From a hostel room to global conversations, Prabhu Agarwal is designing a completely newsystem for the next generation of pilots. The Aviation Industry Has Grown. The Pathway Into It Hasn’t. Aviation inspires millions of young people, yet the path to entering the industry remainsconfusing for most students. High costs, scattered information, outdated regulations and theabsence of transparent guidance make the dream of becoming a pilot feel out of reach formany. This is the gap Prabhu Agarwal noticed long before he turned nineteen. While most teenagers think about exams and college admissions, Prabhu kept returning toone question. Why does the journey…
Author: Adarsh Kumar
Uber India has taken a major strategic leap beyond ride-hailing by launching Uber Direct, its first B2B logistics service in the country, enabled through a partnership with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The new service allows ONDC-listed merchants to tap directly into Uber’s large nationwide delivery network. At launch, Uber Direct is fulfilling grocery deliveries for partners such as Zepto and KPN Farm Fresh, with plans to expand into restaurant deliveries, e-commerce shipments, and additional categories across more cities in the coming months. Prabhjeet Singh, President of Uber India & South Asia, said the initiative is designed as…
India is confronting an unprecedented surge in GST fraud, with new government data revealing over 55,000 cases of fake invoicing and input tax credit (ITC) theft detected since FY23 — involving ₹1.61 lakh crore in suspicious transactions. Officials warn that fraud networks have evolved into a parallel industry, built on revived shell entities known as “sleeping modules.” These dormant companies are being reactivated to issue bogus invoices without any actual supply of goods, enabling downstream buyers to illegally claim ITC. The scale of the problem has escalated sharply: A worrying trend is the misuse of dormant pharmaceutical firms, which come…
Rohan Gupta’s entrepreneurial journey began in Chicago, where he studied computer science and saw students struggling with writing assignments. Instead of ignoring the problem, he imagined a future where AI could help people write smarter and faster. Alongside his co-founders, Rohan began experimenting with early NLP models—long before AI tools became mainstream. This bold curiosity set the stage for QuillBot, one of the world’s most widely used writing platforms. Building QuillBot: Solving a Real Problem with Smart Technology In 2017, Rohan co-founded QuillBot, an AI-powered writing assistant built to help users paraphrase, summarize, and write more effectively. The idea was…
Electronics engineering and manufacturing startup Elecbits has secured $5.5 million in Series A funding, with Nexus Venture Partners leading the round. The raise also saw participation from SE Ventures Energy, the investment arm of Schneider Electric, and Singapore-based Riverwalk Holdings, marking a strong vote of confidence in India’s rapidly expanding hardware-tech sector. Founded in 2019 by Saurav Kumar Singh and Nikhil Rawat, Elecbits offers a full-stack platform that streamlines design, prototyping, manufacturing, and quality control for electronic products. The company is now gearing up to scale Elecbits XOR, its AI-driven electronics engineering and manufacturing platform, while expanding its engineering talent…
Early stage investment powerhouse IAN Group has announced the final close of its $100 million IAN Alpha Fund, its second venture capital vehicle aimed at accelerating India’s next wave of tech-enabled startups. The fund will invest in early-stage companies developing solutions across AI, space tech, semiconductors, climate technology, healthcare, and other frontier sectors. The Alpha Fund has attracted support from a diverse pool of institutional and government linked investors. Key contributors include the Self-Reliant India Fund, SIDBI’s Fund of Funds for Startups, ACE Fund, and the Odisha Startup Growth Fund, alongside insurance firms and prominent family offices. IAN Group said…
AI-powered email startup Faraday has raised $0.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by AJVC, marking a significant step in its mission to reinvent the traditional email experience. The investment, made earlier this year, has been channelled into team expansion, office setup, accelerated product development, and go-to-market execution, the company said. Faraday is building an AI-led, organised, and context-aware email client designed to reduce cognitive overload and transform how users engage with daily communication. The platform currently supports all personal and professional Gmail and Google Workspace accounts, with Outlook integration expected to launch soon. With explicit user consent, Faraday…
E-commerce unicorn Meesho delivered a blockbuster listing on Wednesday, beginning its public market journey with a sharp premium and reaffirming investor appetite for high growth internet companies. The Bengaluru-headquartered platform opened at Rs 162.5 on NSE, a 46% premium over its issue price of Rs 111. On BSE, the shares debuted at Rs 161.2, reflecting a 45.2% jump. Meesho’s Rs 5,421 crore IPO comprised a Rs 4,250 crore fresh issue and Rs 1,171 crore OFS, enabling early investors—including Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners, Y Combinator and Venture Highway—to partially cash out. The offer, priced at Rs 105–111 per share, targeted…
Amazon has announced plans to invest more than $35 billion in India by 2030, reaffirming the country’s position as one of its most important global markets. According to multiple reports, the investment will be deployed over the next five years across e-commerce, cloud computing, logistics, data centres, and AI-driven initiatives. With this commitment, Amazon’s total investment in India will approach $75 billion, adding to the nearly $40 billion the company has already infused since entering the market in 2010. A significant share of the new capital will go toward expanding Amazon Web Services (AWS), strengthening fulfilment and last-mile delivery networks,…
Bengaluru-based cross-border payments platform Skydo has secured $10 million in a Series A funding round, led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, with continued support from existing investor Elevation Capital. This latest infusion brings Skydo’s total equity funding to $19.7 million, building on the momentum from its $5 million raise in August last year. The company plans to deploy the new capital to expand its local collection infrastructure across 20+ additional countries spanning Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. This expansion aims to strengthen Skydo’s mission of simplifying global payments for Indian exporters, freelancers, and growing businesses. Founded…