Breaking startup & business news from India.
IAN Alpha Fund, the second in the series of IAN Group’s VC funds, has co-led the ₹32.5 Crore funding round of Farm Watt Innovations, along with Rainmatter. The fresh capital will be utilised to strengthen the supply chain for India's rapidly expanding bioenergy sector, increase the
The 19 ideas proposed by these young and talented innovators are being backed by Groww Foundation to empower their evolution into a real and viable solution.
* NeuralKart is building the decisioning layer for risk, an AI-Insurtech company that automates enterprise workflows for insurance and industrial safety through two AI platforms: InsureMind (insurance operations automation) and FieldSense (industrial safety and inspection). * The funds will be deployed for product development and AI/ML engineering across InsureMind and FieldSense,
BUSINESSNEXT, an autonomous operating platform for banking and financial services, has raised USD 40 million in Series C from ServiceNow Ventures, valuing the company at USD 700 million. The partnership with ServiceNow will help strengthen BUSINESSNEXT’s autonomous banking capabilities and accelerate the adoption of Private AI across banking and
The funding will accelerate AI-powered personalized learning tools, deepen hyperlocal community-led expansion, and strengthen Upkraft’s technology and operations teams.
Amazon has laid off workers in its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) division, joining a wave of cuts at the company as it refocuses on high-impact AI efforts. Even as it slashes its workforce, the company is still investing in AI infrastructure.
AMD is set to invest up to $5 billion in Anthropic, part of a strategic partnership in AI infrastructure. Anthropic will install 2 GW of AMD Instinct MI450 GPUs in AMD Helios rack-scale systems to increase compute capacity for their Claude AI models.
Paras Defence to set up a greenfield OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) facility in Indore-Ujjain corridor of Madhya Pradesh with an investment of INR 6,200 crore through its subsidiary Paras Semiconductors.
Singaporean investment firm Temasek aims to boost its investments in India, choosing AI, healthcare, financial services and consumer firms as its key long-term growth areas.
Deeptech and medtech drew capital today, with just one disclosed round on a quiet funding day. Mumbai-based Bioscan Research raised $1 million in seed funding led by Unicorn India Ventures. On the news front, InMobi appointed four merchant bankers to steer its planned $1 Bn IPO, while Eternal, the parent
* Bioscan Research is an innovation-driven medical device company pioneering non-invasive diagnostic solutions for early disease detection. * Funds raised will be strategically deployed for market expansion, additional regulatory approvals, product upgradation and new IP creation * In the last 12 months, the company has witnessed 5x growth * The company’s goal is
Gold and Silver rate today in India, 22 July 2026: 24K gold jumped 1.23% to ₹1,45,310 per 10g, its highest in two weeks. Silver rose 0.81% to ₹2,26,100 per kg as Comex gold crossed $4,120. Check city wise gold and silver rate today and MCX data.
Bira 91 founder Ankur Jain has quit the company’s board and leadership after a settlement with lenders and investors, resolving a two-year financial impasse. The deal releases his personal loan guarantees and settles legal claims hanging over him.
IKEA India is strengthening its footprint in Delhi-NCR with a new 30,000 sq. ft. city shop at Saket set to open on July 30, as it aims to have 30 stores in India by 2030. The expansion strengthens IKEA’s retail strategy in one of its fast growing markets
Meesho has refuted InGovern’s GST allegations saying the proxy advisory firm’s representation is not a finding of SEBI or tax authorities. The e-commerce company has not received any communication from the authority.
Cashfree Payments announces zero payment gateway cost offer for new merchants, waiving off charges on transactions up to INR 20 lakh GMV to speed up merchant onboarding before festive season.
OpenAI conducted an internal security test, during which two advanced AI models autonomously executed a simulated cyberattack, successfully breaching Hugging Face servers using stolen credentials and an undisclosed vulnerability. The incident has increased fears of AI-powered cybersecurity threats.
📚 Learning
Discover how Cadbury's Eat 5 Star, Do Nothing campaign turned a simple idea into one of India's most memorable marketing successes. Explore its strategy, Ogilvy's creative approach, key lessons, and why the campaign became a benchmark in modern advertising.
Anant Raj Ltd. has approved demerger of the Data Centre and Cloud Services business of the company into Ashok Cloud Pvt. Ltd. to create a new digital infrastructure company and continue its real estate and infrastructure business.
Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting has purchased Philippines-based S Brands Consumer Care Inc., expanding its presence in Southeast Asia and adding brands such as KERATINplus, AlcoPlus, DeoPlus, Empress and Fiona Cologne to its personal care portfolio.
Capital flowed into electric mobility, rooftop solar, travel tech and deeptech on 21 July 2026, with six rounds crossing the wires. Ather Energy led the day, raising ₹1,300 crore (~$151 million) through a qualified institutional placement. SolarSquare followed, confirming a $53 million Series C that drew a cheque from
Volkswagen AG is in advanced talks with the JSW Group to sell a significant stake in its India business and a deal could be concluded in the coming weeks. The partnership will help Volkswagen to boost its presence in the fast growing automotive market of India.
Finvolve, a multi-stage venture capital fund, along with India Accelerator (IA), the country’s leading accelerator, has made an undisclosed investment in Khageshvara Aviation Technology (K.A.T), a deeptech startup building next-generation electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) cargo aircraft for defence, emergency response, and remote logistics applications. The
FireAI, a Mumbai-based causal decision intelligence platform, has secured an investment of INR 2.5 Crore from SucSEED Indovation Fund. The capital injection serves as a strategic prior deployment secured to accelerate the company's immediate go-to-market initiatives. This transaction marks a notable vote of confidence from SucSEED Indovation
IndiGo has placed a groundbreaking order for more than 1,000 CFM LEAP-1A engines to power 510 Airbus A320neo-family aircraft, which is the largest engine order in the history of CFM International.
Suminter India Organics, a leading organic and sustainable food ingredients company, has raised ₹25 crore in debt funding from BlackSoil Capital to strengthen its working capital and support procurement during the peak harvest season. The funding will enable Suminter to source high-quality organic food ingredients at scale while further deepening
Round led by Norwest and Skegen Asset Management, with participation from Indus Bridge Ventures, GJNX Ventures, and Ashish Kacholia, to accelerate global expansion and indigenous aerospace and defence technologies.
Anthropic’s $1.5 billion settlement in a landmark authors’ copyright class action case on the alleged use of copyrighted books to train its Claude AI models has been granted by a US federal court.
Former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni has invested in rooftop solar startup SolarSquare as part of its $53 million Series C funding round. The round was led by B Capital and also saw participation from existing investors and other backers. Dhoni's investment was made through his family office,
Gold and Silver rate today in India, 21 July 2026: 24K gold jumped 0.92% to ₹1,43,330 per 10g and silver surged 2.40% to ₹2,23,840 per kg as Comex silver soared nearly 4%. Check city wise gold and silver rate today and MCX data.
The Sustainability Mafia (SusMafia) has awarded India's largest non-dilutive grant for early-stage climate startups, the ₹31.4 lakh Big Pi Grant, to Agropak, a biotech startup developing a natural fibre materials platform that creates premium bio-based packaging solutions for the beauty and personal care industry. The grant was
TAFE Motors and Tractors Ltd. (TMTL) today launched the first manufacturing collaboration between TAFE and Germany's DEUTZ AG with the inauguration of a fresh DEUTZ engine production facility at Alwar, Rajasthan.
30 Sundays, an AI-native holiday planning and booking platform, has raised INR 61 crore (~$6.7 million) in its Series A, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with existing investors Info Edge Ventures and Eximius Ventures increasing their stake. The round takes the total capital raised to date to ~$7.5
NPCI is also preparing to deploy NFC-enabled UPI Lite offline tap-and-pay transactions of up to INR 2,000 that would enable customers to make payments without internet connectivity on either the customer’s device or the merchant’s POS terminal.
The European Union has fined AliExpress €550 million ($629 million) for not doing enough to prevent the sale of unlawful, counterfeit and hazardous products on its platform under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
🗞️ Funding Roundup
Welcome to StartupTalky’s 2026 Indian startup funding updates. This article provides a clear and easy overview of the latest startup funding news in India throughout the year. Our weekly funding tables, updated regularly, track how much funding each startup has raised, the sectors they operate in, the key investors
Hyundai Motor India has increased its EV charging network to 30,000 charging points through the myHyundai app, providing EV owners of all manufacturers with easy access to charging stations across India. The platform allows for station discovery, prior booking and more.
Three funding rounds closed on 20 July 2026, pulling in a combined ~$56 Mn across aerospace manufacturing, quick medicine delivery, and D2C skincare. The headline deal belongs to Hyderabad-based Raghu Vamsi Aerospace Group, which raised $40 Mn in a Series B co-led by Norwest and Skegen Asset Management, reflecting sustained
LNGVTY, India's first skin longevity beauty brand, has raised ₹5 crore in a seed funding round led by Rukam Capital, one of India's leading venture capital firms focused on early-stage consumer startups, with participation from angel investors. The fresh capital will be deployed to strengthen D2C
The Government of India is in the process of formulating a strategy for introduction of ethanol based cooking fuel as a cleaner alternative for households, restaurants and commercial kitchens. The drive, led by the Ministry, intends to extend ethanol use beyond E20 petrol
Gold and Silver rate today in India, 20 July 2026: 24K gold rose 0.64% to ₹1,42,530 per 10g and silver jumped 1.41% to ₹2,19,940 per kg as both metals recovered after last week's sharp falls. Check city wise gold and silver rate today and MCX data.
Tata Power has received a Letter of Award (LoA) from SECI for the supply of 324 MW from its 1,000 MW Bhivpuri Pumped Hydro Storage Project in Maharashtra. The 40-year project, expected to be commissioned by 2029, will boost the renewable energy storage capacity of India.
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is in talks with Spain’s Bizum digital payments platform to allow Indian tourists to make UPI payments in Spain, bringing the country a step closer to enabling such transactions.
Accenture has rolled out a new 50:50 compensation structure where 50% of an employee’s authorised salary increase will be added to base pay and the other 50% will be paid as a one-time cash incentive in June.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has taken action against 41 eateries, including Chaayos and Barbeque Nation, for allegedly charging service costs without the approval of customers. The CCPA said required service charges are against the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Trent has also announced plans to expand its retail business strategy in India by opening 100 new stores annually as part of its Westside expansion. The Tata Group store wants to grow into the Northeast and strengthen its presence in key cities.
🗞️ Funding Roundup
Welcome to StartupTalky’s 2026 US funding updates. This article offers a clear and structured overview of the latest investment activity in the United States throughout the year. Our weekly funding tables, updated regularly, track how much funding companies have raised, the industries they operate in, key investors involved, and
Gold and silver rates in India are unchanged today, 19 July 2026, with 24K gold holding at ₹1,41,610 per 10 grams and silver at ₹2,16,860 per kilogram. Both metals remain lower for the month as MCX stays shut for the weekend. Check city-wise rates and this week's price trend inside.
Zepto is likely to trim the size of its IPO by 20% to $650-700 million after investors’ reaction suggested the quick-commerce startup’s valuation at $3.5-4 billion, down from the earlier $7 billion estimate, sources said.
MakeMyTrip has quietly submitted a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for its IPO, taking a significant step towards listing its Indian unit on local stock exchanges. The planned offer for sale (OFS) will boost the company’s financial condition, increase brand recognition and support future growth.
Gold and silver rates in India are unchanged today, 18 July 2026, with 24K gold holding at ₹1,41,600 per 10 grams and silver at ₹2,16,840 per kilogram. Both metals are down for the month as MCX stays shut for the weekend. Check city-wise rates and this week's price trend inside.
Wealth management dominated the funding headlines on 17 July 2026, with Neo Group closing a ₹350 crore (~$36.3 million) round led by Peak XV Partners shortly after securing ₹550 crore from TVS Capital. One funding round was reported across the day's source material. On the corporate side,
Gold and Silver rate today in India, 17 July 2026: 24K gold held steady at ₹1,41,140 per 10g as Comex gold stayed above $4,000. Silver rate today slipped to ₹2,15,540 per kg with Comex silver touching a multi-month low of $55. Check city wise gold and silver rate today and MCX data.
Uber to buy Delivery Hero in €13.8 billion agreement to dramatically expand worldwide mobility and food delivery company. The acquisition will extend Uber’s footprint in 99 markets, boost its Uber Eats platform
MG Motor India has introduced the ADAPT (Advanced Drive Architecture Platform Technology) platform to power its future generation of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid automobiles. The platform is for BEVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and has a high-efficiency petrol engine.
China’s Moonshot AI has released the world’s largest open-weight AI model, Kimi K3, with 2.8 trillion parameters, escalating the race with major US AI startups. Large language model Kimi K3 is built for advanced reasoning, coding and long-context processing.
The Government of India has proposed tighter CAFE-III fuel economy rules for passenger vehicles, effective April 1, 2027, to reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions. The draft regulations include tougher fleet-average CO2 limits, compliance credits etc.
Trump Media & Technology Group has created a paid data feed to provide licensed API access to Truth Social posts, including Trump updates, to Wall Street businesses and institutional clients.
AI, hardware and manufacturing drew the bulk of capital on 16 July 2026, across ten disclosed rounds. Naturis Cosmetics led with ₹100 crore, while Rippling co-founder Prasanna Sankar's new AI venture Vorflux raised $15 million (~₹125 crore) in seed funding. In deals news, Aurum PropTech agreed to acquire
* NapTapGo is a tech-enabled capsule hotel startup focused on making clean, quality, and affordable hospitality more accessible in India. * The company operates 132 pods across Noida, Amritsar and Katra, and has hosted over 10,000 guests. * The funds will be used to expand NapTapGo’s footprint across India through a
Gold and Silver rate today in India, 16 July 2026: 24K gold slipped 0.26% to ₹1,42,110 per 10g and silver fell 0.82% to ₹2,19,300 per kg as both metals dipped mildly with no fresh trigger. Check city wise gold and silver rate today and MCX data.
OnePlus is apparently going to leave the US, Europe and India as parent firm Oppo is restructuring its worldwide smartphone business amid declining sales and mounting market challenges. The reports say the brand would cease operations in major international markets.
Anthropic is offering verified K-12 instructors in the US free access to their premium AI model, Claude, through 2027, to help educators streamline lesson planning, evaluations and classroom activities.
Amazon has chosen Telangana as the site for its largest data centre investment in India, with a pledge of Rs 60,000 crore to develop a hyperscale data centre in Hyderabad’s Bharat Future City. The project forms part of Amazon Web Services’ greater growth in India.
To fast-track its AI-first approach, Wipro has created an AI Native Business and Platforms Unit and pledged $500 million through Wipro Ventures to invest in AI, data and cybersecurity firms. The company is extending its network of relationships with universities, AI laboratories and startups.
Swiggy has signed a deal with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for a trial to deliver LPG cylinders to customers' doorsteps via Swiggy Instamart in Bengaluru, which is being called a first of its type in India's quick-commerce space.
The Union Cabinet has granted INR 1.27 lakh crore for India Semiconductor Mission (Semicon) 2.0 for bolstering the country’s semiconductor design and production ecosystem. Announced by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the initiative intends to attract INR 4 lakh crore investments.
Emergent, the fast-growing AI software creation platform that enables founders and business owners to build full-stack, production-ready web and mobile applications, has secured $130 million in Series C funding. The round was led by Creaegis, with MNI Ventures - Claypond Capital and Sentinel Global as co-lead investors, and participation from
Electric mobility and consumer brands led the deal flow on 15 July 2026, with seven rounds spanning EVs, AI software, D2C food and grocery. Ather Energy topped the day with a ₹1,200 crore preferential issue, while AI software startup Emergent joined the unicorn club at a $1.5 billion
Big publishers like Hachette, Cengage, Elsevier and author Scott Turow have filed a fresh copyright case against Google, accusing the company of using millions of copyrighted books without authorisation to train its Gemini AI models.
Hero MotoCorp will invest $116 million (approximately INR 1,000 crore) in Ather Energy through a preferential allocation, strengthening its long-term electric vehicle cooperation with Bengaluru-based EV producer. The investment is pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
The White House has unveiled Gold Eagle, an AI cybersecurity clearinghouse aimed at boosting U.S. national cyber defence through the coordination of vulnerability identification and response across key infrastructure, including banks and utilities.
Gold and Silver rate today in India, 15 July 2026: 24K gold slipped 0.80% to ₹1,41,850 per 10g and silver fell 0.65% to ₹2,22,210 per kg as Comex gold stayed near the $4,000 level. Check city wise gold and silver rate today and MCX data.
Deepinder Goyal has announced that Temple, his AI-powered wearable, will be launched in the next 6-12 months. Temple is designed to assess metabolic rate using a new biomarker termed entropy, and intends to provide real-time insights regarding stress, recovery, sleep, meditation, and exercise.
E3 Electric.Ai, a Bengaluru-based deep-tech electric mobility company building AI-powered, modular electric scooters, has raised ₹100 crores with a combination of equity & debt. Led by BluVenture Holdings, a global venture capital firm backing high-growth, category-defining startups, this investment is part of its Series A funding, and the capital
Stripe and Advent International have teamed up to bid more than $53 billion for PayPal, offering $60.50 a share and securing almost $50 billion in committed bank financing to back the bid. The offer comes as PayPal faces slowing growth and rising competition in digital payments.
Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, has called on the United States to spearhead the development of a worldwide AI standards framework to regulate advanced AI models and address national security concerns.
Consumer D2C and late-stage private equity drove the day's action on 14 July 2026. Footwear brand BUILT bagged $2 Mn in pre-seed capital, while Avendus moved to close its Future Leaders Fund III at around ₹1,800 crore. On the news front, the CCI fined HP India ₹138.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has fined HP India INR 138.85 crore and 21 resellers INR 3.52 crore for allegedly colluding to rig bids and forming a cartel in Government e-Marketplace (GeM) tenders.
Anthropic has announced India-specific pricing for its Claude AI helper. The Claude Pro plan starts at INR 2,399 per month and INR 2,000 per month with an annual subscription. The change enables Indian users to make payments in rupee rather than dollar.
Aditya Birla Renewables Ltd, a subsidiary of Grasim Industries, has agreed to acquire Shell’s Sprng Energy for $1.8 billion (INR 17,200 crore) in one of the biggest renewable energy acquisitions in India. The deal will bring ABRen’s portfolio to around 5 GWp.
Gold and Silver rate today in India, 14 July 2026: 24K gold rose 0.91% to ₹1,41,860 per 10g and silver climbed 1.32% to ₹2,20,620 per kg as Comex gold held above $4,000 after an early dip. Check city wise gold and silver rate today and MCX data.
Indian-origin billionaire and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla has agreed to acquire the Seattle Seahawks in a deal valued at $9.6 billion, making it the most expensive sale of an NFL franchise to date. The agreement was announced by the estate of late Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, which has
Pune Gas has called on the Centre to develop India’s first LPG Efficiency Policy Framework as energy costs surge and supply chains are disrupted due to the Iran conflict. To boost fuel economy and safety, the business has advised the promotion of 47.5-kg LOT cylinders.
Volkswagen will cut up to 100,000 positions worldwide as part of a major cost-cutting and restructuring strategy to counter dwindling profitability, disappointing sales in China, growing competition from Chinese electric vehicle makers and rising production costs.
A government-backed Digital Threat Report 2025–26 has warned that frontier AI models are leading to sophisticated cyberattacks on banks with minimal human involvement and pose a rising threat to India’s Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) industry.
TCS has renewed its two-decade cooperation with ABB with a multi-million, multi-year deal to modernise the company’s worldwide network operations with AI. TCS to provide network-as-a-service capability at the end-to-end level in support of ABB’s Future Network Model plan.
Spacetech leads the day's dealflow. Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space has drawn ₹60 crore from Antariksh Venture Capital Fund, the maiden cheque from the Centre's ₹1,600 crore spacetech fund anchored by IN-SPACe. On the corporate front, contract manufacturer Zetwerk has secured SEBI's nod for its
Gold and Silver rate today in India, 13 July 2026: 24K gold fell 1% to ₹1,42,590 per 10g and silver dropped 1.32% to ₹2,20,050 per kg as Comex gold slid toward $4,000. Check city-wise gold and silver rates today and MCX data.
Flipkart eyes selling shares in logistics provider Shadowfax Technologies worth INR 700-750 crore, cutting its shareholding ahead of the company’s upcoming IPO. Walmart-backed e-commerce giant likely to hold 2% stake to comply with SEBI’s promoter lock-in regulations.
FSSAI has issued nine notifications to Swiggy Instamart on the back of repeated complaints by consumers of suspected food safety and compliance issues. The agency cited concerns like expired, spoilt, contaminated and incorrectly marked food goods, and mismatches in FSSAI licence details.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has warned of a “Reverse Information Paradox” that might lead to a company’s most valuable secrets being leaked through AI. He claimed businesses may increase AI performance by sharing private data, procedures and knowledge.
TCS restructures executive team; launches five new business groups to drive AI-led development and deepen client engagement The restructuring will be concentrated on important industries including BFSI, tourism, cybersecurity, energy, ServiceNow and the US West Coast market.
Anthropic is offering free access to their sophisticated AI model, Claude Fable 5, to qualified customers of its premium AI versions Claude Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise until July 19. The extension also raises developers’ weekly limits for Claude Code by 50%.
📰 News
Explore the stories of 15 billionaires who went bankrupt or lost their fortunes due to debt, fraud, failed investments, and business collapse. Learn the warning signs, major causes of financial downfall, and valuable lessons entrepreneurs and investors can use to build lasting wealth.
With the revived debate on ethanol blended petrol, Mercedes-Benz India has assured consumers that all its BS VI petrol vehicles are entirely compatible with E20 gasoline. The manufacturer said its approved vehicles promise safety, reliability and performance on E20 fuel.
Gold and silver rates in India are unchanged today, 12 July 2026, with 24K gold holding at ₹1,44,020 per 10 grams and silver at ₹2,22,980 per kilogram. Silver is now down nearly 10 per cent for the month as MCX stays shut for the weekend. Check city-wise rates and this week's price trend inside.
Gold and silver rates in India are unchanged today, 11 July 2026, with 24K gold holding at ₹1,44,010 per 10 grams and silver at ₹2,22,960 per kilogram. Both metals are down sharply for the week as MCX stays shut for the weekend. Check city-wise rates and this week's price trend inside.
Apple has sued OpenAI in federal court in California, claiming the AI company exploited trade secrets to manufacture hardware for its popular chatbot, the New York Times reported. The complaint claims that former Apple executives Tang Tan and Chang Liu took proprietary hardware information.
Peak XV-backed premium lab-grown diamond jewellery brand nearly triples its store network in twelve months; strengthens balance sheet as the category enters its defining phase.