Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key Business News – 12th December 2025: Microsoft’s AI Cricket App, Skoda VW’s VRS Move, Disney Invests $1B in OpenAI & More

12th December 2025 brought a mix of major corporate developments and strategic innovation across global and Indian business ecosystems. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella showcased the power of generative AI with a new cricket analytics app, while Skoda Volkswagen India announced a voluntary early-retirement scheme aimed at strengthening operational efficiency. Global

Disney Pours $1B into OpenAI to Integrate its Characters With Sora AI Video Tech

Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and licensing hundreds of its most well-known characters to use in Sora, the company's groundbreaking text-to-video production tool, in one of the most unexpected collaborations of the year. The statement, which was jointly made on 11 December, represents a daring new

Skoda Volkswagen India Expects Limited Staff Exits Through Early-Retirement Scheme

In an effort to soothe worries about possible job losses at its manufacturing operations, Skoda Auto Volkswagen India has implemented an early-retirement option at its facilities in Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, which it anticipates will result in just a limited number of employees leaving. Despite employing almost 5,000

Rupee Crashes to INR 90.52 per Dollar: Record Lowest Ever...

- It has fallen by more than 5% this year, marking a major psychological and economic milestone. - The government says the situation is under watch but not alarming. - However, foreign investors are withdrawing money from Indian stocks already.

Flipkart, Amazon Ramp Up Dark Stores Amid Strong H2 Growth in Quick Commerce

With 53 million distinct transacting clients, Flipkart Minutes, the company's fast commerce platform, saw a 16X increase in the second half of the year. Flipkart Minutes saw significant growth during the holiday season, with demand for products like jewellery, high-end gadgets, home décor, and mobile phones increasing by

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Codes New AI Cricket App, Highlights Power of GenAI

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft and a self-described cricket fan, demonstrated his coding prowess by creating an AI-powered application that evaluates player statistics to select ideal IPL teams. The tool unexpectedly revealed that Virat Kohli was chosen as captain instead of MS Dhoni. Nadella Steals the Show with His

Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News – 11th December 2025: Inito Raises $29 Mn, Neosapien Secures $2 Mn, iSprout Gets INR 60 Cr & More

The Indian startup ecosystem witnessed steady activity on 11th December 2025, with notable funding rounds across healthtech, wearables, specialty coffee, and managed office solutions. Growth-stage funding continued to strengthen India’s innovation landscape, while early-stage ventures attracted investor confidence in emerging consumer and technology categories. Alongside funding updates, key corporate

Pfizer to Slash 200 Jobs in Major Restructuring, Targets Cost Efficiency

In a comprehensive cost-cutting plan, Pfizer intends to eliminate more than 200 positions in Switzerland, according to a report by Bloomberg News on 11 December that cited people with knowledge of the situation. By the end of 2025, the pharmaceutical company plans to reduce its personnel in Switzerland from about

Maharashtra Govt Confirms TCS Layoffs in Pune Amid Mounting Pressure on IT Sector

The Maharashtra government informed the state legislative council on 9 December that Tata Consultancy Services had let go 376 workers from its Pune campuses during the first two quarters of the current fiscal year. Following enquiries from lawmakers who referenced news reports indicating widespread layoffs at the IT services company,

$700 Million Power Move: TCS Acquires Coastal Cloud, Its Largest Buyout...

- A rare mega-acquisition signals TCS’s aggressive push into AI, cloud and data centre expansion. - TCS is funding this deal with its $5.49B in free cash flow for FY 2024-25. - The deal is expected to close by 31 January 2026.

UPI Tops IMF Rankings, Setting a New Global Standard for Real-Time Digital Payments

Corporate circles and corporate India are buzzing about the IMF's accreditation of the Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, as the largest real-time payment system in the world with 129.3 billion transactions. Key online payment platforms have praised the recognition and emphasised the close cooperation between the banking

Inito Raises $29 Million in Series B, Led by Bertelsmann India Investments, to Advance At-Home Diagnostics Powered by AI-Engineered Antibodies

Inito is moving beyond fertility to build a broader at-home hormone and health diagnostics platform Inito, the company on a mission to simplify health with at-home diagnostics, today announced it has raised $29 million in Series B funding, led by Bertelsmann India Investments and co-led by existing investor Fireside Ventures.

BYT Capital Rolls Out ₹180 Crore Early-Stage Fund Backing Deep-Tech and Frontier Engineering Startups

* Planned deployment across 18–20 deep-tech startups * Focus on lab-to-market deep-tech ventures building globally relevant, IP-led technologies * Over 50% of the fund has already been subscribed to, and this is part of the first bullet BYT Capital, an India-focused deep-tech venture capital firm founded by Amit Chand, Dinesh Kumar, and

Premium Coffee Brand Toffee Coffee Roasters Raises ₹5 Crore in Pre-Series A Round Led by IPV

* The funds will be used to scale on quick-commerce platforms, with a target of capturing 5–8% of the coffee category and reaching ₹60–80 crore ARR. * The startup has been featured on Shark Tank India and is backed by visionary investor Ritesh Agarwal. * Toffee Coffee Roasters is among the

Quick Commerce War Heats Up: Blinkit, Instamart, Zepto Build INR 40,000 Crore Cash Pile

One of the biggest cash piles in the nation's consumer internet market is currently supporting India's quick-commerce development, but the figures conceal a significant shift of capital during the previous 12 months. According to market financial research, after spending close to INR 9,000 crore between

Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News – 10th December 2025: Skydo, Smart Joules, Uolo Raise Fresh Capital; Uber Enters B2B Logistics; Meesho IPO Shines & More

The Indian startup ecosystem recorded a dynamic day on 10th December 2025, marked by strong fundraising momentum across fintech, energy efficiency, clean nutrition, edtech, AI, and pet care. Major deals included Skydo’s $10M Series A, Smart Joules’ $10M Series B, and significant rounds for Uolo, Earthful, KNOT, and Dr.

Whatfix Lays Off 6% of Workforce as Part of Major Company Restructuring

Digital adoption platform Whatfix has reduced its workforce by around 6% in its first large restructuring exercise since the company was founded. The Bengaluru-headquartered SaaS firm, backed by global investors including SoftBank and Warburg Pincus, confirmed that the move is part of a broader shift in its business priorities as

Uber Launches B2B Logistics on ONDC and Brings Metro Ticketing to Bengaluru

Uber has launched Uber Direct, a delivery service for businesses, in collaboration with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), according to CNBC-TV18. According to the corporation, the platform will give companies on the ONDC access to Uber's distribution network. It further stated that drivers are now delivering

Google Rolls Out AI Plus in India Featuring Gemini 3 Pro and Advanced Image/Video Tools

With the introduction of Google AI Plus, a new membership plan intended to make it easier and less expensive for consumers to use its most recent AI models, Google is expanding its AI capabilities for Indian users. Consider AI Plus as a combined update that enhances the Google apps you

Nadella Announces $17.5 Billion Investment to Scale AI and Cloud Services in India

The Indian tech industry is receiving billions of dollars. Microsoft has announced a new $17.5 billion (approximately INR 1.6 lakh crore) investment in India, weeks after Google announced a $15 billion AI hub and data centre plan. In a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 December,

Meesho IPO: Big Listing Gains, 79x Subscription, and a Fresh 54% Rally...

Meesho’s IPO pops 46% on NSE on the listing day, driving instant profits and triggering massive market buzz...

Amazon to Invest $35 Billion in India’s AI Sector as Part of 2030 Expansion Plan

As hyperscalers compete for market share, Amazon pledged on December 20 to invest more than $35 billion in India's cloud and AI space by 2030. The pledge, which was made public at the Amazon Smbhav Summit in New Delhi, expands on the almost $40 billion that has previously

Cross-Border Payments Platform Skydo Raises $10Mn led by Susquehanna Asia VC to Power India’s USD 2Tn Export Ambition

ndia’s leading cross-border payments platform for exporters, has raised USD 10 million in Series A funding led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, with participation from existing investor Elevation Capital.  The Bengaluru-based company serves over 30,000 Indian MSMEs, freelancers, and startups across 50+ cities, processing payments in 32+ currencies.

Earthful Raises INR 26 Crore in Pre-Series A Funding Led by Fireside Ventures and V3 Ventures

Earthful, a clean-label plant-based nutrition brand, has raised INR 26 Crore in its Pre-Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures and V3 Ventures. Atrium Angels also participated in the round, reflecting strong investor confidence in Earthful’s fast-growing presence in the nutrition category and its long-term market potential. Founded