From Chtrbox's ambition to become the engine powering India's creator economy to Sumit Jain's departure amid upGrad's impending acquisition, YourStory brings you today's headlines with the latest developments across sectors.
Featured stories
Chtrbox aims to become the engine behind India's creator economy
India's Union Budget 2026-27 emphasised on the country's "Orange Economy", the fast-growing world of content, creativity, gaming, and media. It is a recognition that ideas, culture and creators are no longer side industries, but serious economic engines.
A Boston Consulting Group report predicts India's creator economy will top $1 trillion in annual spending by 2030. That shift is visible in influencer marketing: what began as brands experimenting with internet creators has evolved into a structured business with measurable outcomes, rising budgets, and specialised technology.
Latest news
Unacademy Co-founder Sumit Jain to depart as upGrad acquisition nears
Unacademy Co-founder Sumit Jain, who serves as chief executive officer of the company's test preparation business, is leaving the edtech firm as it moves towards being acquired by upGrad.
He was elevated to lead test-prep business in September last year. Jain, who leads Graphy, the creator-focused SaaS platform owned by Unacademy, was named a co-founder of the edtech firm in August 2023.
Funding news
ONO raises a $1.2M pre-Series A round
Aeravti Ventures, the early-stage venture capital firm, has led a $1.2 million pre-Series A funding round in Agri-Finance startup ONO. The round also saw participation from Angels and Tremis Capital. This also marks Aeravti Ventures' second investment in ONO.
The fresh capital will be put towards strengthening ONO's technology platform, expanding its presence across newer markets, deepening its lending infrastructure and accelerating ecosystem growth across the agricultural value chain.
IIT Madras-incubated Impensus Electronics raises Rs 1.6 Cr
Impensus, an IIT Madras Research Park-incubated deep-tech startup, has raised Rs 1.6 crore in its pre-Series A round with participation from angel investors affiliated with Keiretsu Forum Chennai Chapter and IN44 Capital.
The startup plans to use the capital raised to scale post-harvest cold chain technology.
The firm's focus is on helping reduce post-harvest losses through more precise control of biological processes during ripening and storage.
Trackk raises $3.7M led by Lightspeed
Trackk raised $3.7 million in a seed funding round led by Lightspeed, with participation from Info Edge Ventures and angel investors including Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, Tanmay Bhatt, Varun Mayya, and Gaurav Kapoor.
The company will use the fresh capital to strengthen its broking infrastructure, expand product capabilities, accelerate user acquisition and customer onboarding, grow its team across key functions, and build additional financial products aimed at younger Indian investors.
Other news
Exotel makes five senior appointments
Exotel has announced five senior leadership appointments and promotions as it expands its AI-led customer experience business.
Rohan Shanbagh has been elevated to COO, Sanjeeth R appointed CPO, and Ananda Kumar named CFO. Udit Agarwal has been promoted to SVP and Global Head of Partnerships & Marketing, while Sumithra Sivaramakrishnan will lead People & Culture.
Wadhwani Foundation and Gates Foundation sign MoU
Wadhwani Foundation and the Gates Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen India's innovation ecosystem through the National Innovation Network, a national-scale extension of the Wadhwani Innovation Network.
The partnership's focus is on enabling translational research and entrepreneurial innovation in areas of high societal impact, including health, nutrition, biotechnology, genomics, medtech, and other emerging sectors aligned with India's development priorities.
L'Oréal launches its 2026 Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program
L'Oréal has opened applications for the 2026 edition of its Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program across South Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa.
The initiative will back startups working in AI-powered commerce, creator and affiliate ecosystems, sustainability, connected brand experiences and beauty science.
Winners secure a fully funded commercial pilot with one of L'Oréal's 40 international brands, potential scale across 35 markets and year-long mentorship from L'Oréal senior leaders and programme partners.
Kalpi raises seed funding
Hyderabad-based fintech startup Kalpi has raised Rs 3.75 crore in a seed funding round led by Rainmatter Capital. Founded in 2025 by former quant researcher and BITS Pilani graduate Ashwar Gupta, Kalpi offers an AI-powered platform for rule-based systematic investing across equities, ETFs, and mutual funds.
The company enables users to build, backtest, automate, and execute quantitative investment strategies through broker integrations. The fresh capital will be used to strengthen the team, improve datasets, enhance product capabilities, and expand distribution among retail and institutional investors. Kalpi also provides portfolio health reports analysing diversification, concentration, and risk.
The startup aims to simplify quantitative investing by combining advanced analytics, scalable infrastructure, and AI/ML-driven insights into a unified investment platform for both retail and institutional users in India.
MedGenome partners with SDRC
Genomics-driven diagnostics company MedGenome has partnered with Siddhi Diagnostics & Research Centre (SDRC) to strengthen access to integrated diagnostics services across Mumbai's extended western suburbs.
Founded in 1995, SDRC operates five centres across Nalasopara, Vasai, Virar, and Thane, offering imaging services including MRI, CT scans, mammography, sonography, and cardiac investigations. The network is led by radiology specialists Dr. Ajit Pungavkar and Dr. Sona Pungavkar, both of whom bring decades of clinical expertise.
MedGenome said the partnership will expand access to advanced diagnostic capabilities while strengthening its regional presence. SDRC currently serves a wide network of hospitals and clinicians across the Naigaon-Palghar and Thane belt with advanced imaging infrastructure, including four MRI and five CT systems. The collaboration aims to improve integrated diagnostics and patient care delivery in suburban Mumbai markets.
Paramotor Digital Technology files DRHP confidentially
Paramotor Digital Technology Limited has confidentially filed its draft red herring prospectus with SEBI under the pre-filing route, signalling plans for a potential initial public offering.
Founded in 2016, the fintech and enterprise technology company operates across consumer spend management, digital gifting, rewards and loyalty solutions, and enterprise software services. Its portfolio includes SpendPro, RewardOn, yayyy.shop, and DevStack.
The company follows an asset-light, technology-driven operating model aimed at benefiting from increasing digital adoption in consumer spending and enterprise engagement. Market observers believe the company is well-positioned to capitalise on growing digitisation trends across businesses and consumers.
The confidential filing route allows the company to assess investor interest and regulatory feedback before publicly launching the IPO process, which has increasingly gained traction among Indian technology firms.
Tonbo Imaging wins Indian Navy contract
Defence technology company Tonbo Imaging has secured a contract from the Indian Navy under the ADITI 3.0 innovation framework to integrate and commission a High Power Microwave (HPM) system for naval platforms.
Supported by iDEX and the Defence Innovation Organisation under the Ministry of Defence, the programme includes system integration, commissioning activities, and supply of production units after successful validation and acceptance.
HPM systems are considered strategically significant directed-energy capabilities used to disable adversary electronics, sensors, and drone swarms through non-kinetic means. Tonbo Imaging said the technology is increasingly relevant in modern maritime and asymmetric warfare environments.
The development reflects the Indian Navy's growing focus on next-generation deterrence systems and electromagnetic spectrum dominance as India continues investing in indigenous defence and strategic technology capabilities.
STEMROBO opens Middle East HQ in Dubai
Edtech company STEMROBO Technologies has inaugurated its Middle East regional headquarters in Dubai to expand its presence across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The company plans to collaborate with over 1,000 schools by 2030 as demand for AI, robotics, and STEM education accelerates in the Middle East.
STEMROBO already works with more than 50 schools across the UAE, Oman, and Bahrain and aims to rapidly expand across all six GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Over the next few years, the company plans to add 200-300 new school partnerships.
STEMROBO said its modular curriculum framework will be localised to align with regional academic standards while promoting project-based learning, innovation, and technology entrepreneurship among students across the region's evolving digital education ecosystem.
Hearzap to acquire Amplifon India
Hearing care provider Hearzap has announced an agreement to acquire Amplifon India, significantly expanding its hearing care network across the country. The acquisition is backed by Hearzap investor 360 ONE Asset Management.
Amplifon India, part of the global Amplifon group, operates around 240 hearing care points of sale across India and is known for its clinical expertise and customer service quality. Following the acquisition, the combined entity will operate around 430 centres nationwide with over 1,000 service providers and a topline exceeding Rs 230 crore.
Hearzap said the deal would strengthen its leadership position in India's hearing care market while expanding accessibility to hearing healthcare services. The acquisition also reflects growing consolidation activity within India's specialised healthcare and wellness services sector amid rising demand for hearing care solutions.
UST partners with K2view
Technology solutions company UST has entered into a strategic partnership with K2view to help enterprises accelerate AI-driven software development and machine learning initiatives using synthetic data solutions.
K2view's platform enables organisations to generate high-fidelity, contextual synthetic data for testing, validation, and AI model training while ensuring compliance and governance standards. UST will serve as the implementation and delivery partner, leveraging its domain expertise and global scale to support enterprise adoption.
The collaboration focuses on enabling AI-driven software development lifecycle processes as organisations increasingly require scalable, compliant, and instantly accessible datasets. K2view's platform combines AI-generated synthetic data with real data where necessary to support specific enterprise use cases. The partnership targets sectors including banking, healthcare, telecommunications, and retail, where AI-ready data infrastructure is becoming critical for digital transformation initiatives.
Lighthouse Canton appoints Abhay Laijawala as CIO India
Global investment institution Lighthouse Canton has appointed Abhay Laijawala as Chief Investment Officer for India, reinforcing the company's focus on the Indian market. Reporting to Group CIO Sunil Garg, Laijawala will lead the firm's India investment strategy, oversee asset allocation, manage discretionary and non-discretionary portfolios, and develop high-conviction investment themes.
Prior to joining Lighthouse Canton, he served as Head of Offshore Investments at Canara Robeco Mutual Fund and previously worked with Avendus, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Citi Bank, and HSBC. At Deutsche Bank, he led India equity research coverage across more than 120 stocks.
Lighthouse Canton, which manages over $5 billion in assets globally, said the appointment reflects India's growing importance within its investment strategy as the country's capital markets continue to deepen and attract institutional investor interest.
Zero Prize opens applications for pollution reduction solutions
The Zero Prize, India's national challenge focused on measurable pollution reduction, has opened applications for startups, companies, research institutions, innovators, and implementation agencies working on scalable environmental solutions.
Conceptualised by the School of Policy and Governance and chaired by Dabur India Vice Chairman Saket Burman, the Rs 5 crore initiative seeks implementation-ready innovations addressing air, water, and land pollution. Applicants submitting entries before May 31, 2026, will receive structured expert feedback on impact measurement, scalability, and verification frameworks ahead of final evaluations. The final application deadline is August 31, 2026.
The challenge is open to deployed technologies, operational models, pilot-stage interventions, and scalable implementation frameworks capable of delivering independently verifiable environmental impact under real-world conditions. Organisers aim to encourage practical solutions that can drive measurable sustainability outcomes across India.
Moglix appoints Amit Kumar as MD & CBO
B2B industrial commerce platform Moglix has appointed Amit Kumar as Managing Director and Chief Business Officer. Based in Ahmedabad, Kumar joins the company's central leadership team and will focus on scaling emerging business segments and identifying new growth opportunities.
Prior to joining Moglix, he served as Group CEO and Executive Director at Symphony Limited, where he led digital transformation, supply chain restructuring, and overall business growth. He also held senior roles at KPMG India, EY, and PwC, advising enterprises across sectors including automotive, FMCG, chemicals, and industrial manufacturing.
Moglix said Kumar's experience in operations improvement, procurement, manufacturing, and business transformation would help strengthen its leadership position and accelerate expansion initiatives across India's industrial and deep-tech ecosystem as the company continues to scale its operations.
Girikon.AI sees demand for vernacular AI voice solutions
Girikon.AI, a SaaS company developing AI-powered customer engagement solutions, is witnessing rising enterprise demand for vernacular AI voice technologies across sectors including healthcare, real estate, education, and financial services.
The company said multilingual voice communication is becoming increasingly important for businesses engaging customers across linguistically diverse Indian markets. Girikon.AI noted that AI-driven voice systems are helping enterprises improve customer accessibility, response rates, and operational efficiency while reducing dependence on manual processes.
At the centre of this expansion is GirikVoice, the company's multilingual AI voice engagement platform designed for inbound and outbound communication in multiple Indian languages. Integrated with CRM and workflow systems, the platform enables businesses to automate customer interactions while delivering localized and context-aware engagement experiences. The company expects demand for vernacular AI adoption to continue growing rapidly.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)