Author: Himanshu Sindhi

Gurgaon-based insurance broking platform RenewBuy has secured $10 million (₹86 crore) in fresh capital from its existing backers, Apis Partners and 360 One, as the company gears up for a potential merger with arch-rival InsuranceDekho. According to reports by The Economic Times, the infusion is intended to fuel business continuity and expansion during the interim period, as the merger awaits regulatory clearance from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). “This funding will help in business development till the time the merger gets closed,” one person familiar with the development was quoted as saying. Bridging to the Next…

In a bold move to sharpen its competitive edge in India’s fast-evolving e-commerce landscape, Amazon India has announced a fresh ₹2,000 crore ($233 million) investment this year to upgrade and expand its logistics and operations infrastructure. This represents one of Amazon’s largest annual capital outlays in India to date and comes amid rising competition from ultra-fast delivery startups and a broader deceleration in the country’s e-tail sector. Focus on Speed, Scale, and Service The investment will primarily go toward strengthening Amazon’s fulfilment centres, sortation hubs, and last-mile delivery infrastructure, particularly in high-density urban areas. The goal: reduce delivery times, enhance…

Elevation Capital, the early-stage venture capital firm formerly known as SAIF Partners, has continued its profitable exit journey from Le Travenues Technology Ltd., the parent company of online travel platform Ixigo, with its latest share sale fetching an estimated 25-fold return on investment. In a block deal executed on Thursday, Elevation sold 53.9 lakh shares at Rs 180 apiece, totaling Rs 97.4 crore, as per regulatory filings with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). On the other side of the transaction, Schroder International Selection Fund, part of UK-based global asset manager Schroders, acquired 53.6 lakh shares for Rs 96.9 crore, marking…

MagicFleet, the logistics arm of hyperlocal commerce platform Magicpin, has crossed a key milestone—surpassing one million monthly deliveries less than a year after its launch. The company now aims to double this number to two million by the end of FY26, signaling rapid traction in India’s expanding quick-commerce and delivery infrastructure space. Launched in September 2024, MagicFleet was conceived as a SaaS-powered logistics platform designed to empower micro and small logistics entrepreneurs. With over 100,000 delivery partners onboarded, the platform is currently active in seven major metros: Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata. “We are already among…

Non-banking finance company Techfino has raised ₹65 crore in equity funding in a round led by Stellaris Venture Partners and Saison Capital, the venture investment arm of Tokyo-listed Credit Saison. The fresh capital will be used to scale its secured lending operations targeting micro and small enterprises (MSEs) across India’s semi-urban and rural landscapes. Founded in 2019, Techfino is now set to double its physical presence from 30 to 60 branches in the next 12 months, enhance its 400-member workforce, and strengthen its AI-driven risk assessment tools—specifically designed for borrowers from India’s informal economy. Branch-Led Growth with Rural Roots “We’ve…

Mumbai-based fintech startup Seven, the company behind India’s first homegrown contactless payment ring, has secured ₹4 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by Venture Catalysts, India’s leading early-stage investor and integrated incubator. The round also saw participation from Vinners, a SEBI-registered Category I AIF, and Anchorage Capital Partners, backed by the Sheth family—promoters of The Great Eastern Shipping Company. The funds will be used to scale up production of the company’s flagship wearable device, the 7 Ring, and to accelerate the launch of a more affordable model, the 7 Ring Air, slated for release between July and September…

Maruti Suzuki India has unveiled the winners of the 9th Cohort of its flagship startup accelerator program, expanding its innovation footprint by introducing a global startups category for the first time. The selected cohort includes six Indian startups — Frinks AI, mistEO, Adagrad, Com Olho, ProSolvr, and Eligere — along with three startups from Germany — Caire AI, Syn2Core, and Talonic. All nine startups will now collaborate with Maruti Suzuki teams to execute proof of concept (PoC) projects, testing and validating their AI-powered solutions in live business environments. Global Participation Marks New Chapter “This cohort marks a new milestone with…

Bengaluru | Apoorv Sharma | Founder, Derivate X While the rest of the world is still chasing Google rankings, one Bengaluru-based founder has taken a completely different route. Apoorv Sharma, a digital pioneer, isn’t just tweaking SEO tactics — he’s fundamentally rewriting them for the AI-first future. His startup, Derivate X, is India’s first SEO agency built exclusively for large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. From Keywords to Chatbots: A Paradigm Shift in Search As businesses stayed focused on backlinks, keyword density, and blog churn to please Google’s algorithms, Apoorv spotted a quiet but powerful revolution:People weren’t…

FamApp (formerly FamPay), a Bengaluru-based teen-focused fintech startup, has made a dramatic turnaround—closing FY25 with Rs 90–100 crore in revenue and turning profitable with a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 10–12 crore, according to three sources familiar with the company’s financials. This revival comes amid news that Elevation Capital is leading a $15 million round, largely comprising secondary capital, which will enable co-founder Kush Taneja and some early investors to exit. “The secondary component will primarily facilitate a buyout of Kush Taneja’s stake,” said a source familiar with the deal. “Some seed-stage investors may also sell a portion of…

Elevation Capital (formerly SAIF Partners) has continued its exit strategy from Ixigo’s parent company, Le Travenues Technology, by selling shares worth Rs 135 crore (~$15.7 million) via block deals on the BSE. This marks Elevation’s fourth partial exit, delivering a staggering 25X return on investment. 📉 Stake Trimmed from 14.02% to 12.08% According to BSE data: 🌍 Schroder Fund Enters the Scene At the same time, British investment giant Schroder Fund acquired 53.68 lakh shares worth Rs 96.8 crore. This marks its formal entry into Ixigo’s cap table. With $950B AUM and stakes in Indian majors like HDFC Bank and…