Portfolio Realignment to Focus on Emerging Gaming Markets NODWIN Gaming has sold its entire stake in the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) to RTS, marking a strategic shift in its global portfolio. EVO is one of the world’s largest fighting game tournaments, bringing together players, publishers, and esports communities across international markets. Despite exiting its ownership position, NODWIN said it will continue working with RTS as a regional partner to support EVO’s expansion in emerging markets. Continued Partnership to Support Global Expansion Following the acquisition, RTS will lead EVO’s next growth phase, focusing on expanding its global footprint and strengthening its…
Author: Aman Atulya
AI Infrastructure Startup Portkey Secures $15 Million to Scale AI Control Plane Artificial intelligence applications platform Portkey has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Elevation Capital, with participation from existing investor Lightspeed. The latest round follows Portkey’s $3 million seed funding raised in August 2023, also led by Lightspeed. The fresh capital will support expansion of its AI infrastructure platform and strengthen its enterprise go-to-market strategy. Capital to scale AI governance and enterprise deployment capabilitiesPortkey plans to use the funding to expand its AI control plane and improve support for agent-based systems. The company will…
India’s artificial intelligence ecosystem is entering a decisive phase where adoption must move beyond experimentation into real, scalable deployment. This was the central theme at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, where policymakers, public-sector leaders, and technology founders gathered to discuss how AI can deliver meaningful outcomes at population scale. The session, titled AI for Everyone: Empowering People, Businesses, and Society, highlighted the need for AI adoption to extend beyond large enterprises and metros to include small businesses and underserved sectors across the country. MSMEs Represent the Next Major Frontier for AI Adoption Within this discussion, Sanjay Varnwal, Co-founder and…
Snacc Shutdown Signals Strategic Refocus on Core Delivery Business Swiggy has shut down Snacc, its standalone app for 10–15 minute food delivery, less than a year after its launch in January 2025. The service was designed to deliver snacks, beverages, and ready-to-eat food through centrally stocked hubs, operating independently from Swiggy’s main platform. In an internal email reviewed by Entrackr, the company said it continues to see strong growth in its core food delivery business and is prioritising disciplined capital allocation and scalable initiatives. Growth Remains Strong in Core Food Delivery Segment Swiggy’s food delivery business recorded 20.5% year-on-year growth,…
AI Integration to Transform Content Discovery Experience Streaming platform JioHotstar has partnered with OpenAI to introduce ChatGPT-powered voice discovery and immersive AI experiences. The integration will allow users to discover content by speaking their intent naturally, replacing traditional scrolling and keyword-based navigation. The rollout will begin with select live and on-demand experiences and expand in phases, enabling conversational content discovery across languages, genres, and viewing contexts. Multilingual Cognitive Search to Solve Discovery Challenges Through its Multilingual Cognitive Search feature, JioHotstar aims to address the growing “what to watch” challenge by enabling conversational recommendations. Instead of typing keywords or browsing menus,…
Funding extension led by existing and new investorsOmnichannel jewellery startup GIVA is set to raise ₹110 crore (approximately $12 million) in its Series C extension round led by HPV CC1 Ltd, with participation from Premji Invest, Kenro Capital, and Titan Capital. The investment comes nine months after GIVA raised ₹530 crore ($61.5 million) in its Series C round led by Creaegis in June 2025, reflecting continued investor confidence in the brand’s expansion strategy. Regulatory filings reveal valuation and capital structureAccording to regulatory filings accessed from the Registrar of Companies, GIVA’s board approved the issuance of 94,01,710 Series C1 compulsorily convertible…
EV startup Pluto Mobility has raised $2 million (approximately ₹16.6 crore) in a seed funding round led by Version One Ventures, with participation from Grad Capital. The round also saw backing from founders and senior executives of companies such as Delhivery, OfBusiness, Pixxel, and Boom Supersonic, reflecting strong confidence from experienced operators across logistics and deeptech. Capital to support engineering and pilot deployments The fresh capital will be used to strengthen engineering and product development, expand its team, and begin pilot deployments in key urban markets. The startup plans to initiate pilot programs in 2026, targeting e-commerce and quick commerce…
Enforcement Directorate Freezes Winzo Funds in Money Laundering Probe The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached overseas bank balances worth ₹505 crore linked to real-money gaming platform Winzo as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation. According to a press release dated February 18, 2026, the ED’s Bengaluru Zonal Office attached movable assets worth $55.69 million held in bank accounts in the United States and Singapore. Overseas Accounts Linked to Winzo Entities The attached accounts are maintained under Winzo US Inc. and Winzo SG Pte. Ltd., which the ED alleges are controlled by the company’s founders. The agency claims these…
Social investing and stock market advisory platform StockGro is in advanced discussions to raise up to $15 million in its pre-Series C funding round, according to sources familiar with the development. Saudi Arabia’s largest insurance company, Tawuniya, is expected to lead the round, with final terms currently being negotiated. The investment is likely to fall within the $10–15 million range, signaling continued investor interest in India’s growing retail investing ecosystem. Fresh Funding Follows Recent Series B1 Round The potential fundraise comes shortly after StockGro secured $13 million in its Series B1 round in January 2026 from Bitkraft Ventures. Earlier, the…
EV Charging Startup Statiq Secures $18 Million Funding Round EV charging startup Statiq has raised $18 million (about Rs 163.2 crore) in a mix of equity and debt funding round led by Tenacity Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, Shell Ventures, and RCD Holdings. The funding comes nearly two years after Statiq raised $25.7 million in its Series A round led by Shell Ventures in 2022, highlighting continued investor confidence in India’s EV infrastructure sector. Capital to Scale Charging Infrastructure Across India The fresh capital will be used to scale Statiq’s EV charging infrastructure across Tier I and Tier II…