Startups & Venture Capital
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"The Second-Wave Unicorns: Why India’s Deep-Tech and SaaS Founders are Ditching Hyper-Growth for Free Cash Flow"
India’s startup reset is no longer a cyclical funding pause; it is a structural repricing of what venture-backed success looks like. After the 2020-2022 B2C boom rewarded growth at any cost, founders in Bengaluru and beyond are now building around EBITDA, free cash flow, and domestic capital markets. The shift is most visible in deep-tech, space-tech, EV components, and enterprise SaaS, where long product cycles and exportable margins fit a more disciplined investor base. The new playbook is being shaped by tighter global liquidity, a harsher public-market lens, and a maturing domestic ecosystem that can support IPOs on NSE and BSE. Patient capital is replacing blitzscaling, but the trade-off is real: slower category creation, fewer consumer subsidies, and a narrower path to unicorn status. Yet for founders who can prove unit economics, India’s second-wave companies may be better positioned to outlast the funding winter and become durable public-market assets.
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U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Pentagon Blacklisting of Anthropic in Blow to AI Startup
A federal appeals court has declined to stop the Pentagon from blacklisting Anthropic from military contracts, preserving a national security designation that the AI startup says has cost it billions of dollars in lost business. The ruling deepens a legal and reputational fight for the company as it heads toward a closely watched initial public offering, even as Anthropic pursues further judicial review.
IIT Madras sets bold startup target: 1,000 ventures by 2032, with one IPO a month in sight
IIT Madras has unveiled an ambitious long-term startup roadmap, aiming to nurture about 1,000 startups by 2032 and see at least one of them go public every month, Director Prof. V. Kamakoti said. The institute said it has already incubated 583 startups with a combined valuation of Rs 83,000 crore, underscoring its growing role as one of India's most influential deep-tech and entrepreneurship hubs.
Indian Startup Funding Rebounds to $382 Million as Debt-Led Mega Deals Mask Weak Equity Appetite
Venture capital inflows into Indian startups surged to $382 million across 21 deals in the week of Sept. 19-25, rebounding sharply from $99 million the previous week. But the headline number was inflated by debt-heavy financing, led by DMI Finance's $152 million raise, while true equity funding remained subdued even as investors spread bets across EV, finance and AI startups.
Akamai's $11.6 Billion Anthropic Deal Signals AI Infrastructure Arms Race as Indian Startups Raise, Expand and Scale
Akamai Technologies' reported $11.6 billion, seven-year cloud computing agreement with Anthropic underscores how rapidly the global AI infrastructure market is expanding, with the deal potentially rising to $20 billion. In India, the same day's startup roundup reflected a broader ecosystem in motion, from Dextr AI's $6.7 million seed round to mPokket's push deeper into New-to-Credit lending, alongside fresh moves in startup competitions and logistics capacity.
From Bihar to SEMICON India, Shweta Suman's Swadeza Bets on AI-Native Chip Tools for the World
Swadeza, a Bihar-built startup founded by Shweta Suman, is positioning itself at the intersection of India's semiconductor ambitions and the rise of AI-native engineering tools. The company says its FORGE platform is designed to speed up chip verification and related workflows through secure, on-premises deployment, with early claims of faster sign-off cycles and lower token usage than general-purpose AI assistants.
IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I Secures Rs 450 Crore First Close, Targets Deep-Tech Breakout in India
The IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund I has reached a Rs 450 crore first close and has already deployed nearly Rs 55 crore into four deep-tech startups spanning space, quantum, batteries and carbon capture. Backed by IIT Madras, IIT Madras Research Park and Unicorn India Ventures, the fund is part of a larger Rs 1,000 crore vehicle designed to bridge the gap between laboratory innovation and commercial scale.
TPG Exits FirstCry in Rs 202 Crore Bulk Deal as PE Giant Trims Its Bet on India's Kids Retail Leader
Private equity major TPG has exited omnichannel kids wear and baby products company FirstCry through a Rs 202 crore bulk deal, marking another significant secondary-market transaction in India's startup ecosystem. The sale underscores how early investors are increasingly using public and pre-IPO market windows to lock in returns as consumer-tech companies mature.
CodeKarma in Talks to Raise $5 Mn-$6 Mn From Prosus, Accel as AI Dev Tools Heat Up
Enterprise tech startup CodeKarma is in discussions to raise between $5 million and $6 million in a fresh funding round led by existing backers Prosus and Accel, according to sources. The proposed financing comes just over a year after the Bengaluru-based startup's $2.5 million pre-seed round and amid rising investor appetite for software-development tools built for the AI era.
Astrobase Bets on Propulsion to Power India's Next Wave of Reusable Rockets
Bengaluru startup Astrobase Technologies has emerged as one of the first beneficiaries of IN-SPACe's Rs 500 crore Technology Adoption Fund, a milestone that underscores India's growing private-space ambitions. Founded by IIT Bombay classmates Neeraj Khandelwal and Devakumar Thammisetty, the company is building an indigenous propulsion stack anchored by its full-flow staged combustion engine Everest, with an eye on reusable launch systems and a much larger national launch capacity.
Rivet Raises $10.5 Million From Peak XV, Shine Capital and Blume to Take Community-Driven Dating Nationwide in the US
Dating startup Rivet has secured $10.5 million in seed funding from Peak XV Partners, Shine Capital and Blume Ventures as it moves to scale its community-led matchmaking platform across the United States. Founded by former Tinder and Match Group executive Taru Kapoor and ex-CarDekho used-car CEO Rajat Sahni, the company is betting that "social matching" can offer a less transactional alternative to swipe-based dating apps.
Dextr AI Raises $6.7 Million to Bring AI Agents Into Hotel Operations
Hospitality-focused startup Dextr AI has raised $6.7 million in seed funding led by Elevation Capital, with participation from Foundation Capital, as it looks to expand its AI agents across global hotel markets including India. The company says its software is already handling more than 1 million interactions a month for hundreds of properties across North America and Europe, while automating reservations, guest requests, staffing and marketing.
GalaxEye Secures Rs 63.84 Crore RDI Backing to Advance Indigenous Multisensor Satellite Tech
Bengaluru-based spacetech startup GalaxEye has won Rs 63.84 crore in financial support under the Centre's Research, Development and Innovation Fund to build its next-generation multisensor satellite platform. The project, backed by the Technology Development Board, aims to push the company's indigenous OptoSAR technology from prototype stage to an operational system capable of sub-0.5-metre Earth observation imaging.