Building materials marketplace Infra.Market has filed its initial public offering (IPO) papers confidentially with SEBI, signalling plans to raise around ₹5,000 crore ($563 million) through a mix of fresh issue and offer for sale (OFS). The move follows Infra.Market’s recent Series G raise of ₹731.58 crore at a valuation of $2.8 billion. Infra.Market, founded in 2016 by Souvik Sengupta and Aaditya Sharda, operates a B2B marketplace for construction materials, and increasingly also manufactures under private label brands. Over the years, the firm has backed its expansion via acquisitions; in July, it acquired a majority stake in ceramic tiles maker Metro…
Author: Aman Atulya
Aravind Srinivas, CEO and cofounder of AI search startup Perplexity, urged Indian entrepreneurs to reimagine their role not just as managers of global firms, but as builders of companies that start in India and scale worldwide. Srinivas made these remarks in an interview with The Economic Times. An IIT-Madras alumnus, Srinivas leads one of Silicon Valley’s most closely watched AI ventures, valued at $20 billion, and backed by investors including Jeff Bezos, SoftBank Vision Fund, and Nvidia. Perplexity’s Indian market has seen rapid adoption, partly driven by a partnership with Bharti Airtel bundling its Pro service with telecom plans. Srinivas…
SuperFam, a privacy-first family management platform, has raised $400,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by Fundamental VC, with participation from Untitled Ventures and SSV Fund. The capital will be used to accelerate user acquisition, expand product features, and integrate an AI co-pilot to complement its core platform. Founded in 2024 by Jozzire Lyngdoh and Mohit Agrawal, SuperFam offers a comprehensive solution for modern family life, combining household finances, location tracking, safety tools, and essential family information management on a single secure platform. The app uses end-to-end encryption and on-device storage, ensuring privacy while providing a smart digital layer that…
Enterprise messaging platform Fyno has secured $4 million in a seed funding round co-led by Arkam Ventures and 3one4 Capital. The Bengaluru-based startup had previously raised $3.89 million in the same round from 3one4 Capital. Founded in 2022 by Aniketh Jain and Ashish Agarwal, Fyno provides a compliance-first communication infrastructure for banks, NBFCs, and financial services firms. The platform integrates, orchestrates, and analyzes messages across eight+ channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, email, push notifications, and voice. By unifying communications, Fyno enables personalized, timely, and regulatory-compliant customer experiences. The funding will be deployed to enhance AI capabilities, scale go-to-market operations in India…
Hunar.ai an AI-driven workforce management platform, has launched India’s first Self-Serve Voice AI HR agents designed to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) streamline frontline workforce engagement. The platform allows businesses to quickly deploy Voice AI agents for critical HR functions such as hiring, onboarding, training, and employee retention without requiring technical expertise. Companies can simply log in, configure use cases, upload workforce data, and activate AI HR agents within minutes. Addressing Seasonal Workforce Needs India’s festive demand and GST reforms have intensified the need for flexible frontline staffing in retail, logistics, and services. Hunar.ai’s AI HR agents are built…
Ignosis, an enterprise-focused Account Aggregator (AA) infrastructure and financial data intelligence startup, has raised $4 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Peak XV’s Surge, with participation from Force Ventures, Razorpay Ventures, Kunal Shah of Cred, and other existing investors. Prior to this, the startup had secured $1.49 million from Angel List and additional early backers. Founded in 2022 by Nirav Prajapati and Chintan Sheth, Ignosis builds an AI-driven platform providing income verification, intelligent collections, spend analysis, portfolio insights, hyper-personalized financial nudges, and risk/fraud signals. The startup aims to address gaps in India’s financial ecosystem, where over 160…
Vama, a faith-tech startup offering virtual spiritual and religious services, has secured Rs 22 crore ($2.47 million) in a Pre-Series A round. The funding was led by Wavemaker Partners, with participation from 500 Global, Sadev Ventures, Venture Catalysts, Silverneedle Ventures, and several angel investors. The round marks 500 Global’s first investment in Vama, while Wavemaker doubled down after backing the company in 2023. According to Vama, the proceeds will be directed towards expanding new categories, strengthening its e-commerce vertical, scaling marketing, and preparing for international markets. The startup currently operates with contribution margins above 10% and expects to achieve EBITDA…
Japanese venture capital firm Unleash Capital Partners has completed the final close of its maiden fund at Rs 300 crore, marking a focused bet on India’s booming fintech sector. Backed by 35 Japanese limited partners (LPs), the fund is co-managed by founder Natsuki Sugai alongside financial services firm Gojo & Company. It aims to support 12–15 startups through investments ranging between Rs 5 crore and Rs 18 crore, primarily at the seed and Series A stages. So far, Unleash Capital has invested in seven Indian fintechs, including Pelocal, an AI-driven payments orchestration platform integrated with WhatsApp; Zype, a digital lending…
Defence tech startup Unmannd, which develops autonomous drones and defence systems, has secured $2 million in a funding round led by Speciale Invest and Accel. Unmannd’s core offerings include Titan, an aerial logistics drone platform that carries supplies, and Fury, an interceptor system designed to detect hostile drones and neutralize them. The new capital will support the transition of Fury from a proof-of-concept stage to a market-ready solution, accelerate the commercialization of Titan, expand engineering capabilities, and explore export opportunities. Founded in early 2025 by Yeshwanth Reddy and Hemaditya Prasad, the Bengaluru-based startup is qualified to supply drones to India’s…
Debt marketplace Recur Club has raised $50 million in a blended equity and debt funding round, with InfoEdge Ventures leading the equity portion. The capital will be channelled toward scaling the team, enhancing technology, and expanding reach into Tier II and III markets across India. Of the $50 million, $8 million was raised as equity, with InfoEdge Ventures joined by LC Nueva, Physis Capital, String Ventures, and iA Finvolve. The remaining $42 million came in the form of debt from financial institutions such as InCred, Ugro Capital, and Lighthouse Canton. Recur Club operates as a debt marketplace targeting startups and…