Breaking startup & business news from India.
Boldfit raised INR 400 crore in a Series B round and six more startups closed rounds, as NPCI put off the UPI merchant fee until after Diwali and Zoho froze salary hikes.
Gold and silver rates today in India, 13 October 2026. 24K gold is flat at ₹149,770 per 10g and silver at ₹223,100 per kg, even as Comex gold rises 0.44%. Check city-wise rates and MCX data below.
Citi has completed an aircraft financing transaction worth $328 mn with IndiGo for the acquisition of 8 Airbus aircraft, comprising six A321s and two A320s. The transaction, structured using GIFT IFSC, is the first aviation finance transaction to be covered by Belgian export credit agency Credendo.
India’s food safety regulator is stepping up its scrutiny of online grocery and quick-commerce platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Amazon Now. New restrictions could mean product listings will have to include batch numbers, production and expiry dates.
Zoho Corporation has stopped yearly wage increases and cut marketing expenses as it confronts increasing AI infrastructure costs and software industry uncertainties. “Server prices have gone up four times, which has increased operational expenses,” founder Sridhar Vembu stated.
Freshworks has agreed to buy Israeli SaaS management platform Torii to enhance its Freshservice IT service management capabilities. The acquisition would strengthen capabilities around software usage tracking, license management, AI spend governance and shadow IT identification.
Indian, US and Chinese investors have shown interest in Peru’s proposed $844 million Corio port project as the South American country looks to boost commercial ties with Asia. The port has the potential to boost Peru's maritime capacity, accommodate larger boats and export copper and other minerals.
The RSPCB has cancelled operating consent for Carlsberg India & ordered the shutdown of its Alwar brewery for serious pollution violations. An investigation detected particulate matter emissions of 633 mg/Nm³, almost eight times the allowed level.
Nat Habit raised INR 142 crore in a Series C round, as Zetwerk and Tonbo Imaging set their IPO price bands and chip services firm Tessolve raised $75 million.
Gold and silver rates today in India, 12 October 2026. 24K gold falls 1.21% to ₹149,880 per 10g and silver drops 0.98% to ₹223,920 per kg. Check city-wise rates and MCX data below.
HCLTech has teamed with Anthropic to set up a dedicated AI business unit and Center of Excellence to speed up enterprise adoption of agentic AI. Anthropic’s Claude and Claude Code will also be included in HCL Software products, such as HCL AppScan and HCL BigFix, and HCLTech’s AIForce platform.
McCain Foods is expanding its manufacturing footprint in India through the acquisition of the frozen potato processing business of Falcon Agrifriz Foods in Gujarat. The acquisition will add to McCain’s current activities in Mehsana and boost the company’s developing domestic and export markets.
Rajesh Power Services has bagged turn-key contracts aggregating INR 471.92 cr from MGVCL for upgradation of overhead power lines & creation of underground power distribution networks in Gujarat. The projects being executed under the SI Scheme Robust-III are to be finished in 18 months.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) aims to ensure that 80% of its new personnel has digital and AI skills, with 25–30% of them specialising in artificial intelligence. “As demand for advanced technology skills grows, we will continue with this hiring strategy,” said COO Arathi Subramanian.
FMCG majors, including Emami, ITC, Britannia and Orkla India, are reportedly eyeing a stake in healthy food brand Farmley, which may be worth at INR 2,000 crore. Early investors with a 31% stake in the company are mulling an exit and anticipate to receive preliminary bids by the end of October.
More than 1,000 former workers have approached Walmart & Flipkart boards seeking liquidity for their vested ESOPs amid uncertainties surrounding the company’s delayed IPO. The Oct 10 representation has received backing from ex-executives from other Flipkart firms, including Myntra & Cleartrip.
Audi India is contemplating local manufacture of EVs to boost its market share in the luxury automotive segment from 8% to 15-16% in the next 3 to 5 years. The luxury car company intends to grow its model portfolio, enhance dealerships in tier-II and tier-III cities and improve customer experience.
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Naveen Tewari is the founder and CEO of InMobi and Glance. Explore his education, career, entrepreneurial journey, investments, achievements, net worth and the story behind India's first unicorn.
🗞️ 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
🗞️ 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
Netflix is readying to trim roughly 5% of its workforce as soon as next week, according to reports, as revenue growth decelerates, competition in streaming heats up and investors get jittery. The corporation had about 16,000 full-time employees at the end of last year.
Anthropic has modified its policy on the use of AI to ban the exploitation of models, interference with elections, illegal surveillance and the creation of autonomous weaponry. The new regulations outlaw voter disinformation, impersonating candidates and more.
Vietnamese electric vehicle company VinFast will set up over 50 electric motorcycle dealerships in 34 Indian cities across 15 states and territories by partnering with local dealers. The extension will also have charging infrastructure and better after-sales services to assist the clients.
Rolls-Royce wants to increase its footprint in India in areas including defence, aerospace, civil aviation and energy. CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on strategic alliances supporting India’s economic growth and national security.
FSSAI has issued notices to Dr. Reddy’s, Nestlé Health Science, Amazon India, Flipkart India and other companies for allegedly making deceptive claims for Celevida GLP+. The FSSAI has asked the concerned food industry owners to show cause as to why action should not be taken against them.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) onboarded 10,000 freshers in Q2 FY27 and aims to maintain demand-led hiring as technology demand remains high. The IT firm is focusing on upskilling its employees, artificial intelligence (AI) skills and niche expertise to further increase delivery readiness.
The US government has banned Cognisant, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL and other leading companies from the PLC Program, which means they may no longer sponsor foreign workers to get green cards. These firms have exploited visa programs at the expense of American workers, say U.S. officials.
NeoGrowth raised INR 85 crore and KISAH raised INR 35.9 crore, as TCS posted its Q2 FY27 results and NABVENTURES announced the first close of its second fund.
DailyObjects raised INR 332 crore in a Series C round and four more startups closed rounds, as the GST Council scrapped officers' arrest powers and CoreWeave entered India.
Gold and silver rates today in India, 8 October 2026. 24K gold is at ₹149,480 per 10g, up slightly, while silver falls 1.12% to ₹221,100 per kg. Check city-wise rates and MCX data below.
* Zinara is a design-first lab-grown diamond jewellery brand redefining diamonds as everyday wear for the modern Indian consumer, founded by IIT Delhi alumni Harshit Abrol, Co-founder and CEO, and Sumanyu Vyas, Co-founder and COO. * The funds will be used to build the team and accelerate marketing,
Retail traders oppose introduction of UPI MDR costs from October 15; may be deferred to January 1, 2027. Under the proposed framework, a 0.40% MDR would be charged on qualified UPI merchant transactions exceeding INR 2,000, up to a maximum of INR 300.
Meta intervened on 5.3 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content in India in H1 2026, over 97% of which was proactively discovered across Facebook and Instagram. The company has launched new AI technologies to identify dangerous adverts that link to illegal off-platform content.
India’s fast commerce industry is anticipated to touch $90 billion by FY2031 from $13 billion in FY2026, Google and Redseer Strategy Consultants said. Metros will be responsible for more than 60% of incremental growth, with non-grocery categories experiencing strong rise.
Tata Power, partners with Norwegian renewable energy tech firm Ocean Sun for membrane based floating solar equipment in India. The businesses will pilot Ocean Sun’s revolutionary solution in a 300 kWp pilot at Tata Power’s Mulshi reservoir in Maharashtra.
Elon Musk has accused “certain oligarchs” of blocking the introduction of Starlink in India to protect a monopolistic stranglehold on the market. Starlink has made significant investments in India and is awaiting government clearances such as foreign direct investment and security clearance.
Amazon has announced more job layoffs, with the most of the cuts apparently impacting its Stores segment with less than 1,000 white-collar staff across the US, India and UK said to be affected. The layoffs came after Prime Big Deal Days and a broader restructure of Amazon’s personnel.
Brookfield has entered India’s logistics space by acquiring a portfolio of 10.5 million sq. ft. of logistics and industrial real estate from ESR India for INR 4,300 cr. The portfolio is spread across 400 acres in 6 metro clusters with 8 Grade A parks in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Chennai and Kolkata.
Quanfluence raised $10 million and seven more startups closed rounds, as Maharashtra told bike taxi platforms to go electric and JioHotstar launched in the Middle East.
Gold and silver rates today in India, 7 October 2026. 24K gold is at ₹149,620 per 10g and silver at ₹225,160 per kg, both down on the day as silver falls more than twice as much as gold. Check city-wise rates and MCX data below.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has got the letter of award to develop the main plant of a 1,600 MW thermal power project in Chandrapura, Jharkhand. DVC CIL Power will have two 800 MW ultra-supercritical units and L&T will be responsible for essential equipment and engineering.
Meta is piloting a new video-first Facebook experience in India that opens the app right into full-screen video and highlights Reels. The new UX is aimed to increase video engagement, with some users given the option to revert to the Feed-first experience.
Paramount Skydance has finalised its $11 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, one of Hollywood’s biggest media giants. The unprecedented merger will combine key franchises including Mission: Impossible and Harry Potter, and Paramount+ and HBO Max, CBS, TNT and other networks.
With nearly two in five public chargers non-functional, Ionage’s platform is turning a fragmented charging landscape into one reliable network
Bike taxi aggregators like Rapido, Ola and Uber have been told by the Maharashtra state to switch to electric vehicles from petrol-powered motorcycles by July 2027. The state transport government has given platforms nine months to comply citing Maharashtra Bike Taxi Rules, 2025.
Uber is buying US workplace catering platform ezCater for $2.3bn in an all-cash deal to boost Uber Eats’ footprint in group catering and company meals. ezCater connects companies with more than 140,000 restaurants, and has more than $2.5 billion in revenue bookings in the last 12 months.
JioHotstar has expanded its international streaming footprint to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, outside of India, the UK, Canada and Singapore. STARZPLAY is now accessible in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Morocco and more regions.
India's connected TV audience hit 207 million people in 2026, up 3X since 2022, per a WPP Media and Trade Desk report. The ad spend chasing that audience is still a small slice of the total market.
ITC has made eight FMCG acquisitions since 2021, not seven since 2023 as first reported here, including a baby-care stake that predates every other deal on the list. Corrected and expanded after a Tracxn cross-check.
Beyond Appliances raised INR 110 crore in a Series B round and six more startups closed rounds, as the Cabinet cleared an INR 10,000 crore SME fund and Swara Baby Products got its IPO nod.
Meesho’s Content Commerce business grew by 152% year-on-year in Net Merchandise Value (NMV) from authors in non-metro Indian cities. Almost 90% of its 1.6 lakh active producers are nano creators and 81% of them are outside the big urban centers.
CurvetAI, an AI workspace that allows users to access and combine multiple AI models from one platform, has raised Rs 6 crore in a pre-seed round led by Merak Ventures. A group of angel investors also participated in the round. Founded in December 2025 by Vivek Dubey and Utkarsh
Reliance Industries has obtained interim relief from the Delhi High Court in its case against FSSAI over the usage of “energy drink” on Campa products. The court questioned the decision making process of the FSSAI and let Reliance Consumer Products to continue selling Campa as an energy drink.
Ordo and WearSynapse win ₹90,000 IDFC FIRST Bank prize pool and earn boarding passes to Draper University’s Hero Training Program in Silicon Valle
A major legal challenge has been mounted against Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee as US district judges in California and Massachusetts have declared that the administration does not have the power to levy the price. Court rulings put fee enforcement on hold affording reprieve to Indian IT firms.
Huawei and Qualcomm have entered into a multi-year patent licensing arrangement that covers 5G, artificial intelligence, computing and networking technologies. Under the transaction, Qualcomm will purchase a portfolio of US patents from Huawei.
The FBI fired an Accenture contractor after a security lapse exposed sensitive personal data of thousands of FBI workers. The hack apparently involved Oracle PeopleSoft software and a vulnerability that was thought to have been exploited by the ShinyHunters criminal gang.
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From heartfelt stories celebrating Shakti to fashion-led festive campaigns, brands are bringing Navratri 2026 to life with fresh ideas. Explore the latest Navratri ad campaigns that blend culture, creativity, emotion, and festive excitement.
India’s frozen food sector is expanding and HyFun Foods, a major supplier of potatoes to McDonald’s and KFC, is set to list through an INR 2,000 cr IPO by 2028. The company plans to launch the IPO in about mid-2027 largely through a fresh share offering.
Reliance Industries filed a writ suit on October 1 challenging an FSSAI judgement that stopped it from marketing its Campa beverages as ‘energy drinks’. Reliance Consumer Products said the move has interrupted operations and it has also hampered brand's image.
New Jersey, October 5, 2026: LogiNext, the AI-native orchestration platform for modern supply chains, will participate in DELIVER America 2026, taking place October 7–8 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas. Attendees can meet the LogiNext team at Booth C57 to explore how AI-powered orchestration and intelligent automation
HUL has bought majority stakes in two D2C brands since 2022, OZiva and Minimalist, and walked away from two others. That mix of buying and selling, not any single deal, is the real strategy.
UPI
The government says UPI's new fee is about sustainability. Congress says US pressure. A BJP-aligned group says the same. Trade experts blame Walmart and Google. Five competing theories, each attributed to who's actually making the claim.
AI can make branding faster and cheaper. But when a brand uses it, customers may also read something else into the decision: how much the company cares about what they’re being offered.
PhysicsWallah’s arm FinZ Finance has agreed to sell a loan portfolio worth INR 95.79 cr to NBFC Auxilo Finserve, with the transfer anticipated to be completed within 60 days. The deal will partially close the lending activities of FinZ Finance.
Honda has teamed with Tata Technologies to create vehicles for the Indian market, with the aim of reducing vehicle prices by 20% and development time by 50%. The alliance comes as Honda retools its India strategy amid increased competition and pressure to bring more inexpensive vehicles.
Reliance Jio has now introduced the JE6000 AX3000 Wi-Fi extender in India for INR 3,499, offering an economical solution to enhance connectivity in the home. The dual-band Wi-Fi 6 extender offers combined speeds of up to 3,000 Mbps.
Schneider Electric has agreed to purchase US-based software business PTC in an all-cash deal worth $22.6 billion for the company’s shares and $23.7 billion including enterprise value. The offer of $205 a share is 42.3% over PTC’s most recent closing price.
Lockheed Martin is eyeing to scale up its India manufacturing operations with a potential $10.5 billion Indian military aviation deal for 60 medium transport aircraft. The company has teamed up with TASL to bid for the project under which it will build 48 aircraft in India and supply 12 directly.
According to reports, Jio Platforms is all set to issue its long awaited IPO by end of October at an enterprise valuation of $143-146 billion or around INR 12 lakh crore. The anticipated $3.8 billion IPO will be India’s biggest public offer with up to 27 crore new shares.
Scooter raised INR 1.5 crore in a pre-seed round led by AJVC, as Snapdeal parent AceVector made a weak market debut and Razorpay partnered with OpenAI on ChatGPT ads.
Gold and silver rates today in India, 2 October 2026. 24K gold is at ₹150,540 per 10g and silver at ₹226,570 per kg, flat on the day with MCX shut for Gandhi Jayanti. Check city-wise rates and MCX data below.
Six years after building a visual-learning browser for Bharat, MagTapp leverages its existing user base and 169Pi’s Alpie AI models to enter its next phase of growth, with expansion across platforms and geographies. MagTapp, the Indian technology company that has crossed 6 million downloads and was among the
Seeds Fincap raised INR 100 crore in a Series B round and five more startups closed rounds, as Moneyview made a strong market debut and traders called off their 'No UPI Day' protest.
Gold and silver rates today in India, 1 October 2026. 24K gold is at ₹150,350 per 10g and silver at ₹225,940 per kg, both up on the day but still lower than a week ago. Check city-wise rates and MCX data below.
DoorDash launches new global competence center in Hyderabad, Telangana, expects to create 3,000 jobs in India over next two years The centre’s initial focus will be on customer service, business operations and administration with 500 people planned in the first phase.
Employees are concerned about the IPO timeline and liquidity, and Flipkart is mulling a new ESOP cash-out option that might let eligible staff sell 20-25% of their vested shares in early 2027. Existing investors may fund the proposed initiative.
Google has announced its latest powerful AI model, Gemini 4 Argon, designed for coding, cybersecurity and complex professional jobs. It is said to give high benchmark results for banking, legal work, software engineering and cyber defence.
Unveilr AI has raised pre-seed funding from AJVC at a ₹16.7 crore valuation. The amount was undisclosed, but AJVC's standard ₹1.5 crore for 9% divides to exactly that number.
Walmart is stepping up its AI effort to change retail shopping with generative AI, agentic commerce, personalised suggestions and autonomous shopping tools. AI-enabled experiences are driving higher add-to-cart rates and repeat purchases, the business says.
Amazon has also increased its Amazon Now ultra-fast delivery service reaches 120+ cities in India doubling its presence in just 2 weeks. The rapid commerce platform has tens of thousands of products, including groceries, fresh fruit, electronics, fashion and household essentials etc.
Zaperon has raised ₹7 crore led by Inflection Point Ventures, its first institutional cheque after five years. It enters a category where Cisco just paid $400 million for a rival.
Jio Finance and Allianz Europe BV have each invested INR 320.05 crore in Jio Allianz General Insurance through a rights issue, making the total funding amount INR 640.10 cr. The funding will be used for the general insurance business in India, including health insurance, by the 50:50 joint venture.
Apple Pay has launched in India with Axis Bank as its first banking partner and qualifying Visa and Mastercard users will be able to make contactless payments through iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. The solution works for both in-store and online transactions wherever NFC payments are allowed.
Gold and silver rates today in India, 30 September 2026. 24K gold trades at ₹150,250 per 10g and silver at ₹226,750 per kg, both extending their rebound for a second straight day. Check city wise rates and MCX data below.
Simple Energy raised INR 1,750 crore in a Series C round, and five more startups closed rounds, as Apple Pay launched in India and Inox Clean Energy filed for an INR 10,000 crore IPO.
Prodoc AI has raised an undisclosed seed round led by Thyrocare founder Dr A. Velumani's family office. The Bengaluru company reached 100-plus hospitals on about ₹1.7 crore of angel money raised since 2022.
Bharat Housing Network raised $5 million in green bonds, and FIG Living got backing from Aman Gupta, as ITC completed its Yoga Bar buyout and Subway India's operator filed for an IPO.
Gold and silver rates today in India, 29 September 2026. 24K gold trades at ₹147,570 per 10g and silver at ₹226,280 per kg, with gold steadying while silver slips further after yesterday's crash. Check city-wise rates and MCX data below.
OpenAI has apparently stopped the publication of their GPT-6.1 Astra AI model after internal safety tests found issues about its ability to stay aligned with human intent. The move comes amid increasing scrutiny of powerful artificial intelligence systems.
SEBI has ended its proceedings against Gautam Adani, four Adani Group entities and 13 people for alleged violations of minimum public shareholding (MPS) requirements. The parties paid Rs 1.48 crore to resolve the proceedings without accepting or contesting the conclusions.
HCLSoftware, the software arm of HCLTech, has inked an agreement to acquire Robotiq.ai, an enterprise automation business based in Croatia, in a €9 million cash transaction. The acquisition will be made through HCL Technologies Austria GmbH and is expected to close by November 2026.
ITC has completed the acquisition of 100 per cent of Yoga Bar maker Sproutlife Foods by acquiring the remaining 52.5 per cent interest for roughly INR 645 crore. Sproutlife will be a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC as of September 28.
The Supreme Court has declined to issue an interim stay on the proposed 0.4% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for some UPI merchant transactions exceeding INR 2,000. While reviewing the legal ramifications of the judgement, a three-judge bench requested comments from the Center, RBI and NPCI.
Anthropic’s private IPO filing underscores a high degree of client concentration and large infrastructure commitments that are anticipated in the future, the report said. The AI startup has noted significant revenue growth in tandem with heavy investment on compute and cloud/infrastructure.
Aman Gupta has backed FIG Living through SailThru Ventures. The lighting brand runs on a thirty-year-old export manufacturer that filed ₹16.2 crore revenue and a 2.5% net margin for the year to March 2025.
WEH Ventures has announced the first close of Fund III, targeting ₹250 crore for 20 to 25 seed-stage Indian startups. The fund is 12.5 times the size of the 2017 debut fund that one smallcase exit returned on its own.
Three funding rounds closed on 28 September 2026, spanning agricultural machinery, experience tech and AI software testing. First Bridge India Growth Fund, Powerhouse Ventures and Flipkart Ventures were among the day's lead investors. The headline raise is Balwaan Krishi's INR 100 crore Series B round to
Gold and silver rates today in India, 28 September 2026. 24K gold trades at ₹148,010 per 10g and silver at ₹227,640 per kg, both tumbling as Fed rate hike fears and high oil prices hit metals. Check city wise rates and MCX data below.
Antony Road Transport Solutions has ordered 840 electric buses from Switch Mobility for deployment in Delhi under the PM E-Drive plan. It involves 420 nine-meter and 420 12-meter electric buses for the Delhi Transport Corporation and Delhi Transport Dept.