End-to-end technology-driven FMCG startup Meolaa has raised $6 million in a pre-Series A round led by General Catalyst, with participation from Claypond Capital, Colossa Ventures, Kunal Shah, Turbostart Global, and other existing investors. The company had earlier secured $4.43 million in seed funding from the Manipal Group and others. The fresh capital will be directed towards strengthening Meolaa’s AI and data science infrastructure, expanding its portfolio of sustainable brands, and enhancing operational scalability. Founded in 2023 by Ishita Sawant, Meolaa operates as a technology-powered e-commerce marketplace that curates sustainable, high-quality D2C brands across categories such as fashion, beauty, home, and…
Author: Aman Atulya
UK–India cross-border venture capital firm Pontaq has received a Rs 10 crore investment from Navyug Global for its India-focused fund, aimed at supporting early-stage startups in deep-tech, cleantech, and fintech sectors. The commitment from Navyug Global as a Limited Partner (LP) underscores confidence in Pontaq’s investment strategy and its track record of backing high-potential technology ventures. The funds will be deployed to support over 10 startups in India, providing not just capital but also strategic mentorship, operational guidance, and access to global markets. Pontaq’s India Fund focuses on startups driving innovation in AI, climate tech, enterprise solutions, and frontier technologies,…
Tech giant Google is set to make one of its largest-ever direct investments in India, planning a $10 billion project to build a sprawling data centre cluster in and around Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The initiative, part of India’s first AI Infrastructure Hub, aims to strengthen the country’s digital backbone and support advanced research, AI development, and technology growth. The project will comprise three campuses across villages including Adavivaram, Tarluvada, and Rambilli, with a combined power capacity of 1 gigawatt. Key infrastructure developments include laying three submarine cables, constructing cable landing stations, and deploying high-capacity fiber and telecom networks to ensure…
Venture capital firm Theia Ventures has announced the first close of its inaugural fund, raising $15 million towards a $30 million target. The firm plans to focus Fund I investments on deeptech, energy transition, and decarbonisation, supporting startups working in green mobility, sustainable materials, battery technologies, clean logistics, and industrial decarbonisation. Structured as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) under SEBI regulations, Theia has already secured commitments exceeding 50% of its target, reflecting strong investor confidence in its strategy. The firm has also onboarded British International Investment (BII) as its anchor investor, alongside global partners including Allocator One (Germany),…
Paras Anti-Drone Technologies, a subsidiary of Paras Defence and Space Technologies Ltd., has secured an order worth ₹46.19 crore from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for supplying advanced anti-drone systems to the Indian armed forces. The contract, which includes drone jammers, is slated for execution by March 2026, marking a significant milestone in India’s domestic counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sector. The order underscores the growing need for indigenous solutions to tackle the increasing threat posed by hostile drones, which are being deployed for surveillance, smuggling, and potential security breaches. Paras Anti-Drone’s systems are designed to detect and neutralize such UAVs…
Civic-tech startup Jaagruk Bharat has raised Rs 1.5 crore in a pre-seed round led by AJVC, the early-stage venture capital firm founded by Aviral Bhatnagar. The funding will be used to strengthen product development, expand partnerships with state and central government bodies, and enhance accessibility features across multiple platforms. The company also aims to scale its reach among marginalized communities and improve system interoperability for faster and more reliable access to public benefits. Founded by Akshit and Abhishek Goel, Jaagruk Bharat is building a citizen-first ecosystem to help Indians easily discover, apply for, and track government welfare schemes. Its multilingual…
In a move aimed at nurturing India’s next generation of entrepreneurs, Tally Solutions, the homegrown business automation giant, has announced a strategic partnership with Rukam Capital, a SEBI-registered venture capital fund focused on early-stage consumer startups. The collaboration seeks to strengthen startup fundamentals through mentorship, knowledge-sharing, and access to digital business tools. Under this initiative, Tally Solutions will offer curated mentorship programs, financial management sessions, and operational guidance to Rukam Capital’s portfolio startups as well as the Bootstrap Foundation community. The effort is designed to help early-stage ventures enhance efficiency in accounting, compliance, and decision-making—areas often overlooked during rapid growth…
Zoho Corporation has strengthened its position in India’s fintech sector with the launch of Zoho Payments POS terminals, QR-enabled devices, and sound boxes, alongside a suite of new collection, payout, and settlement solutions. The announcement was made at the Global Fintech Fest 2025, hosted by PCI, NPCI, and FCC. This marks Zoho’s first step into the in-person payments ecosystem, extending its 2024-launched Zoho Payments platform a unified payment gateway that enables secure digital transactions. The new POS terminals support tap, dip, and swipe card payments, as well as UPI QR codes, offering integrated billing, barcode scanning, and receipt printing capabilities.…
Startfresh Ventures, a New Age SEBI-registered venture fund, has led the Seed funding round for Trozo, a Bangalore-based deep-tech engagement platform that helps businesses move beyond transactional relationships and build meaningful, long-term customer connections. Trozo was founded by Pavan Govindan, Janardhan J V, and serial entrepreneur Dilip Adiga, combining expertise in deep tech, product innovation, and business strategy. The startup’s mission is to turn revenue into relationships, equipping brands with direct, actionable insights into their customer base. “Trozo is solving one of the most urgent problems for brands today the lack of customer insights and business overview,” said BM Manjunath,…
TrusTerra, an AI-powered marketplace for pre-owned electric vehicles (EVs), has raised Rs 9 crore in a pre-seed funding round co-led by Finvolve and India Accelerator, with participation from GrowthCap Ventures and strategic angels including Shishir Maheswari, Samrath Jit Singh, Ayush Lohia, and Kapil Nirmal. The fresh funding will be used to scale TruEV Score™, expand TrusTerra’s web and mobile marketplace across India’s top EV adoption cities and Tier-2 markets, strengthen partnerships with OEMs, banks, NBFCs, and dealers, and invest in technology, operations, and business development talent. Founded this year by Tanvir Singh, Saurabh Arora, Madhu Reddy, and Chanakya Agarwal, TrusTerra…