Linux Foundation Research and Meta have published "AI for Economic and Social Good in India," analysing AI's economic and social impact across judicial, healthcare, agriculture, and creator economy sectors. The report finds 76 percent of Indian startups leverage open source AI for cost-effective innovation and customisation. India's AI market, valued at $6 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $32 billion by 2031, driven...

Budget 2026 has provided a fresh ₹10,000 crore allocation to the Fund of Funds for Startups (FoF), to be deployed through SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds. The allocation is targeted at early- and growth-stage companies and is structured to operate with two-times leverage at the underlying fund level. As a result, the total deployable capital pool is expected to be in the range of ₹20,000–25,000 crore. According...

StartupInvestors.ai has launched a specialized investor discovery platform designed specifically for India's "Bharat" startup ecosystem, where nearly 50% of the country's 200,000 recognized startups now originate from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. The platform addresses the persistent "network gap" faced by founders in cities like Jaipur, Indore, Kochi, and Lucknow, who often lack direct access to Mumbai and Bengaluru's investment circles despite possessing innovative business...

NVIDIA has made a strategic $150 million investment in AI inference platform Baseten, part of a $300 million funding round that values the San Francisco-based startup at $5 billion—more than double its previous valuation. The investment, led by Institutional Venture Partners and Alphabet's CapitalG with NVIDIA's participation, underscores the semiconductor giant's aggressive push into inference infrastructure as enterprises shift from AI experimentation to production-scale...

Blackstone has finalized a structured investment agreement with Mumbai-based AI cloud infrastructure startup Neysa, committing $50-75 million in initial funding for significant minority ownership with contractual rights to majority control upon achieving predefined business milestones. The transaction values Neysa at approximately $300 million, positioning it among India's largest AI infrastructure fundraises and marking Blackstone's strategic entry into domestic AI compute platforms. Existing investors including...

Tamil Nadu has launched its Deep Tech Startup Policy 2025-26, committing ₹100 crore to support 100 deep tech startups and positioning the state as India's premier deep technology hub. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin unveiled the policy at the fourth edition of UmagineTN 2026, Tamil Nadu's premier technology conference, establishing structured support mechanisms to bridge the critical research-to-commercialization gap that has historically constrained deep tech...

Sona Inclusive Technology Business Incubator (i-TBI) in Salem has selected 17 startups for Rs 11 crore in grants and investments under DST-NIDHI and Startup India Seed Fund schemes. The cohort spans healthcare devices, IoT energy management, drones, mobility platforms, nutrition innovation, and applied deep-tech, showcasing Tier-2/3 ecosystems' rising maturity. Twelve startups received Rs 50 lakh in NIDHI grants while five secured Rs 60 lakh from...

Mythic, a Palo Alto-based AI chip startup, has raised $125 million to develop analog processing units that deliver up to 100 times greater energy efficiency than conventional GPUs. Led by deep tech investor DCVC, the round includes NEA, Atreides, Future Ventures, SoftBank KR, S3 Ventures, Linse Capital, One Madison Group, Catapult, and strategics like Honda Motor and Lockheed Martin. The funding follows a restructuring...

Google and the Government of Telangana have launched the Google for Startups Hub at T‑Hub in Hyderabad, signalling a deepening partnership to develop India’s next wave of AI‑first startups. Positioned as a dedicated space for founders, the hub aims to convert Hyderabad’s growing innovation density into structured support across infrastructure, capital access, and global market readiness. Strategic Role of the Hub The new hub offers selected...

Karnataka has unveiled a five-year space technology policy aimed at transforming the state into India’s dominant space hub, targeting 50% of the national space market — projected at $22 billion by 2033 — and capturing 5% of the global share. The policy positions Karnataka as a full-stack space-tech ecosystem spanning upstream, midstream, and downstream capabilities. Building India’s Largest Space-Tech Workforce The policy lays out one of...