YourStory brings you today's headlines with the latest developments across sectors
Featured news
Numero AI acquires Royu in cash-and-stock deal
US-headquartered finance agentic company Numero AI has acquired Royu, a Chennai-based finance automation company, in a cash-and-stock transaction. The deal's value was not disclosed.
As part of the transaction, Royu Co-founders Viswajith Vishwaa and Sathya Gunasekaran will join Numero's leadership team. Vishwaa will join as the co-founder and chief product officer, while Gunasekaran will join as the chief technology officer. The broader Royu team will also join Numero as part of the acquisition.
Together, Numero and Royu are building an agentic system of work for the finance and controller functions of enterprises, enabling them to move away from manual operations.
Funding news
IAN Angel Fund leads Rs 70 lakh funding round in The Sweet Change
Manvi Agnihotri and Sheen Hitashi, Co-founders, The Sweet Change" style="float: right; margin-left: 20px; width:50%; height:auto" align="center">Manvi Agnihotri and Sheen Hitashi, Co-founders, The Sweet Change
IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen investment arm of IAN Group, has led an early-stage funding round of Rs 70 lakh for The Sweet Change, an Indian clean-label natural sweetener brand. The round also saw participation from Udaan Angel Partners.
The Sweet Change was founded in 2024 by Manvi Agnihotri (Co-founder & CEO) and Sheen Hitashi (Co-founder & CBO).
The startup plans to deploy the capital towards product development, expanding its footprint across ecommerce and quick-commerce platforms, boosting brand visibility, and strengthening its team as it scales across India.
IAN Angel Fund said its investment thesis was anchored in the rising consumer demand for healthier food alternatives and growing awareness around metabolic health in India. The fund also cited The Sweet Change's clean-label positioning, differentiated product offering, and the founders' understanding of evolving consumer needs as key factors behind the investment.
PinSec.AI raises Rs 5 Cr in seed funding
PinSec.AI, the AI-native financial services arm of the FPL Group, has raised ₹5 crore from a curated group of high net-worth individual (HNI) investors as part of its ongoing seed funding round. The company plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its conversational AI technology infrastructure, meet regulatory and compliance requirements, hire senior talent across quantitative research and wealth advisory, and expand operations across South India's wealth markets.
PinSec.AI is preparing to launch its conversational AI-powered advisory platform targeting both institutional and retail clients. Simultaneously, the company is building a regulated portfolio management services offering and a digital wealth management platform to expand its market reach and deepen engagement beyond the HNI segment. The move reflects rising investor interest in AI-driven wealth management solutions in India.
Other news
Aistra acquires controlling stake in Veracity Services
Aistra, an AI Managed Services firm focused on transforming enterprise operations, has acquired a controlling stake in Veracity Services, a finance and accounting services company based in Singapore.
This move by Aistra aligns with the company's broader strategy to expand its AI-augmented finance and accounting business while strengthening its global client base.
The combined entity will serve a diverse client base, including business enterprises and accounting firms, with an expanded team across Mumbai, Pune, Dubai, London, New York, Singapore, Colombo, Brisbane, and Melbourne.
Parineeti Chopra joins Johnson's Baby as brand ambassador
Actor Parineeti Chopra has been named the brand ambassador for Johnson's Baby. She recently attended the Mumbai launch of the brand's new nourishment range comprising milk and rice, built around the concepts of 'Poshan Ka Pehla Sparsh' and 'Food for Skin.'
Parineeti Chopra said, "Motherhood is truly a blessing, and I feel incredibly grateful to be experiencing something so magical. Becoming the brand ambassador for Johnson's Baby felt very special to me because it allows me to be part of the care and comfort that every mother and baby deserves."
PanIIT Bangalore Summit on May 16
PanIIT Bangalore Summit 2026, presented by the Government of Karnataka and convened by the PanIIT Alumni India Association, will be inaugurated by the Governor of Karnataka, Thawar Chand Gehlot, on May 16 at Taj Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru.
Positioned as India's flagship AI and deeptech leadership summit, the event will bring together 2,000+ delegates, including 250+ founders, 120+ investors, and participants from across the global IIT ecosystem of 500,000+ alumni across 23 IITs.
The summit under the theme 'Sovereignty in Technology' will comprise high-level plenaries, deep-dive panels, and parallel tracks across AI, defence, semiconductors, energy, mobility and healthcare. A curated pitch-a-thon will connect high-potential startups with 200+ venture capitalists, while 10,000+ hackathon participants will tackle real-world challenges sourced directly from the Government of Karnataka, with the best solutions considered for real deployment at scale in the state.
RBI veteran Rama Subramaniam Gandhi appointed Sahamati chairman
Former Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Rama Subramaniam Gandhi has been appointed the non-executive chairman of Sahamati, the industry alliance promoting India's account aggregator ecosystem. Sahamati has also inducted independent directors, including Nandkumar Saravade, Monika Halan, and Suraj Moraje, alongside representatives from major financial institutions.
The appointments come as the adoption of consent-based financial data sharing accelerates across banking, lending, insurance, and wealth management sectors.
The expanded board is expected to strengthen governance, institutionalisation, and interoperability within India's digital public infrastructure ecosystem. Sahamati said the new leadership collectively brings expertise across financial regulation, cybersecurity, public policy, consumer advocacy, and large-scale institutional transformation.
Archimedis Digital commits $2M for AI innovation
Archimedis Digital has committed an investment of $2 million to accelerate AI-first scientific solutions in life sciences, including histopathology and cancer diagnosis technologies. The investment aims to develop intelligent systems that improve speed, accuracy, and predictability across the life sciences value chain.
The company is also strengthening collaborations with industry and academic ecosystems while leveraging advanced AI infrastructure through its association with NVIDIA's startup ecosystem. Archimedis Digital is additionally part of the Stanford Seed Transformation Program, a selective initiative supporting high-potential startups in emerging markets.
The company said these strategic investments and partnerships align with its broader long-term roadmap focused on sustainable scaling and accelerated innovation across core healthcare and scientific domains.
BabyBillion reports 90% content retention rate
Kids' content app BabyBillion has reported an average content retention rate of nearly 90%, highlighting rising repeat-viewing trends among young digital audiences. The platform said the milestone positions it among the highest-engagement players in the global kids' content category as short-form video increasingly dominates children's screen time. BabyBillion currently reaches around 271 million monthly unique viewers across Tier I, II and III markets.
The company has also expanded its partnerships with over 20 brands through in-content integrations rather than conventional advertising formats. According to the platform, this reflects a broader industry shift towards embedded and content-led engagement strategies targeting family audiences. The trend also signals the growing influence of children's digital consumption patterns on household preferences and purchasing decisions across emerging digital entertainment ecosystems.
AirBrick Infra expands presence across India
AirBrick Infra is planning a major expansion initiative to strengthen its footprint across India and support its long-term ambitions in Asia and West Asia. The company has opened regional offices in Noida, Bengaluru, Surat, Mumbai, and Delhi while expanding operations across more than 65 Indian cities. AirBrick said the move will improve client servicing, execution capabilities, and operational agility for large-scale commercial interior and workspace projects.
As part of its FY27 roadmap, the company is targeting revenue of ₹150 crore while expanding across co-working, managed offices, retail, healthcare, institutional infrastructure, and enterprise workspace segments. The company is also building strategic partnerships with Indian and international managed office operators to strengthen long-term project pipelines across India and the Gulf markets.
STAN sees strong monetisation growth from Tier II and III cities
STAN has revealed that users from Tier II and III cities are emerging as some of its strongest monetisation and retention cohorts, reflecting changing trends in India's digital consumer economy. According to the platform's internal analysis, users from these markets accounted for around 67% of its total user base and nearly 72% of monetised engagement during 2026.
The company said users from smaller cities generated 17-18% higher average revenue per user than metro users, driven by sustained spending on creator support, in-app upgrades, exclusive clubs, and gaming communities. Cities including Patna, Indore, Coimbatore, and Lucknow reportedly showed more consistent spending than major metros. STAN also said over 3 lakh creators are now earning sustainable monthly incomes through the platform.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)