Tag: Inc42 Media

VC firm Peak XV has recently announced the launch of three new funds – India Seed, India Venture, and APAC Funds – marking its first independent funds since separating from Sequoia Capital in 2023.

The firm has secured commitments totaling $1.3 billion for these funds, as stated in an announcement on X and LinkedIn. Peak XV did not disclose the identities of its limited partners, but noted that a significant portion of the investors are prominent non-profit endowments and foundations.

While specific details about the intended investments and cheque sizes remain undisclosed, Peak XV has highlighted fintech and AI as its primary focus areas for the new funds. The firm acknowledged the transformative impact of AI technologies in India and the APAC region, and expressed enthusiasm about the burgeoning opportunities within the fintech sector, particularly in the consumer space.

This strategic funding initiative follows the departure of three key partners from Peak XV, coinciding with a broader trend of leadership transitions within the firm.

Source: Inc42 Media

AI startup Myelin Foundry has secured ₹48 Cr (approximately $5.3 Mn) in funding from ASM Technologies, a listed digital services provider. This investment will see ASM Technologies acquire a 20% stake in Myelin Foundry, with the agreement set to be finalized within 12 months.

Founded in 2019 by Dr. Gopichand Katragadda and Ganesh Suryanarayanan, Myelin Foundry specializes in providing edge-based AI solutions for the media, entertainment, and automotive sectors. Their solutions focus on delivering real-time analytics and insights using various data types such as audio, video, and sensor data.

Myelin Foundry’s core products include XAIRA, an AI assistant for conversations; P.I.E., an AI suite for in-car protection, information, and entertainment; INSPECT AI, a system for detecting surface defects; Upscaler AI for enhancing video quality; and LIP-SYNC AI for syncing lip movements with audio in dubbed content.

ASM Technologies highlighted that this partnership will involve integrating Myelin’s edge-first AI stack, known for predictive intelligence and multimodal analytics, directly into ASM’s engineering design-led manufacturing portfolio. This move is expected to enhance ASM’s capabilities in leveraging AI for their operations.

Source: Inc42 Media

Home interior and innovation company Livspace recently announced a significant workforce reduction, letting go of 1,000 employees, which represents 12% of its workforce. This move comes as Livspace integrates advanced AI agents and automation into its core functions such as sales, operations, design, and marketing. The decision was not solely a cost-cutting measure but a strategic shift to reallocate resources towards investing heavily in AI and technology to enhance customer outcomes with greater precision.

The layoffs were executed over a six-month period as Livspace tested and implemented AI agents across various departments. This gradual approach ensured that manual roles were phased out only once the automated systems were fully capable of upholding the startup’s service standards.

Simultaneous to the layoffs, Livspace witnessed the resignation of its cofounder and India CEO, Saurabh Jain. Jain, who played a key role in developing Livspace’s AI capabilities, decided to step down to pursue personal interests, as mentioned in his LinkedIn post.

Livspace, founded in 2014, operates as an omnichannel home interiors and renovation platform, connecting homeowners with professional interior designers, contractors, and vendors for home design projects. The company has secured over $450 million in funding from notable investors like KKR, IKEA’s parent Ingka Group Investments, TPG Growth, and Goldman Sachs.

Source: Inc42 Media

US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst has announced plans to invest $5 billion (approximately ₹45,483 Cr) in Indian startups over the next five years. The announcement was made during the ‘India AI Impact Summit 2026’, showcasing General Catalyst’s confidence in India’s potential to nurture globally competitive tech companies across sectors such as AI, healthcare, defense tech, fintech, and consumer technology.

This substantial investment will target platform-defining startups, supporting them from seed to growth stages. General Catalyst, with assets exceeding $25 billion, has already backed several Indian startups, including Spinny, FarMart, STAN, and Orange Health. The firm’s merger with Delhi NCR-based Venture Highway in 2024 paved the way for this strategic move, enabling General Catalyst to expand its presence in India.

This commitment aligns with the broader trend of increased funding flowing into the Indian startup ecosystem. Qualcomm recently announced a $150 million investment in India’s tech and AI startup landscape through Qualcomm Ventures. Additionally, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) mobilized ₹500 Cr in VC commitments for Indian AI startups, emphasizing the importance of deployable AI solutions across enterprise and public-impact sectors.

Source: Inc42 Media

Bengaluru-based startup Vimag Labs is addressing the rare earth supply chain challenges in the electric motor industry by developing innovative virtual magnet technology. The company, backed by $5 million in Series A funding led by Accel, aims to deploy its solution across electric vehicle (EV) and industrial sectors, positioning itself as a global motion technology platform.

Traditional electric motors rely on rare-earth permanent magnets, particularly neodymium-based, to achieve high efficiency and torque density. However, with more than 80% of rare-earth processing centralized in China, manufacturers worldwide face significant supply chain risks. Vimag Labs addresses this challenge by leveraging power electronics and embedded software to create programmable motors that eliminate the need for physical magnets.

This shift not only reduces dependence on rare-earth materials but also enhances the flexibility and upgradability of motor systems through software optimization. By reimagining motor design without conventional magnets, Vimag Labs is at the forefront of reshaping the industry’s approach to electric propulsion.

As the world transitions towards sustainable transportation and automation, Vimag’s virtual magnet technology offers a promising solution to mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities and drive innovation in motion technology.

Source: Inc42 Media

Activate, a venture capital fund supporting early-stage AI startups, has teamed up with NVIDIA, a global chipmaking giant, to provide founders with essential technical assistance. The collaboration aims to empower startups in transitioning from ideation to implementation, offering them access to NVIDIA’s rich pool of development resources.

Launched recently, Activate focuses on investing in AI startups at their inception stage, providing crucial support for their growth. Through this partnership, startups backed by Activate will benefit from mentorship by NVIDIA, along with access to the Nemotron family of open-source models for constructing advanced AI platforms.

Founders and developers will have the opportunity to leverage Nemotron’s resources, including open weights, training data, and pre-configured scripts for rapid deployment of AI agents. The partnership also includes structured learning tools, technical training sessions, ecosystem development support, and optimized deployment paths on NVIDIA’s GPUs.

NVIDIA will play a key role in identifying promising founders and teams, while also fostering developer engagement and community-building initiatives. This collaboration signifies a significant step towards accelerating India’s AI startup ecosystem, leveraging NVIDIA’s accelerated computing capabilities and scalable AI infrastructure.

Source: Inc42 Media

Swiggy’s decision to shut down its 15-minute food delivery app SNACC after a year of operation highlights the challenges of profitability in the quick food delivery tech sector. Despite emerging product-market fit, the economics of SNACC made scaling difficult, leading to its closure in Bengaluru and Gurugram. Employees from the vertical will be reassigned within the company, as reported by Inc42 Media.

Competitors like Blinkit with ‘Bistro’ and Zepto with ‘Zepto Cafe’ also ventured into the 15-minute food delivery space. However, challenges persist as Zepto Cafe downsized recently, and Zing ceased operations last year. Amid these closures, positive growth is seen with Swish’s potential Series B funding and Eternal’s Bistro expanding to 45 kitchens in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru.

In Q3 FY26 earnings, Eternal highlighted early signs of product-market fit and profitability for Bistro, indicating resilience within the quick food delivery market. Swiggy’s move to end SNACC aligns with previous closures of Pyng, Minis, and Genie services. The evolving landscape of quick food delivery tech reflects the industry’s ongoing quest for sustainable business models and operational efficiency.

Source: Inc42 Media

Klassroom, an edtech startup, is making significant strides in the education technology sector. Following PhysicsWallah’s lead, Klassroom, supported by LetsVenture, has submitted its DRHP for a BSE SME IPO, aiming to become the second listed edtech startup in India.

The Mumbai-based company plans to leverage the IPO proceeds to enhance its AI/ML technology stack, content development, and marketing efforts. The offering includes a fresh issue of up to 19.89 Lakh equity shares and an offer-for-sale of up to 4.66 Lakh equity shares.

Founded in 2016, Klassroom stands out with its hybrid learning ecosystem comprising offline partner centers and an AI-powered education OTT app offering a diverse range of courses for classes 8 to 12. With a user base exceeding 4 Lakh registered users, 1 Lakh subscribers, and 1 Lakh app downloads, Klassroom has established a strong national presence.

The startup’s multi-channel business model integrates various operations, with its B2C revenue stream primarily driven by earnings from OTT platform subscriptions. The founders, alongside angel investors, aim to offload shares through the IPO, further fueling Klassroom’s growth trajectory.

Source: Inc42 Media

AI startup Portkey has announced a $15 million Series A funding round, with Elevation Capital leading the investment. Founded in 2023, Portkey specializes in LLMOps technology, offering enterprises a platform to efficiently manage model usage, enforce policies, and monitor spending in real time.

The funding will be used to expand Portkey’s product suite and enhance its go-to-market strategies. The startup’s LLMOps platform acts as a unified API gateway for over 1,600 AI models, enabling seamless request routing, automatic fallbacks, load balancing, and downtime prevention.

Portkey’s services include observability, guardrails, and cost management features, catering to the needs of enterprise clients. The company claims to process over 500 billion LLM tokens daily, handle $500,000 in AI spending per day across 24,000 enterprises, and manage $180 million in annualized LLM spending, positioning it as a key player in the AI management space.

This funding round follows Portkey’s previous seed funding of $3 million in 2023, showcasing steady investor confidence in the startup’s capabilities and potential for growth. The current investment surge in Indian AI startups, with over $1.8 billion raised between 2020 and 2025, signals a positive trend for the tech industry.

Source: Inc42 Media