After completing her engineering degree in biotechnology from Integral University in Lucknow, Tuba Siddiqui started a small medicinal garden at home and named it 'Garden of Health'.

She grew aloe vera, several varieties of basil, multi-vitamin and insulin plants, and tended to them not to make money, but out of a genuine, almost stubborn curiosity about what the natural world could offer the body.

While nurturing her Garden of Health, Tuba travelled to Raipur for programmes and engagements around natural plants and was also associated with the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Lucknow.

Funding news

Snabbit raises $56M as instant home services race heats up

Quick home services startup Snabbit has raised $56 million in a Series D round, doubling down on a fast-emerging category that promises to bring India's largely informal domestic help ecosystem onto an on-demand, app-driven model.

The round was co-led by Susquehanna Venture Capital, Mirae Asset Venture Investments, and Bertelsmann India Investments, with participation from Nexus Venture Partners and Lightspeed. The funding comes just six months after its previous round, taking total capital raised to $112 million.

The fresh capital shows growing investor conviction in "instant" home services-a segment that sits at the intersection of India's gig economy, urban convenience, and the formalisation of domestic work.

Sahamati secures Rs 50 Cr from 25+ Institutions

Sahamati today announced a landmark funding raise of Rs 50 crore from over 30 leading financial sector entities.

Sahamati will use this capital to deepen their ecosystem participation, strengthen technical and policy frameworks, and build institutional capacity for scale.

Their focus is firmly on outcomes, enabling faster, easier and reliable access to credit, expanding financial inclusion, and catalysing innovation across sectors.

Dallas Venture Capital invests in Mojro's $5.5M Series A

Mojro Technologies Pvt. Ltd. has closed its Series A funding round at $5.5 million.

The round includes a previously announced $3 million investment led by IAN Alpha Fund with participation from 1Crowd, along with a $2.5 million extension fully funded by Dallas Venture Capital (DVC).

The capital will be used to accelerate Mojro's global expansion and drive product innovation.

House of Chikankari raises Rs 25 Cr in Series A funding from Cap Alpha Ventures

House of Chikankari (HOC) has raised Rs 25 crore in its Series A funding round. The round was led by Cap Alpha Ventures, formerly known as Client Associates Alternate Fund (CAAF).

The fresh capital will be used to expand the company's product portfolio, strengthen its omni-channel presence with a push into offline retail, improve working capital efficiency, and invest in team expansion and marketing.

The company is also focused on scaling its presence among global Indian consumers across key international markets.

Other news

PhonePe reaches 50 million registered merchants across India

PhonePe announced that it has surpassed 50 million lifetime registered merchants as of April 28, 2026 on its platform.

The company attributed this milestone to its sustained, multi-year effort to simplify digital entry points for small-scale businesses.

The company further attributes the growth of its Merchant growth to tools like SmartSpeakers, POS terminals, and loans that address payments and working capital needs while easing digital adoption.

HGK Foods expands into Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore

HGK Foods has announced its expansion into four major cities, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.

Their reasoning for expanding into four major metro cities is their strategic focus on key corporate and industrial clusters.

The company aims to build one of India's most dependable corporate food solutions networks, designed to support businesses at scale without operational complexity.

IIT Madras achieves 'Startup Shatam' for second year in a row and sustains 'One Patent a Day' momentum

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has achieved a key milestone in deeptech entrepreneurship, incubating over 100 startups for the second consecutive year under its 'Startup Shatam' mission.

The celebrations were organised jointly by IP Management Cell, Office of Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (ICSR), IIT Madras and IITM Incubation Cell.

The event featured keynote talks, expert discussions on sports and technology, recognition of top inventors through JC Bose Awards, and felicitation of startups receiving early-stage TechPioneer Grants aimed at accelerating product development and market readiness.

The newly-incubated startups span a wide range of critical deep tech sectors, including manufacturing, robotics, automotive, batteries, defence, aerospace, AI, machine learning, quantum technologies, analytics, fintech, healthtech, agritech, biotech, climate technologies, IoT, and cyber-physical systems.

Student startup Kixar signs cricketer Jitesh Sharma as brand ambassador

Kixar, is a sports booking platform built by second-year students Raghav Gupta and Aditya Kumar from Newton School of Technology x Rishihood University.

The platform allows users to find nearby turfs, check real-time availability, and confirm bookings instantly across sports like football, cricket, and badminton.

What started as a student-led project has evolved into a live product with early traction, onboarding over 1,200 users and 18 venues, while clocking ₹1.5 lakh in monthly bookings already. The startup has recently onboarded Indian cricketer Jitesh Sharma as its brand ambassador, and is currently live in two cities with plans to expand to Bangalore then Hyderabad.

byteXL launches summer program to help school students build real-world AI agents

byteXL launched a summer program designed to introduce high school students (Grades 8 - 12) to the world of AI-powered application development.

Structured as a 15-hour live online program delivered across 10 instructor-led sessions, AiGentCraft focuses on helping learners build and deploy intelligent AI agents, equipping them with practical, real-world skills beyond traditional coding camps.

The program has been designed by alumni of IITs, IIMs, and Ivy League institutions, and will be delivered by experienced software engineers from leading global technology companies.

The programme is scheduled to commence from May 4, 2026, with multiple cohorts (45-60 students) planned through the summer.

UST signs MoU with IIT Roorkee

UST, a global AI and technology solutions company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with iHUB DivyaSampark, the technology innovation hubat IIT Roorkee and a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, to accelerate development in engineering R&D and deeptech innovation.

By combining UST's expertise in embedded hardware, firmware engineering, cloud platforms, and AI/ML and data science with iHUB DivyaSampark's strong research, innovation, and startup ecosystem, the partnership aims to create scalable, high-impact solutions.

As part of the collaboration, both organisations will jointly work on next-generation technologies and solutions across critical domains, including cyber-physical systems, advanced digital engineering, and AI-driven applications.

Weak team coordination hampering growth of AI in enterprises: Atlassian report

Atlassian Corporation's State of Teams 2026 report finds that while AI is accelerating individual productivity, weak team coordination is limiting enterprise ROI. Fragmented workflows are costing Fortune 500 firms an estimated $161 billion annually.

In India, AI adoption is among the highest globally, with 98% of knowledge workers using AI and 53% integrating it into workflows. However, 86% report coordination challenges, with many juggling multiple projects and spending 40% of time on non-core tasks. The report highlights that only 24% of executives prioritise team-level AI implementation. High-performing teams that align AI with structured workflows are significantly more collaborative, productive, and connected.

Centricity WealthTech appoints new chief strategy and execution officer

Centricity WealthTech, a wealth-management startup has appointed Kartik Kini as the chief strategy and execution officer of Centricity WealthTech-Invictus. He will focus on strengthening the strategic execution of private wealth across registered investment advisors, family offices, and product platforms.

Kini will also be focused on market positioning and elevating UHNI engagement, governance, and client experience through a differentiated, technology-led advisory model. Most recently, he served as the chief operating officer at Waterfield Advisors.