Flipkart’s Food Delivery Era, Weekly Funding Rundown & More

Source: inc42

Flipkart’s Food Delivery Era, Weekly Funding Rundown & More

Business

Flipkart is launching a food delivery service in Bengaluru, leveraging its existing logistics and offering lower commissions to challenge Zomato and Swiggy. Meanwhile, Indian startup funding rebounded to $233.2 million last week. In other news, the CBI filed an FIR against BluSmart founders for alleged loan diversion, and ISRO plans to shift from manufacturing launch vehicles to focus on research and advanced scientific missions.

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5 Books that explain how small choices create big outcomes

Startups

"Small, repeated decisions often lead to significant long-term outcomes, a concept explored in five influential books. Darren Hardy and Jeff Olson emphasize the cumulative power of daily choices, while Daniel Kahneman analyzes the mental processes behind them. Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein highlight environmental influences, and Charles Duhigg examines habit formation. Together, these works suggest that consistent, minor adjustments are more transformative than single, ambitious changes.".

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Why Learning to Sit Alone Can Change the Way We Live

Startups

Modern life's constant digital distractions often lead people to avoid silence, which can reveal uncomfortable inner thoughts. However, embracing solitude differs from loneliness and is essential for deep reflection, self-understanding, and creativity. By stepping away from external stimulation, individuals can move beyond reactive behaviors, clarify their personal values, and make more independent decisions, ultimately fostering a healthier relationship with themselves and their mental well-being.

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Big cheques remain scarce for startups; Trademark dispute between Matrimony.com & Jodi365

Startups

India seeks to scale renewable energy storage to manage solar intermittency. A new book analyzes how five Indian firms navigated disruptions, while Honor's "Lightning" robot broke Usain Bolt's 100m record. Indian startup funding remains rangebound, relying on large outlier deals. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court suggests a settlement in the Matrimony.com trademark dispute, and NVIDIA plans price hikes for its largest customers ahead of fiscal results.

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Beyond The Shiprocket IPO Takeoff

Business

Shiprocket recently debuted on the Indian stock exchanges with a strong premium, reaching a market capitalization exceeding ₹10,000 crore. The logistics tech startup is evolving into an end-to-end ecommerce enablement platform, expanding beyond shipping into fintech and fulfillment. While its core domestic shipping business is profitable, the company reported a consolidated loss of ₹79 crore in FY26, focusing now on scaling its emerging services toward profitability.

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Who’s behind the new ‘stealth model’ Ox Alpha?

Startups

A mysterious new AI model named Ox Alpha has sparked widespread speculation following its release on OpenRouter. Described as a reasoning model for coding and production workloads, the "stealth model" was developed by an anonymous third-party provider. While Stripe CEO Patrick Collison praised its performance, theories regarding its origin vary, with some analysts suggesting it comes from China's Z.ai, while others point toward Microsoft's MAI.

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Uber faces fine of nearly $1B over automated driver suspensions

Startups

"The Dutch Data Protection Authority fined Uber €825 million for violating GDPR by using automated processes to deactivate driver accounts without adequate human oversight. This penalty, the second largest under GDPR, follows complaints from drivers regarding unfair account terminations. Uber disputes the findings, arguing that permanent deactivations require human review, and has announced plans to appeal the decision, which it describes as disproportionate.".

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TechCrunch Mobility: The custom chip driving Waymo’s robotaxi ambitions

Startups

Waymo is advancing its robotaxi expansion with a custom 5nm ASIC chip for better efficiency and performance. Meanwhile, Tesla, Uber, and Waymo secured permits for commercial robotaxi services in Nevada. Other industry highlights include Uber's drone delivery partnership with Zipline, Einride's purchase of.

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Flock CEO calls for ‘compromise’ as surveillance company faces growing backlash

Startups

"Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley is calling for a compromise between public safety and privacy as his company faces bipartisan criticism over its surveillance technology. Reports of police misuse, including stalking, have sparked outcry from both Democratic and Republican politicians. While Flock reduced data retention periods and added access requirements, critics like the ACLU remain skeptical, while Langley advocates for stricter regulations and criminal penalties for misuse.".

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Is it legal to train AI models on copyrighted books? It’s complicated

Startups

AI companies face ongoing legal battles over using copyrighted works to train large language models. While some courts view training as analogous to reading, others penalize companies for using pirated data or creating competing products. The debate centers on "fair use" and whether AI output is transformative. With outdated laws and conflicting rulings, the industry awaits definitive legal standards regarding training data and AI-generated content copyright.

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This book examines how Indian companies turned crisis into growth

Startups

, releases September 14 via Penguin Random House India. The work analyzes how five Indian companies—Bajaj Finance, Titan, Dr Lal PathLabs, Divi's Laboratories, and Tata Elxsi—navigated disruptions between 2015 and 2025 to achieve long-term growth. By examining "quiet compounders," the authors explore how institutional strength, discipline, and strategic leadership enable businesses to turn crises into enduring opportunities.

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Need to scale storage capabilities amid growing renewable energy capacity: Industry experts

Startups

India faces a critical shortage in domestic battery cell manufacturing, with current capacity meeting less than 1% of its 260 GWh demand pipeline for 2026. Industry experts urge the government not to delay storage deployment due to import dependence, emphasizing that immediate scaling is essential to manage renewable energy intermittency. Wood Mackenzie suggests achieving self-sufficiency could take over a decade given China's global market dominance.

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Two years after launch, Walmart’s Flipkart is closing in on India’s quick-commerce leaders

Startups

Walmart-owned Flipkart is rapidly expanding its "Minutes" quick-commerce service in India, now processing 1.1 to 1.2 million daily orders. This growth narrows the gap with established leaders like Swiggy’s Instamart, though Blinkit and Zepto still dominate. By aggressively increasing its micro-fulfillment centers, Flipkart leverages its existing customer base. Meanwhile, Amazon is also scaling its instant-delivery efforts to remain competitive in the evolving Indian market.

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Startups, sustainability, style: Gifts World Expo Bengaluru kicks off 6th edition

Startups

"The sixth edition of Gifts World Expo Bengaluru, organized by MEX Exhibitions and Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings, recently returned to the Palace Grounds. Featuring over 250 exhibitors and 1,000 brands, the B2B event serves as a strategic sourcing platform for the southern region. The expo highlights a shift toward personalized and sustainable gifting, while its Startup and Innovation Hub supports emerging businesses in connecting with industry leaders.".

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Software, services, AI: test your business creativity with Edition 246 of our weekly quiz!

Startups

The 246th edition of YourStory’s Lateral Sparks quiz highlights five startups solving diverse industrial challenges. Kusho AI focuses on software maintenance, while Tishyas Medical provides portable eye screening. Discovered Materials uses AI to enhance semiconductor chip efficiency, and Snabbit expands home services into beauty care. Finally, Nexular offers AI-powered intelligence for EV fleet management. These examples illustrate how entrepreneurs apply innovative technology to address critical market gaps.

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Our next space race may be closer to Earth

Startups

ABH Healthcare is launching a Rs 34.98 crore SME IPO, listing on September 1. Meanwhile, Kalyan Jewellers introduced the Tamil brand Akshaya Thanga Maligai, and Karnataka launched the KEO AI computing device. Red Balloon Aerospace is developing near-space infrastructure, while a report highlights the high cost of women's invisible agricultural work. Additionally, the Vatican plans a renewable energy plant, and the US imposed tariffs on Canadian goods.

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Navi’s Solo Run Ends

Business

Navi has raised $100 million from Prosus, marking its first major institutional funding after years of stalled IPO plans and regulatory challenges. Led by Sachin Bansal, the fintech firm is pivoting toward digital lending and UPI, where it has become India's fourth-largest app. Despite reporting Q4 FY26 profitability, Navi's annual losses widened, and its valuation reportedly dropped from $2 billion to $1.3 billion.

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Harvard’s $699 startup bootcamp offers AI avatars of its instructors

Startups

Harvard Business School has integrated AI avatars from startup HeyGen into its HBS Foundry bootcamp for entrepreneurs. These digital copies of instructors provide personalized feedback during practice pitches and board meetings. While some find the avatars slightly unsettling, participants generally appreciate the guided experience. The program, which costs $699 for eight weeks, combines live instructor sessions with these AI-driven simulations to expand the school's educational reach.

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Will the DOJ’s investigation into a16z spook other VCs?

Startups

"The Department of Justice is investigating venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz for holding board seats in competing AI companies. This year-long probe has surprised industry observers due to the firm's political ties and the typically lax enforcement of such conflicts. Analysts suggest the DOJ may be using this case to set an antitrust example for other venture firms, despite a general shift away from corporate prosecutions.".

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Inherent, founded by DeepMind alumni, says its AI ‘teammate’ just outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI at replicating research

Startups

Inherent, a London AI startup founded by Google DeepMind alumni, has developed an AI agent named Faraday. Using a smaller 27-billion parameter model, Faraday outperformed larger systems from OpenAI and Anthropic in reproducing scientific paper findings. The company, which recently secured a $50 million seed round, utilizes reinforcement learning to imbue its agents with "research taste," aiming to eventually create AI capable of discovering new scientific knowledge.

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