In his second entrepreneurial attempt, edtech startup Lido’s founder Sahil Sheth is building an AI-driven platform to automate healthcare operations. 

The startup which is in stealth mode for now is aimed at providing ease to healthcare professionals to navigate systems, as per Sheth’s LinkedIn profile. 

“Currently, he is building an AI startup aimed at revolutionising healthcare by making it dramatically easier for doctors and patients to navigate the system. This venture promises to deliver transformative efficiency while achieving substantial cost savings,” the LinkedIn bio read. 

Sheth has been working on his new venture since May 2023 and now looking to actively hire workforce for the healthtech startup.

Mint has reported the development first.

Mumbai-based Lido was founded by Sheth in 2019 to offer small-group online tutoring to the K-12 segment in subjects including Maths, Science, Coding, and English.

In 2022, it abruptly laid off the employees over a Zoom call which led to a backlash by its employees taking the issue to social media. Its ex employees pointed out that the startup remained unresponsive to their calls, text messages and emails.

(The story will be updated soon)

The post Lido Founder Sahil Sheth Building AI-Powered Healthtech Platform appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani believes that building enterprise AI at scale is challenging and takes time to mature, but the most difficult task is implementing AI in the public sector.

Speaking at the Carnegie Global Technology Summit 2025 yesterday, Nilekani said that adopting AI is relatively easier in the consumer space, but at an enterprise level, companies are putting their brand behind an AI-powered offering and even minor errors can affect their image.

He further noted that one of the reasons enterprise AI is progressing slowly is the absence of guardrails to prevent machine errors in operations.

“If the enterprise provides AI at scale and that AI even has 2% error in the way it answers, then that affects the brand itself. That’s one of the reasons why it’s taking so long, because we don’t have the guardrails to ensure that we have absolutely no machine error in these things,” Nilekani said. 

He added that as the expectations from AI are huge, people don’t want even the slightest mistake. 

While speaking about implementing AI in the public sector, he said that the public sector has structural consents, it has ministries, departments, everybody is territorial and data is not always shared. 

“If data is the lifeblood of AI, we have to find a way to bring all of it together, irrespective of which part of the government it comes from,” he added. 

He further underscored that the public sector requires clear commitments and no scope for blowbacks. 

Nilekani in his address also stated that the hype levels for AI are unprecedented, but in reality there are challenges in building AI at scale. It is pertinent to note that building AI at scale is crucial to make it available for the mass. 

Besides, he said that India has also witnessed a balance move from global tech companies to homegrown tech startups backed by venture capital firms. He hailed startups like Meesho, PhonePe, PhysicsWallah, Zepto, Rapido and Urban Company for making strides in their respective sectors. 

A month ago, Nilekani said that India will be home to more than 10 Lakh startups by 2035. 

He added that while the Indian economy grows at 8%, the number of startups in the country would grow by a 20% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) and reach the 10 Lakh mark in the next decade. 

He further said that initial public offerings (IPOs) would also fuel the rise of the Indian startup ecosystem. 

The enterprise software landscape is being transformed by adoption of AI and the rise of new use cases driven by changing consumer behavior. As a result, a slew of startups integrating generative AI and new-age tech advancements in their offerings have gained traction from investors.

Earlier this year, enterprise AI startup Atomicwork raised $25 Mn in a Series A funding round co-led by Khosla Ventures and its existing investor Z47 Partners.

After that, another such startups Singulr AI bagged $10 Mn in a seed funding round co-led by Nexus Venture Partners and Dell Technologies Capital. 

It is pertinent to note that Generative AI (GenAI) in India is on track for an exponential growth with projections estimating a market value of over $17 Bn by 2030.

The GenAI startups have collectively raised more than $1.2 Bn in total funding since 2020, as per Inc42’s report.

The post Building Enterprise AI Is Challenging, Takes Time To Mature: Nandan Nilekani appeared first on Inc42 Media.

EV major Ola Electric has launched its first Roadster X motorcycle from its Futurefactory in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri, the model which the company had accounted in its February sales data.

The company aims to deliver these motorcycles across India by the end of this month, with availability expected in April, it said in a statement.

The pricing for the Roadster X series starts at INR 84,999, INR 94,999 and INR 1,04,999 for the X 2.5kWh, 3.5kWh and 4.5 kWh, respectively. 

The series extends to Roadster X+ 4.5kWh and Roadster X+ 9.1kWh models priced at INR 1,14,999 and INR 1,84,999, respectively.

“The Roadster X series represents our commitment to taking the EV revolution to the next level. Today’s roll-out celebrates not just a new product, but a new era for us and the industry, as it represents the next phase of revolution in electric mobility,” said Ola Electric’s head Bhavish Aggarwal. 

Ola has been under fire after a recent Bloomberg report suggested that it included bookings for yet-to-be launched vehicles in its February sales data, potentially inflating its market share.

The report further said that Ola Electric informed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in a March 21 letter that it had counted bookings for 10,866 Gen3 escooters and 1,395 Roadster X motorcycles in its February sales. 

Following this, the ministry sought clarifications from Ola on its monthly sales. It also asked the company to revise its February 2025 sales data and include only those vehicles that were invoiced that month.

Countering the controversy around sales data, the EV maker said that the February 2025 sales announcements were based on paid and confirmed orders, not “preliminary bookings”. 

Further, it said that 90% of the orders were paid in full at the time of placement during February. The company added that these orders included its new two-wheelers Gen 3 and Roadster X, which went live for purchase during the same month.

Notably, Ola Electric first unveiled its electric motorcycle portfolio, ‘The Roadster Series’, during its annual event in August last year. 

In the most recent development, Ola Electric reportedly roped in consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) to overhaul its distribution network. 

EY will help Ola Electric “achieve regional compliance” as the EV manufacturer looks to push the pedal on same-day deliveries with its recently announced “HyperDelivery” offering, an NDTV report said. 

It is the second time that the listed company has hired the consulting firm in the past six months. In October 2024, Ola Electric roped in EY India to fix its service-related issues.

Further, Ola Electric was under Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) lens over allegations of delays in providing service and deliveries, defective vehicle sales, and other customer complaints.

In October last year, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) asked ARAI to verify if Ola Electric is honouring warranties and maintaining the requisite service centres.

In December last year, Ola Electric expanded its distribution network to 4,000 stores as part of its effort to fuel EV access and adoption across India.

On the financial front, Ola Electric’s consolidated net loss widened 50% to INR 564 Cr in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25 (Q3 FY25) from INR 376 Cr in the year-ago quarter, hurt by lower revenue. 

Its operating revenue declined 19% to INR 1,045 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 1,296 Cr in Q3 FY24. Sequentially, it fell 14% from INR 1,214 Cr.

Shares of Ola Electric closed the trading session today 0.14% up at INR 50.19 on the BSE.

The post Ola Electric Rolls Out Roadster X Bike From Tamil Nadu Plant appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Health and wellness startup Mosaic Wellness, which runs brands like Man Matters and Be Bodywise, has raised over $20 Mn (around INR 175 Cr) from Think Investments. 

According to the MCA filing assessed by Inc42, the company’s board has passed a special resolution to allot 16,279 Series C Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) of INR 2 face value at a premium of INR 1.07 Lakh per share for INR 1,74,99,92,500. 

“The issue is in the interest of the company’s growth and future plans,” the filing said.

The startup’s pre-money valuation was $380 Mn and after the allotment it is valued at $400 Mn.

The development was first reported by Entrackr. 

Founded by Revant Bhate and Dhyanesh Shah in 2020, Mosaic Wellness runs digital health platforms Man Matters, Be Bodywise and Little Joys, offering products and services for men, women and children, respectively. 

The platforms offer telemedicine consultation services, supplements, and other wellness products. 

Mosaic Wellness earns most of its revenue through the sale of nutritional supplements, medicines, and other wellness products. 

In the financial year 2024, the startup’s consolidated operating revenue zoomed 60% to cross the INR 300 Cr mark. It posted operating revenue of INR 333.32 Cr in FY24 as against INR 206.20 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

It has also trimmed its loss by 38% to INR 38.78 Cr in FY24 from INR 62.19 Cr in the year ago period. 

The Mumbai-based startup claims to help over 2.5 Mn men with diagnoses and treatments, more than 4 Mn women by giving personalised solutions every year, and over 2 Mn parents through its platform for kids’ health.

The startup has raised a total funding of $35.25 Mn to date and counts the likes of Peak XV Partners, Elevation Capital and Matrix Partners India among its investors. 

It last raised $24 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Peak XV (then Sequoia Capital India) in 2021. 

The development comes at a time when India’s healthtech startups are witnessing challenges to scale up amid lack of funding. These startups raised a mere $0.7 Bn funding last year across 78 deals in 2024. 

Besides, a number of healthtech startups like Kenko Health, DayTwo, Nintee, and ConnectedH, shut operations in recent times, while others like Breathe Well-being laid off employees.

Experts also opine that the lack of funding is leading to a slowdown in the healthtech sector. “India is losing early stage healthtech startups to overseas players due to a lack of domestic capital,” said Indian Angel Network’s (IAN’s) cofounder Padmaja Ruparel in the second edition of Startup Mahakumbh held last week. 

In the first quarter of the financial year 2025, the funding stood at $301 Mn largely on the back of healthtech unicorn Innovaccer’s $275 Mn fundraise.

Last month, healthtech startup Dozee, backed by Prime Venture Partners, 3one4 Capital, among others raised INR 71.5 Cr (about $8.3 Mn) in a mix of equity and debt, sources told Inc42.

India’s healthtech sector is home to unicorns like Pharmeasy, Cure.Fit, Innovaccer and Tata 1mg. Overall, more than 11,000 healthtech startups have emerged in the country since 2014.

The post Mosaic Wellness Nets $20 Mn From Think Investments appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Audio products and wearable startup Noise has raised $20 Mn in fresh funding from its existing investor and global consumer electronics and audio giant Bose.

Noise cofounder Amit Khatri took to LinkedIn to make the announcement. “Thrilled to share that Bose has reinvested $20 Mn in Noise,” Khatri said in the post. 

As per company’s filing with MCA, Noise’s board passed a resolution to issue 4974 compulsorily convertible debentures (CCDs) with a face value of INR 10 at a premium of 3,45,833 each to raise INR 172 Cr (172,01,73,342). 

Bose first invested in Noise in December 2023 in its Series A round. The $10 Mn funding round valued the startup at about $426 Mn.

The latest funding values the company slightly up from the last round at $473.8 Mn. 

“Last year, we welcomed Bose Corporation as a strategic investor and their belief in our vision helped us push the boundaries in wearables and audio innovation… This isn’t just about funding—it’s about building value, scale, and experiences that truly resonate with the next generation of consumers” added Khatri. 

Founded by Amit and Gaurav Khatri in 2014, Noise initially started by selling smartphone cases and accessories. It later pivoted to selling smart wearables and wireless headphones. The startup sells its products via its website, ecommerce marketplaces Amazon and Flipkart, quick commerce platforms like Zepto, and retail stores. 

Last month, the Delhi NCR-based startup announced its entry into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region as part of its international expansion plans. For this, Noise has partnered with Dubai-based distribution company Lime Concepts to enter the GCC region under the first phase of its global expansion plan. 

Noise acquired AI startup SocialBoat in May last year to enhance AI-powered fitness and health features for its wearable devices.

On the financial front, Noise slipped into the red in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). It posted a net loss of almost INR 20 Cr in FY24 as against a net profit of INR 88 Lakh in the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, its revenue from operations was almost flat at INR 1,430.9 Cr as against INR 1,426.5 Cr in FY23. 

The latest development comes at a time when Noise’s rival boAt is gearing up for its IPO. The Aman Gupta-led startup recently filed the draft papers for its IPO via the confidential filing route. This is its second attempt at going public after it aborted IPO plans in 2022. 

boAt is said to be eyeing INR 500 Cr IPO at a valuation of over $1.5 Bn. It has roped in ICICI Securities, Goldman Sachs, JM Financial and Nomura as the lead bankers for its public issue.

It is pertinent to note that India’s wearable device market declined 11.3% year-on-year in 2024, as per International Data Corporation (IDC). Smartwatch shipments fell sharply by 34.4%, while earwear showed modest growth of 3.8%.

The post Noise Bags $20 Mn Funding From Existing Investor Bose appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Apple’s satellite communication (satcom) partner Globalstar has reportedly filed its application with the Centre’s nodal agency Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to enter the country.

Globalstar is the newest player eyeing India’s space communication market after Elon Musk’s Starlink, EutelSat OneWeb, Amazon Kuiper and Reliance Jio.

An ET report, citing people privy to the development, said that the company is also looking to apply for a GMPCS (global mobile personal communications by satellite services) licence shortly with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

GMPCS licence is a permit given by a government, enabling a company to operate a satellite communication network providing mobile voice, data, and messaging services to users. 

Further, Globalstar has secured test spectrum from DoT for demonstrating disaster management use cases, though the company is yet to apply for a commercial licence such as GMPCS or VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal), sources told ET.

Inc42 has reached out to Globalstar for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response. 

In August last year it was reported that Globalstar is planning to apply for a licence to offer satcom services in India.

“Globalstar is keen on establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in India for which we propose to apply for a GMPCS authorisation… We expect that no new or onerous requirements will be imposed upon (the) GMPCS authorised entity, as a result of introducing a new satellite earth station gateway license…,” the company said in a submission with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) last year. 

The company also called India the single largest market that Globalstar has been previously unable to enter. However, the company publicly underscored its plans to enter India for the first time in August 2024. 

India will likely launch satellite internet services soon as the TRAI is reportedly in the final leg to release a recommendations framework for the service. The satellite internet service aims to provide high-speed internet access to remote areas and maritime regions, where traditional infrastructure is challenging to deploy.

It was reported last month that the TRAI is giving the finishing touches to a set of recommendations on the pricing and use of satellite communications.  

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm, Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel and Elon Musk’s Starlink are awaiting the framework to debut their satellite services. Notably, Starlink is yet to get the GMPCS licence. 

The post Apple Partner Globalstar Files For India Satcom Entry: Report appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran has reportedly urged the Tata group companies to embrace artificial intelligence and technology to boost business growth amid a challenging geopolitical landscape.

An ET report, citing Chandrasekaran, said that Tata Electronics turned out to be one of the top ten businesses in the Tata Group in terms of revenue.

Additionally, new ventures of the group are also witnessing strong momentum in growth and profitability, it added. 

Chandrasekharan also highlighted the importance of domestic growth and cautioned against being distracted or making hasty decisions amid a volatile geo-political landscape in the aftermath of the US announcing reciprocal tariffs. 

Tata Electronics’ Leading India’s Semicon Manufacturing

Tata is at the forefront of India’s semiconductor manufacturing space. The Union Cabinet last year approved the country’s first semiconductor fab to be set up by the Tata Group in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC). 

Tata Electronics’ semiconductor fabrication plant will come up in Gujarat’s Dholera with a capacity of 50,000 wafers per month. 

In September last year, the company signed a definitive agreement with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) to establish its semiconductor Fab unit. 

As part of the agreement, PSMC will provide design and construction support to build the AI-enabled greenfield plant in Gujarat. It will also licence a broad portfolio of technologies and offer engineering support to Tata Electronics’ unit in Gujarat.

The upcoming semiconductor fab will manufacture chips for applications such as power management IC, display drivers, microcontrollers (MCU) and high-performance computing logic.

Last month, Tata Electronics signed a MoU with Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturers PSMC and Himax Technologies to develop display semiconductors with a focus to power televisions, smartphones and computer monitors and AI sensing chips.

Besides, Tata Projects is also set to complete the construction work of US chipmaker Micron Technology’s semiconductor assembly and test facility in Sanand near Ahmedabad by the year end.

As per multiple reports, this Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) facility will be one of the largest back-end semiconductor plants in the world. 

India’s Push For AI-Led Transformation 

In March last year, the Union Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission with an allocation of INR 10,372 Cr in the next five years, aiming to foster innovation in the homegrown AI ecosystem and implementing the Mission’s vision via a public-private partnership (PPP) model. 

Under the IndiaAI Mission, the Centre has also launched several other key initiatives, including the IndiaAI Compute Portal, which will offer affordable AI compute, network, storage and cloud services. Besides, a unified datasets platform AIKosha was also rolled out earlier this month.

Last week, Electronics and information technology ministry (MeitY) additional secretary Abhishek Singh said that the Centre is planning to finalise the “first set” of proposals for building indigenous foundational AI models in the next two weeks. 

The country’s conducive environment for advanced tech and AI led to a rise of more than 200 GenAI startups that have raised more than $1.2 Bn since 2020. Further, Inc42 estimates the homegrown GenAI market to cross the $17 Bn mark by 2030.

The post Tata Sons Chief Urges Group Companies To Adopt AI For Business Growth appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech startup Juspay has secured $60 Mn (around INR 514 Cr) in a Series D funding round led by Kedaara Capital, along with participation from existing investors SoftBank and Accel.

The round was a mix of primary and secondary investments.

The startup plans to deploy the fresh capital to fuel its AI capabilities and drive innovations to boost workforce productivity and merchant experience.

“Today, as we expand our global footprint and push the boundaries of AI, we remain committed to building truly open source and interoperable payment systems that embrace the growing diversity in the payments landscape,” said Sheetal Lalwani, cofounder and chief operating officer (COO) of Juspay. 

Founded by Lalwani, Vimal Kumar and Ramanathan RV and Nishant Sameer, Juspay offers payment solutions to companies across sectors such as financial services, ecommerce, BFSI, quick commerce and travel among others.

In January, Moneycontrol reported that Juspay was eyeing a fresh funding of $150 Mn from Kedaara Capital, WestBridge and SoftBank at a valuation of $1 Bn.

Inc42 has reached out to Juspay for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

The startup last raised $60 Mn in its Series C funding round in 2021 from SoftBank, Vision Fund and others. 

On the financial front, Juspay trimmed its net loss by 7.7% to INR 97.54 Cr in the financial year ending March 2024 (FY24) from INR 105.75 Cr in the previous fiscal. Operating revenue zoomed 49% to INR 319.32 Cr in the period under review from INR 213.39 Cr in FY23. 

Why Are Fintechs Snapping Ties With Juspay?

It has been a few months since payment gateways have started snapping ties with Juspay after the payment orchestrator received its payment aggregator licence from the Reserve Bank of India last year.

Notably, payment orchestrators connect merchants with payment gateways. They provide a unified layer for merchants to connect them with the PGs for smooth payment processing.

After securing the licence from the RBI, Juspay launched its payment aggregator service, HyperPG, leaving many fintechs apprehensive that Juspay could poach their customers. 

Now in the most recent development, Paytm also reportedly discontinued all integrations with Juspay from April 1 after PhonePe, Razorpay and Cashfree. 

Fintech platforms started maintaining distance from Juspay as many reportedly alleged that Juspay’s routing engine was not transparent enough. 

However, Lalwani told Inc42 that the company’s routing engine, which is a core component of the orchestration platform, has two major workflows – rule-based ordering and dynamic gateway ordering. It said over 95% of merchants use rule-based ordering, giving them “full control” over routing traffic by defining rules via Juspay’s routing software based on their business priorities

The post Juspay Secures $60 Mn To Boost Payments Infra With AI appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of Ola Electric nosedived over 13% to touch a fresh all-time low of INR 45.55 during the intraday trading session on the BSE today. 

With a slump in its share price, the company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 21,613 Cr with more than 2.37 Cr shares traded hands by 12:35 PM. 

At the time of writing, the stock recouped almost half of its losses and was trading 6.5% lower from its previous close (April 4) of INR 52.44 on the BSE. 

The decline in EV mobility company’s share price came amid broader market decline and global market crash after US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on a host of countries. 

Ola Electric made a stock market debut with a flat listing in August last year. The company’s shares were listed at INR 75.99 apiece on the BSE as against its IPO issue price of INR 76. 

Since its listing the stock price has dropped almost 45% as of its last close. In the short term, it ended five out of the last seven sessions in the red. 

On the financial front, the Bhavish Aggarwal-led EV company’s consolidated net loss widened by 50% to INR 564 Cr in third quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q3 FY25) from INR 376 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Its operating revenue declined 19% to INR 1,045 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 1,296 Cr in Q3 FY24.

Now, the company is looking to charge its battery game as Ola Electric’s board last week approved an infusion of INR 199 Cr in its battery manufacturing subsidiary Ola Cell Technologies (OCT). 

It is also piloting a new service dubbed ‘Hyper Delivery’ that will see the company offer same day registration and delivery of its escooters. It is initially piloting the service in Bengaluru and will scale it up across India during this quarter in a phased manner, it said in a statement.

As per a Bloomberg report today, Ola has allegedly counted bookings of electric scooters and motorcycles that have not even been rolled out yet in its February sales to inflate its market share.

In a letter to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways dated March 21, Ola Electric said that its February sales figures included customer bookings for 10,866 Gen3 escooters and 1,395 Roadster X motorcycles, the report said.

However, Ola has not even rolled out Roadster motorcycles yet, while it kicked off deliveries of Gen3 escooters last month. 

The post Ola Electric Hits Fresh All-Time Low Amid Broader Market Slump appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Rural fintech startup Jai Kisan has raised a funding of INR 26.47 Cr (around $3 Mn) from existing investors Mirae Asset, Unitary Fund and Blume Ventures. 

As per the startup’s filing with the MCA, it has allotted a total of 980 compulsory convertible cumulative preference shares (CCPS) Series B6 to the aforementioned investors at a premium of INR 2,70,033. 

Its shareholders passed a resolution on April 1 to allot CCPS worth INR 12.48 Cr to Mirae Asset, INR 11.90 Cr to Unitary Fund and INR 1.99 Cr to Blume Ventures.

Entrackr reported the development first. 

Founded in 2020 by Arjun Ahluwalia and Adriel Maniego, Jai Kisan is a rural India-focussed neo bank that offers credit solutions in online and offline rural commerce environments.

The fintech startup obtained a non-banking finance company (NBFC) licence in August last year after it bought a majority stake in supply chain financing company Kushal Finnovation Capital.

Back then, the startup said, “With the acquisition of a NBFC as its subsidiary, we will now be able to design and distribute more customised and diverse credit products to its farmer and business customers.” 

“Going forward, the firm will not only originate loans but also co-lend in partnership with leading financial institutions including public sector banks in India,” it had added. 

Jai Kisan’s Fintech Play 

The startup claims to help farmers, retailers, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in affordable credit access. It has an application named Jai Kisan Farmer with more than 10K downloads where it offers loans and repayment options. 

In April 2020, Jai Kisan launched a digital lender for rural businesses called Bharat Khata which claims to have clocked more than 100K rural businesses and served over 5 Mn individual customers to date. 

So far, the startup claims to have catered to 8 Lakh farmers, worked with 1 Lakh rural businesses, serving across 11 states. 

In 2022, Jai Kisan raised INR 390 Cr ($50 Mn) as a part of its ongoing Series B funding round in a mix of equity and debt. 

The startup also counts Arkam Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures and GMO Venture Partners among its investors. 

Fintech Sector Reshaping India’s Growth Strategy 

In the first quarter of the current fiscal year (Q1 FY25), fintech emerged as the most funded sector by bagging $739 Mn, as per Inc42’s report. 

However, in terms of deal count, the fintech sector was behind ecommerce and enterprise tech, recording 33 deals. 

The sectoral funding was led by Bengaluru-based fintech startup Zolve netting $251 Mn, ToneTag securing $78 Mn and Insurance Dekho bagging $70 Mn in Q1 FY25.

Yesterday, travel fintech startup Scapia secured $40 Mn in a Series B funding round led by Peak XV Partners, along with participation from existing investors Elevation Capital, Z47 and Binny Bansal’s 3STATE Capital.

The post Rural Fintech Startup Jai Kisan Nets INR 26.5 Cr From Existing Investors appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in India should not raise concerns about job losses as workforce training is preparing people for emerging roles, said Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) secretary S Krishnan. 

Speaking at the second edition of Startup Mahakumbh, Krishnan said that AI’s potential in different domains may boost productivity across industries such as manufacturing and churn out new job opportunities.

“We, at least in India, don’t have to fear job losses as much—which is typically a western fear—because I don’t think we have as many white-collar jobs to lose,” the MeitY secretary was quoted as saying in an ET report. 

He also highlighted that India can leverage training of youth in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and see new jobs emerge in the domain.  

Krishnan also spoke about the importance of developing foundation models in India, and that they should focus on issues relevant to the country and languages spoken here.

“It could also focus on specific sectors and areas that are important to the country,” he said.

The concerns regarding AI-driven job loss peaked after UN Trade and Development’s report noted that up to 40% of global jobs can be impacted by AI. The UNCTAD Technology and Innovation report mentioned that the global AI market is projected to reach $4.8 Tn which is roughly the size of Germany’s economy.

However, the rapid advancements in the Indian AI ecosystem could be a “Y2K” moment for the country’s IT industry, the MeitY secretary said in February Y2K refers to the year 2000 as the world rang in the new millennia, IT companies raced ahead of time to address problems that could arise from computers. 

However, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal during his address at the Startup Mahakumbh yesterday presented a slide comparing the tech innovations in India with those in China. 

The slide compared blooming Indian startup sectors like foodtech, D2C and quick commerce with China’s dominance in deeptech sectors like EVs, semiconductors, AI and robotics. 

The minister pointed out that while China is doing big innovations in deeptech sectors, Indian startups seem to be stuck on convenience-focussed businesses. 

The post India Should Not Worry About Job Losses Due To AI : MeitY Secretary appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Digital lending startup Kissht is reportedly gearing up for an initial public offering of $225 Mn (around INR 1,926 Cr).

A Mint report, citing sources, said that the fintech startup has picked ICICI Securities, UBS Securities, and Motilal Oswal as the investment bankers for the proposed public issue. Besides, the startup is looking to onboard one more investment banker. 

Kissht declined to comment on Inc42’s queries on the development. 

As per the report, the Mumbai-based startup is looking to file draft papers for the IPO by June this year. It is eyeing a valuation of $900 Mn to $1.1 Bn for the IPO. 

“The IPO will be a mix of primary and secondary share sales, with 75% expected to be primary capital raised to fund growth and new business lines,” a source was quoted as saying. 

The startup last raised about $80 Mn in 2022, at a valuation of about $344 Mn, from Vertex Growth and Brunei Investment Agency.

Kissht’s Fintech Offerings 

Founded in 2015 by Ranvir Singh and Krishnan Vishwanathan, Kissht is a digital lending platform which claims to offer quick and easy access to credit at “lowest interest rates”. 

It offers personal and business loans of up to INR 5 Lakh with minimal documentation digitally. Kissht also offers health-related insurance products. It claims to use big data and AI-ML algorithms to assess creditworthiness. 

The startup claims to have disbursed more than 1 Cr loans so far and served 4.5 Mn customers to date. 

Recently, it expanded its offerings by entering the loans against property segment. Speaking about the new offering, Singh told Inc42 then, “Over the last few months, we have been doing a pilot, trying to understand the risk better, understand the offering to better lay out the secured lending process.” 

“I don’t know any player who can offer loans against property in a digital manner. In India, the collateralisation requires manual intervention… We’re making it digital through and through,” he added. 

Kissht has raised a total funding of $142.54 Mn to date and counts Endiya Partners, Brunei Investment Authority, among others, as its investors. It competes with the likes of Moneyview, Lendingkart, Capital Float, FlexiLoans, and KredX. 

The Startup IPO Rush 

The IPO plans come at a time when a large number of Indian startups are looking to go public. While Indian investors seem to be positive about new-age tech IPOs, making the country one of the most favoured markets for such companies, profitability is among the key factors that investors are looking at.

On this front, Kissht seems to be in a good position. Its net profit zoomed 234% to INR 82.46 Cr in FY24 from INR 24.67 Cr in FY23. Operating revenue almost doubled to INR 412 Cr from INR 258 Cr in FY23.

With the latest development, Kissht has joined the long list of startups which are eyeing a public listing this year. While 13 new-age tech companies made their public market debut last year, more than 20 such companies, including Physics Wallah, Meesho, IndiQube, among others, are in the queue to get listed this year. 

The post Kissht Eyes $225 Mn IPO, To File Draft Papers By June: Report appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India is losing early stage healthtech startups to overseas players due to a lack of domestic capital, Indian Angel Network’s (IAN’s) cofounder Padmaja Ruparel said.

Besides, the lack of funding is also leading to a slowdown in the healthtech sector, Ruparel said at the second edition of the three-day ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ event.

She said that the country needs to retain these entrepreneurs by creating an ecosystem and providing support through public procurement policies, she added. 

She advised founders in the sector to focus on finance and business aspects, besides technology, to make their ventures viable. “Unless the entrepreneurs understand this, it’s going to be very difficult to create a viable growth stage company,” the cofounder of the angel network said. 

“There is deep science and deep technology that we see in our companies. The missing piece, specifically in this sector’s entrepreneurs, is the business and the finance side. And it’s not possible to build value for yourself unless you understand the business side,” Ruparel added. 

She also stressed upon the need for adequate infrastructure for the healthtech sector. “Infrastructure doesn’t only mean equipment and real estate, it means that we need testing capabilities, approval from bodies, and an ability to get a supply chain,” she added. 

The comments come at a time when Indian healthtech startups are facing issues in scaling up and funding challenges due to presence of established players, capital incentive nature of the business, and lack of exit opportunities.

Indian healthtech startups raised a mere $0.7 Bn funding last year across 78 deals in 2024. Besides, a number of healthtech startups like Kenko Health, DayTwo, Nintee, and ConnectedH, shut operations in recent times, while others like Breathe Well-being laid off employees.

However, the funding raised by healthtech startups stood at a respectable $301 Mn in Q1 2025, largely on the back of healthtech unicorn Innovaccer’s $275 Mn fundraise.

India’s healthtech sector is home to unicorns like Pharmeasy, Cure.Fit, Innovaccer and Tata 1mg. Overall, more than 11,000 healthtech startups have emerged in the country since 2014.

The post Lack Of Domestic Capital Hampering Early Stage Healthtech Startups: IAN’s Padmaja Ruparel appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Bengaluru-based self-publishing platform Pratilipi has bagged $20 Mn (around INR 171 Cr) in its Series E round, which was a mix of primary and secondary deals, led by Singapore-based Jungle Ventures. 

The round also saw participation from fintech startup Khatabook’s cofounder Ravish Naresh, edtech platform Leap’s cofounder Arnav Kumar, and several other angel investors. 

In a statement, the startup said that it raised $12 Mn via equity infusion at a valuation of $100 Mn, while $8 Mn was secondary funding. 

Pratilipi plans to utilise the fresh proceeds to develop new storytelling formats such as animation and vertical drama shows. A chunk of the funds will also be deployed to bolster its presence in the US. 

“Majority of the funds are primarily for two things – we have started expanding into the US market and second is that… we are expanding into newer formats… primarily in animation and vertical TV drama,” Pratilipi cofounder and CEO Ranjeet Pratap Singh told Inc42

He said that the startup currently has five business units – literature, online comics, FM, Westland books (which it acquired), and podcast.

Speaking about the US expansion, Singh said that Pratilipi will focus on both the Indian diaspora as well as the native population of the North American nation. 

In the US market, Pratilipi will compete with Wattpad, a platform that claims to have 89 Mn readers. Speaking on this, Singh said that Wattpad majorly caters to teenagers and young readers while Pratilipi is generating content for everyone, with focus on mature audience. 

Pratilipi’s IPO Run 

Amid the ongoing wave of startup public listings, Pratilipi, too, is mulling listing on the bourses “early” next year. Singh said that the startup has already held talks with bankers and could kickstart the process for an initial public offering (IPO) soon. 

“We met a few bankers about four or five months back to understand what the public market is looking for and when we should formally engage with them… We are planning to formally engage with the bankers in August for the IPO,” he added. 

The startup is expected to close FY25 with a revenue of about INR 85 Cr, Singh said. 

In FY24, the startup managed to reduce its net loss by 62% to INR 58.1 Cr from INR 152.6 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue surged over 65% to INR 57.8 Cr during the year from INR 34.9 Cr in FY23. 

Pratilipi’s Content Universe

Founded in 2015 by Singh, Sankaranarayanan Devarajan, Rahul Ranjan, and Sahradayi Modi, Pratilipi connects readers and writers in 12 languages, including Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Hindi and Marathi. 

The startup has raised a total funding of $92 Mn, including the latest round, since inception and counts the likes of Alteria Capital, Nexus Venture Partners and TLabs among its backers.

In January this year, it raised INR 10.11 Cr (about $1.2 Mn) in a bridge funding round from Alteria Capital. 

The Bengaluru-based platform claims to host over 1.6 Mn writers and more than 12 Mn monthly active readers.

Moving beyond just books, the platform acquired podcast studio IVM Podcasts in 2020, and followed it up by launching its audio storytelling platform PratilipiFM in 2021. It also launched Pratilipi Comics in the same year. 

With a focus on content IP, the startup acquired Write Order Publications in 2021 and Westland Books in 2022. In 2023, it began licensing its stories to partners for formats it couldn’t develop directly, such as TV shows, OTT content, and films.

Pratilip also partnered with Disney Star in 2023 for a multi-series content deal, which will allow the latter to develop multiple new fiction television shows adapted from stories available on the self-publishing platform.

The post Pratilipi Bags $20 Mn Funding To Introduce Vertical Drama, Expand US Presence appeared first on Inc42 Media.

On the back of a robust uptick in its top line, retail tech startup Daalchini managed to bring down its loss to below INR 10 Cr in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 (FY24). The startup’s standalone net loss declined 32% to INR 9 Cr from INR 13.3 Cr in FY23.

The vending machine provider’s operating revenue jumped 56% to INR 18.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 11.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Including other income of INR 14.7 Lakh, the company’s total revenue rose to INR 18.5 Cr in the year under review. 

On a consolidated basis, Daalchini’s net loss reduced 34% to INR 8.58 Cr from INR 13.14 Cr. Its operating revenue surged as much as 66% to INR 37.31 Cr  from INR 22.44 Cr.

The startup, which was founded by ex-Paytm executives Prerna Kalra and Vidya Bhushan in 2017, has made a name for itself in the vending machine industry.

Daalchini’s  IoT-based smart vending machines, which are present across 2,600 stores in over 80 cities in India, cater to on-the-go consumption with a specialised supply chain designed to serve 6-meal-a-day to its customers. It rents as well as sells its vending machines to retail stores, offices, schools, hospitals, among others. 

The startup claims to work with more than 190 D2C brands and cloud kitchens, including Nestle, Parle, Mother Dairy, Haldirams and Bikanerwala. Its clients include Fortis, Apollo, AIIMS, Amazon, EY, Accenture, Tata, Reliance, Adani, among others. 

Sales of vending machines generated INR 7.27 Cr in revenue for Daalchini in FY24 as against INR 6.41 Cr in the previous year. Its services (that is, renting of machines) contributed INR 11.05 Cr to the operating revenue during the year under review as against INR 5.28 Cr in FY23.

Breaking Down Daalchini’s Expenses 

In line with the rise in its income, Daalchini’s total expenses for the fiscal rose 36% to INR 26.97 Cr in FY24 from INR 19.83 Cr in the previous year. 

Procurement Cost: The vending machine provider saw its expenses under the head jump 10% to INR 6.39 Cr from INR 5.81 Cr in FY23. 

Employee Benefit Expenses: The startup managed to trim its employee costs by 12% to INR 3.14 Cr during the year under review from INR 3.58 Cr in the previous fiscal. Employee expenses include wages, gratuity, PF, among others.

Other Expenses: The startup’s expenses under this head zoomed 56% to INR 14.53 Cr in FY24 from INR 9.29 Cr in the previous fiscal year. However, it didn’t give a breakdown of these expenses. 

Daalchini claims to be “India’s first vending machine” provider, and competes with the likes of Wendor, NutriTap Technologies, Vendekin Technologies, among others.

Daalchini has raised a total funding of more than $5.17 Mn to date from Unicorn India Ventures and Artha Venture Fund among others.

Yesterday, the startup’s competitor Wendor also announced raising INR 21 Cr from commercial refrigeration company Elanpro.

Editor’s Note: The copy’s headline has been updated to put Standalone and copy to add Daalchini’s consolidated financials for FY24. 

The post Daalchini’s Standalone Revenue Jumps 56% To INR 18.3 Cr in FY24 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Karnataka High Court has ordered a ban on bike taxi services provided by Ola, Uber, and Rapido in the state.

The HC has given a time of six weeks to the companies to halt their operations, Bar and Bench reported.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Ola, Uber, Rapido, among others, to recognise bike taxis by allowing registrations of vehicles as transport vehicles.

During the hearing, Justice B Shyam Prasad also asked the government to frame rules for bike taxi services within three months.

It is pertinent to note that bike taxi services have been under the lens of the authorities in Karnataka for some time now and have also faced protests from auto and taxi unions.

In March last year, the Karnataka government withdrew the electric bike taxi scheme citing its blatant misuse and other reasons. The government said then that the provisions of the scheme were being violated and non-transport bikes (with white number plates) were being used as bike taxis. It also flagged concerns around women safety with illegal bike taxis operations. 

Later in April last year, the Karnataka HC directed the state government to protect the operations of bike taxi services in Bengaluru. The order came in response to a clutch of petitions filed by the Bike Taxi Welfare Association over reported clashes between auto drivers and bike taxi operators in the city. 

In July, all regional transport offices (RTOs) in Bengaluru were also asked to form special investigation teams to crack down on unauthorised bike taxis, including electric bike taxis.

In December last year, Uber launched women-only bike rides in Bengaluru, as a part of its move to offer a safer and more convenient ride option for women.

Karnataka isn’t the only state where bike taxis came under the government’s scanner. The aggregators have also faced issues in Delhi and Maharashtra in the past. 

However, the Maharashtra cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to allow bike taxis to operate in the state. Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said that only electric bike taxis will be allowed to ply on the roads under the new policy which aims to promote EVs. He added the bike taxi policy will generate 20,000 to 25,000 jobs.

The post Karnataka HC Bans Bike Taxi Services Till Rules Are Framed appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With the Centre stepping up its efforts to develop public AI cloud infrastructure under the IndiaAI Mission, companies such as Reliance Jio and CtrlS, which have emerged as as the lowest price (L1) bidders in the tender for sourcing graphics processing units (GPUs), will reportedly get AI workloads by the second week of April. 

The ten tech companies that include E2E, NxtGen and Locuz other than the aforementioned companies have offered 14,517 GPUs at L1 rates against the tender for 10,000 GPUs. 

GPU is a specialised chip that renders graphics and images by performing rapid mathematical calculations that are needed in processing AI.

An ET report, citing IndiaAI Mission CEO Abhishek Singh, said that some of the L1 bidders have already integrated with the AI Compute portal launched last month. The AI Compute portal is aimed at providing researchers, startups, and government agencies access to high-powered computing resources such as advanced GPUs for AI applications.

The report also mentioned that the pre-bid meeting for the second round for GPU tender held last month got a good response and IndiaAI is expecting a lot of companies in the upcoming round. 

Singh told ET that none of the L1 bidders have offered Nvidia’s B200 GPUs which are part of Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture but it may come in the second round. 

It is pertinent to note that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched a continuous empanelment process for AI cloud service providers that allows companies to apply on an ongoing basis to supply GPUs, MoneyControl reported in February. 

“IndiaAI would renew the empanelment every quarter inviting fresh proposals from the empaneled agencies for discovering any revised rates. Empaneled agencies shall submit a revised financial proposal which can be same or lower than the existing L1 rates,” the Request for Empanelment (RFE) document said. 

Inside The INR 10,372 Cr IndiaAI Mission

In March last year, the Union Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission with an allocation of INR 10,372 Cr in the next five years, aiming to foster innovation in the homegrown AI ecosystem and implementing the Mission’s vision via a public-private partnership (PPP) model. 

It covers initiatives such as IndiaAI Compute Capacity, IndiaAI Innovation Centre (IAIC), IndiaAI Datasets Platform, IndiaAI Application Development Initiative, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Startup Financing, and Safe & Trusted AI.

IndiaAI Compute Capacity envisions building a cutting-edge, scalable AI computing infrastructure by deploying more than 10,000 GPUs through PPP model. With IndiaAI Innovation Centre (IAIC), the Centre is looking to create a leading academic institution to retain top research talent, develop and deploy indigenous large multimodal models (LMMs) and domain-specific models

While IndiaAI Datasets platform looks into accessibility, quality, and utility of public sector datasets, the IndiaAI Future Skills program focuses on expanding the accessibility of graduate and post-graduate AI programs as well establishing AI Labs to impart foundational-level courses

Government’s Focus On GPUs And AI Infra 

The Centre is looking to build affordable AI infrastructure to support startups, academics, and research agencies. “The government is actively shaping an AI ecosystem where computing power, GPUs, and research opportunities are accessible at an affordable cost,” said MeitY in a statement last year. 

Hailing IndiaAI’s vision, the ministry said that the key focus of this mission is the development of a high-end common computing facility equipped with 18,693 GPUs. The ministry underlined that this capacity is nearly nine times that of the open-source AI model DeepSeek and about two-thirds of what ChatGPT operates on. 

Under the mission, the government also eased the eligibility criteria for the procurement of GPUs under the IndiaAI mission to allow more participation of smaller companies and startups.

It was reported in January that MeitY received offers for 20,000 GPUs which was twice of what was initially proposed for empanelling companies.

After that, the Centre selected ten tech giants for the final bidding process to procure 10,000 GPUs including Jio Platforms and Tata Communications. 

Other companies bidding for the tender are CMS Computers India Pvt Ltd, Ctrls Datacenters Ltd, E2E Networks Limited, Locuz Enterprise Solutions Ltd, Orient Technologies Ltd, NxtGen Datacenter and Cloud Technologies Private Ltd, Vensysco Technologies Limited and Yotta Data Services Limited. 

Besides, the IndiaAI Mission last month received around 120 applications to build AI foundation models in the second round of bidding, which closed on March 15.

The post Reliance Jio, Other GPU L1 Bidders In IndiaAI Mission To Get Workloads Soon appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Minister of State (MoS) for agriculture Ramnath Thakur informed the Parliament that more than 4.85 Cr farmer IDs have been generated under the Digital Agriculture Mission, as of March 28.

This is in line with the government’s target to issue 11 Cr farmer IDs in the country by 2026-27. 

An AgriStack Farmer ID, a unique digital identifier linked to Aadhaar and land records, facilitates easier access to government schemes, subsidies, crop insurance, and Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans, streamlining benefits and promoting financial inclusion for farmers.

Thakur further said that the government is also planning the pan-India rollout of the digital crop survey, starting June 2025. He added that while the survey was conducted in 436 districts in the Kharif season (between June-October) last year, 461 were covered as part of the survey during the Rabi season (mid-November to December).

The MoS also said that the government is using artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT-enabled systems to improve crop productivity, sustainability and address other challenges in the agricultural sector.

He also informed the Lok Sabha that the government has launched AI-powered chatbot, Kisan e-Mitra, to assist farmers with responses on various queries.

Thakur said that the Centre has deployed AI and machine learning, under the National Pest Surveillance System, to detect pest infestation in crops.

In addition, the government claims to provide technical and financial support to all the states and union territories for smooth implementation of the digital agriculture mission. 

India’s INR 2,817 Cr Digital Agriculture Mission

In September last year, the Union Cabinet approved the INR 2,817 Cr Digital Agriculture Mission for the creation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to supercharge the Indian agriculture sector. 

The Digital Agriculture Mission is aimed to serve as an umbrella scheme to support digital agriculture initiatives, such as creating DPI for agriculture, implementing the Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES), and building other IT initiatives..

Out of the total outlay, the Centre will contribute around INR 1,940 Cr to leverage emerging technologies such as data analytics, AI and remote sensing in agriculture. 

Modelled on the lines of other DPIs such as Aadhaar and unified payments interface (UPI), the mission will be built on three key pillars – AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System (DSS), and Soil Profile Maps. 

Powering India’s Agriculture With Tech 

Agriculture, despite contributing 18% to India’s gross value added (GVA) and employing nearly half of India’s workforce, continues to be plagued by primitive methods of tilling, inefficiency and low yields. 

Looking to change this, agritech startups are leveraging emerging technologies such as IoT and AI to supercharge the sector. The homegrown agritech startup space counts the likes of players such as AgroStar, Agrim, Arya.ag, DeHaat, BigHaat and BharatAgri among other disruptors. 

Collectively, these startups have secured more than $2.4 Bn since 2014, as per Inc42. 

The post Over 4 Cr Farmer IDs Issued So Far Under Digital Agriculture Mission: Govt appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today emphasised the need for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to seek collaborations with startups, industries and academia, citing the challenges posed by artificial intelligence in crimes. 

While delivering the 21st D P Kohli memorial lecture on the 62nd foundation day of the CBI, the minister also highlighted that AI expansion is also raising ethical concerns in criminal investigations, especially as AI agents are now capable of committing crimes.

“Today things have changed a lot. An AI agent can commit a crime, then the ethical question will arise, whom to arrest. Can you arrest the AI agent? Is the company creating the AI agent liable or the agent itself is liable?” said Vaishnaw. 

Underlining the technological shift all across the world, the minister further said that the investigation mechanism has also expanded beyond questioning and evidence collection.

“Under such changes which are happening both on the economic front, social front and on the technology front, I request CBI and its great team should look at more collaborations. I would suggest that we should collaborate with startups, with industries and more so with academia,” said Vaishnaw.

He further suggested looking for technological solutions in the age of tech advancements as “law alone will not be sufficient” to tackle the crime, adding that India needs a techno-legal approach. 

AI, A Double-Edged Sword 

While artificial intelligence poses a potential risk of new-age crimes such as digital frauds, cyber crimes and deepfakes, it also has the capability to offer solutions for the same. 

Multiple government departments are looking for collaborations with emerging startups and academia to make the most of modern technology and resources. 

“In our AI mission, we are collaborating with academia to create many new tools. IIT Jodhpur has created a tool to identify deepfakes in a very authentic way,” said Vaishnaw. 

Currently, India doesn’t have specific laws directly regulating AI, however the country is developing a framework through advisories, guidelines, and existing legislation and adopting measures to keep a check on such crimes. 

To put a check on deepfakes using AI, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) also sought proposals from startups and other relevant stakeholders for building AI-powered tools to detect deepfakes in December last year. 

It was also reported last year that the IT ministry is also building a mechanism to evaluate the safety and trustworthiness of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.

Meanwhile, the cyber threats in India will be dominated by AI-driven attacks with cybercriminals leveraging generative AI to create more sophisticated and adaptive threats using AI-powered malware, as per The India Cyber Threat Report 2025 by the Data Security Council. 

The report observed an increase in sophisticated threats targeting sectors like Healthcare, Hospitality and BFSI, while government entities remain prime targets as well.It added that fake apps, especially in the fintech and government sectors, will remain a significant concern.

The post CBI Should Collaborate With Startups To Tackle AI-Led Crimes: Vaishnaw appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Kaynes Semicon, a subsidiary of electronics manufacturing company Kaynes Technologies, is reportedly planning to deliver India’s first packaged semiconductor chip by July. 

Kaynes’s chief executive officer (CEO) Raghu Panicker told the ET that the pilot for the project is almost complete and the machinery and clean room facilities will be operational by May. 

After qualification testing of chips that’s scheduled for June, the company will handover the initial samples to US firm Alpha Omega Semiconductor 

“We have signed a definite multi year agreement with them, and they will consume almost 60% of our capacity in the first phase,” said Panicker. 

In February last year, Kaynes bought land in Gujarat’s Sanand to build its outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) unit. A month after that the union cabinet approved the company’s proposal to set up a semiconductor unit with an investment of INR 3,300 Cr.

The company has been preparing customers, technology partners, and construction plans, even before they got approval, Panicker told ET. 

How Kaynes Is Revving Up India’s Semicon Mission?

Kaynes Technologies entered the booming semiconductor space in 2023 with its subsidiary Kaynes Semicon Private Limited. 

Kaynes Technologies is a four-decade-old listed integrated electronics manufacturer. With Kaynes Semicon, it is setting up a 47-acre OSAT facility. OSATs are third-party vendors that provide assembly, packaging, and specialised testing of integrated circuits (ICs) to semiconductor manufacturers. 

The semicon company aims to provide its cutting-edge chips across industries and applications such as automotive, including EVs, consumer electronics, telecom, and mobile phones. Kaynes is supported by an established electronics design and manufacturing (ESDM) business and government initiatives. 

In September last year, Kaynes’s proposal to set up an OSAT unit was approved under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). Its unit will have the capacity to produce 60 Lakh chips per day.

Besides Kaynes Semicon, the Centre has already approved Tata Electronics, CG Power, Micron Technology and Suchi Semicon to set up their respective units in the country. 

In June 2023, the cabinet approved Micron’s proposal for setting up a semiconductor unit in Gujarat. Following that, the government approved three more semiconductor units in February last year. 

While Tata Electronics is setting up a semiconductor fab in Dholera, Gujarat and another semiconductor unit in Morigaon, Assam, CG Power is setting up one semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat.

India’s Increasing Semicon Demand 

As the semiconductor industry rapidly grows in the country, the government is discussing plans for the rollout of the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission. The ISM 2.0 comes amid rising need for semiconductor chips across India. 

MeitY secretary S Krishnan last week said that India’s semiconductor demand may likely reach $100-110 Bn by 2030 from the current demand of $45–50 Bn. 

In line with it, Krishnan said that India’s production should meet international standards so that some of the production also get exported. The country needs to establish that the products are “actually competitive and quality products that everyone wants to buy.

“We need to expand, we need to be bigger players, there is more investment that needs to take place,” he added. 

According to an Inc42 report, the Indian semiconductor market is projected to become a $150 Bn opportunity by 2030.

The post Kaynes Likely To Deliver India’s First Packaged Semiconductor Chip By July appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As many as 70,000 gig workers have reportedly registered with the e-Shram portal, benefitting from social security schemes, following the onboarding of ten major ecommerce platforms such as Uber, Zomato and Blinkit, a parliamentary panel has observed.

An ET report, citing Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, noted that as of February 19 this year, 70,306 platform workers of 36 states/UTs have been registered with e-Shram.

Apart from the aforementioned ecommerce players, Uncle Delivery, Swiggy, Rapido, Ola, Zepto and Ecom Express have also been onboarded on the portal.

The committee has also directed to look for other aggregators and swiftly register them on the portal in order to provide healthcare support to gig workers. It noted that nearly 35 Lakh workers will be eligible to register on the e-Shram portal in 2025-26. 

As per NITI Aayog, India’s gig workforce, currently at 7.7 Mn, is projected to expand to 23.5 Mn (2.35 Cr) by 2029-30.

This also comes close on the heels of the government planning to introduce a pension scheme requiring platform aggregators to contribute 2% of each worker’s income.

Aggregators’ Pushing Welfare Expansion Of Gig Workers

The rise of quick commerce, home delivery, and on-demand services has given a significant boost to India’s gig economy. Ecommerce platforms and aggregators have not only enhanced convenience for consumers but also created significant employment opportunities for the masses.

As the aggregator ecosystem expands rapidly, employing huge workforce, it underscores the growing need for social security for these workers

Gig workers’ collective have also urged the commerce ministry to take cognisance of skewed working conditions of the gig workers. 

While the government has recognised the issue and is preparing to take swift action to include gig workers in social security and welfare schemes, private companies should view this as a shared responsibility.

In her Budget 2025 speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Gig workers of online platforms provide great dynamism to the new-age services economy. Recognising their contribution, our government will arrange for their identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal.” 

The ecommerce platform and aggregators need to join the eShram portal to ensure that gig workers avail the social security benefits. 

Industry experts opine that the aggregators must share data of gig and platform workers with the government to ease the implementation of the scheme. 

These platforms should also need to keep transparency with the workers and offer fair pay and good working conditions. To note, last year, ride-hailing companies Ola and Uber, and logistics startup Porter scored zero points on Fairwork India’s ratings for the working conditions of gig workers. The report also said that none of the digital players pay minimum wages enough to allow workers to afford a basic but decent standard of living.

The post Over 70K Gig Workers Registered On e-Shram After More Aggregators Joined appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed fintech major Paytm has sold its entire 12.75% stake in mobility aggregator Jugnoo’s parent Socomo Technologies for INR 3 Cr. 

In an exchange filing, Paytm said its board approved the sale of the stake in Socomo. “The transaction is expected to be completed in the month of March’25 and is in line with our strategic focus on strengthening core payments and financial services business,” the filing said. 

Meanwhile, Jugnoo, in a statement today, said it repurchased Paytm’s 12.75% stake at a valuation of INR 23.52 Cr in a strategic move to consolidate ownership and enhance operational control.

“This buyback allows us to operate independently and provides greater flexibility in our strategic and financial planning,” its cofounder Samar Singla said. 

Jugnoo said it had received a total investment of INR 42.79 Cr from Paytm to date. 

Jugnoo Plans Rights Issue

Founded by Singla and Chinmay Agarwal in 2014, Jugnoo started as an auto-aggregator platform. Since then, it has expanded its offerings and now also provides B2B logistics and hyperlocal food and grocery delivery.

It also provides software solutions to enterprises for mobility business, mapping, and creating super apps. It claims to serve over 350 clients across 75+ countries across the globe.

Jugnoo said it is also providing exit opportunities to other investors. “We’re consolidating a majority stake, ensuring stronger operational control and decision-making capabilities,” Singla said. 

In line with this, it plans to undertake an INR 10 Cr rights issue to expand operations and enhance technological capabilities in mobility and logistics.

The startup has raised more than $18 Mn in funding till date from Snow Leopard Technology Ventures, Rocketship.vc, Kunal Shah, Rakesh Mathur, among others. 

On the financial front, Jugnoo posted a total income of INR 16.2 Cr and a loss of 16.28 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24).

Paytm’s Focus On Profitability 

The stake sale comes at a time when Paytm is focussing on its core payments and lending business after the RBI’s crackdown on Paytm Payments Bank last year with an eye on turning profitable. 

In line with this, the company has been selling its non-core businesses. In August last year, the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company sold its events and movies ticketing arm, Paytm Insider, to Zomato for $241.8 Mn (INR 2,048 Cr). 

In December, it also sold its stock acquisition rights (SARs) in Japan’s PayPay Corporation for INR 2,364 Cr ($279.19 Mn) to SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2. 

In January, Paytm’s board approved the sale of its 100% stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, Xceed IT Solutions Private Limited. 

Editor’s note: The story has been edited after Jugnoo revised its statement to say that that it repurchased Paytm’s stake for INR 3 Cr at a valuation of INR 23.52 Cr.

The post Paytm Sells 12.75% Stake In Jugnoo For INR 3 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In a move to boost the welfare of gig workers, the government is reportedly planning to introduce a pension scheme requiring platform aggregators to contribute 2% of each worker’s income.

As per a Business Standard report, all major platform aggregators such as Swiggy, Zomato, Binkit and Uber may be asked to make the contribution to the pension fund. 

Under the scheme which may be revealed in the next two-three weeks, the pension amount will be deposited into the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) accounts of the gig workers. 

“This amount will not be inclusive of their incomes. It will be over and above that. A platform aggregator will collect the amount and deposit it with the EPFO into the account of the worker. We hope the scheme will be unveiled in the next two-three weeks,” a source told BS. 

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a comprehensive social security scheme for gig workers in Budget 2025. The initiative by the labour and employment ministry, is expected to benefit nearly 1 Cr gig workers by providing essential health insurance, as well as death and disability cover, potentially rolling out from the next financial year.

Centre’s Move For Gig Workers’ Social Security

To strengthen the social welfare framework for gig workers, the government is prioritising workers’ formal registration through ID cards and enrollment on the e-Shram portal. The e-Shram portal was launched in August 2021 to register workers in unorganised sectors by issuing them with a Universal Account Number (UAN). 

“Gig workers of online platforms provide great dynamism to the new-age services economy. Recognising their contribution, our government will arrange for their identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget 2025 speech.

After FM’s announcement, the labour ministry is planning to seek the Union Cabinet’s nod for the pension scheme. It was reported last month that gig workers will be provided two options at the time of retirement when the pension is fixed – either withdraw interest on the deposits as pension or divide the accumulated funds into equal installments over a stipulated period.

A new socio-economic upliftment initiative for urban workers is also in the pipeline, further amplifying financial opportunities through enhanced loan schemes under PM Swanidhi.

The Need For Gig Workers Welfare Scheme 

Last year, ride-hailing companies Ola and Uber and logistics startup Porter scored zero points on Fairwork India’s ratings for the working conditions of gig workers. 

It evaluated 11 digital platforms on five principles – fair pay, fair conditions, fair contracts, fair management, fair representation.

The report underscored that the aggregator platforms do not have documented mechanisms enabling collective expression of the “voices of all workers, ensure that workers’ freedom of association is not inhibited, and have a written statement of willingness to recognise or negotiate with a collective, independent body of workers.” 

It also stressed that none of the digital players pay minimum wages enough to allow workers to afford a basic but decent standard of living. 

Notably, BigBasket, Swiggy, Zomato, and Urban Company were the top scorers in the fireworks rating.

As per NITI Aayog, India’s gig workforce is expected to expand to 2.35 Cr (23.5 Mn) workers by 2029-30. 

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India’s semiconductor demand will likely reach $100-110 Bn by 2030 from the current demand of $45–50 Bn, said Electronics and IT ministry (MeitY) secretary S Krishnan. 

The Centre is also planning to invest in five semiconductor companies of which four are OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) and one fab company, he said. It has already approved Kaynes Semicon, Tata Electronics, CG Power, Micron Technology and Suchi Semicon to set up their respective units in the country. 

Speaking about these companies at Nano Electronics Roadshow in Bengaluru, Krishnan said, “When they are at their peak production, the combined production of all these five companies is going to be $6-7 Bn, so we are still a very small proportion of the semiconductor output that we need for the country.”

Highlighting the need to meet international standards of production, the MeitY secretary said that some of the production will also get exported to establish that the products are “actually competitive and quality products that everyone wants to buy.” 

“We need to expand, we need to be bigger players, there is more investment that needs to take place,” he added. 

Nano Electronics Centres To Boost India’s Semicon Space 

Meity has established nano electronics centres at IISc (Indian Institute of Science) and IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) to drive India’s deep-tech developments, fostering breakthrough technologies and strategic advancements.

In line with that, the ministry hosted the Nano Electronics roadshow at IISC Bengaluru which showcased over 100 intellectual properties (IPs), more than 50 groundbreaking technologies, and innovation of over 35 startups backed by six state-of-the-art nanoelectronics centers across the country. 

During the event, Krishnan said that Meity’s nano centres are playing a critical role in boosting innovation and talent to prepare a semiconductor-ready workforce of 85,000 professionals in the country. 

He also added that the government is working to improve the design linked incentive schemes in the semiconductor space. “20% of the workforce in semiconductor design across the world is in India.”

The government is also working to ensure that the Intellectual property right for the products remain in India. 

India’s Semiconductor Mission 2.0

India is gearing up to launch the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission.

The second phase of ISM will also potentially offer support for gases and other elements needed for semiconductor production.

On the current status of the first phase of the mission, which had a budgetary outlay of INR 76,000 Cr, Krishnan earlier had said that INR 65,000 Cr was earmarked for chip manufacturing and packaging units while the remaining INR 10,000 Cr and INR 1,000 Cr were set aside for modernising the semiconductor lab at Mohali and the design-linked incentive scheme respectively.

In 2021, the Centre launched the Semicon India programme, with an outlay of INR 76,000 Cr, to incentivise silicon semiconductor fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors, and more. A year after that, ISM was introduced to establish India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design. 

As a result, the first “made-in-India” chip is to be rolled out from a commercial fab by September or October this year, said IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw last month. 

As per Inc42, India’s semiconductor space is expanding at a CAGR of 24% from 2023 to 2030. Some of the disruptors in the semiconductor industry are Mindgrove Technologies, Suchi Semicon, Netrasemi, Agnit Semiconductors, Incore, Aurasemi and others.

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