BUSINESS
From FOMO to Function: Can AI transform India’s fintech and banking backbone
Despite the AI buzz, India’s fintech and banking players are treading cautiously, experimenting, not overhauling, as they balance innovation with regulation in one of the world’s most tightly governed financial sectors.
BUSINESS
Festive demand revs up Bajaj Auto to top spot in EV two-wheeler sales; Ola slips to fourth
Bajaj sold 29,597 EV two-wheelers in October, followed by TVS Motor and Ather Energy, while festive offers and new launches boosted overall market demand.
BUSINESS
IntrCity SmartBus raises Rs 250 crore in Series D round led by A91 Partners
The firm plans to use the funds for fleet expansion, tech upgrades, and Tier-2/3 city coverage.
BUSINESS
General Atlantic pumps $600 mn into PhonePe ahead of IPO
The latest round, aimed at helping employees meet ESOP-related tax obligations, doubles General Atlantic’s stake to 9% as PhonePe gears up for a $1.35 billion public listing.
BUSINESS
Z47 doubles down on AI-first fintechs, plans to back global startups building for India
Z47 sees new wave of tech-enabled lending, digital-first cards, and AI-driven financial services shaping the next phase of fintech innovation.
BUSINESS
Zoho set to launch consumer payments app ‘Zoho Pay’
The Chennai-headquartered SaaS giant is expanding its fintech play with Zoho Pay, a consumer payments app integrated into Arattai, alongside new POS devices and financial software offerings.
BUSINESS
AI fever, regulation calm, and FOMO in the air: What really went down at GFF 2025
The three-day event in Mumbai saw AI dominate conversations across panels and product launches, while fintech founders, regulators, and banks signalled a more measured phase of collaboration after last year’s wave of policy changes.
BUSINESS
'Learn Kannada, Marathi if you are moving to those states,' says Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu on Indian elite and nationalism
Vembu also cited countries like Japan, Korea, and China as examples where national pride and self-reliance have powered rapid development.
TECHNOLOGY
Zoho chosen for government's email service after 20 security audits, says founder Sridhar Vembu
Amid scrutiny over government adoption of Zoho Mail, the company’s founder has said that it was selected by National Informatics Centre (NIC) after extensive vetting, while MeitY has maintained it does not favour any single firm for tender.
BUSINESS
AI is entering bubble territory, says Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu
On the role of AI in programming, Vembu said he is a fan of AI-based coding and uses it extensively, but emphasized that it augments rather than replaces skilled programmers.
BUSINESS
India cannot afford the scale of investment in data centres, if power bills go up, it will become a hot political issue: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu
He drew parallels with the U.S., where AI investment has soared into the trillions of dollars but raised concerns about rising electricity costs and limited productivity gains.
BUSINESS
Sridhar Vembu dedicates 70% of his time to coding as Zoho's Chief Scientist
The Zoho founder has also been engaging more with the company’s rural teams, visiting several rural centers and spending time with young engineers.
BUSINESS
'We are testing end-to-end encryption this week on Arattai, will be rolled out soon': Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu
Vembu acknowledged that Zoho had to speed up its rollout plans as timelines advanced unexpectedly.
TECHNOLOGY
Must invest in critical tech, India got bad advice from economists trained at Columbia, Chicago, Harvard: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu
Calling for balanced trade, Vembu said India must avoid both large deficits and surpluses and focus on technological self-reliance to restore equilibrium.
BUSINESS
Foreign AI companies and GCCs need to register IP here, they are harvesting Indian brains: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu
Vembu urged the government to make it mandatory for companies developing technology or AI models in India to register the resulting IP locally or license it to the parent entity abroad.
TECHNOLOGY
MC Interview: There is a Swadeshi movement underway, India must be self-reliant in tech and trade on equal terms, says Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu
In this detailed and candid conversation, Zoho’s Chief Scientist and founder Sridhar Vembu opens up about the growing Swadeshi movement in India-a push for self-reliance in technology and trade amidst a global landscape where tech is increasingly weaponised
BUSINESS
Chara Technologies raises Rs 52 crore to expand rare-earth-free motor manufacturing
Deep-tech startup to set up new Bengaluru facility, launch new product lines, and scale annual capacity to 100,000 units
TECHNOLOGY
MC Interview: Graphcore’s new Bengaluru unit will lead its own AI compute engineering project for the globe, says CEO Nigel Toon
In an interview with Moneycontrol, Graphcore CEO Nigel Toon spoke about the company’s India strategy, the global AI chip race, SoftBank’s “AI-as-a-service” play, Graphcore’s push for more efficient compute, and the tough hunt for top-tier engineering talent in the country.
TECHNOLOGY
Phishing attacks getting sharper with AI, says CERT-In director Sanjay Bahl
Bahl noted that continuous cybersecurity audits will become essential from 2026
TECHNOLOGY
Zoho to introduce end-to-end encryption for text chats on Arattai, says CEO Mani Vembu
The addition of encrypted text messaging would bring Arattai more in line with global messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Signal, which have long touted encryption as a core feature.
TECHNOLOGY
Engineers behind Arattai have been perfecting this technology for over 20 years, says Zoho CEO Mani Vembu
Vembu added that the spotlight has only strengthened the team’s resolve to stay grounded and improve faster.
TECHNOLOGY
Zoho’s Arattai eyes enterprise use cases, looks at integrating businesses on platform
By extending Arattai’s functionality into enterprise scenarios, Zoho aims to leverage its existing customer base and software ecosystem to offer a more integrated, secure alternative to global incumbents.
TECHNOLOGY
MC Interview | Zoho CEO Mani Vembu: “We want to make Arattai a super app – always believed this is something India needs"
Vembu shines a light on Zoho’s vision of “learning by doing,” its commitment to digital self-reliance, and how Arattai is shaping up to be a key pillar in India’s tech future.
BUSINESS
PhonePe subsidiaries double revenue, now make up 9% of total income
Fintech major PhonePe's diversification efforts have shown promise, with revenue soaring, however, the company is yet to achieve profitability.
