Amid the funding winter, 128 Indian startups have raised over $995 million (around Rs 8,000 crore) venture capital funding in August, GlobalData said on Thursday. The funds raised in August are 9.7 per cent more than that in the previous month, the data and analytics company said in a statement. Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, said: "Although the total VC funding amount still remains below $1 billion akin to July, August managed to reverse the decline in fundraising, despite a 2.3 per cent fall in deal volume."
Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funding for Indian startups in the artificial intelligence sector has seen a dramatic decrease with deal sizes shrinking, notwithstanding the buzz around the country's potential as a major AI hub. Data from research agency Traxcn, which tracks PE/VC investments, shows that total funding for AI startups in India, which started with a bang in 2022 at $599 million, dropped sharply in 2023 to $168.4 million - a decrease of over 71 per cent.
Eighteen new-age technology firms went public during the year, a near triple increase from the five firms that debuted in 2023 and 38 per cent more than 2024's tally of 13.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced an additional USD 13 billion investment in India, bringing the company's total capital commitment to USD 48 billion by 2030. This significant investment will primarily focus on expanding AI and cloud infrastructure, supporting job creation, boosting e-commerce exports, and digitising small businesses, aligning with India's growing digital economy.
90 per cent of institutions recorded no improvement in international student metrics, despite government initiatives such as the Study in India programme, UGC regulations on internationalisation, and efforts to attract foreign students.
India and Australia have signed significant agreements covering civil nuclear energy, maritime security, and critical minerals, reinforcing their partnership's role in ensuring a peaceful Indo-Pacific. The pacts facilitate uranium supply from Australia to India and enhance cooperation in defence, cyber, and critical technologies.
If you have ever said 'I'll sort retirement later,' now is when 'later' begins.
Country's startups are carving a unique path by prioritising local, application-led innovation over the global pursuit of scale.
Sarvam AI, an Indian full-stack sovereign artificial intelligence company, has achieved unicorn status after raising $234 million in a Series B funding round led by HCLTech and Bessemer Venture Partners, with HCLTech acquiring a 10.46 per cent stake.
The Indian government has issued a notice to Meta regarding WhatsApp's upcoming username feature, warning the platform not to roll it out until concerns about potential fraud, impersonation, and public safety are addressed to the government's satisfaction.
Fintech unicorn Razorpay has confidentially filed draft documents with SEBI for an Initial Public Offering, with market sources estimating the issue size between Rs 5,000-6,000 crore. This move comes as a rival firm, PhonePe, has paused its IPO plans.
Kanwal Rekhi is a peaceful techie who ardently believes in competitive market economics and democracy, despite the trauma his family suffered during Partition and his narrow escape from violent mobs in 1984.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will come into effect on July 15, 2026, anticipating a significant boost to bilateral trade and investment.
Experts highlight India's significant market potential for assistive technologies, estimated at Rs 75,000-95,000 crore by 2030. They advocate for a National Assistive Technology Policy to address current gaps in access and service delivery, fostering inclusion, independence, and economic participation for persons with disabilities and the elderly.
Venture capital (VC) investments in Indian startups plunged over 38 per cent in 2022 as economic uncertainty and market volatility affected fundraising and investment activities, GlobalData said on Tuesday. In a statement, GlobalData said an analysis of its financial deals database reveals that "a total of 1,726 VC funding deals worth $20.9 billion were announced in India in 2022 compared to 1,715 deals worth $33.8 billion in 2021." "The ongoing economic uncertainty and market volatility continue to affect the fundraising and investment activities in India and subsequently VC investment in the country startups suffered a massive year-on-year 38.2 per cent decline in value terms during 2022," the data and analytics company said.
Indian artificial intelligence (AI) startup Sarvam launched two indigenous large language models (LLMs) specifically trained on Indian languages on Wednesday.
An innovation roadmap, a mechanism to double annual bilateral trade within next five years, and a joint artificial intelligence framework were among 13 outcomes to emerge from wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday.
Google is building voice and text search for over 100 Indian languages and will spend $75 million to support women-led startups in the country, said its CEO Sundar Pichai at the start of his visit to India - a nation that he saw as a big export economy. India, he said, will be a big export economy and it needs to create a balance between safeguarding citizens and enabling companies to innovate with its framework. Pichai first met Telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and spoke at a Google for India 2022 event before calling on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Indian youth creates fictional AI influencer, Emily Hart, who amasses millions of followers and earns him substantial income, exposing the deceptive potential of AI in the digital age.
As AI enters astrology apps and predictions, technology is becoming a new interface for humanity's oldest questions about uncertainty and the future.
A high-level committee investigating the failures of ISRO's PSLV rockets, which have impacted strategic satellite missions, has yet to release its report and recommendations, raising concerns about the future of the ageing launch vehicle.
India is the only significant power that all parties trust, or at least do not distrust, notes former defence secretary Ajay Kumar.
Noting that the number of unicorns in India has reached the 100-mark this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that even in the phase of the Covid pandemic, Indian startups have been creating wealth and value with entrepreneurs emerging from smaller cities and towns as well. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast, the prime minister said that on the fifth of this month the number of unicorns in India reached the 100-mark. "The total valuation of these unicorns is more than USD 330 billion, that is, more than 25 lakh crore rupees. "Certainly, this is a matter of pride for every Indian," he said.
Graphite electrode maker TACC has signed an initial agreement with the Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials to collaborate in the fields of advanced materials science, nanotechnology, and related disciplines.
Weighing 190 kg, Mission Drishti is India's heaviest privately developed Earth observation satellite.
The Indian startup ecosystem, which defied odds during a pandemic-hit year to create record 12 unicorns, has the potential to be the engine of growth in the medium to long run, according to the Economic Survey 2020-21. The survey noted that startups are the platform for entrepreneurs who have the ability to think out of the box and innovate to conceive products that can create a niche for themselves in a dynamically changing world.
Semiconductor startup C2i Semiconductors announced it has taped out a smart power stage chip designed for artificial intelligence infrastructure, marking a significant milestone for India's ambitions in domestic semiconductor production.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Skyroot's Infinity Campus, highlighting government reforms and the rise of private space companies in India. He also unveiled the company's first orbital rocket, Vikram-I.
'Unfortunately, today most ministers are busy with either election duty or praising duty. They are not interested in serving duty.' 'Ministers have become relaxed like retired people still holding onto jobs.' 'Look at how the NEET paper leaked. But there is no accountability.' 'After 12 years, they have become saturated. They are short of ideas.'
'The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sweden to hold talks on trade, technology, defence and other key sectors with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has stated that the ban on the Cockroach Janata Party's social media handles is a symptom of widespread frustration among India's youth regarding employment, competitive examinations, and economic pressures, urging the government to address these concerns through policy changes.
India'sstartups have a good beginning but will they survive competition is a big questions which needs immediate attention.
Andhra Pradesh is set to inaugurate India's first indigenously developed, open-access quantum computer test beds, Amaravati 1S and 1Q, at SRM University, marking a significant advancement in the nation's quantum computing capabilities.
Indian startups received a record funding of $10.9 billion across 347 deals in the third quarter of 2021, according to a PwC India report. This is twice the amount of funding received in Q3 of the calendar year 2020 and an approximate increase of 41 per cent compared to the second quarter of 2021. An increase in funding activity was witnessed across all sectors in terms of value and volume.
'The conversation is no longer just about securing funds or acquiring customers but about the long-term value of customers.'
India's three major listed shipyards - Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSEL), and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) - are poised for substantial growth, driven by a robust order pipeline from the Indian Navy and diversification into commercial and export markets.
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.
India's first trillion-dollar company will be built on technology it owns, not just operates, predicts Ajay Kumar.
India emerged reasonably well from 2025. But now, the oil shock and war-related supply disruptions have again driven funds out of India and significantly weakened the rupee, points out Ajay Chhibber.
