As India sets its sights on global trade leadership, homegrown startups and tech leaders are shaping the country’s next growth chapter. Here’s a roundup of what’s driving the momentum—from manufacturing milestones to digital breakthroughs.
Featured Stories
India set to boost manufacturing share to 3% of global trade in five years: Accel
India’s manufacturing sector is expected to contribute approximately 3% to the global goods trade by 2030, up from its current share of around 1.8%, according to a new report released by Accel. The report on Advanced Manufacturing also notes that “Domestic manufacturing is estimated to reach $1.3 trillion by FY30 at a CAGR of 18%.”
While India’s current domestic manufacturing GDP stands at $471 billion, a significant portion of this growth is expected to be driven by advanced manufacturing.
Earlier this month, a survey by HSBC reported that India’s manufacturing sector growth strengthened in July, reaching a 16-month high of 59.1. This growth was supported by faster increases in new orders and output, amid favourable demand conditions.
Read more here.
Real-time fraud detection: How Drona Pay keeps digital banking safe
In recent years, India has seen an unprecedented rise in digital scams, including modern ones like digital arrest, which aim to extort money from victims through fear, deception, and intimidation. In the last four years, cyber frauds have increased by 900%, with fraudsters cheating people of Rs 33,165 crore, including Rs 22,812 crore in 2024 alone, according to the National Cyber Reporting Platform.
While digital payment instruments have become more convenient and widely used, they’ve also increased the risk of fraud, such as a call from an unknown number posing as your bank manager, a debit notification you didn’t authorise, or the AI-generated voice of a loved one asking for money.
“Fraud hits home; the closer it gets, the more you understand the urgency and criticality of solving it,” says Arpan Majumder, Chief Business Officer at Drona Pay
Read more here.
Antfin exits Paytm, sells 3.72 Cr shares for Rs 3980 Cr
Antfin (Netherlands) Holding, a key shareholder in One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, has offloaded over 3.72 crore shares worth approximately Rs 3,980 crore in the company through bulk deals on the BSE on Tuesday. With this deal, Antfin has fully exited its stake in One97 Communications.
The shares were picked up by global institutional investors, including Societe Generale and MY Asian Opportunities Master Fund LP. Stock exchange data shows that the stake sale by Antfin comprised two blocks of 1,86,43,863 shares each, priced at Rs 1,067.53 and Rs 1,067.63 apiece, respectively, valuing the total transaction at over Rs Rs 3,980 crore.
On the buy side, Societe Generale and its ODI (offshore derivative instruments) arm together snapped up 67.5 lakh shares, while MY Asian Opportunities Master Fund LP acquired 35 lakh shares, both at Rs 1,067.50 per share.
Read more here.
Sujatha Mukunthan on her 24-year journey in tech, and challenging herself at every level
When Sujatha Mukunthan began her career as an intern at Siemens over two decades ago, she had no idea that she would one day return to lead a team of top-notch researchers at Siemens Technology & Services as Vice President and Research & Predevelopment Head.
Before coming full circle, Mukunthan held important positions at Bosch, navigating diverse domains, including software management, project management, product development, and business excellence. Growing up in Chennai, Mukunthan was deeply influenced by her father, a physics professor, who instilled in her the belief that “education is the best value one can possess.”
Inspired by both her father and her older sister, who took up medicine, she grew up with typical aspirations. “Being a doctor, engineer, or a lawyer were proud professions with the limited choices we had back then,” she recalls.
Read more here.
Funding News
The Sleep Company raises Rs 480 Cr in a mix of primary and secondary round
The Sleep Company has raised Rs 480 crore in a Series D round led by ChrysCapital and 360 ONE Asset, the company said on Tuesday.
The series D round was a mix of primary and secondary capital, providing partial exit to Fireside Ventures, on of its earlier backers. The company said it will use the funding to scale manufacturing, expand retail presence, invest in product innovation, and strengthen its core teams.
Founded in 2019 by Priyanka and Harshil Salot, the Mumbai-based company claims to have crossed Rs 700 crore in annual revenue run rate (ARR) and recorded 60% year-on-year growth in FY25. It currently operates over 150 exclusive brand outlets across India, with offline channels contributing 70% to total sales and has doubled its monthly revenue and employee base since its last fundraise.
Read more here.
Amal Parekh leads $1.8M round in Cautio with participation from 8i Ventures
Cautio, an AI-powered video telematics startup, has raised an additional $1.8 million in seed funding. The round was led by Amal Parikh, with participation from 8i Ventures, AU Small Finance Bank, and Vibha Chetan (Partner – Cheravi Ventures), Venture Catalysts. The round also saw backing from Raveen Sastry (Founding Partner, Multiply Ventures), Vivekananda Hallekere (Co-founder-Bounce) and Nishchay AG (Co-founder- JAR) expanding Cautio’s total seed raise to $3M.
In April this year, the company had raised $1.2 million as part of its ongoing round.
“India’s roads don’t need more fear; they need accountability and protection. This fresh investment allows us to strengthen our technology, grow our team, and expand our deployment footprint to ensure road safety becomes the norm, not the exception,” said Ankit Acharya, Co-founder and CEO of Cautio.
Protein foods brand Gladful raises Rs 8 Cr in fresh funding
Gladful, a clean-label food brand focused on nutrition for children, has raised Rs 8 crore in a funding round led by Eternal Capital by former BharatPe COO Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl. The round also saw participation from existing investors Antler India and Venture Catalysts, both of whom doubled down on their investment in the brand. Other participants include RWA Advisors, Arav Ventures, and angels Aman Tekriwal, and Sairam Krishnamurthy.
The brand had previously raised Rs 7 crore—from Antler India, Venture Catalysts, and Shark Tank—in a seed round in 2023.
The brand’s products, which are all centred around breakfast like chilla, dosa, pancake, and idli, designed to prepare 10-minute meals—free from palm oil, refined sugar, maltodextrin, and other additives. The company plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its core team across R&D, marketing, and growth; invest in innovation; and deepen digital distribution—especially on quick-commerce platforms.
DesignX closes $2M pre-Series A funding led by Rockstud Capital, others
DesignX, an end-to-end digital transformation platform for factory operations, has secured $2 million in a pre-series funding round with participation from Rockstud Capital, We Founder Circle, Piper Serica, and some of the company’s clients.
Noida-headquartered DesignX enables seamless digitization of 600+ factory processes via a comprehensive
library of configurable forms and workflows. It integrates easily with existing ERP systems, IoT devices, and other enterprise tools, creating a unified digital infrastructure that powers real-time insights and AI-driven decision-making.
With this new funding, DesignX aims to further enhance its platform capabilities, deepen industry integrations, and expand its footprint across India and beyond.
CodeKarma raises $2.5M in pre-seed round led by Prosus, Accel, and Xeed Ventures
<figure class="image embed" contenteditable="false" data-id="578457" data-url="https://images.yourstory.com/cs/2/11718bd02d6d11e9aa979329348d4c3e/Imagem5go-1754471495404.jpg" data-alt="Ananth Vanchi, Founder and Chief Executive, Code Karma" data-caption="
Ananth Vanchi, Founder and Chief Executive, Code Karma
” style=”float: left; margin-right: 20px; width:50%; height:auto” align=”center”> Ananth Vanchi, Founder and Chief Executive, Code Karma
CodeKarma, a software productivity platform pioneering domain-relevant live code intelligence, has raised $2.5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Prosus, Accel, and Xeed Ventures.
The round also saw participation from SenseAI Ventures and Stargazer Ventures.
The fresh capital will enable the company to accelerate its vision of creating autonomous, self-improving software systems.
The company plans to advance its proprietary AI-driven capabilities, expand into new enterprise verticals, and strengthen its global footprint; particularly in the US market.
Strategic hiring and continued product innovation will also be key focus areas as the team scales its operations.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
