Startups | Page 10

The firm's Fund II has made nine investments so far, in tech-led firms across consumer internet, Bharat, fintech, B2B commerce, enterprise tech, and emerging sectors in India. According to Fundamentum, the portfolio has delivered nearly 80 per cent revenue growth over the last year.

In 2024, Bain & Company's India Venture Capital Report finds that CVCs stepped up meaningfully: their deal volumes increased approximately 1.8 times versus 2023, and their share of India's overall VC deal volume rose to 20 per cent, up from 16 per cent in 2023.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, chaired the meeting along with Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Chirag Paswan, and the UAE's Minister of Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi.

Cuzor Labs announced an INR 5 Crore seed round, marking a first angel-investment from Ramesh Kannan, Founder and Managing Director of Kaynes Technology India Limited, underscoring growing confidence in India's ability to build globally competitive hardware.

The company said in a release that the funding will be utilized towards R&D, accelerate product innovation, and strengthen manufacturing capacity, with an aim to build deeper market penetration through its direct-to-consumer (D2C) online presence.

The report said that the changes proposed to the new US tax bill could also drive fresh concerns over the period of next 3-6 months, with investors and startups taking guard to evaluate potential implications and incorporate them into their operations and deal-making processes.

India's private capital markets have witnessed a shifting landscape in 2025, with both venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) showing diverging momentum compared to the same period last year. Data from January to August 19, 2025, from Tracxn highlights both cautious deployment and sectoral rebalancing across the ecosystem.

Approved in principle earlier this June, SEBI has cleared a framework to let Cat-I/II AIFs launch a Co-Investment scheme (CIV) inside the AIF structure, instead of using a separate portfolio management service (PMS), available to accredited investors in that AIF. Each co-investment will be a separate CIV scheme with some relaxed requirements.

India's private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investment landscape in 2025 reflects a market navigating both macroeconomic headwinds and sectoral realignments: In the first half of the year, PE/VC investments totaled USD 26.4 billion across 593 deals, according to the latest data from the EY-IVCA Mid-Year Report.

As India's startup and enterprise ecosystems mature, the real winners will be those who collaborate and co-create instead of compete.

Private equity and venture capital investments in India increased by 11 per cent in 1H2025 compared to 2H2024 in value terms, according to a new EY-IVCA report.

The fund will invest in both early-stage (Seed, Series A) and late-stage (Series D and beyond) startups, with a strong emphasis on deep-tech domains such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, robotics, genomics, aerospace/surveillance, and smart manufacturing.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Kerala Innovation Festival (KIF) organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in Kalamassery, Venkatesh noted that these efforts go beyond the financial support provided by the IT Ministry.

This investment will accelerate Roast Foods' global expansion, enhance its manufacturing capabilities and development of new products.

Eternal's expenses stood at INR 7,433 crore, up by 77 per cent. The company's revenue from operations for Q1 of FY26 stood at INR 7,167 crore, up by 70.4 per cent from INR 4,206 crore in the corresponding quarter.

Even amid cautious global capital flows, Indian startups attracted diversified funding in CY24, with investors showing increasing conviction in DeepTech, ClimateTech, and AI-enabled solutions.

As venture funding tightens, founders are increasingly tapping grants, venture debt, and revenue-based financing to extend their runway without giving up ownership

India's fintech sector attracted USD 889 million in funding during the first half of 2025, reflecting a 26 per cent drop from the USD 1.2 billion raised in the second half of 2024, according to market intelligence platform Tracxn.

According to a state press release, key objectives of the scheme will include encouraging the private sector to scale up research, development, and innovation (RDI) in "sunrise domains" and other sectors relevant for economic security, strategic purpose, and self-reliance.

In India, firms are doubling down on tech-led diligence and proprietary data-driven strategies. As AI adoption deepens, it promises to sharpen competitive edges, even as challenges around infrastructure and talent persist.

The Peyush Bansal-led startup has also taken clear steps towards going public by changing its name from Lenskart Solutions Private Limited to Lenskart Solutions Limited, following approval from its existing shareholders.