Indian startups continued to attract significant investment this past week, with 24 companies raising around $182.62 million in funding. The week saw a mix of growth-stage and early-stage deals, highlighting the diverse range of opportunities in the country’s thriving startup ecosystem.

The growth-stage deals were led by Sarvagram, a rural-focused lending and distribution platform, which secured $67 million in funding. This was followed by the math-focused edtech platform Bhanzu, which raised $16.5 million, and the electric aircraft startup The ePlane Co., which received $14 million.

On the early-stage front, 19 startups secured funding worth $85.12 million. Wheelocity, a semi-urban commerce platform, topped the list, with other notable deals going to real estate platform Guardians, ID verification startup Equal Identity, vehicle intelligence company Vecmocon, and brand protection solutions provider Ennoventure.

The week’s funding activity was widespread, with startups from Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai all securing investments. The sector-wise breakdown showed strong interest in SaaS, edtech, fintech, gaming, and aerospace startups.

Amidst the funding highlights, the startup ecosystem also witnessed several notable developments, including fund launches, hires, and mergers and acquisitions. Green Frontier Capital, Pavestone VC, Physis Capital, BlueGreen Ventures, and the Women in the Digital Economy Fund all unveiled new investment vehicles, signaling continued confidence in the Indian startup landscape.

The week also saw several high-profile executive appointments, including Sunil Thomas taking over as CEO of CleverTap and key hires at InsuranceDekho and Swiggy.

On the M&A front, Unicommerce acquired Shipway, an e-commerce technology platform, while Kovai.co bought Floik, a B2C SaaS startup.

Despite the positive funding trends, the week also saw some challenges, with Kuku FM laying off around 300 employees as part of a restructuring exercise, and Stoa School shutting down its operations.

Overall, the latest funding numbers and the diverse range of deals highlight the resilience and dynamism of the Indian startup ecosystem. As the country continues to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, the coming weeks and months are poised to bring more exciting developments in the startup landscape.

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Dryden Brown, the 28-year-old founder of the network state startup Praxis, has an ambitious vision: to create a new city in Greenland that would serve as a testbed for innovative technologies and a gateway to Greenlandic independence.

After visiting Greenland last summer and meeting with government officials, Brown believes he can work with the Greenlandic government to build a city from scratch on uninhabitable land, inspired by Elon Musk’s concept of “Terminus” – a city on Mars.

Praxis, a Peter Thiel-backed project, recently raised $525 million with the goal of establishing a physical home for its internet-first ideology. Brown has traveled to dozens of countries, cold-emailing politicians and proposing his idea of a mutually beneficial partnership – a tech-utopian city that could provide an alternative revenue source for Greenland, potentially enabling its independence from Denmark.

While the idea of buying Greenland outright was met with skepticism, Brown believes that by replacing the $500 million in annual subsidies from Denmark with income from the new city, taxes, and tourism, Greenland could achieve its long-sought independence.

The proposed city would be a hub for technological experimentation, drawing on the community of young, ambitious hardtech founders in El Segundo, California. Brown envisions a city powered by innovative solutions like cloud-seeding technology to create on-demand rain, or nuclear energy from startups like Valar Atomics.

Praxis has courted controversy in the past, with reports of a member guide promoting “traditional, European/Western beauty standards.” But Brown believes the Praxis community embodies a pioneering American spirit, akin to his ancestors who “took this voyage on ships across the Atlantic, landed, built a town and a fort and a farm, fought in the Revolutionary War.”

Despite skepticism from Danish politicians, Brown remains undaunted in his quest to create a new city in Greenland that would serve as a prototype for his vision of a network state – an internet-first community that gains diplomatic recognition and a physical home.

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The once-bustling US initial public offering (IPO) market remains largely dormant, but that hasn’t stopped American startups from exploring opportunities to take their companies public. With the domestic window still firmly shut, many are looking overseas for their IPO dreams.

European scale-up Klarna has confidentially filed IPO documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, signaling its intent to list stateside despite the current challenges. Meanwhile, Naspers-owned Prosus is aiming to take its Indian fintech subsidiary PayU public in 2025, as the Dutch investor shifts more focus to the Indian market.

The Indian IPO scene has been a bright spot, with quick-commerce company Swiggy recently making a stellar debut. This has sparked envy among US startups seeking to replicate such success.

Beyond IPOs, the startup world has seen a flurry of other activity. Cybersecurity unicorn Bitsight acquired dark web security specialist Cybersixgill for $115 million, while Anysphere, the startup behind the popular AI-enabled code editor Cursor, snapped up competitor Supermaven.

Even as the US IPO window remains firmly shut, startups are taking advantage of any available opportunities, whether at home or abroad. They are navigating the turbulent landscape, exploring alternative avenues to secure funding and growth, and positioning themselves for an eventual return to the public markets.

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Pony AI, the Chinese autonomous driving company, is gearing up for a historic initial public offering (IPO) on the US stock market. The company is seeking to raise up to $224 million by issuing 15 million American Depository Shares, with the possibility of an additional 2.25 million shares if demand is high.

Pony AI, which was once valued at $8.5 billion following a Series D round in 2022, has seen its target amount for the IPO drop from an initial $425 million to the current range of $165 million to $224 million. The company will list on the Nasdaq under the ticker “PONY.”

The Chinese startup operates a fleet of 190 “robotrucks” in Beijing and Guangzhou, as well as more than 250 robotaxis in four major cities across China. Notably, Pony AI is fully driverless in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, allowing the company to charge for its robotaxi services in those locations.

The impending IPO marks the latest in a series of Chinese companies seeking to go public on the US stock market after a multi-year ban from Beijing on offshore capital raising. Despite growing geopolitical tensions and the possibility of a looming tariff on Chinese imports, US investors appear to have a growing appetite for Chinese technology companies.

Pony AI’s debut follows the successful IPOs of other Chinese autonomous vehicle startups, such as Zeekr, which raised $441 million in its New York Stock Exchange debut in May, and WeRide, which debuted on the Nasdaq in October and raised $440.5 million.

As Pony AI navigates the IPO process, the company’s success will be closely watched as a barometer for the continued interest in Chinese tech companies seeking access to the lucrative US capital markets.

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Delhi-based vehicle intelligence startup Vecmocon has successfully raised $10 million in the first phase of its Series A funding round. The round was led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), with additional participation from existing investors Blume Ventures and British International Investment (BII).

Previously, Vecmocon had secured $5.2 million in a pre-Series A round from Tiger Global and Blume Ventures in October 2022. However, Tiger Global did not take part in the latest funding round.

Vecmocon, founded in 2016 at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, provides advanced computing solutions for electric vehicles (EVs), including battery management systems (BMS), vehicle intelligence modules (VIM), and EV chargers. The company’s products currently power over 70,000 vehicles on Indian roads, serving clients like Exide, BGauss, and Battery Smart.

With the new capital, Vecmocon plans to strengthen its research and development (R&D) capabilities in key areas such as high-voltage systems, energy storage systems (ESS), 5G automotive connectivity, and Zonal ECU-compliant architectures. The company also aims to expand its team and establish international-standard R&D infrastructure to further support the growth of the EV sector in India and beyond.

For the fiscal year ending March 2023 (FY23), Vecmocon reported an operating revenue of Rs 4.2 crore, with a loss of Rs 41 lakh. The startup is also pursuing global expansion, with existing customers in Sri Lanka and plans to explore Southeast Asian and African markets.

Prior to this Series A round, the founding members collectively held nearly 55% stake in Vecmocon, while Blume Ventures and Tiger Global owned 12% and 10%, respectively, according to data from startup intelligence platform TheKredible.

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As companies scramble to stay competitive, the need to adopt AI has become increasingly pressing. However, integrating these technologies can be a challenge. Team-GPT, a Bulgarian startup, believes it has the solution.

Founded in 2023 by Illiya Valchanvov, Ilko Kacharvo, Yavor Belakov, Katya Vaptsarova, and Maria Valchanova, Team-GPT offers a software suite of AI tools, including popular models like ChatGPT and Claude, that can be easily integrated into companies’ existing systems.

“If you use your own models, you can deploy this on-premises and never share your data with OpenAI or Anthropic,” Valchanvov told TechCrunch, highlighting the privacy benefits of the platform.

In addition to the AI tools, Team-GPT also provides online courses on how to effectively utilize these technologies and enterprise-level features such as platform administration and group mapping.

The startup has already secured Salesforce and Johns Hopkins University as clients, along with 45,000 other customers. This week, Team-GPT announced a $4.5 million seed round led by True Ventures, with participation from Pact and angel investors, including former OpenAI employees.

As a founder based outside of Silicon Valley, Valchanvov acknowledged that fundraising was a challenge. “As we are Silicon Valley outsiders, who wanted to raise in Silicon Valley,” he said, the team traveled to London to meet with European VCs and then spent two months in San Francisco building relationships to secure the investment.

Team-GPT faces competition from the likes of OpenAI, Claude, Dust, and Langdock, but the company’s focus on serving mid-to-large-sized companies with customization and on-premises deployment sets it apart, according to Valchanvov.

With the new funding, Team-GPT plans to expand its team and accelerate product delivery, helping more businesses seamlessly integrate AI into their operations.

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German travel startup Tourlane has raised $26 million in a Series D funding round led by venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. The funding will be used to help the company reach profitability, expand its AI-powered technology, and potentially expand into new markets beyond its current bases in France and Germany.

Tourlane is an agent-like platform that allows users to plan and budget their trips, integrating flights, accommodations, activities, and tickets in one place. The startup, founded in 2015, has booked trips for over 100,000 individuals to date, with last year’s performance five times stronger than the year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

The company’s CEO and co-founder, Julian Weselek, stated that the firm is investing in generative AI to enhance the user experience and make it more intuitive for customers to find the options they desire. However, he emphasized that this won’t completely replace human agents, as the personal touch is still valued by customers, especially for important trips.

Tourlane is also leveraging AI on the backend to evaluate the thousands of possible combinations of flights, accommodations, activities, and other variables to optimize the chances of providing customers with the best-suited options, while also boosting the company’s revenues.

While Tourlane’s valuation is not being disclosed, the startup’s previous $20 million Series C extension round valued the company at $242 million. Weselek said the company is not focused on valuations, but rather on securing the necessary funding to reach profitability and continue investing in its product and growth.

The latest funding round also included investments from Target Global, Jared Smith (co-founder of Qualtrics), and HV Capital. Sequoia Capital’s investment reflects the venture firm’s continued interest in the travel industry, having previously backed successful startups like Airbnb, Skyscanner, and Kayak.

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RAW, the rising dating app that’s already made waves by solving major problems like catfishing and ghosting, is now jumping into the AI pool — but with a twist that actually makes sense. Their new feature, RAW Q (yes, like Bond’s tech wiz) stands apart from all those AI toys made to grab tech blog headlines. It’s here to amplify natural charm, without replacing it — turning crushes into dates right in the chats.

Caught in the act: your AI wingman is showing

Online dating should be the last fortress of human touch in this robot takeover — after all, can algorithms really understand butterflies in the stomach? But reality check: according to McAfee’s 2024 study, more than a quarter of Americans are already secretly sliding AI into their dating game, with 30% of men and 27% of women using it to polish their profiles.

Meet your new lovebot — with standards

RAW Q is a next-generation AI dating assistant that integrates right into the dating experience. Unlike standalone tools, RAW Q:

• Analyzes profiles and chat histories

• Learns individual communication styles

• Reviews messages in real-time

• Generates effective conversation starters

• Maintains user authenticity while improving messages

Built on OpenAI and Anthropic’s language models, RAW Q simplifies AI assistance down to a single tap. The system automatically detects the context — whether it’s an empty chat needing an opener, an ongoing conversation requiring a response, or a draft message that needs refinement. Users don’t need to understand AI or prompting — they tap once, and the system determines exactly what kind of assistance to provide.

RAW is showing that AI can upgrade human connection without replacing it. After all, sparks fly between people, not processors — and in the right hands, even AI can help keep dating real. Time to see what happens when authentic meets automatic, one cute DM at a time.

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Germany’s Klim has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by BNP Paribas to take its regenerative farming platform international. The startup, founded in 2020, provides farmers with tools to plan, execute and finance the transition to more sustainable farming practices.

Klim’s platform offers data-driven insights on restoring soil health, increasing biodiversity, capturing carbon, and reducing emissions. Farmers can use the platform to track their progress and earn revenue by selling carbon “insets” to supply chain partners looking to make their operations greener.

“There’s a real urgency to transition farmland to regenerative practices,” said Klim CEO Robert Gerlach. “You need to do two things to get a farmer to regenerative agriculture – provide a digital agronomist to guide them, and quantify the impact through data.”

The new funding will allow Klim to expand its operations beyond Germany, where it currently serves 3,500 farmers covering 700,000 hectares of land, representing 5% of the country’s farmland. Clients include major food companies like Nestlé, Kaufland, and Aryzta.

“Klim’s innovative platform and approach to scaling regenerative agriculture are perfectly aligned with our commitment to financing solutions that mitigate climate change, make the ecosystems more resilient and improve people’s livelihoods,” said Maha Keramane, head of BNP Paribas’ Positive Impact Business Accelerator.

Klim is not alone in the regenerative agriculture space, with competitors like Agricarbon, Regrow, and Soil Capital also working to help farmers transition to more sustainable practices. However, Klim’s comprehensive platform and growing client base make it a standout player in the European agritech market.

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Writer, a leading generative AI company, has raised $200 million in a Series C funding round, valuing the startup at a staggering $1.9 billion. The round was co-led by Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and ICONIQ Growth, with participation from prominent investors including Salesforce Ventures, Adobe Ventures, B Capital, Citi Ventures, IBM Ventures, and Workday Ventures.

Founded in 2020 by May Habib and Waseem AlShikh, the company has grown rapidly, offering a full-stack generative AI platform with customizable solutions for various enterprise use cases. The new funding will be used to accelerate product development and cement Writer’s position as a leader in the enterprise generative AI space.

“At Writer, we’re not just creating AI models that can execute tasks, but developing advanced AI systems that deliver mission-critical enterprise work,” said Habib, the company’s CEO. “With this new funding, we’re laser-focused on delivering the next generation of autonomous AI solutions that are secure, reliable, and adaptable in highly complex, real-world enterprise scenarios.”

Writer’s platform includes its own family of models, Palmyra, for text generation, as well as features that connect business data sources to its models and the ability for customers to self-host Writer-created models. The company has also developed a model, Palmyra X 004, trained almost entirely on synthetic data, which cost just $700,000 to develop, a fraction of the estimated $4.6 million required for a comparably-sized OpenAI model.

The company’s current focus is on “AI agents” that can plan and execute workflows across systems and teams, as well as customizable AI guardrails and a suite of no-code development tools. Writer has already secured hundreds of clients, including prominent names like Mars, Ally Bank, Qualcomm, Salesforce, Uber, Accenture, L’Oréal, and Intuit.

“There’s a tremendous amount of engineering required to transform models into reliable business tools,” said Patrick Stokes, EVP of product and industries marketing at Salesforce. “Writer provides a refined, AI-powered solution that’s effective, easy to deploy, and has rapidly accelerated our workflows here at Salesforce. We’re excited to join them on this journey not only as an investor, but also as a customer.”

The latest funding round is a testament to the growing enthusiasm for generative AI in the venture capital community. According to a report from Accel, generative AI startups will receive 40% of all VC cash poured into cloud technologies this year, and in the first half of 2024, investments in generative AI startups topped $3.9 billion, not counting OpenAI’s $6.6 billion round.

As the generative AI market is projected to surpass $1 trillion in revenue within the next decade, Writer is well-positioned to capitalize on this growth and continue its mission of delivering innovative, enterprise-focused AI solutions.

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