Fraganote, a luxury perfume brand co-founded by Arjun Anand and Garima Kakkar, has raised $1M in pre-Series A funding led by Rukam Capital. The funds will support expanding its fragrance portfolio, launching new scent formats, and piloting offline retail. Known for artisanal, narrative-led perfumes with high perfume oil concentrations, Fraganote aims to build an iconic Indian perfume house amid a market projected to hit $873.3M by FY2032.

GameRamp, co-founded by Vivek Ramachandran and Sashank Vandrangi, has raised $5.4M in pre-seed funding led by BITKRAFT Ventures to scale its AI-native publishing platform for mobile games. The funds will grow engineering and AI teams in the US and India and launch Sentinel for AI-driven in-game economies and Grow for one-click financing. GameRamp’s automation aims to increase developer revenue by 40–60%.

The BSE SME platform has crossed 600 listings, raising ₹10,652 Cr with a market cap of ₹1,84,574 Cr. Since January 2023, average IPO size rose to ₹32 Cr, with ₹6,109 Cr raised. Nearly one-third of SMEs have shifted to the mainboard, showcasing India’s economic potential. An AI tool for IPO document validation was introduced, reinforcing support for MSMEs in driving Viksit Bharat 2047.

TurboHire, an AI-driven HR tech startup, has raised $6M in Series A funding led by IvyCap Ventures to boost global expansion and product innovation. Founded in 2019 by Deepak Agrawal, Rakesh Nayak, and Gaurav Kumar, TurboHire leverages agentic AI to automate recruitment. Serving clients like Cipla, Tata Motors, and PwC, the company competes in India’s $2.3B HR tech market against players like DarwinBox and Keka.

The Supreme Court has stayed a Madras High Court order, allowing Testbook’s challenge to Google’s Play Store payment policies. Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan issued the stay. Testbook, managing 700+ exam prep apps, disputes Google’s 15%-30% fees. Google argues the CCI has exclusive jurisdiction, while the RBI regulates payment systems. Senior Counsel Harish Salve highlighted conflicting rulings, with Google warning of fragmented outcomes.

Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge called TCS’s 12,000-job layoffs a business decision, requiring no intervention, despite Labour Minister Santosh Lad’s inquiry. He stressed AI upskilling, linking government action to such incentives. KITU protested, alleging Industrial Disputes Act violations. Kharge’s stance aligns with TCS CEO K. Krithivasan, who cited “skill mismatch.” Nasscom expects further “workforce rationalisation.” The complaint was filed with Additional Labour Commissioner G. Manjunath.

SatSure Analytics has partnered with KALRO to transform Kenyan agriculture using Earth Observation data. By integrating SatSure’s AI with KALRO’s research, the collaboration will enable data-driven crop monitoring, yield forecasting, and climate resilience. The MoU supports pilot projects and digital tools to aid farmers. Dhruva Rajan and Salim Kinyimu emphasized its role in enhancing food security and empowering stakeholders with timely, actionable insights.

VinFast is in talks to boost local sourcing in India as it opens its first plant in Thoothukudi. CEO Pham Sanh Chau confirmed discussions with component makers, some considering shifting production to India. Backed by a $2B deal with Tamil Nadu, the plant targets 1.5 lakh vehicles annually and export orders from Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Mauritius. VinFast plans Indian showroom launches and aims for 2 lakh global deliveries in 2025.

Discover how SatSure and KALRO are leveraging satellite data to transform agriculture in Kenya, enhancing productivity and sustainability through advanced analytics and Earth observation.

Explore India's strategic move to exempt EVs from the 15-year end-of-life regulation to accelerate adoption. Learn about new CAFE norms and financial strategies to overcome existing challenges in the EV market.

Bengaluru-based Mitigata has raised $5.9M in Series A funding led by Nexus Venture Partners, with Titan Capital and WEH Ventures participating. The funds will enhance its AI-driven cyber resilience platform and expand services. Serving 500+ enterprises across 25 sectors, Mitigata is India’s first IRDAI-regulated cyber insurance broker. Nexus is also raising $700M for its eighth fund.

Noida-based ILine.ai Solutions has raised $500K in angel funding from climate-tech and mobility investors to expand into 12 Tier-II cities by December 2025. Launched in April 2025, the company runs a dual-app marketplace for low-emission EV-based last-mile deliveries. The funds will boost its driver marketplace and AI dispatch engine, targeting 30,000 daily orders by Q4 2026 and net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2028.

STAN secured $8.5M in Series A funding from Bandai Namco, Square Enix, Reazon Holdings, Google’s AI Futures Fund, and Aptos Labs, plus existing investors. The funds will fuel expansion in India and other mobile-dominant markets, enhance AI personalization, and introduce publisher integrations. Founded in 2022 by Parth Chadha, Rahul Singh, and Nauman Mulla, STAN offers live audio, creator clubs, and real-time monetization tools for gaming communities. With 25M+ downloads, it focuses on India’s tier 2/3 markets. “We have built STAN with India at the core,” says CEO Parth Chadha. A key competitor is Discord.

Bhindi.io, founded by Sowmay Jain, has secured $4 million in pre-seed funding led by Cyber Fund to advance its agentic AI platform. Bhindi aims to simplify AI interaction by providing a unified interface to over 300 AI agents, eliminating the need for multiple apps. Users can track CoinDCX portfolios, receive AI-powered Gmail alerts, and automate GitHub code reviews. The platform has recorded over 333,000 messages across 21,913 conversations and facilitated 52,330 agent executions. Bhindi seeks to reduce micromanagement and enhance productivity with its 24/7 background agents.

BlackBuck gains IRDAI approval as a composite corporate agent, enabling them to sell insurance to truckers until 2028. This aligns with their strategy to offer comprehensive digital solutions, including FASTag, fuel cards, and freight matching. The move follows their recent PPI license acquisition from the RBI, aimed at simplifying digital payments for truckers. Founded in 2015 by Rajesh Yabaji, Chanakya Hridaya, and Rama Subramaniam, BlackBuck specializes in FTL transportation, connecting businesses with truck operators. In Q4 FY25, they reported a net profit of INR 280.1 Cr with a 30.6% revenue increase.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has dismissed a complaint by the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) against Google over alleged dominance abuse in online advertising. CCI cited a lack of evidence and referenced past cases like Matrimony and Vishal Gupta. ADIF had raised concerns over unfair ad policies and Google’s Privacy Sandbox. Earlier, CCI fined Google ₹2,200 Cr for Android and Play Store dominance.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has urged the government to regulate OTT platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram under the Unified License system, citing national security concerns. COAI argues these platforms operate outside existing telecom rules, calling for “same service, same rules.” However, tech groups oppose over-regulation, pointing to protections already under the IT Act 2000.

Cyient and Zinier have partnered to modernize field service management (FSM) using AI. Combining Cyient’s integration expertise with Zinier’s no-code platform, the collaboration enables intelligent scheduling, predictive maintenance, and seamless GIS, ERP, and IoT integration. Aimed at telecom, utilities, and energy firms, this alliance promises improved efficiency, flexibility, and customer satisfaction. Zinier’s platform is already trusted by Virgin Media O2, Vodafone, and Naturgy.

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a strong April–June quarter, with India delivering revenue records backed by double-digit growth in iPhones, Macs, and services. Globally, iPhone sales surged 13.4% to $44.6 Bn, driving Apple’s overall revenue up 10% to $94 Bn. Apple is now doubling down on India with plans to open four new stores in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and Noida later this year.

Safe Security, formerly Lucideus, secured $70M in Series C funding led by Avataar Ventures, with participation from Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, NextEquity Partners, and John Chambers.

Bira 91, founded by Ankur Jain in 2015, revolutionized India’s beer market by introducing flavorful craft beers tailored to urban consumers. Partnering initially with Belgian brewers, Bira 91 quickly gained traction and venture capital backing, including from Sequoia, enabling the establishment of domestic brewing facilities. Despite impressive growth—reaching INR 800 crore in FY23—a name change during IPO preparations caused significant sales disruptions and financial losses. Undeterred, Bira 91 continues its expansion, exporting to the US, UK, and Southeast Asia, aiming to capitalize on the growing Indian and global craft beer markets. #Bira91 #CraftBeerIndia

Showroom B2B, backed by Jungle Ventures, projects $8M revenue from its new Noida manufacturing unit, producing 1.5 lakh garments monthly. CEO Abhishek Dua highlights a tech-driven, responsive supply chain for fast fashion. Targeting ₹2,500 Cr in five years, the unit will create 300+ jobs, 50% for women, with ROI in 12 months. Key clients include Vishal Mega Mart and Reliance Retail, emphasizing agility and scalability.

Google plans to revise Play Store policies in India for real-money gaming (RMG) apps after a CCI antitrust probe triggered by Winzo’s complaint. It will allow all RMG apps meeting legal norms and third-party certification, alongside updated ad policies for certified ‘games of skill.’ Winzo had criticized Google’s earlier stance. India’s gaming market is projected to hit $9.2B by FY29.

Karnataka has launched a ₹1,000 Cr Quantum Mission to become the “Quantum Capital of Asia” by 2035. CM Siddaramaiah announced a Quantum Task Force, Q-City, parks, and manufacturing zones. The plan includes skilling programs in 20 colleges, 150 PhD fellowships, India’s first Quantum Hardware Park, and a VC fund for 100+ startups, aiming for 100 patents and 2 lakh jobs, aligning with the National Quantum Mission.

Uber launches Intercity Motorhomes pilot in Delhi NCR, offering a premium travel experience. The company has also expanded its Intercity service to 3,000 routes across India.