News in 60 Words

Ather Energy To Raise ₹1,200 Cr To Fuel Next Phase Of Growth

Business • Shrishti Bisht

Ather Energy's board has approved a fundraise of up to ₹1,200 crore through equity shares and convertible warrants. Hero MotoCorp will invest approximately ₹960 crore, potentially increasing its stake to 30.68%, while NIIF's India-Japan Fund will contribute ₹200 crore. Cofounders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain will each invest ₹20 crore. The funds will support expansion, research, and manufacturing capacity, pending shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting.

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Business • Shrishti Bisht

"D2C healthy snacking brand Open Secret has raised over ₹50 crore in equity and debt, led by Desai Brothers Group. The profitable startup, which has surpassed ₹200 crore in annual recurring revenue, aims to reach ₹1,000 crore within three years. The funds will be used to expand its offline retail presence beyond 500 outlets, scale its savoury snack portfolio, and integrate AI into its supply chain operations.".

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Business • Anjali Jain

BigBasket is reducing its operational presence from 76 to 40 profitable cities to curb cash burn and achieve profitability. Facing intense competition from rivals like Blinkit and Zepto, the Tata Digital-owned company reported a 42% surge in FY25 losses. New CEO Amit Nanda will implement a cluster strategy focusing on high-density urban areas, improving pricing and assortment to regain competitiveness in the quick commerce market.

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Business • Ankush Das

Inc42's tenth "AI Startups To Watch" edition highlights five emerging Indian ventures: Linkrunner, Monk CI, Rowboat Labs, Vidopix, and WiredLeap. These startups focus on specialized enterprise solutions across mobile attribution, developer infrastructure, knowledge management, ad compliance, and video intelligence. This shift reflects a maturing ecosystem where AI is integrated into specific business workflows, supported by a significant surge in funding, totaling $676 million in early 2026.

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Business • Pranav Pai

Enterprise AI is shifting from a focus on capability to a demand for control over data, weights, and infrastructure. Companies are moving away from proprietary black-box models toward open-weight alternatives to ensure data sovereignty and measurable outcomes. With regulatory support and strong engineering depth, India is uniquely positioned to lead this transition by providing model-agnostic deployment stacks and outcome-based services for regulated global industries.

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Business • Palak Sharma

"Investment tech platform Groww reported a significant increase in its consolidated net profit for the first quarter of FY27, reaching ₹735 crore, a 94.3% rise from the previous year. Sequentially, profit grew by 7.1%. Operating revenue surged 66% year-on-year to ₹1,501.4 crore, though it remained nearly flat compared to the preceding March quarter. Total revenue, including other income, stood at ₹1,548.7 crore against expenses of ₹555.7 crore.".

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Business • Shrishti Bisht

"Ather Energy's shares hit a 52-week high after Hero MotoCorp approved an additional investment of up to ₹1,000 crore. Hero MotoCorp already holds a 29.48% stake in the electric vehicle maker. Ather plans to raise up to ₹2,500 crore for research, development, and manufacturing expansion to combat intensifying competition in India's electric two-wheeler market. The company has recently reported strong revenue growth and narrowing net losses.".

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Business • Ankush Das

Indian voice AI startups are shifting focus from technical perfection to business sustainability. While per-minute pricing remains the dominant revenue model, profitability depends heavily on achieving high customer volumes and owning the underlying technology stack to protect margins. Early adoption is strongest in high-volume sectors like banking and ecommerce, where AI agents enable cost-effective, multilingual outreach, moving the industry toward hybrid pricing tied to business outcomes.

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Business • Shrishti Bisht

D2C grocery startup Anmasa has raised ₹30 Cr in a seed round led by Fireside Ventures and Blume Ventures. The company utilizes a hyperlocal “bright store” model to provide made-to-order, minimally processed staples like customized flour and spices. Currently operating in Delhi NCR, Anmasa plans to expand into cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad, leveraging the new capital to enhance its technology, leadership, and manufacturing infrastructure.

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Business • Team Inc42

Anthropic has introduced rupee-linked pricing for Claude to increase adoption in India, its second-largest market. Meanwhile, InsuranceDekho is preparing for a ₹9,500 crore IPO, and Elevation Capital launched a $500 million fund for early-stage startups. In other news, Udaan is seeking $160 million in financing, Medial is shutting down, and BYJU'S continues to face legal challenges in Singapore regarding its cofounder's contempt sentence.

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Business • Shrishti Bisht

E3 Electric.Ai, founded by former TVS Motor EV head P Sanjeev, has raised ₹100 Cr ($10.4 Mn) in Series A funding led by BluVenture Holdings. The Bengaluru-based startup will use the capital to develop its AI-powered electric scooter, E3 TRION, focusing on intellectual property and technology. The scooter features predictive maintenance and safety tools, targeting a commercial launch across 90 Indian markets to compete in the growing EV sector.

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Business • Team Inc42

Zomato is piloting an AI-powered voice bot in Bengaluru, allowing select users to order food and receive personalized recommendations through conversation. This initiative is part of Zomato's broader GenAI strategy, which includes the Nugget support platform and internal logistics bots. Financially, Zomato reported a 33% year-on-year increase in operating revenue to ₹2,737 Cr for Q4 FY26, while its parent company, Eternal, saw net profits jump to ₹174 Cr.

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Business • Anjali Jain

BiofuelCircle, a Pune-based biomass supply chain startup, has raised ₹35 Cr in a bridge funding round led by Spectrum Impact to strengthen its working capital. With a valuation of approximately ₹615 Cr, the company operates 80 biomass banks across 10 states, connecting farmers to biofuel manufacturers. Targeting revenue growth to ₹500 Cr in FY27, the startup plans a Series B round in early 2027 to expand.

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Business • Lokesh Choudhary

B2B ecommerce unicorn Udaan has announced a $160 million financing transaction involving fresh equity, new debt, and debt-to-equity conversion. This move follows insolvency proceedings against its Singapore-based parent over defaulted convertible notes. The funding, which includes a $45 million private credit commitment, aims to restructure debt, strengthen the balance sheet, and prepare the company for a future public listing while improving overall profitability and operational efficiency.

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Business • Anjali Jain

"Insurtech startup InsuranceDekho plans to file its DRHP with SEBI by September, targeting a valuation of approximately ₹9,500 crore. The proposed IPO will likely include a fresh issue and an offer for sale. Simultaneously, the company is progressing with its merger with RenewBuy, aiming for a public listing by March 2027. This move follows a broader trend of Indian tech startups preparing for public market debuts.".

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Business • Lokesh Choudhary

"Medial, a startup-focused social networking platform founded in 2023, is shutting down operations. CEO Niket Raj Dwivedi announced the decision following a cash crunch and failure to secure fresh funding or a sustainable monetization model. Despite reaching over 500,000 users across 30 countries and receiving backing from OG Capital and Ritesh Agarwal, the platform struggled to survive in a challenging market for Indian social networking startups.".

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Business • Lokesh Choudhary

"Anthropic has launched rupee-denominated pricing for its AI chatbot Claude in India, its second-largest global market. The Pro plan starts at ₹2,000 monthly when billed annually, while the Max plan begins at ₹11,999. This move aims to reduce payment friction and attract more paying users, following similar strategies by OpenAI. Anthropic is further expanding its local presence with a new office in Bengaluru.".

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Business • Shrishti Bisht

"The Singapore High Court has rejected BYJU’S cofounder Byju Raveendran’s attempt to stop a six-month jail sentence for contempt. The ruling follows his failure to comply with court orders to disclose assets, a case initiated by the Qatar Investment Authority. While Raveendran is currently outside Singapore, the sentence remains active. This legal setback adds to the edtech founder's ongoing insolvency and financial disputes across India and the US.".

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Business • Gaurav Bagur

"The Competition Commission of India fined HP India ₹138.9 crore for anti-competitive practices and cartelisation on the Government e-Marketplace platform. HP was found dictating bid prices and coordinating cover bids for personal computer systems and printing supplies. While five resellers also faced penalties, HP received a reduced fine for voluntarily self-reporting its illegal activities. The regulator ordered all parties to cease these practices and undergo compliance training.".

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Business • Anne Florentyna

Singapore-based Temasek Holdings has sold a 2.05% stake in omnichannel eyewear retailer Lenskart through multiple open-market transactions. The sale of 3.56 crore shares is valued at approximately ₹1,937.3 crore, reducing its subsidiary MacRitchie’s stake to 4.71%. This divestment follows similar moves by other backers like SoftBank and ADIA. Despite a 7.5% dip in Q4 FY26 net profit, Lenskart reported a 46% increase in operating revenue.

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Categories

Ather Energy To Raise ₹1,200 Cr To Fuel Next Phase Of Growth

Healthy Snacking Brand Open Secret Raises ₹50 Cr To Scale Offline Presence

BigBasket To Slash Geographical Presence By Half To 40 Cities: Report

AI Startups To Watch: 5 Startups That Caught Our Eye In July

The Black Box Era Of Enterprise AI Is Ending, As Customer-Controlled AI Takes Spotlight

Groww Q1: Profit Surges 94% YoY To ₹735 Cr

Ather Energy Hits 52-Week High After Hero MotoCorp Announces ₹1,000 Cr Investment

The Unit Economics Of India’s Voice AI Boom

Exclusive: D2C Grocery Startup Anmasa Bags ₹30 Cr To Expand Into New Markets

Anthropic’s India Push, InsuranceDekho’s IPO & More

E3 Electric.Ai Nets ₹100 Cr To Launch Electric Scooter Range

Zomato Piloting AI-Powered Voice Bot For Food Delivery

BiofuelCircle Raises ₹35 Cr To Expand Its Biomass Supply Chain Ecosystem

Udaan Lines Up $160 Mn Financing Round To Strengthen Balance Sheet

InsuranceDekho To File DRHP By September-End: Report

Shark Tank Fame Medial Shuts Down Amid Mounting Cash Crunch

Claude Rolls Out India Pricing As Anthropic Bets Big On Its Second-Largest Market

Singapore HC Rejects Byju Raveendran’s Plea To Halt Six-Month Jail Sentence

CCI Fines HP India ₹140 Cr For Rigging Tenders On GeM Portal

Temasek Offloads Lenskart 3.56 Cr Shares In Multiple Tranches