History Beckons: Skyroot Lifts Off With India’s First Private Orbital Mission

Business • Debarghya Sil

Skyroot, India's first spacetech unicorn, successfully launched Vikram-1, the country's first private orbital rocket mission, as part of Mission Aagaman. Blasting off from Sriharikota, the four-stage vehicle aims to place payloads into Low Earth Orbit while validating critical flight systems. This milestone follows India's space sector reforms and positions the nation as a global commercial launch destination, with Skyroot planning further upgrades and launches.

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Startups • Connie Loizos

Index Ventures co-founder Neil Rimer warns that the massive wealth generated by AI will eventually be redistributed, either voluntarily through philanthropy or involuntarily via legislation. As wealth concentration reaches historic levels and traditional charitable giving declines, proposals like California's wealth tax emerge. Rimer argues that tech leaders should proactively share their fortunes to avoid the forced redistribution seen during the Gilded Age's "soak-the-rich" era.

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Business • Lokesh Choudhary

Indian startups saw a sharp funding rebound between July 11 and 17, raising $281.4 million across 24 deals. AI startups dominated the week, securing $172.4 million, nearly 60% of the total. Notable activities included Elevation Capital launching a $500 million fund and Aurum PropTech acquiring Locon Solutions for ₹458 crore. Additionally, Ather Energy approved a ₹1,200 crore fundraise, while InsuranceDekho prepares for a potential IPO.

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Startups • Your story

The Four Seasons Hotel at Embassy One in Bengaluru integrates luxury hospitality with contemporary art to serve as a cultural landmark. Designed by Yabu Pushelberg, the hotel features works from over 25 Indian artists and hosts rotating exhibitions via its CUR8 gallery. By blending regional aesthetics with international modernism, the property offers immersive experiences through art, literature, and gastronomy, reflecting the creative and innovative spirit of Bengaluru.

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Startups • Your story

India launched its first hydrogen-powered train and Skyroot Aerospace prepares to launch the Vikram-1 rocket. Netflix is integrating generative AI into hundreds of titles, while LinkedIn's Bengaluru hub drives global product innovation. In business, Apple became the world's most valuable company, and Lithuanian firm Hostinger reports significant growth. Additionally, Chinese startup Moonshot AI released the Kimi K3 model, and Aurrevia launched a new investment fund.

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Startups • Isabelle Johannessen

The window is almost shut. On August 19, eight startups will take the stage at Stripe Tour Sydney in front of investors, global press, and the Australian tech community. One startup walks away with automatic entry into TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco — no application, no further competition, a guaranteed spot on the world’s most […].

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Startups • Jagmeet Singh

Vertu has launched the Alphafold, a luxury foldable smartphone starting at $6,880, targeting ultra-wealthy executives. The device features the Hermes AI agent, designed to automate complex professional workflows and integrate with a human concierge. While utilizing ZTE-based hardware wrapped in premium materials, the Alphafold's AI shows ambition in autonomy but struggles with accuracy and consistency compared to mainstream competitors like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7.

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Startups • Julie Bort

Databricks announced a new funding round led by Coatue, valuing the company at $188 billion. This follows a series of rapid valuations increases as the firm transitions into a comprehensive AI provider. By leveraging enterprise data and open-weight models like Z.ai’s GLM 5.2, Databricks aims to offer cost-effective AI solutions. Recent internal benchmarks highlight the importance of both model selection and agentic harnesses in optimizing coding costs.

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Startups • Connie Loizos

AI transcription apps are becoming ubiquitous, leading some professionals to take drastic measures to avoid recording. VC Jeremy Levine now lists his lack of consent in his Zoom name to combat the trend. While some users employ these tools to analyze social interactions, critics argue the practice kills spontaneity and creates legal risks. Furthermore, the sheer volume of recorded data raises questions about its actual utility.

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Startups • Tim Fernholz

"Agility Robotics is opening a new 60,000-square-foot training facility in Fremont, California, to accelerate the deployment of its humanoid robot, Digit. Unlike competitors, Digit is already generating revenue through contracts with companies like Amazon and Toyota, totaling $300 million. The company plans to go public via a reverse-merger later this year, focusing on industrial logistics and manufacturing rather than consumer home applications.".

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Startups • Jagmeet Singh

AI-driven demand for memory chips is diverting production from consumer electronics to data centers, driving up smartphone prices. India, a price-sensitive market, has seen a 10% drop in shipments as budget-tier devices become more expensive. While premium brands remain stable, budget-focused Chinese manufacturers are losing market share. Analysts expect these memory shortages and elevated costs to persist until 2027, forcing consumers to delay device upgrades.

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Business • Team Inc42

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. reported a 14.2% decline in Q1 FY27 net profit to ₹2,806 crore, despite an 8.2% revenue increase to ₹79,745 crore. The company's EBITDA margin dropped to 7.9% due to heavy infrastructure investments in its hyperlocal commerce expansion. While these costs pressure near-term margins, RRVL expects significant long-term scale and value creation from its growing quick commerce and digital delivery services.

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Startups • Lucas Ropek

"San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu has ordered Apple and Google to remove "nudify" apps from their stores, which create non-consensual deepfake pornography. California law prohibits facilitating such content, yet officials claim the tech giants continued profiting from these tools despite repeated warnings. The companies now face potential civil penalties if they fail to act within 28 days to prevent the exploitation of women and girls.".

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Startups • Marina Temkin

"Valar Atomics, a startup developing small modular nuclear reactors, is seeking a $1 billion funding round at a $6 billion valuation, with Sequoia expected to lead. The company recently partnered with Nvidia to explore nuclear energy for AI data centers after a successful proof-of-concept demonstration. While facing regulatory hurdles and competition, Valar aims to deploy hundreds of reactors to meet the surging electricity demands of AI infrastructure.".

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Startups • Aisha Malik

"The Dyson Hot+Cool HF1 is a $499 2-in-1 appliance providing year-round heating and cooling. Featuring a bladeless design for safety and easy cleaning, it includes smart controls via the MyDyson app for scheduling and remote operation. The compact unit operates quietly, utilizing an intelligent thermostat and adjustable oscillation. While its cooling mode functions as a fan rather than an air conditioner, it offers a convenient, space-saving alternative.".

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Startups • Theresa Loconsolo

"Apple has filed a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging misconduct involving the company's chief hardware officer. The complaint claims that over 400 former Apple employees have joined OpenAI. This legal battle comes as OpenAI considers an IPO later this year. TechCrunch’s Equity podcast examines how this lawsuit might affect OpenAI's hardware goals and IPO timeline, while questioning the general trustworthiness of AI companies regarding data.".

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Startups • Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

"U.S. prosecutors have charged 21-year-old Zyaire Wilkins and co-conspirators for uploading malware-laden video games to Steam. The group allegedly infected approximately 8,000 users, stealing over $220,000 from 80 cryptocurrency wallets. The malicious games were marketed via Discord, LinkedIn, and Telegram. The FBI arrested Wilkins after tracing stolen cryptocurrency payments to UberEats gift cards linked to his residence, where agents seized several electronic devices.".

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Startups • Lauren Forristal

Companies are creating kid-friendly communication devices to address parental concerns about unrestricted smartphone access. These options range from modified smartphones like Bark, Gabb, Pinwheel, and Teracube—which offer parental controls, app restrictions, and monitoring—to minimalist home phones from Ooma and Tin Can. These devices prioritize safety by limiting web browsing and social media while allowing parents to manage contacts, location, and screen time through companion apps.

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Startups • Zack Whittaker

"Amazon Web Services is resolving a bug in its billing portal that caused some customers to see inaccurate estimates totaling millions or even billions of dollars. The issue, which began late Thursday, stems from a fault in the billing computation subsystem. Amazon clarified that these figures do not reflect actual usage or charges. Some affected users reported estimates as high as $2.5 billion while the company works on a fix.".

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Startups • Sarah Perez

Patreon is strengthening its defenses against AI scraping by working with Cloudflare to block bots that train AI models on creators’ content without permission. The move marks a shift away from relying on websites using robots.txt alone to actively block unauthorized AI training.

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Categories

History Beckons: Skyroot Lifts Off With India’s First Private Orbital Mission

Neil Rimer thinks the AI money is coming back out

From Emergent To Neo Group — Indian Startups Raised $281 Mn This Week

Art and design: How this Four Seasons hotel celebrates the creativity of Bengaluru

From Lithuania to the world: Hostinger’s evolution; How LinkedIn India is driving global products

Applications close in 48 hours — here’s everything Australian founders need to know about Stripe x Startup Battlefield

Vertu wants executives to pay $6,880 for an AI agent — here’s how it actually performs

Databricks hits $188B valuation, extending its run as AI’s favorite second act

The Zoom hack that says, ‘Don’t record me’

Agility Robotics plants its flag in Tesla’s backyard

AI-driven memory crunch jolts India’s smartphone market

Reliance Retail’s EBITDA Erodes In Q1 Amid Q-Comm Expansion

Apple and Google ordered to purge ‘nudify’ apps from App Stores

Nuclear startup Valar Atomics in talks to raise new funding at $6B valuation

I replaced my space heater and ceiling fan with one Dyson appliance

How Apple’s big lawsuit could disrupt OpenAI’s IPO plans

FBI arrests man accused of using Steam games to drain victims’ crypto wallets

Parents want safer phones for kids. These companies are answering the call.

Amazon fixing bug that billed some AWS customers billions of dollars

Patreon stops asking AI bots not to scrape — and starts blocking them