funds to develop operations from 10 districts to all 66 districts throughout Bihar and Jharkhand, develop product and analysis in bio-based soil merchandise, and construct infrastructure.
Based in 2022 by Pankaj Pandey and Ehtesham Farooqui, Cropcoin focuses on agricultural waste administration and soil well being. The corporate converts animal waste into natural fertiliser and bio-stimulants by on-site processing methods for farms.
Cropcoin says it has expanded its farmer community from 20,000 to 70,000 throughout Bihar, Jharkhand, and Manipur over the previous 12 months, with income development throughout the identical interval. The corporate plans to develop its decentralised processing mannequin and enhance farmer attain over the subsequent 12–18 months.
Skillsvest raises Rs 5.5 Cr in pre-seed funding
Skillsvest, a fintech platform, has raised Rs 5.5 crore in a pre-seed funding spherical comprising a mixture of fairness and debt. The spherical included Plug and Play Ventures and angel traders, in addition to a small debt syndicate.
The corporate, which can be backed by UC Berkeley SkyDeck and Launch Accelerator, focuses on financing worldwide grasp’s college students from middle-income backgrounds utilizing an income-linked reimbursement mannequin.
Skillsvest presently helps Indian college students pursuing grasp’s levels overseas, protecting tuition and dwelling bills. Funding sometimes ranges from $5,000 to $20,000. Main research locations embody the UK, the US, and Europe, significantly in STEM and finance.
The corporate is led by Sreemaan Thiruppathiraja and Deborah Schermann, each UC Berkeley graduates with expertise in credit score, finance and edtech. It plans to make use of the funds for scholar financing, regulatory and compliance necessities, and enlargement of partnerships and distribution.
Different information
Flipkart strengthens know-how management
Flipkart has appointed Smita Ojha as Vice President, Engineering, and Amit Sharma as Vice President, Programme Administration, as a part of efforts to strengthen its know-how management.
Ojha will lead the Central Platforms Group inside Flipkart’s One Tech organisation, with accountability for scalable platforms and core engineering capabilities. She has over 20 years of expertise in world know-how corporations and was most not too long ago SVP of Engineering at Mindtickle, the place she labored on GenAI merchandise, platform scaling and information structure.
Sharma will lead Technical Programme Administration for the One Tech organisation. A former Indian Military officer with over 25 years of company expertise, he has managed giant world programmes throughout e-retail, monetary providers and know-how. He beforehand served as Director at Amazon and has held management roles at Accenture and WNS.
STEMROBO launches Open AI Robotics Problem
STEMROBO has launched an Open AI Robotics Problem throughout India. The programme affords Rs 10 lakh in seed funding, mental property assist, and ongoing technical mentorship to college students, engineers, and early-stage startups growing indigenous AI {hardware}.
The initiative focuses on authentic, complicated {hardware} tasks, together with AI-based humanoid robots, clever animal robots, and autonomous methods. Its said purpose is to assist early-stage robotics concepts and assist convert them into commercially viable merchandise.
The programme is meant to handle frequent boundaries in {hardware} innovation, together with restricted seed funding, patenting challenges, and lack of sustained technical steerage. Chosen contributors will obtain assist from STEMROBO’s engineering and funding groups by prototyping and product growth levels.
(This text will likely be up to date with the most recent information all through the day.)
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