AI-powered recruitment platform HireBound has raised $2 million (approximately Rs 17 crore) in a seed funding round led by Kalaari Capital, with participation from Antler, Infinyte Club, and CareerNet. The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen product development, expand go-to-market operations, and accelerate its global expansion strategy. The company is targeting a 5x increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) over the next 12–18 months as demand rises for AI-led hiring automation. Building agentic AI to automate end-to-end hiring workflows Founded by Sharad Vij and Kumar Vikramaditya, HireBound is developing an AI-powered recruitment platform designed to automate…
Author: Aman Atulya
Bluehill.VC and A99 back optoML’s AI semiconductor vision SoC semiconductor startup optoML has raised $1.8 million (approximately Rs 15 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Bluehill.VC and A99. The fresh capital will be used to expand hiring and accelerate development of its next-generation chip platforms. The investment comes after the company successfully completed the tapeout of its 12 nm chip in collaboration with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), marking a key milestone in its technology roadmap. Building analog-in-memory architectures for AI workloads Founded by Saravana Maruthamuthu, optoML develops analog-in-memory compute architectures integrated with optical interconnects to support…
Online kids essentials platform Basil has raised $2 million (approximately Rs 16.6 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Prime Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Appreciate Capital and IIMA Ventures. The round comes two years after Basil raised Rs 3.6 crore in seed funding in February 2024. The fresh capital will be used to expand into new product categories such as bags and water bottles, strengthen supply chain operations, and hire leadership and product talent. The company is targeting Rs 100 crore in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by FY27. Building a digital-first platform for kids essentials…
Funding led by Vertex with strong investor backing Creator commerce startup Wishlink has raised $17.5 million (approximately Rs 145 crore) in a Series B funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, with participation from existing investors Fundamentum and Elevation Capital. The round comes two years after Wishlink raised $7 million in February 2024, following its $3 million seed round in October 2022. The fresh capital will be used to expand creator and brand partnerships while strengthening its technology infrastructure across consumers, creators, and brands. Building infrastructure for influencer-led shopping Founded in 2022 by Shaurya Gupta, Divyansh Ameta,…
As many as 86 countries and two international organisations have signed the declaration at the India AI Impact Summit, marking broad global support for a coordinated and responsible approach to artificial intelligence development. The declaration was endorsed by major economies including the US, UK, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Egypt, and Indonesia, highlighting growing international alignment on AI governance. Global Endorsement of Human-Centric and Inclusive AI Principles Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, said the declaration reflects global acceptance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s human-centric AI vision. He emphasised that democratising AI access and ensuring its benefits reach…
Zscaler and Bharti Airtel have partnered to launch the AI & Cyber Threat Research Centre – India, a national initiative aimed at strengthening cyber resilience and accelerating the adoption of trusted artificial intelligence across critical sectors. The centre will focus on protecting industries such as telecommunications, banking, and energy, which are essential to India’s economic and national security. National Collaboration Platform to Build Cybersecurity Ecosystem The research centre will serve as a multi-stakeholder collaboration platform involving private companies, public institutions, academia, and government agencies. The initiative is designed to strengthen India’s cyber defense capabilities while building a future-ready cybersecurity talent…
Microsoft has appointed Indian-origin executive Asha Sharma as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of its gaming division. She will succeed longtime Xbox head Phil Spencer, who is retiring after nearly four decades at the company. Sharma will report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and lead the company’s global gaming strategy, platform expansion, and content ecosystem. Focus on Strengthening Xbox Platform and Global Gaming Presence Sharma said her leadership will focus on recommitting to core Xbox users, empowering game studios, and investing in iconic franchises. She emphasised expanding into new markets and categories while prioritising meaningful gaming experiences.…
Peak XV Partners has closed $1.3 billion in fresh capital commitments across its India Seed, India Venture, and Asia Pacific funds. This marks the firm’s first major fundraise since separating from Sequoia Capital and reinforces its commitment to backing startups across early, venture, and growth stages. Focus on supporting category-defining founders The firm said the new capital, along with uninvested funds from its existing growth vehicle, will strengthen its ability to support founders building category-defining companies. Peak XV has maintained a long-term investment strategy focused on identifying outlier founders and supporting them across multiple growth stages. AI driving new investment…
Inflection Point Ventures Backs SaaS Platform Powering Rapid Loan Launches SaaS-based lending infrastructure startup Roopya has raised ₹4 crore in a seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The company plans to use the capital to strengthen its Lending-as-a-Service platform and expand embedded finance capabilities for NBFCs and fintech lenders. The funding comes at a time when financial institutions are increasingly adopting infrastructure-led platforms to accelerate loan deployment and improve operational efficiency. No-Code Lending Stack Enables Rapid Loan Deployment Founded by Sudipta Kumar Ghosh and Raman Vig, Roopya offers a no-code, AI-powered Lending-as-a-Service stack that enables lenders to launch…
Pilot Enables Users to Shop on Zomato, Swiggy, and Zepto via AI Conversations Razorpay and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have partnered to introduce Agentic Payments on Claude, enabling users to complete purchases directly within AI conversations. The offering, unveiled at the India AI Impact Summit, is currently in pilot with a limited set of users. The integration allows users to order food, groceries, and daily essentials from platforms such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Zepto without leaving the AI interface. UPI Reserve Pay Enables Secure Agent-Led Transactions The platform combines Razorpay’s Agentic Payments infrastructure with NPCI’s UPI ecosystem…