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Meta Connect 2025 saw glitches as Ray-Ban Display glasses ($799) and a neural wristband faltered during demos with Jack Mancuso and Andrew Bosworth. The AI assistant skipped steps in a cooking demo, and gesture-based video calls failed, forcing Bosworth onstage. Videos went viral, though Mark Zuckerberg stayed composed. Analyst Gene Munster praised the risk of live demos. Meta calls the 600×600 display glasses with muscle-movement detection a wearable AI breakthrough.

Gameskraft has laid off 120 employees after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 banned real-money gaming, forcing operational halts. CEO Prithvi Singh promised support with health benefits till March 2026. This comes amid Pocket52’s suspension, a ₹21,000 Cr GST demand, and allegations of ₹250 Cr embezzlement by ex-CFO Ramesh Prabhu. Platforms like RummyCulture, LudoCulture, Games24x7, and MPL are also hit, pivoting to new models.

TCS and Qualcomm have launched the TCS Innovation Lab in Bengaluru, focusing on Software Defined Everything (SDx) and Edge AI. Part of the Bringing Life to Things Network, it will develop real-time AI solutions for healthcare, manufacturing, smart infrastructure, and medical devices. Leveraging Qualcomm’s platforms, TCS aims to build agile, future-ready systems, reinforcing both firms’ vision of AI-driven innovation and a connected future.

Bharat Supply has named N. Balakrishna as CFO to drive financial strategy and expansion. Formerly Snowman Logistics’ CFO, he brings 14 years of cross-sector experience. Formed from the merger of Connect India and Faarms’ logistics arm, Bharat Supply aims to reach 300+ districts by 2025. Backed by Aavishkaar Capital and Conny & Co., it currently serves 200,000+ villages, supporting e-commerce, agriculture, and consumer durable brands.

LTIMindtree and Shopify have launched an AI-powered Center of Excellence (CoE) for Digital Commerce to help enterprises scale and modernize retail. The CoE will build AI capabilities, develop accelerators, provide migration toolkits, and design learning programs. LTIMindtree Interactive will drive transformation, while leaders Dr. Sujay Sen and Rhys Furner stress the partnership’s role in faster launches and smarter scaling, positioning brands to thrive in an AI-first world.

The Technology Development Board (DST) is backing Raptee Energy’s 240-Volt electric motorcycle platform, India’s first of its kind. The innovation adapts high-voltage car tech for two-wheelers, enabling faster charging and higher efficiency. Featuring an ARAI-certified battery, smart connectivity, and sustainable manufacturing, it aligns with Aatmanirbhar Bharat and SDGs. Leaders from TDB and Raptee stress its role in domestic innovation and India’s EV transition.

Rolls-Royce has opened its largest Global Capability and Innovation Centre in Bengaluru, a 700-seat facility reinforcing the city’s rise as a hub for aerospace, defense, and advanced engineering. With over 2,000 engineers already in India, the move boosts R&D career opportunities for young talent and strengthens Bengaluru’s position as a global aerospace and innovation capital.

Groq, founded by ex-Alphabet engineer Jonathan Ross, raised $750M at a $6.9B valuation led by Disruptive with BlackRock backing. The startup focuses on AI inference chips for faster, cheaper deployments, diverging from training-centric hardware. Groq also secured a $1.5B Saudi commitment, projecting $500M revenue in 2025, strengthening its role in building U.S. infrastructure for high-speed AI.

PhonePe, Paytm, and CRED have halted credit card rental payments after the RBI’s new payment aggregator (PA) guidelines. The rules require PAs to process funds only for merchants with direct contracts, barring marketplace-style models without KYC. This impacts users and fintech revenues from convenience fees. Executives foresee onboarding hurdles. The RBI, after flagging P2P credit card payments, now mandates PA categorization and a ₹15 Cr minimum net worth.

Supply6, a D2C nutrition brand, has raised $1.1M seed funding led by Zeropearl VC, with investors like Kunal Shah, Ashutosh Valani, Priyank Shah & Yogesh Kabra. Founded by Vaibhav Bhandari & Rahul Jacob, the funds will support product expansion, clinical studies & new markets. Its flagship Supply6 360 delivers 63+ nutrients. Backed by AB de Villiers, the brand has 2 lakh customers, 45% repeat purchases, and wide availability across major e-commerce platforms.

Paytm, in partnership with Suryoday Small Finance Bank and powered by NPCI, has launched Paytm Postpaid as a Credit Line on UPI, allowing users to “Spend Now, Pay Next Month.” The service enables instant short-term credit for QR scans and online transactions with up to 30 days to repay. Available via the Paytm app, it offers spend categorization, privacy controls, and personalized UPI IDs for secure, seamless payments.

PlaySuper, a gaming commerce platform, has raised $1M seed funding led by Chimera, with participation from Audacity VC, IAN Capital Fund, and Dhruv Vohra. Founded by Shouradeep Chakraborty, Upamanyu Chatterjee, and Abhir Das, the startup will use funds to enhance product development and expand in India and Southeast Asia. Its rewards-as-a-service SDK integrates branded rewards into games, driving retention and monetization, with monthly GMV exceeding $350,000.

EcoSoul has secured $20M Series B funding, led by Accel and Bajaj Financial Securities, with debt from Alteria Capital and SIDBI. The company will scale Indian manufacturing and expand omnichannel retail across the US, UK, Europe, and GCC. It also plans to launch chemical-free cleaning and tree-free paper products. Founded in 2020, EcoSoul partners with Walmart and Costco, leveraging sugarcane and bamboo materials to compete with brands like Beco.

FinBox, a Bengaluru-based fintech, has raised $40M Series B led by WestBridge Capital, with participation from A91 Partners and Aditya Birla Ventures. The funds will drive AI innovation, tech upgrades, and global expansion. FinBox processes 50M+ credit decisions monthly, powering $9B in loan applications through its APIs. With clients like HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, it aims to curb fraud and boost approvals in India’s digital credit ecosystem.

Lucira Jewelry has raised $5.5M seed funding, the largest for an Indian jewelry startup, led by Blume Ventures and Spring Marketing Capital. Founded by Rupesh and Vandana Jain, Lucira designs fine jewelry with lab-grown diamonds and recycled gold. The funds will fuel retail expansion, design studios, and tech upgrades. With 1,000+ customizable, certified designs, Lucira joins startups like Aukera, Firefly Diamonds, and Palmonas in attracting strong investor interest.

Scalekit has raised $5.5M seed funding led by Together Fund and Z47 to launch its authentication stack for AI agents. Founded by the Freshworks auth team, Scalekit enables secure agent identities in business apps. CEO Satya Devarakonda stresses identity verification and access control, while CTO Ravi Madabhushi highlights short-lived tokens and plug-in tools. Supporting OAuth 2.1, Scalekit aims to power the next billion agent identities.

iDO Devices Pvt Ltd has raised $4M in funding led by Blume Ventures and Merak Ventures. Founded by Ashita Gupta, Shalabh Srivastava, and John Xie, the startup designs and manufactures BLE wearables, GSM phones, GPS trackers, and WiFi smart devices. The funds will drive customer acquisition, tech development, and IP expansion across the US, Europe, and India, tapping into India’s $400B electronics market by 2030.

Apollo Tyres Ltd has replaced Dream11 as the lead and jersey sponsor of the Indian cricket team from Sept 2025 to Mar 2028, in a deal worth ₹579 crore. Apollo will pay ₹4.5 crore per bilateral match, with its logo on men’s and women’s jerseys across all formats. Following the ban on real-money gaming platforms, this marks a major branding milestone for Apollo and the BCCI.

Indkal Technologies has raised $20M in bridge funding to scale its Wobble brand, with participation from new and existing investors. CEO Anand Dubey said the funds will support expansion into multiple display categories via contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies. Initially targeting India, Wobble plans global expansion, leveraging India’s growing product R&D and manufacturing strength. The raise signals strong investor confidence ahead of Indkal’s planned Series B by fiscal year-end.

TVS Motor Company and ALT Mobility will deploy 3,000 electric three-wheelers in India by FY26. TVS supplies the vehicles, while ALT handles leasing via a ‘Drive-to-own’ model for cargo and passenger use. ALT offers 24/7 monitoring and predictive maintenance. Rajat Gupta (TVS) cites EV efficiency; Anuj Gupta (ALT) stresses sustainable mobility and inclusion. Founded in 2021, ALT earlier raised $6M from Shell Ventures and others.

Pascal AI Labs, a Bengaluru-based fintech startup, raised $3.1M in seed funding led by Kalaari Capital with Norwest Venture Partners’ backing. Founded by Vibhav Viswanathan and Mithun Madhusudan, the startup builds AI agents for finance professionals, automating research and KPI extraction from financial documents. Serving 16,000+ companies, Pascal AI plans U.S. expansion and deeper data partnerships, targeting autonomous insights for analysts and CIOs amid rising GenAI-driven fintech solutions.

Pelocal, a Noida-based fintech, raised $5M in Series A funding led by UNLEASH Capital Partners and Unicorn India Ventures. The AI-powered WhatsApp payments platform, founded by Vivekanand Tripathi and Vikas Garg, serves 40+ enterprises and 5M monthly users across BFSI, transit, and utilities. With a $500M annual payment run rate and 6x growth since seed, Pelocal targets $10M ARR in 18–24 months.

Nothing has raised $200M in Series C funding led by Tiger Global, valuing it at $1.3B, with investors GV, Highland Europe, and Qualcomm Ventures. Founded by Carl Pei, the company has shipped 5.1M units, securing a 2% India market share. With Sélim Benayat leading AI services, Nothing plans community funding and AI-first devices, while Pei emphasizes smartphones’ central role in AI applications.

uKnowva, a Mumbai-based HR tech platform, has secured $0.5M in pre-Series A funding from Parv Network, Growth 91, and Aapna Infotech after its acquisition by Hinduja Global Solutions. Founded by Abhay Talekar, Priyanka Bhor Jain, and Vicky Jain, the startup will boost sales, expand geographically, and strengthen its AI roadmap. Offering AI-powered recruitment, onboarding, and performance tools, uKnowva plans to scale across Tier I & II cities.

BeyondSquare Solutions raised $4M in Series A funding led by Avant Global to scale FinAlyzer, its financial consolidation and reporting platform. Founded by Karthik Ganesan, Venkatachalam PK, and Rangan Varadan, the startup will enhance automation, compliance, and scalability. With 100+ enterprise clients in 45+ countries, including Fortune 500 India firms, BeyondSquare eyes expansion across the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia as the $6.4B market grows.

Amaani, a Middle Eastern beauty and wellness startup, has raised $3M seed funding from Peak XV’s Surge to expand its Arab beauty brand AÏZA and build culturally inspired global labels. Founded by ex-Sequoia investor Shubham Poddar, Amaani targets the $12B GCC beauty market growing at 12% annually. AÏZA, launched in May 2025, hit $2M annualized revenue in three months with vegan, cruelty-free products rivaling Huda Beauty.

CRED, in partnership with IndusInd Bank, has launched a co-branded RuPay credit card and an exclusive CRED Sovereign membership featuring an 18K gold card. The card offers 5% rewards on e-commerce and 1% on offline spends, redeemable across 500+ partners. Sovereign members gain access to startup investments and spaceflight opportunities. With 13M+ active users, CRED is positioning itself as a premium lifestyle fintech platform.

The government has reopened PLI Scheme applications for white goods (ACs and LED Lights) from Sept 15–Oct 14, 2025. Both new and existing beneficiaries can apply, with incentives available for up to two years. So far, 83 beneficiaries have committed ₹10,406 crore. Launched in 2021 with a ₹6,238 crore outlay, the scheme boosts local manufacturing and jobs under Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Sanspareils Greenlands (SG) has partnered with Salesforce to digitize sales and dealer operations across 850+ Indian locations, marking Salesforce’s entry into India’s cricket equipment sector. SG will deploy Salesforce Service Cloud and a Dealer Management System for real-time insights, automation, and improved support. CEO Paras Anand stressed data agility, while Salesforce’s Aditi Sharma highlighted AI’s role. The move integrates SG’s product range and boosts partnerships, with Agentforce enhancing AI capabilities.

MyPickup, an electric mobility startup backed by Inflection Point Ventures, has shut down after failing to achieve product-market fit and secure long-term funding. Founded in 2023 by Abhijeet Jagtap, the company offered subscription-based e-rickshaw services with 80% retention. By May 2025, it ran 19 vehicles with under 100 subscribers. A $179K seed round in 2024 kept it afloat for a year before closure.