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Titan Capital launches investment vertical to back Indian defence-tech startups

EntrackrEntrackr · 10m ago
Titan Capital launches investment vertical to back Indian defence-tech startups
Medial

Titan Capital launches investment vertical to back Indian defence-tech startups Seed-stage venture capital firm Titan Capital has launched a specialised investment vertical to fund startups innovating in India’s defence and strategic technology space. With this program, Titan Capital is looking to invest in startups working in hardware, aerospace, cybersecurity, and manufacturing. The focus is on national security, supporting deep-tech innovation, generating jobs, and helping India become an exporter of strategic technologies. Kunal Bahl, Co-founder of Titan Capital, said, “We need to back our brightest minds—engineers, researchers, and builders—to create sovereign, dual-use technologies that can shape not just India’s future, but the future of global defence…” As part of this initiative, Titan Capital is also looking to collaborate with veterans from the armed forces, scientists, and experienced technologists who can help assess and guide these investments with strategic insight and domain expertise. Titan Capital has backed over 250 startups to date, including Ola, Razorpay, Urban Company, OfBusiness and Giva. With this new initiative, it hopes to shape the next generation of strategic innovation at the intersection of purpose, tech, and nation-building.

JIIF investors invest in Rs 350 Cr consumer-focused fund by Atomic Capital

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m ago
JIIF investors invest in Rs 350 Cr consumer-focused fund by Atomic Capital
Medial

Investors from the early-stage angel network JIIF have invested in a Rs 350 crore fund by Atomic Capital, a newly launched consumer-focused venture capital firm. JIIF-affiliated angel investors alone contributed Rs 26.5 crore to the fund. According to JIIF, this is the largest collective bet by JIIF’s investors in the consumer VC space, underscoring rising conviction in India’s next wave of consumption, driven by digital-first brands, regional demand, and wellness-oriented products. Commenting on the investment, Jeenendra Bhandari, Chairman of JIIF, said, “It is a proud moment to see JIIF members backing Atomic Capital’s first fund. Their investment aligns with our broader thesis of supporting category-defining, purpose-led startups. India’s consumer opportunity is massive, and Atomic’s operating model is well positioned to unlock enduring brand value.” Atomic Capital operates with an “Operating VC” approach, offering not just capital but also hands-on support in brand building, growth marketing, supply chain optimization, and leadership hiring. In FY25, JIIF’s investor base deployed over Rs 60 crore across more than 20 startups spanning fintech, healthtech, AI, logistics, and consumer. The network now supports a portfolio of over 150 companies. Mumbai-based Atomic Capital, an early-stage VC firm founded in 2024 by Apoorv Gautam, combines strategic depth with on-ground execution.

Peak XV’s Shailesh Lakhani and Abheek Anand to step down

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Peak XV’s Shailesh Lakhani and Abheek Anand to step down
Medial

Peak XV’s managing partners Shailesh Lakhani, a 17-year veteran of the firm, and Abheek Anand, who co-led investments in Southeast Asia, have decided to step down. Lakhani has confirmed his departure from the venture capital firm through a post on micro-blogging platform X. “As my time at Peak XV/Sequoia India reaches 17.5 years, I’ve decided it’s the right moment to step back from the firm. It has been an incredible journey—one that began in August 2007, when India’s startup ecosystem was in its infancy, to today, where it stands as one of the most vibrant in the world. I wouldn’t have traded this courtside seat for anything,” said Lakhani. Anand has not made an official statement regarding his resignation, but TechCrunch first reported it this afternoon. Lakhani and Anand were appointed as Managing Directors of Peak XV during the company's rebranding from Sequoia Capital. This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.

Social network app Currently raises $1 Mn led by Aarvi Family Office

EntrackrEntrackr · 5m ago
Social network app Currently raises $1 Mn led by Aarvi Family Office
Medial

Social network app Currently raises $1 Mn led by Aarvi Family Office Currently is a real-time moment sharing app that helps people discover what others are doing right now, fostering genuine connections, conversations, and local interactions. Social network app Currently has raised $1 million in a funding round led by Aarvi Family Office LLP along with participation from LJ Knowledge Foundation, Dhruv Patel, Pratik Patel, Neerav Dad, Arpit Patel, Priyank Parmar, and other investors and family offices. The fresh funds will be used to introduce new real-time features, upgrade tech, expand engineering and design teams, and grow city-based communities and brand partnerships, Currently said in a press release. Launched in 2023 by Mitesh Shethwala, Currently is a real-time moment sharing app that helps people discover what others are doing right now, fostering genuine connections, conversations, and local interactions. It focuses on authenticity and spontaneity, redefining how people connect and share their lives. With features such as Live Map, Authentic Status Sharing, and Business Check Ins, the platform aims to evolve into India’s first real-time people network, a digital layer that reconnects people in the physical world and celebrates being present. "Social media was supposed to make us social in the real world — but today, it’s more about entertainment and ads. Currently brings back authenticity by showing what people are doing right now, not what algorithms decide. We are not replacing anything — we are rebuilding what social media was meant to be,” said Mitesh Shethwala, founder of Currently.

Bharat Taxi crosses 2.7 Mn downloads but faces pricing concerns

EntrackrEntrackr · 13d ago
Bharat Taxi crosses 2.7 Mn downloads but faces pricing concerns
Medial

Bharat Taxi crosses 2.7 Mn downloads but faces pricing concerns India’s cooperative ride-hailing platform Bharat Taxi, which operates cab, auto, and bike services, is witnessing strong early adoption, with total downloads crossing 2.73 million, according to Sensor Tower data. The data shows that nearly 84.2% (2.30 million) of installs came from the Google Play Store (Android), while 15.8% (433K) downloads were from the App Store (iOS). However, after the initial surge, installs dropped sharply and then stabilised through late February and March. Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah formally launched Bharat Taxi, India’s first cooperative-based ride-hailing platform, on February 5, 2026. Aimed at challenging private players such as Ola, Uber, and Rapido, the platform is built on a driver-ownership model, where each driver holds five shares and no commission is deducted per ride. Media reports suggest that the new service offers several perks for drivers, including a guaranteed minimum base rate per km and an assurance of returning 80% of the profit. The launch included an awareness rally for drivers, or “Sarathis,” and around 2.5 lakh vehicles were expected to be registered initially. As of now, Bharat Taxi is operational in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad (Delhi-NCR), as well as in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Somnath, and Dwarka (Gujarat). In a recent speech in the Lok Sabha, Amit Shah said that Bharat Taxi had 21.34 lakh (2.13 million) registered users and 2.31 lakh (0.23 million) registered Sarathis (drivers) as of March 1. Bharat Taxi has demonstrated strong initial traction, particularly around its debut period. The platform’s ability to maintain user interest beyond the launch phase suggests steady demand, though its long-term impact will depend on how effectively it expands its driver network and competes with established ride-hailing players. Meanwhile, users have raised concerns about higher fares on Bharat Taxi compared to Uber, Ola, and Rapido. In our checks for rides from Sector 39, Gurugram, to Qutub Minar and Old Delhi Railway Station, prices were about 20–30% higher than Uber and Rapido. While Bharat Taxi offers stable, no-surge pricing, it appears costlier at the same time. The Indian ride-hailing market has undergone shifts over the past two years, with Rapido emerging as the leader by ride volume, followed by Uber, while Ola has slipped to third place amid a decline in market share. While initial numbers are no surprise considering the hype and promises, it remains to be seen if drivers adopt it wholeheartedly. Or how Bharat Taxi handles the first seriously bad user experience, the biggest test for the category. The higher prices are certainly odd, as even pricing at par with its competitors should normally lead to better payouts for the drivers. It will probably be some time before a final verdict is delivered here, but make no mistake, a flop show here would be yet another indicator that the government has a unique ability to mishandle any business.

Google to invest $10 Bn in Visakhapatnam data centre cluster

EntrackrEntrackr · 5m ago
Google to invest $10 Bn in Visakhapatnam data centre cluster
Medial

Google is planning a massive push in India by investing $10 billion to build a new data centre cluster in and around Visakhapatnam. The project will include three campuses in nearby villages such as Adavivaram, Tarluvada, and Rambilli, and will have a total power capacity of 1 gigawatt. Key infrastructure steps include laying three submarine cables, building cable landing stations, and deploying high-capacity fiber and telecom networks. Google aims to make these centres fully operational by July 2028. The deal is expected to be formalized when top Google executives meet with Andhra Pradesh’s IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh in New Delhi on October 14. This will likely be the largest-ever direct investment by Google in India’s digital infrastructure. Earlier, Google had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh government in December 2024, soon after a change in state leadership. The state government is also pushing to amend laws and issues related to data to make it easier for such large digital projects to proceed. Visakhapatnam’s data centre cluster will be part of India’s first AI Infrastructure Hub, a zone meant to concentrate cutting-edge digital infrastructure. The aim is to boost advanced research, AI capabilities, and related technology growth in Andhra Pradesh and across India. At present, Google operates data centres in 11 other countries but has no cluster of this scale yet in India.

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