Honasa Consumer Limited, the parent company of Mamaearth, said its co-founder and promoter Varun Alagh has increased his equity holding through a block deal executed on December 29, 2025. According to an exchange filing, Alagh acquired 18,51,851 equity shares, representing 0.57 percent of the company’s total share capital. Transaction DetailsThe shares were purchased at ₹270 per share, taking the total value of the transaction to around ₹50 crore. Following the acquisition, Alagh’s personal shareholding has increased to 10.56 crore shares, accounting for 32.45 percent of Honasa Consumer’s equity. Promoter Group HoldingPost-transaction, the aggregate shareholding of the promoter and promoter group…
Author: Aman Atulya
Panasonic Life Solutions India (PLSIND), along with Panasonic Corporation (PC), has announced Red Health and Respirer Living Sciences as the joint winners of Panasonic Ignition 3.0, the company’s startup accelerator programme focused on redefining the future of residential living in India. Innovation Aligned to Residential Challenges Anchored around the theme “Residential Business Challenges,” Ignition 3.0 spotlighted innovations across smart technologies, sustainability, wellness, connected living, and community focused solutions. The programme reflects Panasonic’s long-term strategy of co-creating future-ready residential technologies with agile startups. Winning Solutions at a Glance Red Health operates a technology-led emergency response platform offering end-to-end services from the…
PlasmaGen Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company focused on plasma-derived therapeutics, has raised ₹150 crore in a minority equity financing round at a valuation exceeding ₹1,500 crore. The round was led by ViNS Bioproducts, with participation from HNI family offices, pharmaceutical entrepreneurs and existing investors. Company BackgroundFounded in 2010 and headquartered in Bengaluru, PlasmaGen operates in the specialised segment of blood plasma-derived medicines. The company has raised more than ₹600 crore in funding to date and is positioning itself as a differentiated plasma biopharmaceutical platform from India. Use of CapitalPlasmaGen said the fresh capital will be deployed to scale its international operations,…
Gurugram-based hyperlocal services platform Urban Company has received a goods and services tax demand and penalty amounting to ₹56.43 crore from Maharashtra GST authorities. The development escalates a long-running dispute over the tax classification of services offered on the company’s platform. Details of the Tax DemandIn a regulatory filing, Urban Company Limited said the Joint Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise, Thane, passed an order on December 19, 2025, confirming a GST demand of ₹51.30 crore along with a penalty of ₹5.13 crore for the period from April 2021 to March 2025. Interest will also apply as per provisions of…
Wealthtech startup PowerUp Money has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Peak XV, with participation from existing investors Accel, Blume Ventures, and Kae Capital. The round also saw continued backing from 8i Ventures and DevC. The funding comes just six months after the company raised $7.2 million in a seed round. Use of CapitalThe company said the fresh capital will be used to strengthen its research and advisory capabilities, scale its existing PowerUp Elite offering, launch a new product called PowerUp Infinite, and invest in financial literacy and investor education initiatives. Founder and Platform VisionFounded…
India’s startup ecosystem spent 2025 navigating shifts that were both rapid and structural. Capital became more selective, talent models evolved, and sectors such as deeptech, fintech, healthtech and electric mobility demanded deeper technical rigour before scaling. At the same time, startups were increasingly viewed as instruments of economic sovereignty, expected to build critical capabilities, reduce external dependencies and strengthen India’s long-term competitiveness. Against this backdrop, founders leaned heavily on ecosystem enablers for direction. For TiE Delhi-NCR, the year became an opportunity to strengthen the startup pipeline by widening access, building capability and helping founders remain steady through transition. Strengthening Early-Stage…
Mumbai-based digital payments firm Mswipe Technologies has received the Reserve Bank of India’s final Payment Aggregator (PA) licence, enabling it to operate across online, offline, and hybrid payment channels under a unified regulatory framework. The approval allows the company to onboard merchants and aggregate payments across physical stores, ecommerce platforms, and blended commerce models. Cross-Border Payment EnablementWith the licence, Mswipe is authorised to facilitate both inward and outward cross-border payment flows. This expands the company’s scope beyond domestic payment acceptance and allows it to serve merchants with international transaction requirements alongside local payment needs. Product PortfolioMswipe offers a range of…
OpenAI has updated its internal Model Spec for ChatGPT to place the safety of teenage users above other system goals, marking a shift in how the artificial intelligence platform is designed to respond to users aged 13 to 17. The change reflects growing scrutiny around the impact of generative AI tools on minors. Under the revised guidelines, protections for teenagers are given precedence even when they may limit the model’s ability to maximise helpfulness or autonomy. OpenAI said the update is intended to ensure age-appropriate interactions and reduce potential harm in sensitive or high-risk conversations involving younger users. The revised…
Board-Level Leadership TransitionFintech firm One MobiKwik Systems on Wednesday announced the appointment of Navdeep Singh Suri as the Chairperson of its Board, marking a leadership transition at the board level. Suri succeeds Upasana Taku, the company’s Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer and Co-Founder, who previously held the role, according to media reports. Association With the CompanySuri has been associated with MobiKwik since 2021, serving as an Independent Director on the board. His elevation to the chairperson role comes at a time when the company is focusing on governance and oversight as it operates in an increasingly competitive fintech environment. Professional…
The global corporate power map has been redrawn. In a historic shift, Nvidia has surged past both Apple and Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable company in 2025, according to the 2025 Hurun Global 1000 List. Driven by an unprecedented boom in AI demand, Nvidia now sits at the very top of the global market capitalisation rankings. The latest Hurun report, released on Monday, ranks the 1,000 most valuable companies worldwide, up from 500 earlier. Together, the top 10 companies alone are worth a staggering $26 trillion, roughly equal to the combined stock market value of mainland China and…