TLDR: This week’s tech and startup news from India highlights significant funding rounds, major AI company expansions, and strategic shifts by established players. Key developments include stock-trading startup Dhan achieving unicorn status with a $120 million fundraise, AI giant Anthropic expanding its India operations, and UK-based chipmaker Graphcore committing $1.3 billion in investment. Flipkart divested over Rs 2,400 crore in investments, while Capillary Technologies is preparing for its second public listing attempt. The Global Fintech Fest emphasized AI’s growing importance, and regulatory bodies are increasing scrutiny on financial cross-selling. Concerns about Big Tech’s dominance in AI and the affluent’s pursuit of AI investments also featured prominently.
The past week has been dynamic for India’s technology and startup ecosystem, marked by substantial financial activities, strategic expansions, and evolving regulatory landscapes, as reported by The Economic Times.
Raise Financial, the parent company of stock-trading startup Dhan, has officially joined the unicorn club after successfully closing a $120 million (approximately Rs 1,000 crore) financing round led by Hornbill Capital. This fundraise values the company at an impressive $1.2 billion (Rs 10,000 crore). In other funding news, online travel aggregator Ixigo is set to expand its growth plans after selling a 10% stake to Dutch investment firm Prosus for Rs 1,295 crore. Additionally, Hunger Inc. Hospitality, the company behind popular brands like Bombay Sweet Shop and O Pedro, secured Rs 215 crore in fresh funding, with Lighthouse and DSG Consumer Partners acquiring significant minority stakes.
Artificial Intelligence continues to be a dominant force, with major players making strategic moves in India. San Francisco-based Anthropic, a leading AI model developer, is significantly expanding its operations in India, which has emerged as its second-largest global market for Claude AI models. Dario Amodei, Cofounder and CEO of Anthropic, emphasized that ‘India’s AI ecosystem is expected to play a central role in how this frontier technology develops globally.’ Following suit, SoftBank-owned Graphcore, a UK-based chipmaker competing with Nvidia, announced plans to invest $1.3 billion in India over the next decade, marking its first establishment in the country. However, the rapid growth of AI also brings challenges, as smaller AI startups have voiced anti-trust concerns regarding the control of data and compute power by Big Tech companies, fearing it could stifle competition. India’s affluent investors are actively participating in this trend, chasing the ‘world’s hottest trade’ by acquiring shares of unlisted technology giants like OpenAI and Anthropic through global secondary marketplaces.
Ecommerce giant Flipkart has strategically offloaded investments totaling over Rs 2,408.7 crore in other startups and companies over the past year. This move is part of its broader strategy to streamline operations, focus on its core business, and prepare for a highly anticipated public market debut in 2026. Software-as-a-service company Capillary Technologies is also gearing up for its second attempt at a public listing, bolstered by a more focused business model and three distinct growth engines. Meanwhile, direct-to-consumer (D2C) startups, despite being acquired by India’s top consumer goods companies and experiencing significant growth, are still struggling to achieve profitability.
The quick commerce sector faced headwinds, with India’s largest platform, Blinkit, experiencing disruptions at its major warehouses in Haryana, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. These issues are attributed to a combination of festive demand and the company’s recent transition to an inventory-led model. The Global Fintech Fest 2025 concluded with discussions highlighting key themes such as companies going public, the ‘ascension of AI,’ and the ongoing battle against financial fraud. In a move to enhance security, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced new digital payment directions, effective April 2026, which will mandate banks to adopt a risk-based model for transaction authentication. Concurrently, the Indian stock broking ecosystem is under increased regulatory scrutiny as trading platforms expand into ancillary financial services like credit, wealth management, and insurance.
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Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reported a 1.4% rise in net profit and a 2.4% increase in revenue for the September quarter. However, the company’s net profit saw a 5.4% quarter-on-quarter decline to Rs 12,075 crore, primarily due to a one-time severance payout of Rs 1,135 crore. TCS also laid off 1% (6,000 employees) of its approximately 600,000-strong workforce during the quarter. French software maker Dassault Systemes is targeting $1 billion in India revenue within the next five years, driven by increased investments, a 10% boost in headcount, and a new facility in Pune. The IT sector is also on alert as hyperscalers’ growing AI investments threaten to capture a significant share of enterprise IT spending, potentially impacting traditional software services outsourcing. On the policy front, India’s electronic component manufacturing scheme (ECMS) is open to investment applications from Chinese firms, provided they commit to substantial technology transfers and local talent skilling. The government’s Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme is also proving beneficial, helping Indian semiconductor startups attract venture capital funding amidst a push for self-reliance.
