The income-tax (I-T) department has issued showcause notices under Section 68 of the Income-Tax Act to several startups over funds routed through Singapore, seeking explanations for investments received over the past five years, people familiar with the development said. The department is questioning the source, identity, and creditworthiness of overseas investors in these transactions, they said.
IT firm Infosys on Thursday said it will invest up to Rs 17 crore in space tech startup GalaxEye Space Solutions as part of Infosys Innovation Fund. The investment will be made in equity and series A compulsory convertible preference shares allotment, a regulatory filing said.
In November, six primary market issuances accounted for more than 13,000 crore of net equity investments by MFs.
'This policy is a vision to position Karnataka as the epicentre of India's space ambitions'
In a world fractured by uncertainty, India stands out for its policy consistency, paired with sustained ambition, points out Pritam Banerjee.
Companies are squeezing more profits from their operations relative to the capital they put to work, the highest now since 2011. Profit after tax relative to capital employed came in at 10.47 per cent in September, shows data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), higher than the 8.41 per cent seen in September last year. This is the highest since March 2010.
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.
For the startup ecosystem in India, the scorecard so far has been a mixed bag, observes Akhil Gupta.
'What the government is doing would be a drop in the ocean. It has to be matched by investments by industry.'
Venture funding in India slowed in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025 amid geopolitical uncertainty, though exit activity surged to a seven-year high, according to Venture Pulse from KPMG Private Enterprise, a quarterly report tracking investment trends globally across major regions around the world.
Adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India's 64 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) alone could unlock over $500 billion in economic value, but the country must pivot from an "adopt-first" to an "invent-first" mindset to realise this potential, according to a new report.
Co-investment under the portfolio management services (PMS) route accounted for less than 50 crore in assets and involved fewer than a dozen clients for much of 2022. Since then, assets under management have risen to 3,812 crore across 535 clients as of April 2025, according to the latest regulatory data. The recent changes may open the door to greater investment from sovereign wealth and pension funds, experts say.
'Our goal here is to become a small catalyst in humanity's journey of conscious evolution. To lead us into the Post-Darwin era.'
'We frequently discuss AI, but we're waiting for other countries to develop solutions rather than creating intellectual property ourselves.' 'We haven't yet produced comprehensive AI solutions developed in India for global markets.'
More than 30 technology startups, collectively valued at $100 billion, are poised to go public by 2027, signalling a potential rebound in India's stock market activity, according to a report by investment bank The Rainmaker Group. Walmart-owned Flipkart, financial technology (fintech) leader PhonePe, SoftBank-backed Lenskart, Razorpay, Zetwerk, and Meesho are among the top companies preparing to go public in India.
'The danger is that when the music stops, the fall will be sudden, faster, and deeper than anyone expects,' warns Debashis Basu.
'If we want to pivot meaningfully from a services-driven economy to a technology and manufacturing-led one.'
Several IITs have been pushing for a diversification of job profiles as roles move beyond just tech companies and start-ups, particularly with the advent of AI.
Naukri.com-parent Info Edge, whose long-term bets on Indian startups ranging from Zomato to Policybazaar yielded blockbuster returns, has been named the country's most successful venture investor, cementing its reputation as a standout player in India's startup ecosystem. The firm, helmed by Sanjeev Bikhchandani - often referred to as India's Warren Buffett- invested a total capital of Rs 3,959.16 crore across platforms over the last one and a half decades.
'The tools of warfare are changing. The MoD must deepen its engagement with technology thinkers that can present compelling visions of where warfare may be heading.'
Their startup investments number 13 so far, compared to 17 deals in 2020.
India's $280-billion IT industry heads into 2026, balancing visa-related headwinds and global trade uncertainty against its biggest-ever push into artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of global capability centres (GCCs). Heightened scrutiny of the US H-1B visa programme - including a proposed $100,000 fee for new visas and concerns over a potential 25 per cent outsourcing tax - has complicated cross-border delivery for Indian firms, even as companies accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on onsite staffing.
They are venturing into allied businesses, which range from starting talent management agencies to music labels to tap into every possible monetisable opportunity to appeal to investors.
Kunal Shah has funded over 266 startups including Razorpay, Snapdeal, Zetwork, BlueSmart, Unacademy, Bliss Club, and Spinny, amongst others.
'The real story of 2025 is that India officially stopped being a 'market of the future' and started acting as the world's primary economic engine.'
Deep-tech now forms over half of VC portfolios in India as firms like Cornerstone, Unicorn India Ventures and All in Capital back startups combining research with scalable models
Several companies across sectors like finance, healthcare, wellness, retail technology, and asset management are bracing up to hit the D-street. With an unprecedented 1.7 lakh crore raised in 2025, the momentum is likely to sustain in 2026.
Eyewear major Lenskart is gearing up to launch its first pair of AI-powered smart glasses by the end of December, marking a step towards positioning itself as a technology-led lifestyle brand, according to people familiar with the matter.
65 per cent of Gen Zs and 63 per cent of millennials feel worried about the environment and are willing to pay more for sustainable products or services.
Microsoft India on Tuesday said it has collaborated with Invest India to support tech startups in the country. As part of the partnership, the Microsoft for Startups programme will work closely with Accelerating Growth of New India's Innovations (AGNIi Mission) - a programme of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, a statement said. Housed and executed by Invest India, AGNIi Mission helps startups become enterprise-ready.
Ola Electric has denied media reports suggesting its involvement in a leak of proprietary pouch cell technology (tech) from South Korea's LG Energy Solution, calling the allegations "baseless". The company said it has no commercial or research interest in the older pouch cell format cited in the reports, emphasising that its new 4680 Bharat Cell - based on advanced dry-electrode cylindrical tech - is already in commercial production.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
Industry leader Ratan Tata on Tuesday announced an undisclosed investment into startup Goodfellows that offers companionship to senior citizens as a service. The octogenarian industrialist has been an active backer of startups ever since he retired from the helm of the salt-to-software Tata Group. The company is founded by Shantanu Naidu. Cornell University-educated Naidu, 25, is a general manager in Tata's office and has been assisting Tata since 2018.
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.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday announced the launch of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Experience Zone and Design Studio in London, and said its continued investments in the UK will create 5,000 new jobs across the country over the next three years. Currently, TCS supports over 42,000 direct and indirect jobs across the United Kingdom. In FY2024, TCS contributed 3.3 billion pounds to the UK economy, according to a regulatory filing by the company.
The income tax department has notified rules for valuation of equity and compulsorily convertible preferable shares issued by startups to resident and non-resident investors. As per the changes in Rule 11UA of I-T rules, which comes into effect from September 25, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) provides that the valuation of compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) can also be based on the fair market value of unquoted equity shares. The amended rules also retain the five new valuation methods proposed in the draft rules for consideration received from the non-residents viz., (i) Comparable Company Multiple Method, (ii) Probability Weighted Expected Return Method, (iii) Option Pricing Method, (iv) Milestone Analysis Method, and (v) Replacement Cost Method.
The tide of startup-funding is turning in India, with a rising trend of overall funding while the deal sizes grow bigger. However, the spotlight now is on late-stage startups, many of which are seen to be headed for initial public offerings (IPOs). Record surge in stock markets and consistently improving performances of listed startups are understood to have turned the sentiment for the better, especially for those that exhibit a clear path to an IPO.
Whether in cricket or business, Kohli continues to play the long game.
...compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
The recovering valuations, will lead to enhanced optimism among investors about funding startups.
