KALAARI CAPITAL
ETtech Deals Digest: Eloelo leads as weekly funding rises to $142 million, down 35% on-year
Eloelo led deal activity with $80 million, followed by Peppermint Robotics at $10.6 million, altM at $10.3 million, Two Point O Capital at $10 million, and PowerUp Money at $10 million. Crane Venture Partners was among the most active investors, backing Peppermint Robotics and Armatrix. Omnivore invested in altM and Two Point O Capital, while Flourish Ventures backed PowerUp Money.
Story TV parent Eloelo raises $80 million from Hornbill, NBCUniversal
The funding follows a surge in Story TV’s business, which has helped lift annualised collections more than tenfold to around $250 million over the past year, according to people familiar with the company. Eloelo said Story TV offers over 5,000 dramas in six languages, while its apps have more than 40 million monthly active users.
Lenskart, Nykaa, PhysicsWallah see Q2 profits surge
New-age companies Nykaa, Lenskart, and PhysicsWallah reported strong numbers for the September quarter. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
EloElo eyes global expansion post $80 million fundraise, aims to build ‘Netflix of micro-drama’
EloElo Group, the parent company of Story TV, successfully raised $80 million in a Series C funding round. The funding round was led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, significantly increasing the company's valuation. EloElo aims to enhance its micro-drama platform and expand into international markets. The company reported substantial user growth and high production efficiency using AI technology.
EloElo Group raises $80 Million in Series C funding led by Hornbill Capital, NBCUniversal
EloElo Group has successfully raised $80 million in a Series C funding round to expand its AI-driven entertainment ecosystem. The company's focus will be on producing new original content and launching international micro-dramas. With over 40 million active users, EloElo plans to enhance its AI production capabilities through Dolphin AI. The funding will also support the company's aggressive growth strategy across diverse language offerings.
Upstox secures bond platform licence, to launch direct offerings soon
Upstox has been offering bonds through IndiaBonds, following a partnership announced in September 2025. The new licence will allow the company to offer the instruments directly instead of relying on a third-party bond platform.
byteXL strengthens leadership team to fuel AI and skilling push
byteXL has appointed four senior executives across operations, business, strategy and finance as it prepares to scale its institutional network from 40 to 120 colleges and reach 500,000 students over the next two years. The company is also expanding programmes in AI, GCCs, electric vehicles, semiconductors and precision engineering as it shifts towards a deeper technology focus.
Eloelo in talks to raise $50-60 million at $400 million valuation
The potential funding follows a sharp expansion of Eloelo's micro-drama business, Story TV, which has helped lift annualised collections more than tenfold to around $250 million over the past year. The Bengaluru-based company has used aggressive performance marketing to scale up Story TV, which offers short, vertically filmed fiction across genres such as romance and thrillers, the people said.
UPI MDR rollout pushed; India’s first quantum computer coming soon
Happy Wednesday! The implementation of MDR on select UPI payments has been deferred beyond Diwali. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
UPI MDR rollout delayed; Rs 7,131 crore RDI deployment
NPCI has pushed back the UPI MDR rollout until after the festive season. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.
Blume, Kalaari, Chiratae among 19 VCs in RDI fund's Rs 7,131 crore first cohort
The selected cohort comprises 14 alternative investment funds (AIFs) and five focused research organisations (FROs), which will channel long-term capital into deeptech startups and private sector research and development.
Startup of the Year Groww bets on scale; Qcomm sparks festive credit surge
Happy Thursday! Groww is betting its newer businesses will take a bigger slice of its income. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Flipkart alumni seek Esop buyout; Local sourcing for ISM 2.0
Former Flipkart executives are seeking a full cash-out of vested Esops. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Edtech firm ByteXL raises $9 million in Series B round led by Elevar Equity
Existing investors Kalaari Capital and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation also participated in the round
As private wallets begin to open, India's big future bet takes off
India’s Rs 1 lakh crore RDI programme is beginning to unlock venture capital flows into deeptech, marking a shift in the country’s attempt to move from being a large technology consumer to a technology producer.
Mid-tier VCs scout deeptech deals; ETSA winner Varaha’s India play
Happy Monday! Sector-agnostic mid-tier venture capital investors are recaliberating focus on India's deeptech startups. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Mid-tier VCs rewrite playbooks to chase India's deeptech bets
So far in calendar year (CY) 2026, deeptech startups have attracted $574 million across 61 deals, which is almost 84% of the $679 million raised across 94 transactions, according to Venture Intelligence data shared with ET. The CY26 data includes large rounds, like satellite imaging startup Pixxel’s $100 million funding and Skyroot’s $60 million, which made it India’s first spacetech unicorn.
Want to find purpose in life? Kalaari Capital MD Vani Kola has a 4-step exercise for you
Finding one's purpose in life can lead to improved mental well-being and define one's life, according to Kalaari Capital MD Vani Kola. Kola suggests an exercise of reflecting, questioning, assessing and supporting every 10 years to find an individual's purpose in life.
Bala Srinivasa, Prashanth Aluru leave Kalaari Capital
While Srinivasa joined Kalaari Capital in March 2015, Aluru had joined the firm in May 2016.
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