Category: Startup

US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst has announced plans to invest $5 billion in India over the next five years. The announcement was made at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, highlighting the firm’s commitment to fostering innovation across various sectors.

General Catalyst CEO Hemant Taneja stated that the investment will target key areas such as artificial intelligence, healthcare, fintech, defense, and industrial technology. Additionally, the firm aims to bolster new company creation initiatives within the Indian tech ecosystem.

This substantial financial commitment signifies a significant expansion of General Catalyst’s presence in India. Following the acquisition of Venture Highway in 2023, the firm has actively supported Indian startups at different growth stages, with a diverse portfolio that includes companies like Zepto, PB Health, and Jeh Aerospace.

Emphasizing India’s robust digital infrastructure and talented workforce, Taneja underscored the strategic importance of the expanded focus. He expressed plans to collaborate closely with local founders and institutions to nurture the growth of innovative businesses in the region.

The announcement aligns with a broader trend of heightened investor interest in India’s technology and infrastructure sectors, reflecting the country’s growing prominence in the global tech landscape.

Source: Entrackr : Latest Posts

ValleyNXT Ventures has introduced the Bharat Breakthrough Fund–I, a SEBI-registered Category I venture capital fund with a total size of Rs 400 crore aimed at backing seed to pre-Series A startups.

Startups often face challenges between validation and scaling, such as fragmented advice and premature scaling pressure. The Bharat Breakthrough Fund addresses these issues through a unique VC-plus-accelerator model, utilizing ValleyNXT’s MIB framework—Mentorship, Investment, and Business Connects.

The fund, with a base corpus of Rs 200 crore and a greenshoe option of an additional Rs 200 crore, focuses on investing in deep-tech and tech-first startups. It supports innovation in sectors like space tech, defense tech, robotics, AI/ML, cybersecurity, biotech, sustainability, and consumer innovation.

Led by experienced individuals, the fund combines expertise in venture investing, acceleration, governance, and deep-tech innovation.

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LocalHost, a startup launchpad, has successfully raised $2.5 million in angel funding from InVideo, RedBull India, Anthropic, and Eros International. The funding aims to enhance LocalHost’s global founder labs and provide support for early-stage startups.

The company plans to utilize the fresh capital to expand infrastructure, reinforce hardware capabilities, grow operational teams globally, and assist additional early-stage founder cohorts. Founded in 2023 by Kei Hayashi, Suhas Sumukh, and Hardeep Gambhir, LocalHost offers in-person labs tailored as a launchpad for young technical and creative founders working at the convergence of media, software, and hardware.

In India, LocalHost conducts a 50-day founder lab in Bengaluru, selecting 15 founders per cohort to collaborate on projects spanning AI agents, robotics, India-native language models, and multidisciplinary media products. Beyond India, the company operates labs in Tokyo and Cluj-Napoca, with expansion plans in San Francisco, alongside hardware-focused labs set for Japan and France. These labs provide communal workspaces, hardware access, operational backing, and a community fund to eliminate minor execution obstacles.

Since its establishment in India, LocalHost has hosted cohorts attended by more than 30 venture partners and ecosystem participants. Notable startups that have emerged from the program include Maya Research, Prava Payments, Dawn Labs, Whisperwave, Markov, and Flashmates.

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Bengaluru-based startup Kutumb has launched Polo, a specialized dating application for the LGBTQ+ community, now available on the Google Play Store.

Polo offers features like selfie-based profile verification, intelligent matchmaking, instant messaging, and audio/video calling. Users can also create private photo albums and apply filters based on age and location.

Polo’s release aligns with Kutumb’s strategy of expanding its consumer internet offerings beyond its primary social networking platform. In addition to Polo, Kutumb manages various consumer apps spanning astrology, lifestyle, social networking, and utilities.

In June 2021, Kutumb secured $26 million in Series A funding led by Tiger Global, a significant milestone for the company. Financially, Kutumb reported a substantial revenue surge in FY25, reaching Rs 128.6 crore in operations revenue and a net profit of Rs 12 crore.

Sources indicate that Polo is currently generating approximately Rs 5 crore in monthly revenue. Polo’s entry into India’s LGBTQ+ dating market introduces competition alongside existing platforms like Grindr and ROMEO. The LGBTQ+ dating segment, though smaller than mainstream apps, has seen growth in urban areas, highlighting the importance of user safety, privacy, profile verification, and moderation in fostering trust and retention.

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HomeRun, a platform specializing in construction and interior materials, has successfully raised ₹60 crore in its Series A funding round. The investment was led by Sorin Investments, contributing ₹40 crore. Other key investors included Titan Capital Winners Fund, Sparrow Capital, Consumer Collective by Atrium, and Helios Holdings.

This funding round follows a previous seed funding round where HomeRun secured ₹9 crore with co-leads Titan Capital and Sparrow Capital. The newly acquired capital will be used to diversify product offerings, enhance sourcing and supply-chain capabilities, expand dark-store infrastructure, improve fulfillment technology, and facilitate entry into new markets.

Established in 2024 by Pukhraj Grewal, HomeRun functions as a rapid commerce platform specializing in construction and home-improvement materials. It provides swift deliveries of various products like cement, plywood, electricals, plumbing supplies, hardware, adhesives, and finishing materials within 60–90 minutes via a hyperlocal dark-store network.

HomeRun caters to both homeowners and contractors, aiming to address supply chain disruptions, pricing uncertainties, and procurement delays. Its key competitors include traditional retailers, IBO, and Material Depot.

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Kutumb, the parent company of social media app Crafto, reported a remarkable 173% year-on-year increase in revenue, reaching Rs 128.6 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2025. The Bengaluru-based startup, founded in 2020, operates a diverse range of apps spanning social, astrology, lifestyle, and utility niches.

The key driver behind Kutumb’s financial success was the substantial increase in subscription revenue from Crafto, a multilingual community social platform. Crafto’s unique feature allowing users to create and share personalized content in regional languages across social platforms like WhatsApp played a pivotal role in driving its revenue growth.

In addition to subscription income, Kutumb also diversified its revenue streams by earning Rs 18 crore from non-operating sources, contributing to a total income of Rs 146.7 crore in FY25. Despite facing significant expenses in advertising and promotional activities, the company managed to post a net profit of Rs 12 crore, a notable turnaround from the previous fiscal year.

This financial milestone not only propelled Kutumb into the prestigious Indicorn club, defined as profitable Indian startups with annual revenues exceeding Rs 100 crore, but also highlighted the company’s ability to effectively monetize its social media platforms and engage a growing user base.

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Intrinsic Foundries, a startup focused on carbon-to-value biomanufacturing, has secured $1.4 million (Rs 12 crore) in a Seed funding round led by Transition VC. The funding will be used for industrial pilots, research expansion, IP filings, team scaling, manufacturing enhancement, and setting up a US entity to support global market expansion.

Founded in 2023 by Shreyansh Jain, Sanjay Jain, and Umang Jain, Intrinsic Foundries aims to convert industrial emissions into premium biochemicals through proprietary microbial biorefinery systems and advanced automation. The company’s goal is to drive scalable decarbonization efforts while providing sustainable ingredients for various industries, including food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agriculture.

Utilizing biological systems, the Hazaribagh-based startup transforms captured carbon into high-value biochemicals. Intrinsic Foundries’ carbon biorefinery platform, featuring proprietary photobioreactor cultivation systems and Factory 4.0 automation, has demonstrated successful proof of concept at a thermal power plant, ensuring operational reliability and extended continuous capture.

By planning to commission multiple industrial pilots and launch its first commercial plant over the next 12–24 months, Intrinsic Foundries aims to establish itself as a key player in global industrial decarbonization, highlighting the potential of emissions to drive sustainable supply chains and economic returns.

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Edtech startup Beep has successfully raised $850,000 in a pre-Series A funding round, with support from Knowhere Ventures LLC, Pacific Global Solutions Limited, and LeadAngels FLV. Angel investors Vipul Prakash and Sandeep Johri also participated in the funding.

This investment brings Beep’s total funding to $1.5 million. The capital infusion will enable the expansion of its user base to 5 million, the addition of 150 more colleges within the next nine months, and the enhancement of industry-aligned programs.

Established in 2021 by Saurabh Mangrulkar, Rakhi Pal, and Yogesh Nogia, Beep, based in Pune, focuses on developing an AI-powered career platform for students and early-career professionals, particularly in tier II and tier III cities. The platform currently offers 28 live programs covering design, certification, and internship tracks.

Beep’s services include career guidance, mentorship, structured learning programs, and AI-infused hiring tools. Its portfolio comprises a career app for mentorship and job access, upskilling programs with placement support, UniBeep for institutional placement management, and BeepHire.ai for fresher recruitment.

The startup has facilitated over 30,000 placements, internships, and gig opportunities to date, with a user base exceeding 6.5 million. Additionally, it has partnered with 1,500 colleges and collaborated with 7,800 hiring companies.

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Udtara Ventures, a Delhi-based venture capital firm, has launched the Rs 250 crore Udtara Growth Fund to support growth-stage companies pioneering innovative technologies in the defence, aerospace, and dual-use industries. The fund aims to back 8 to 10 companies with a focus on a combination of equity and debt financing to enable efficient scaling.

As a long-term partner, Udtara Ventures plans to leverage its expertise in manufacturing readiness, supply chain development, and global market access to support portfolio companies from the prototyping stage to global expansion.

Founded in 2019, Udtara Ventures is known for its investments in high-growth, technology-driven Indian startups. The fund’s mission is to cultivate enduring, mission-critical firms and create sustained value for founders and investors by promoting technology innovation originating from India.

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