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From Ironman to the Atlantic: Meet the women pushing the limits of endurance

There are no limits except the ones we place on ourselves. And when it comes to endurance sports, pushing boundaries requires stamina, discipline, and mental resilience.

Several women have taken up endurance sports after life-altering experiences. Some have gone on to prove that age is just a number, and others have balanced their love of sport with demanding careers. What connects them is a willingness to test the limits of their bodies and minds and venture into uncharted territory.

Latest news

Google announces new built-in AI features to Chrome in India

Google has announced built-in AI features integration to Chrome for users across India, a move it said would make the browsing experience more intuitive, secure, and helpful for users.

As part of this, Google said it is rolling out support for over 50 languages, including several Indic languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu, and Tamil.

NVIDIA, Thinking Machines form alliance for gigawatt-scale AI

Tech giant NVIDIA and Thinking Machines Lab have announced a long-term strategic partnership to deploy a massive computing infrastructure focused on the next generation of artificial intelligence (AI).

The collaboration centres on the delivery of at least one gigawatt of NVIDIA Vera Rubin systems, which represent the latest rack-scale hardware designed for high-performance data centres.

Garuda, Airbus partner for advanced global drone solutions

Drone-tech firm Garuda Aerospace and Airbus Helicopters have signed a contract for Garuda to acquire up to 18 Flexrotor Uncrewed Aerial Systems, commonly known as UAS or high-tech drones.

This agreement is intended to help Garuda expand its reach into international markets by offering advanced monitoring and intelligence solutions.

Funding news

Skye Air bags $9M funding led by IAN Alpha Fund

Drone delivery platform Skye Air Mobility has announced the first close of its Series B funding round, securing $9 million. This investment was led by the IAN Alpha Fund, which is the second venture capital fund from the IAN Group.

The funding was structured into two specific stages, with $4 million raised in Series B1 and $5 million in Series B2. Several other investors participated in the round, including AVNM Ventures, Faad Capital, and Bajaj Capital.

Boba Bhai bags Rs 40 Cr in funding round led by existing investors

Boba Bhai, a bubble tea and Korean street food brand in India, has raised Rs 40 crore in a funding round led by existing investors 8i Ventures, Titan Capital Winners Fund and Global Growth Capital, with participation from BIG Capital and several angel investors.

The funds will be used to expand stores in Tier-I cities, enter selected Tier-II markets, strengthen leadership and operational teams, and expand its Korean-inspired food, beverage and packaged snack offerings, including products for quick-commerce platforms.

Founded in October 2023, Boba Bhai operates more than 90 outlets across eight cities. The company reports revenue growth to Rs 30 crore in FY25 from Rs 5 crore in FY24.

The brand combines bubble tea and Korean-style street food and is expanding through an omnichannel retail model.

OpenCFO raises $2M funding led by Endiya Partners

OpenCFO, an AI-based financial operations platform, has raised $2 million in its first institutional funding round led by Endiya Partners, with participation from angel investors in the United States and India.

The company is developing an AI-driven financial operating system that automates accounts payable, accounts receivable and treasury workflows for mid-market companies operating across multiple entities and geographies.

OpenCFO integrates banking systems, ERPs and payment infrastructure into a single platform where AI agents manage financial workflows while maintaining human oversight through approvals, policies and audit trails. The system links payables, receivables and treasury data to provide real-time visibility of liquidity across entities, currencies and accounts.

The funding will support product development, hiring in the US and India, and expansion into cross-border markets including the US-India corridor, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Canada. The company plans to launch its full platform by mid-2026.

Confluxe launches operations after securing $1.6M in pre-seed funding

Retail technology startup Confluxe, founded by former executives from Myntra and H&M, has launched its operations after securing $1.6 million in pre-seed funding. The funding round was led by Wavemaker Partners, with participation from co-investor Kriscore Capital.

Confluxe operates as a platform designed to assist international fashion and lifestyle brands in entering and scaling within the Indian market. The company provides integrated services encompassing market entry strategy, digital commerce, data-driven merchandising, and localised supply chain operations.

Lumikai leads $1.5M seed round for NPrep

Lumikai, a venture capital fund focused on interactive media, digital platforms and games, has led a $1.5 million seed round in NPrep, an AI-powered video learning platform for nursing entrance examinations and international healthcare careers.

The round also included existing investor All In Capital, Velo Partners, DSP Group Family Office and angel investors including Viren Shetty, Executive Vice Chairman of Narayana Health.

NPrep provides more than 1,400 hours of exam-aligned video content, personalised study plans, an AI mentor, questions drawn from historical exam data and performance tracking.

The platform aims to support nurses seeking higher-paying roles in government and private hospitals in India and abroad, where salaries can reach Rs 1-5 lakh per month.

Within ten months of launch, NPrep claimed more than 100,000 users in India, with over six million minutes of video viewed and 31 million questions answered.

Savorworks Coffee & Chocolate raises Rs 1.7 Cr following TV pitch

Specialty coffee and bean-to-bar chocolate brand Savorworks Coffee & Chocolate has raised nearly Rs 1.7 crore in equity funding after appearing on the investment show Bharat Ke Super Founders.

The funding round includes participation from Dr Aarti Gupta of Anikarth Ventures, Aditya Singh of All In Capital, and Nitish Mittersain of Nazara Technologies, along with other market investors.

Founded by coffee roaster Baninder Singh and chocolatier Paweena Withyasathien, the brand sources coffee from Yercaud and Chikmagalur and cocoa from Tamil Nadu. Savorworks reported revenue growth from Rs 2.5 crore in 2023 to Rs 4.6 crore in 2024.

Finvolve leads pre-Series A investment in Constems-AI Systems

Venture capital fund Finvolve has led the pre-Series A funding round in Constems-AI Systems (CAI), a deep-tech cognitive vision platform focused on enterprise-grade vision intelligence solutions for global consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies.

The round also saw participation from Cognify, AIF, Inflection Point Ventures, and IIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Centre. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate product innovation, scale enterprise deployments, and expand into Southeast Asia, Japan, and the Middle East.

Founded in 2017, Constems-AI develops CAInatics, a Vision AI SaaS platform that automates retail and supply-chain processes using image and video analytics. The company reports 2-3x year-on-year growth and serves several Fortune 500 CPG brands.

Other news

Practo appoints former Union Health Secretary CK Mishra to Board

Practo has appointed C.K. Mishra, former Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, as an Independent Director on its Board.

Mishra, a retired Indian Administrative Service officer, served in public administration for 37 years and held senior roles across health, environment, education, industry and power. As Health Secretary, he oversaw national health programmes and large-scale public health systems.

He joins a board that recently added TVG Krishnamurthy and Dr Alexander Kuruvilla. The appointments come as Practo expands its presence in the United States and the UAE and strengthens its technology and product leadership.

PayU, CoRover.ai partner enable AI-driven payments

PayU has partnered with CoRover.ai, developer of BharatGPT, to enable AI-driven payments across more than 100 Indian languages and dialects.

Under the partnership, PayU's payment infrastructure will integrate with CoRover's BharatGPT-based conversational AI platform to support multilingual, voice-based payment interactions. The collaboration aims to support digital payments for users who primarily interact with technology through voice and conversational interfaces.

The partnership links a sovereign large language model platform with a payment aggregator to support AI-initiated transactions within conversational systems.

An early use case includes voice-based UPI payments on Afterlife, a digital succession planning platform powered by CoRover's voice AI. PayU also processes payments for Kanhaji.ai, a devotional AI platform developed by CoRover. The companies plan to expand the integration to sectors including e-commerce, travel, OTT services and financial services.

DreamXec launches crowdfunding platform for student research

DreamXec has launched a crowdfunding platform designed to support research and innovation projects by India's 43.3 million higher education students. Positioned as a dedicated platform for student-led research funding, DreamXec aims to help early-stage ideas in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, clean energy, and climate technology move beyond the concept stage.

The platform connects verified students with alumni, individual supporters, and corporate CSR contributors through a milestone-based funding model designed to ensure transparency and accountability. Students can create profiles using institutional email IDs, upload project proposals, receive optional faculty endorsements, and raise funds from supporters who can track project progress.

Founded in 2025, DreamXec plans to onboard 100 colleges and 50 verified projects at launch, with a long-term goal of supporting 400,000 students and mobilising Rs 5,000 crore in funding for student innovation over the next five years.

Zelio E-Mobility to set up fourth manufacturing facility in Coimbatore

Electric two- and three-wheeler manufacturer Zelio E-Mobility is preparing to operationalise its fourth manufacturing facility in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The upcoming facility will span approximately 39,000 sq. ft. and will support electric scooter assembly, storage, logistics, and related operations.

Operational setup is expected to begin in April 2026, with commercial production scheduled to commence by July 2026. The expansion is aimed at strengthening Zelio's manufacturing footprint in South India and improving supply chain efficiency as demand for electric mobility rises in the region.

Zelio currently operates manufacturing facilities in Ladwa and Patan in Haryana and Cuttack in Odisha. The company, which raised Rs 78.34 crore through an SME IPO in October 2025, reported consolidated revenue of Rs 134.78 crore and profit after tax of ₹11.87 crore for H1 FY26.

Genefied crosses Rs 56 Cr in annual recurring revenue visibility

Enterprise SaaS and supply chain technology firm Genefied has reported that its group-level revenue visibility has surpassed Rs 56 crore in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

The milestone reflects growing adoption of the company's solutions in supply chain traceability, anti-counterfeiting, loyalty management, and digital warranty activation across industries. Genefied currently works with more than 85 enterprise brands and over 1,000 consumer brands across sectors including FMCG, building materials, cosmetics, automotive, and agri-products.

The company said increasing regulatory requirements, demand for channel transparency, and authenticated consumer engagement are driving enterprises toward integrated digital infrastructure solutions.

Avio Smart Market Stack signs partnerships to expand agritech initiative

Avio Smart Market Stack Limited (ASMS), formerly Bartronics India, has announced multiple strategic partnerships to expand its agritech and sustainability initiatives under Project AVIO Agritech.

The company has signed MoUs with Kosher Climate India, Enrich Power and Water Technologies, Ecoveda Climate LLP, and Pranadhaara Agri Smart Solutions (CarbonMint). These partnerships will focus on areas such as carbon credit generation, solar irrigation, regenerative agriculture, digital farm advisory, and sustainability-linked income opportunities for farmers.

ASMS currently connects with around 40 million rural citizens through a network of over 5,000 banking correspondents across 10 states. The initiative aims to engage up to 20 million farmers across more than 5,000 villages.

Powerplay expands procurement-linked credit offering to Hyderabad

Construction management platform Powerplay has expanded its software-enabled procurement-linked credit solution to Hyderabad as the city's construction sector continues to grow.

The platform integrates project management tools with financing, allowing contractors to access credit for procurement directly within their workflow. Powerplay offers credit limits ranging from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh with repayment periods of up to 60 days.

Powerplay currently supports over 85,000 projects nationwide, with more than 2,000 construction projects already being managed on its platform in and around Hyderabad.

TechnoSport appoints Achal Sharma as Chief Technology Officer

Activewear brand TechnoSport has appointed Achal Sharma as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to lead the company's technology strategy and digital transformation initiatives.

With over 18 years of experience in platform engineering and enterprise technology systems, Sharma has previously held leadership roles at Wakefit, Myntra, Mobile Premier League, and Vision11. In his new role, he will oversee the company's digital infrastructure, product engineering, data science capabilities, and customer-facing platforms.

QpiAI Indus Quantum computer at IIIT-Dharwad and Raichur

The government of Karnataka has announced the installation of QpiAI Indus, a 25-qubit quantum computing system, at the Quantum Computing Center of Excellence (QCCE) at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Dharwad and IIIT-Raichur.

According to a statement, the installation will be QpiAI's second deployment in Karnataka, strengthening the state's growing quantum ecosystem and expanding access to quantum computing capabilities for academia and industry in India.

The QpiAI Indus system will be leveraged for educational use, supporting curriculum development, hands-on student training, and faculty-led research as well as commercial workloads, enabling enterprises and innovators to experiment with and apply quantum computing to real-world problems.

The initiative, under the Local Economy Acceleration Programme (LEAP), aligns with the State's efforts to build next-generation technology infrastructure under the Karnataka Quantum Roadmap and further positions Karnataka as a leading hub for energy emerging technologies.

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)