FORMER UNICORN EXECUTIVES
AI cloud unicorn Neysa eyes 2027-end IPO, plans new Nvidia, AMD chips and own data centres
Cofounder and CEO Sharad Sanghi told ET AI the firm is seeing demand from Indian customers and global companies looking to use India as a computing base with BFSI clients leading enterprise demand.
India first, orbit next: Skyroot eyes $300 million dual valuation plan
Skyroot is in talks with Indian family offices to raise $150 million at a valuation of $2.3-2.5 billion, while the company is seeking to mop up the same amount from global investors such as General Catalyst, General Atlantic and Silicon Valley venture fund Benchmark at a higher valuation of up to $3 billion, the people said.
ET Interview: India’s aspirational middle class gives it demographic edge, says Verlinvest CEO Roberto Italia
Verlinvest is planning to invest €1 billion in India over the next five years, reflecting the country's economic dynamism. The firm identifies opportunities in various sectors, including health, fitness, and digital content. India's growing middle class has shown an increasing willingness to spend on consumer products and services. The digital revolution in India is transforming consumption patterns and driving new economic activities.
a16z’s Raghuram isn't writing off India AI yet; insurers weigh new rules
Happy Monday! a16z’s Raghu Raghuram said India can build frontier AI companies by using its talent. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
VCs hungry for kitchen startups; Vala Afshar’s blueprint for India’s AI future
Happy Thursday! Venture capital investors are betting on the premiumisation wave wafting into Indian kitchens. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
UpGrad completes Unacademy acquisition for over $200 million
The 100% share-swap transaction values Unacademy more than 90% below its $3.4-billion peak in 2021. ET first reported on May 4 that the acquisition was in its final stages.
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ET Startup Awards 2026 | Startup of the Year: Street-smart Groww outruns regulatory odds to claim top prize
With the win, Groww joins the likes of Urban Company, Lenskart, OfBusiness, Razorpay, Zomato, Zerodha, Delhivery, Swiggy, Oyo, Freshworks and Ola, all of which won the biggest honour over the 11-year history of the awards.
ET Startup Awards 2026 | Midas Touch: Sauce VC’s winning recipe earns Manu Chandra the prize
Sauce VC founder and managing partner Manu Chandra has won the Midas Touch award for Best Investor at the ET Startup Awards 2026. The jury recognised his early bets on consumer startups and strong exit track record, including Sauce’s estimated Rs 500-550 crore exit from portfolio company Innovist to L’Oréal.
Klydo founder Pradeep Yadav joins Snabbit as head of operations
Former Udaan and Flipkart executive Pradeep Yadav has joined instant domestic help startup Snabbit as head of operations. He will lead operations, strengthen execution and build scalable systems as Snabbit expands into beauty services and home cooks. Yadav succeeds Vikas Choudhary, who will lead new business and innovation initiatives.
AI startup Nava raises $22 million in round led by Greenoaks Capital
RTP Global and Unicorn India Ventures participated in the round. The company will use the fresh capital to expand its GPU compute and AI data centre capabilities and hire talent. Nava, which is expanding beyond its earlier software-led GPU cloud offering to a vertically integrated model, aims to target enterprises building AI models and applications, offering infrastructure through models such as GPU-as-a-service and bare-metal compute.
Former startup executives catch AI bug
These first-time founders are developing AI agents, platforms, and services, while also building AI infrastructure, all in anticipation of the technological shift transforming how businesses and consumers operate.
Unicorn sightings become rare as VCs shun that leap of faith
Investors are going back to the same list of startups they have already backed to write bigger cheques leading to new unicorn sightings becoming rare. Only Perfios and Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal’s Krutrim AI have become unicorns so far in 2024, and the number was the same for the whole of 2023.
Mukesh Bansal’s Cultfit gets new CEO; Google unveils Arm-based chip
Cultfit has formally appointed Naresh Krishnaswamy as CEO. Details on this and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
2023 Year in Review: Meet the executives who donned the founder hat
Along with executive search firm Longhouse Consulting, ET has compiled a list of high-profile executives who launched their ventures this year. Former Flipkart senior vice president Prakash Sikaria and ex-Swiggy CTO Dale Vaz are some of them.
Overseas remittance fintech HiWi raises Rs 7.5 crore funding from Unicorn India Ventures, others
The company said it aims to resolve issues around opacity in exchange rates, exorbitant forex margins, and documentation challenges for different sectors, including the study-abroad sector, as well as trade and finance for small and medium enterprises.
Mahindra & Mahindra's VC unit head Parag Shah quits, to set up own venture
Parag Shah, the head of Mahindra & Mahindra's venture capital arm Mahindra Partners, has resigned from his position after spending two decades with the company. The move comes as the company shifts its focus towards consolidating existing businesses and reducing investments through the arm. Shah oversaw the growth of various new businesses within the group and led investments in external firms. He is now reportedly setting up his own venture.
CXOs log out of unicorns to start up own ventures
A large number of top executives have moved from unicorns to Series A and B firms or even down the chain in recent months – a move that reflects fund flows in the startup space.
Slowdown visible in India's startup story as only three unicorns added in 2023: Report
According to the ASK Private Wealth's chief executive and managing director Rajesh Saluja said unsustainable business models adopted by startups have led to a dip in valuations but stressed that funding to the right companies continues.
Open is India’s latest unicorn; Amazon asks RBI to audit Future Retail
Neobanking platform Open has closed a $50 million funding round led by IIFL Finance at a valuation of $1 billion, sources told us. This makes it India’s latest startup unicorn and, by some counts, the 100th billion-dollar company minted in the country.
Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal, three others join Urban Company board
The Urban Company board will now comprise three executive directors, three non-executive directors and four independent directors.
Former Unilever executives' food brand FairPlum raises $2 million led by Unicorn India Ventures
A clutch of angel investors including Vivek Sirohi, vice president, R&D, Unilever; Amith Agarwal, cofounder and CEO at Agri-Bazaar; and the Dinshaw family office also participated in the round.
CXOs move from large corporates to smaller ones for wealth creation
The trend of chief executives, CXOs and CFOs leaving large corporates for unicorns or soonicorns is set to continue in the next 12 months, the report by executive search firm Positive Moves Consulting said.
Lucky 13
From Moglix becoming India's latest startup unicorn to Flipkart eyeing a stake in former exec's venture and Clubhouse coming soon to India, here's a quick look at the top tech news today.
4 days, 6 unicorns, $1.55 billion — A week like none other for Indian startups
Twelve unicorns were born in 2020, the highest ever for a year in India. 2021 has already seen the birth of 10 startup unicorns in India, including Pharmeasy, Meesho, Cred, Groww, Gupshup and ShareChat last week.
Finsall raises Rs 2.4 crore led by Unicorn India Ventures
The company will use the funds to beef up its team, scaling up of the platform, on-boarding insurance companies and lenders and intermediaries.
Former Google exec to help build unicorns for Saudi VC Fund
Interest in the Middle East’s nascent technology industry has been picking up after Uber last year agreed to buy Careem and Amazon.com acquired Souq.com in 2017.
5 Silicon Valley tech hires who quit Indian unicorns in a year
This exodus also comes at a time when Indian tech companies are struggling with a funding slowdown leading them to cut costs.
Indian unicorns unwilling to bring in professional CEOs: Ex-Flipkart executive Punit Soni
Indian unicorns are grappling with leadership challenges but are unwilling to bring professional chief executives on board.
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