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    Startups

    Startups, considered as disruptive forces in the business circles, are companies that are independently started by entrepreneurs. Unlike legacy businesses or franchises, startups focus on innovation, uniqueness of product or service and creating a new market for them. Leaders of startups often aim at providing the market or consumers with something which they need, or fulfilling a requirement which has not been effectively addressed by the legacy businesses. As startups succeed, they are quick to draw the attention of business sharks. They also begin generating lucrative valuations, and, in several cases, move towards an initial public offering (IPO) to raise a massive return on their investments. India, over the past few years, is considered to be emerging as a hub of startups. According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 42 startups turned into 'unicorns' - companies with over USD 1 billion valuation - in 2021. The prime minister had also announced that January 16 would be annually celebrated as 'Startup Day', and noted that the growing number of startups in the country are the 'hallmark of self-reliant, self-confident India'. While startups are distinguished in terms of their offerings and focus on innovation, their structure is largely similar to any other company. They are, normally, led by a chief executive officer (CEO) who is considered as the face of the startup. More

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    • MTF posts 43% YoY growth amid concerns of over-leverage

      From Rs 84,000 crore in January 2025, the MTF book has surged by almost 43 percent to Rs 1.2 lakh crore as of January 2026

    • Founder reduces staff from 14 to 5, calls AI shift financially smart but emotionally painful

      A Canadian startup founder revealed he cut his team from 14 to five and replaced many roles with AI to survive revenue pressures.

    • Livspace shakeup: 1,000 employees fired as company focuses on AI; Co-founder Saurabh Jain quits 

      While Livspace reduces its workforce by around 12%, one of its co-founders Saurabh Jain, who was elevated from the role of Chief Business Officer (CBO) only in 2022, has also quit the company, sources told Moneycontrol.

    • Pocket FM's creator-driven revenue cross Rs 300 crore amid AI-driven content boom

      Pocket FM states that 300K creators publish using AI on the platform. Targets 1 million creators by 2026.

    • App Jaisa Koi Nahin: How India’s AI companions are redefining love and loneliness 

      As more people turn to screens not just for information, but for affirmation and emotional support, these platforms are likely to deepen their footprint, but they need to ensure the technology does not outrun the responsibility that must come with it.

    • Exponent Energy, Calligo Tech, Qosmic, Sanyark seek fresh funding amid rising deep tech appetite in India

      Fresh cheques from investors such as 360 One, BIG Capital, Accel, South Park Commons and Avaana Capital signal renewed deal activity in deep tech as startups across EV infrastructure, semiconductors and space tech line up new rounds.

    • FTAs open up 70% of global GDP to India, largely at zero duty, says Piyush Goyal

      The minister added that most developed markets now have trade arrangements with India.

    • SoftBank bags $7.4 billion from India exits; portfolio value stands at $13.7 billion

      The Japanese investment major has made 24 investments in India through its Vision Funds, with eight portfolio companies listing on public markets and four full exits

    • FirstClub expands presence: Goes live in over 90% in Bengaluru pincodes

      The company is clocking an annualised order run rate of 1.2 million and said it is growing at over 45 percent monthly. A total of 2 lakh people have used the platform in about eight months since being launched.

    • OPINION | How Indian founders without fancy credentials beat pedigreed returnees

      New research shows that it’s home-grown entrepreneurs who are champions. Having survived harsh operating conditions, they outperform entrepreneurs with a foreign pedigree used to working in an environment of abundance. Government, please note 

    • Inside Sarvam AI’s rapid-fire launches ahead of the India AI Impact Summit

      From live AI dubbing of the Union Budget to speech, vision, and state-backed compute infrastructure, Sarvam AI is rolling out a broad stack of products in the run-up to the India AI Impact Summit.

    • Video game industry body GDAI unveils a 21-member governing council

      GDAI's governing council will include prominent leaders and investors such as Anuj Tandon of Bitkraft Ventures, Akshat Rathee of Nodwin Gaming, Dayanidhi MG of Electronic Arts, and Deepak MV of Nazara Technologies

    • Why overseas experience no longer guarantees startup success in India

      While overseas experience has proven invaluable in other economies, it appeared to play a diminished role in India’s contemporary tech ecosystem.

    • Startups to seek Finance Ministry nod for loans against pending GST input tax credit

      The finance ministry already approves such loans for MSMEs and corporate sector as loan against receivables

    • Govt expands startup definition to include deep tech firms, extends recognition period to 20 years

      The notification replaces the February 2019 startup framework and introduces a separate set of eligibility, tax and compliance conditions for research-intensive businesses under Startup India.

    • Why Fractal Analytics trimmed its IPO size by 42%, CEO Srikanth Velamakanni responds

      Fractal has fixed a price band of Rs 857 to Rs 900 per share, reducing the top band of its share price by 18 percent.

    • Groww payout, carry row: Inside the avalanche that triggered partner exits at Peak XV

      All partners were aligned until about a week ago. But tensions began building over the last five to six days, which led to Ashish Agrawal deciding to quit abruptly, with the other two following suit, sources told Moneycontrol.

    • Nazara's Q3 profit slumps 35.4% as revenues decline due to Nodwin Gaming deconsolidation

      Nazara's Q3-FY26 EBITDA rose by 29 percent to Rs 67.8 crore for the quarter from Rs 52.4 crore in the year-ago quarter.

    • E-commerce startups await clarity before cheering India-US trade deal

      While the larger e-commerce industry awaits details, certain sectors like seafood exports, within the realm of e-commerce, said the India-US trade deal would provide better infrastructure that will in turn formalise fragmented markets.

    • Budget removes Rs 10-lakh cap on courier exports to improve global access for SMEs, startups

      The announcement removes a key restriction under the Foreign Trade Policy and is accompanied by proposed technology-led changes to improve identification and handling of rejected and returned courier consignments

    • Karnataka plans to expand Global Innovation Alliance beyond 30 countries to boost startups’ global access

      Karnataka IT-BT department’s flagship Global Innovation Alliance has supported over 2,000 startups and enabled more than 60 international partnerships; focus to shift towards deeper market access in Europe, East Asia and North America

    • Zupee cuts 200 jobs amid organisational restructuring

      Zupee said it intends to sharpen focus on core growth areas including culturally-rooted online social games and emerging content formats.

    • Juspay raises $50 million from WestBridge Capital; turns unicorn with $1.2 billion valuation

      Juspay stated that the funding round is a mix of primary and secondary transactions. The primary capital will be used to fund the startup's expansion across international markets.

    • Pocket FM ropes in former Meta scientist Vasu Sharma to spearhead its AI efforts

      Former Meta AI scientist Vasu Sharma said he will focus on advancing the Pocket LLMs and bolstering Pocket FM's creative assistant, AI CoPilot, for writers everywhere.

    • Davos 2026: B Capital to do more AI services deals in India, says co-founder Raj Ganguly

      The Indian startup ecosystem will also need to see more IPOs and M&As as it matures, Ganguly said in the interview to Moneycontrol

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