In the hottest sector of AI, where most global VC funding is going currently, the country's record has not been anything to write home about.
Uncertainties over the impact of the United States' (US') tariffs on India, along with the ongoing transmission of past rate cuts, prompted the members of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to maintain the status quo during the August meeting, the minutes showed. While some of the external members highlighted their concern over growth, the internal members cited the one-year headline inflation rate overshooting the 4 per cent target.
Billionaire Gautam Adani's group on Monday announced its exit from FMCG joint venture Adani Wilmar by selling its entire stake to the Singaporean partner and in the open market for an estimated over $2 billion in a first major deal since the US bribery indictment. In a statement, Adani Enterprises Ltd -- which held 43.94 per cent stake in Fortune brand cooking oil, wheat flour and other food product maker Adani Wilmar Ltd -- said it will sell 31.06 per cent stake to Wilmar International. About 13 per cent will be sold in the open market to meet minimum public shareholding requirements.
Startup and venture funds on Tuesday cheered the Budget decision on the abolition of angel tax for all investor classes, terming it a "game-changer" that would remove significant barriers in growth and foster a vibrant and dynamic ecosystem. Angel tax refers to the tax that the government imposes on funding raised by unlisted companies, or startups if their valuation exceeds the company's fair market value.
'Should we shortchange our investors by exiting early?'
Reliance Jio, India's biggest telecom operator, is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) and listing on bourses in the first half of 2026, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said on Friday. Jio is currently a unit of Reliance Industries Ltd, India's most valuable company.
If you are an entrepreneur and apprehensive that the global market meltdown will strain your fund-raising plans, fear not. India-focused private equity and venture capital funds raised $7 billion (Rs 27,958 crore) in 2007, excluding real estate, last year. They had garnered a similar amount in the corresponding previous year, according to data from Venture Intelligence, a venture capital research company.
The availability of domestic capital to fund startups and an ability to attract talent in the early days are among the biggest challenges faced by entrepreneurs, Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy said on Thursday. "It is desirable to create a policy that makes it attractive for domestic institutions like family offices of HNIs (high net-worth individuals), insurance companies or large corporations to invest in venture capital funding," he said at the T N Chaturvedi Memorial Lecture 2024 in New Delhi's Prime Ministers' Museum and Library.
rediffGURU Dr Ganesh Natarajan offers advice on how to build and scale your first start-up.
Only a limited set of investors should invest directly in corporate bonds.
As part of a plan to refinance debt and expand its upcoming constellation of satellites, French satellite major Eutelsat Communications will raise euro 1.35 billion, or $1.55 billion, through a reserved capital increase and a rights issue, the company announced on Friday. Bharti Enterprises' space venture, Bharti Space Ltd, will invest euro 31.4 million, or $36 million, in the capital raise.
The ultra-rich invest differently -- embracing growth, compounding, and long-term clarity to build wealth with purpose and discipline, explains Ramalingam Kalirajan.
India's hospitality sector is rolling out the red carpet for investors. A flurry of upcoming IPOs, or initial public offerings, the entry of new players, and ambitious expansion plans by Indian and global hotel brands are ushering in what could be the industry's most formalised era yet. Leading the charge are real estate titans, who are turning their hotel arms into global hospitality chains.
'If you align your ambition with India's rise, the peak of your careers will unfold alongside the peak of India's power.'
Riding on a buoyant economy, bullish stock market and relatively stable political climate, India is poised to corner about $750 million of venture capital in 2003.
Indian startups raised a total of $1.65 billion (about Rs 14,418 crore) in funding at a median valuation of $83.2 million in February 2025, according to data from Traxcn. This brings the total funding in FY25 (April-February) to $25.4 billion, spread across 2,200 rounds, the data showed.
Startups that became unicorns in 2024 took an average of nine years and six months to reach $1 billion valuation, reflecting the impact of a prolonged funding squeeze from PE/VC firms over the past few years.
More screens, more films, and longer windows will convert to more people watching, assuming they know a film is releasing, points out Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Adarsh Kumar, the son of a farmer and a Class 12 student from rural Bihar, is on a mission to build one of India's largest free skill development movements, powered only with a laptop, free Internet and his relentless determination.
The move, a part of the new set of prudential norms being discussed by financial sector regulators across the globe in the wake of the credit crisis, was being discussed in view of the reputational risk arising from undertaking such activities, RBI said in its annual report for 2008-09.
The service, which enables users to form communities and blog using their mobile phones and has a user base of 12 million, has received the investment from venture capital funds Helion Ventures and Charles River Ventures. The funds will be used to fund business growth, product development and increased sales and marketing, said Rakesh Mathur, CEO and co-founder of SMS GupShup.
The country's top three venture debt firms -- Alteria Capital, Innoven Capital, and Trifecta Capital -- combined deployed about $300 million (Rs 2,200 crore) in start-ups such as BigBasket, Cure.fit, Ninjacart, Dunzo and Lendingkart till April end, according to the government's Investindia website.
The government has brought in changes to the investment pattern for non-government provident funds, and superannuation and gratuity funds, enabling them to invest up to 5 per cent in the units of Category I and Category II alternative investment funds (AIFs), subject to some caveats. The development is part of the central government's strategy to channelise domestic savings and improve their returns to attract more investment in the said sectors. At present, these funds typically invest a minimum 45 per cent in government securities, besides new instruments, such as exchange-traded funds and real estate investment funds, while a portion in equity-related instruments.
Investments by private equity and venture capital funds declined by 35 per cent to $4.4 billion in April compared with $6.8 billion in the year-ago period, a report said on Thursday. The number of deals in April stood at 98, which was 56 per cent higher than the year-ago period, the report by EY, a consultancy firm, and industry lobby grouping IVCA said.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended to the finance ministry a series of measures to curb investment flows from venture funds and into real estate.
The Indian startup ecosystem has lauded the inclusion of startups in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration for the first time ever in the history of G20. Industry stakeholders say that the move will lead to easier access to capital, reduce regulatory hurdles, and may revive funding activity. The Declaration, through the Startup20 initiative, recognised startups as "natural engines of growth" and key to socio-economic transformation by driving innovation and creating employment.
'The country is a good test bed for enterprise adoption, but to scale rapidly, companies will need to look outside the country for customers.'
Housing Development Finance Corporation on Wednesday announced its foray into the real estate fund business by launching 'HDFC Property Fund' in association with the State Bank of India.
According to leading global audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG, the venture capital community is signaling an uptick in overall venture capital investment in 2010 and expects IPO activity and valuations of venture-backed companies to trend upward next year.
In 2018, venture debt providers cumulatively deployed Rs 1,300 crore. This year, the market is expected to absorb venture debt of Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore. So what makes this asset class so attractive?
For a segment that thrives on promise more than performance, the country's start-up ecosystem is refusing to get carried away by the funding this calendar year. This has created the highest level of uninvested venture capital in seven years as investors wait for corrections in the working and - more importantly - valuation of start-ups while looking for cockroaches instead of unicorns. "Investors are now keen to invest in companies that have good top and bottom lines.
Several exchanges are facing a cash crunch with committed investment not coming from venture capital funds and trading activity seeing a sharp decline, reports Rajesh Bhayani.
'An HAL-private sector tieup is a possibility.'
N R Narayana Murthy, co-founder and chief mentor of India's second-largest IT services provider Infosys Technologies, is planning to invest in US-based clean technology venture capital fund Siderian Ventures.
As the tides of investments change over time, venture capital funds are shifting their focus to businesses related to consumer demand such as education, media and entertainment, food & beverages and alternative energy.
Retail investors have become a force to reckon with in the last 10 years with their ownership of Indian equities rising 800 basis points, or 8 per cent, to 23.4 per cent during this period, suggests a recent note from Morgan Stanley. This number, Morgan Stanley said, is set to rise in the next few years as Indian households are still underinvested in equities. India's demographics, policy framework, investor education and modest positive real rates, it said, will fuel the 'equity cult' in India.
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