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RARA Barefoot raised $500K in pre-seed funding from Zomato, Urban Company, and ChrysCapital to launch barefoot sneakers. Founded by Varun Mimani and Manas Tripathi, the D2C brand promotes natural movement with flat, flexible soles and wide toe boxes. Funds will support national expansion, retail partnerships, local manufacturing, and 2026 offline pop-ups. India’s sneaker market is projected to reach $4.67B by 2030 at a 5.7% CAGR.

Fragaria Fruits, Chennai-based agritech startup, raised $2M from WEH Ventures to scale its berry business. Founded by Harish Varadharajan, Timothy Chad Van Niekerk, and Damian López-Salazar, the company uses vertical farming and CEA to offer premium year-round fruits under ‘Oh! Fruits’, including European strawberries. Funds will expand Bengaluru production and add blueberries and raspberries. India’s agritech market is projected to reach $6.2B by 2033.

Rapido integrated flight, hotel, bus, and train bookings through partnerships with Goibibo, redBus, and ConfirmTkt, targeting 50 million users across 400 cities. The app features a new travel section offering seamless booking and exclusive discounts, merging daily commutes with long-distance travel. Rapido’s expansion targets India’s fast-growing digital travel market, strengthening presence in tier 2 and 3 cities with enhanced convenience and affordability.

Standard Chartered and Bank of India issued a $215M loan to AI Fleet Services (AIFS) in GIFT City to finance six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for Air India. The deal, led by Standard Chartered as Structuring Bank, marks GIFT City’s rise as an aviation finance hub and supports Air India’s fleet renewal under Chairman Sanjay Sharma’s transformation plan.

NTT DATA signed an MoU with NPCI International to introduce India’s UPI in Japan, marking UPI’s first East Asia launch. The collaboration enables UPI payment acceptance across Japanese merchants, allowing Indian tourists instant, secure mobile transactions. Supporting Japan’s cashless payment push, this expands India’s fintech footprint globally. With nearly 20 billion UPI transactions worth $280 billion in September 2025, both parties will assess integration opportunities across Japan’s merchant network.

India’s Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, led by Nivedita Shukla Verma, met Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Minerals, headed by H.E Eng. Khalil bin Ibrahim bin Salamah, to strengthen ties. Bilateral trade reached USD 41.88 billion in 2024–25, with chemicals and petrochemicals contributing USD 4.5 billion. Discussions covered enhanced cooperation, PCPIR investments, and R&D collaboration, recognizing complementary strengths in petrochemicals and specialty chemicals, reaffirming mutually beneficial strategic and economic partnership.

Matters.AI raised $4.7 million seed funding led by Kalaari Capital and Endiya Partners to scale and enhance R&D. Founded by Keshava Murthy and Harsh Sahu, the AI-native platform uses multimodal LLMs and eBPF to secure cloud data. Its AI copilot aids investigation and remediation, serving Groww and Nokia. Planning North America expansion, Matters.AI competes with Cyera amid India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act preparations.

SpeakX.ai raised $16 million led by WestBridge Capital, with Goodwater Capital and Elevation Capital participating. Its AI-driven spoken English learning offers personalized conversation simulations. Founder Anshul Mittal pivoted from YellowClass to SpeakX.ai in 2023, focusing on AI and a leaner team, achieving profitability with ₹5 crore monthly revenue and 2 lakh+ subscribers. The shift to Google Gemini API improved performance. Upcoming regional language support aims for mass adoption.

Microsoft faces a class action lawsuit claiming its $13B OpenAI deal restricted competition and inflated AI prices. The suit alleges exclusivity to Azure raised ChatGPT costs up to 200x rivals. Though OpenAI began using Google Cloud in 2025, Microsoft’s influence persists. Plaintiffs seek damages and a court ban on restrictions, amid ongoing FTC antitrust scrutiny of Microsoft’s AI partnerships.

Olee.Space appointed Venkateswara Gowtama Mannava, former BEL Chairman, as Strategic Production Advisor. With 40+ years in defense electronics, he’ll guide development in LIDAR and secure communications under Atmanirbhar Bharat. CEO James Solomon called it a key milestone post their $3M seed round, strengthening Olee.Space’s push for innovation, operational excellence, and technological leadership in defense systems.

Curie Money, founded by Arindam Ghosh and Tushar Choudhary, launched nationwide after securing NPCI approval. The fintech, which raised $1.2M led by India Quotient, is a mutual fund-backed UPI app offering up to 6.7% annual returns via liquid mutual funds. Partnering with YES Bank and ICICI Prudential, Curie enables instant UPI payments through real-time fund redemption.

Airbound raised $8.6M in seed funding led by Lachy Groom and Lightspeed to scale drone manufacturing and reliability. Partnering with Narayana Health, it will run 10 daily medical deliveries. Founded by Naman Pushp and Faraaz Baig, Airbound’s “Rudra” system enables one pilot to manage 100 drones. The company plans to expand beyond medical logistics as India’s drone market nears $13B by 2030.

Two Brothers Organic Farms raised ₹110 Cr ($12.4 Mn) in Series B funding led by 360 ONE Asset with Rainmatter Investments. The funds will expand manufacturing, boost global reach, and train 15,000 farmers. With ₹108 Cr revenue in FY25, the firm targets ₹200 Cr in FY26 and aims to enhance its lab and strengthen presence in the US and MENA regions.

HouseEazy raised ₹150 Cr ($16.9 Mn) in Series B funding led by Accel, with Chiratae Ventures and Antler. Founded in 2021 by Tarun Sainani and Deepak Bhatia, it simplifies pre-owned apartment resales using AI for pricing and instant deal closures. The funds will expand operations in Pune, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, and enhance its tech stack and brand presence.

Artha India Ventures announced the first close of Artha Venture Fund II at INR 250 crore, targeting INR 500 crore. The fund focuses on seed-stage startups in premium consumption, fintech, AI, and deeptech using a 1-2-4 model, targeting 15-20% ownership. Managing Partner Anirudh A. Damani notes ecosystem ‘reset’ with seed investment scarcity. Founded in 2012 by Ashok Kumar Damani, Artha has invested in 140 startups including OYO and Rapido.

smallest.ai secured $8 million seed funding led by Sierra Ventures for enterprise voice AI. Cofounded by Akshat Mandloi and Sudarshan Kamath, it offers hyper-realistic voice agents and TTS models via Waves and Atoms platforms. Supporting 30+ languages, smallest.ai manages 1 million+ calls for real estate and ecommerce with 5,000+ SMB clients. Targeting the $47 billion voice AI market, it competes with Murf AI and Play AI.

Google announced a $15 billion AI hub in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, its largest Indian investment. The five-year initiative (2026–2030) will establish a gigawatt-scale data center, subsea cable gateway, and clean energy infrastructure. Developed with AdaniConneX and Airtel, the hub accelerates digital transformation, aligning with Viksit Bharat 2047. Leaders including Ashwini Vaishnaw and N. Chandrababu Naidu hailed it as strengthening U.S.–India tech collaboration and India’s AI leadership.

Jio Payments Bank Limited (JPBL) will implement FASTag ANPR-based Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) toll system on Gurugram–Jaipur highway at Shahjahanpur and Manoharpura plazas. Using RFID, ANPR, DSRC, and satellite tech, MLFF enables contactless toll collection, reducing congestion. Part of IHMCL pilot, this reinforces JPBL’s digital payments and highway infrastructure role. Managing 11 toll plazas, JPBL uses Jio Platforms’ tech to enhance operations and highway experiences.

The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), effective October 1, 2025, is India’s first FTA with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, committing USD 100 billion in investments and 1 million jobs over 15 years. EFTA offers 92.2% tariff concessions; India offers 82.7%. Key sectors like dairy and agriculture are protected. The India-EFTA Desk facilitates investments, with reduced tariffs boosting Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Foxconn is investing INR 15,000 crore ($1.8B) in Tamil Nadu, creating 14,000 engineering jobs and boosting AI-led manufacturing. Minister TRB Rajaa highlights value-added production and R&D. A dedicated Foxconn Desk will expedite approvals following Robert Wu-MK Stalin discussions. Foxconn targets 25-30 million iPhone units annually, exporting $3.2B (March-May). Apple plans India-based US manufacturing. Foxconn partners with HCL for an OSAT facility with INR 3,700 crore investment.

Bengaluru’s GoodScore secured $13 million Series A funding led by Peak XV Partners, with Stellaris Venture Partners and Saison Capital participating. Founder Sanchit Bansal will enhance AI-driven advisory services and expand the credit marketplace. Launched in 2023, the app has 5 million users with AI-powered credit score management at INR 99. Partnerships with Axis Bank and HDFC Bank enable loan repayment and credit access, competing with Oolka and CRED.

Tripura is emerging as Northeast India’s startup leader with 66% average growth in startup recognitions. Director Jeya Ragul Geshan B. highlighted innovation focus under CM Manik Saha at Tamil Nadu Global Startup Summit 2025. The Tripura Startup Policy 2024 introduces ₹50 crore in funding, grants, and patent support, fostering inclusive growth, supporting women-led ventures, and strengthening Tripura’s position as a key startup destination.

Dezerv secured ₹350 crore Series C funding led by Premji Invest and Accel, with Elevation Capital and Z47 participating, to enhance client experience and expand investment offerings. Founded in 2021 by Sahil Contractor, Sandeep Jethwani, and Vaibhav Porwal, Dezerv manages over ₹14,000 crore in assets for 500,000 investors across 200 cities. Leaders highlight commitment to diligent wealth management, AUM growth, AI-driven approach, trust, technology, and rapid client growth.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met PM Narendra Modi to discuss India expansion. Adoption of AI tools, particularly Claude Code, increased fivefold since June. Modi highlighted India’s tech ecosystem and youth potential in responsible AI innovation, welcoming Anthropic’s growth strengthening capabilities in education, healthcare, and agriculture. Amodei praised India’s proactive AI policy. Modi expressed enthusiasm on X, anticipating collaboration to harness AI for growth.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has offered Flipkart a chance to settle a FEMA violation case by admitting fault and paying a penalty, which includes dismantling its seller network. Amazon India is also under scrutiny. The ED’s move may strengthen India’s trade stance with the US. Allegations cite excessive discounts between 2009–2015, before Walmart’s acquisition, while CCI probes competition violations.

Supabase raised $100 million Series E led by Accel and Peak XV, with Figma, YC, Coatue, Felicis, Craft, and Square Peg participating, valuing the company at $5 billion pre-money. Funds support employee secondaries (25% vested stock sales) and accelerate hiring for open-source initiatives like Multigres and OrioleDB. With 30+ ex-founders, Supabase operates 100% distributed across 37 countries, actively recruiting talent.

Bengaluru-based Chara Technologies secured $6 million Series A funding led by Arkam Ventures, with Exfinity participating. Founded by Bhaktha Keshavachar, Mahalingam Koushik, and Ravi Prasad, Chara specializes in rare-earth-free electric motors using synchronous reluctance architecture, 15-20% more cost-effective. Funds will support a new factory and technology enhancement. Serving 100 customers including Greaves Cotton, Chara targets 6x growth by FY26 and 40,000 motors by FY27.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar launched 10XU, a sportswear and athleisure brand founded with Karthik Gurumurthy and Karan Arora, backed by Peak XV and Whiteboard Capital. The Bengaluru-based brand offers apparel and footwear, including cricket-specific shoes at ₹9,000 and everyday ranges at ₹5,000–6,000. 10XU aims to democratize high-performance gear, encourage active lifestyles, and transform India into a sports-playing nation, with international expansion planned.

Karnataka approved a policy granting 12 paid menstrual leaves annually to women across all sectors, benefiting over 50 lakh individuals. Spearheaded by CM Siddaramaiah, the Karnataka Menstrual Leave and Hygiene Bill, 2025, prescribes fines for non-compliance, aligning with Bihar and Odisha. With 31.5% female labor force participation, Karnataka hosts Walmart, Google, Infosys, and Wipro. Labour Minister Santosh Lad highlighted addressing women’s physical and mental stress.

L&T Finance Ltd. launched ‘Pitch Point’ for early-stage AI startups in BFSI and beyond. Two winners receive Rs. 25 lakhs each, PoC exploration with LTF, and equity funding discussions. Solutions span Cyber Security to AI Geospatial applications. A jury including Rajan Anandan (Peak XV Partners) and Sushma Kaushik (L&T Innovation Fund) will select finalists for RAISE’ 25. Applications close October 20, 2025.