Welcome “India” Bulls!

Sun‑shadowed momentum: VC inflow into Indian startups hit just about $120 million this week, barely budging from the previous week’s $124 million, showcasing a cautious, range‑bound trend around the $100M threshold as high‑value deals dry up. Despite the lull, notable transactions continued trickling in: SUN Mobility landed $60 M, fintech startup Navi Technologies raised approx $19.4 M, STAN (social gaming) secured $8.5 M, Arivihan garnered $4.17 M. With no near‑term turnaround in sight, investor caution prevails raising the stakes for startups to break out with breakthrough rounds or bold narratives.

Dive in to stay ahead!

P.S. The Sunday Special is designed to help you discover the most important Startup insights outside of Share Markets. Our regular Share Market updates will resume as usual on Monday.

Startup Menu

• Startups this Week

• Funding Space

• Case Study

• Everything else you need to know

• Life Hack in Video

• Special

STARTUPS THIS WEEK

🚀 India’s Momentum Recharged: Inc42’s ‘30 Startups to Watch’ - July 2025

Inc42’s July edition of “30 Startups to Watch” showcases the 61st cohort of India’s most promising early‑stage ventures across AI, defence tech, cleantech, D2C, fintech, healthtech, and more.

These startups are solving foundational problems, not chasing trends. A common thread across the cohort: deep vertical expertise, capital-efficient models, and traction over hype.

Names like Neysa, the AI‑cloud platform accelerating GenAI adoption with enterprise‑grade GPU infrastructure, show how startups are building core infrastructure stacks for India’s generative future.

Why this matters:

• These ventures aren’t built for flash they’re built for fundamentals.

• Many are founder-led, bootstrapped or sub‑$1M funded, yet deeply mission-driven.

• They reflect a shift from fundraising to revenue; from focus on scale to focus on impact.

For founders and investors, this issue is your monthly trend radar:

✅ Peer into next-gen defense and space tech
✅ Discover how retail and quick commerce startups are innovating efficient logistics
✅ See how fintech and cleantech converge to redefine electric mobility and green finance

In a time of funding winter and India‑US geopolitical tension, these 30 startups represent resilience and optimism rooted in utility.

Their growth is India’s next chapter and reading their stories is not just inspiring, it’s instructive.

FUNDING SPACE

💰 Weekly Funding Spotlight: Major Startup Investments (July 26 - Aug 01)

The past week witnessed significant investments across various sectors:

🤖 Precision: SixSense, a Singapore-based AI startup, has raised $8.5 million to power defect-detection in semiconductor manufacturing with deep-tech AI models. Led by Peak XV Partners (with Alpha Intelligence Capital and FEBE), this funding boosts its mission to elevate microchip quality and productivity.

🔍Automation: Metaforms, based in Bengaluru, landed $9 million in Series A backing from Peak XV Partners, Nexus Ventures, and Together Fund. Its AI agents are already automating survey programming, data processing, and even report generation for top global research firms freeing researchers to focus on insights, not grunt work.

CASE STUDY

💼 Rise, Fall & Reflection: Chanda Kochhar’s Story

Chanda Kochhar’s trajectory from running ICICI Bank to surviving scandals offers a masterclass in leadership, ethics, and governance.

She rose by pioneering consumer banking in India, building digital products, credit access, and global ambitions. But what followed was a cautionary tale of conflict of interest, regulatory scrutiny, and reputational collapse.

What we learn:

• Vision matters but values matter more.

• Navigating growth doesn’t justify moral shortcuts.

• Long-term leadership requires transparency.

For founders building fast-growing companies:

• Audit not just your data, but your intentions.

• Scale with systems in place for accountability.

• When the culture goes fast, let governance follow, not lag.

Chanda’s journey shows that influence can be lost faster than it’s earned.
But redemption is possible if ethics remain a founder’s constant north.

This is more than corporate journalism. It’s a call for entrepreneurs to build with integrity because financial success without moral clarity often ends in regret.

FROM THE WAR ZONE

Everything else you need to know

 🚀 Breakthrough: AWS just dropped its new AI‑Driven Development Lifecycle (AI‑DLC) at DevSphere, streamlining coding from start to finish with tools like Kiro and Amazon Q. It’s a developer game‑changer speed meets intelligence.

📈 Surge: UPI is on fire! July 2025 saw a record 19.47 billion transactions, reinforcing India’s digital finance dominance. Micro-payments to mega volumes this is fintech at full throttle.

🛰Lift‑Off: India and NASA just launched NISAR, a dual‑radar satellite tracking Earth changes to the centimeter. It’s more than science it’s a giant leap for India’s space-tech prowess.

⚡Charge: Tesla’s India journey powers up with its first Supercharger station opening Aug 4 in BKC, Mumbai. It’s not just a station it’s the starting line for EV acceleration in India.

LIFE HACKS

SPECIAL

🧠 AI for Managers: Better Decisions, Not Just Reports

If your approach to AI stops at chatbots or dashboards you’re missing the real leverage.

AI isn’t just for automation it’s a manager’s best decision amplifier.

Use cases:

• Decision support systems that filter data noise and recommend next actions.

• Bias-detection tools in hiring, sales forecasts, and performance reviews.

• Team health analytics powered by sentiment signals, not spreadsheets.

Why leaders should care:

• AI helps reduce decision fatigue by turning data into insight.

• It uncovers hidden patterns like identification of churn risk or top performers.

• Managers still decide. But they decide with clarity, not chaos.

Want to lead smarter? Here’s a starter playbook:

1. Identify decisions you make weekly (hiring, client churn, product prioritization).
2. Look for AI tools that enhance insight not replace the human element.
3. Test with one use case: speed up one decision, improve one outcome.

Great leadership isn’t AI vs human. It’s human augmented with insight.

Your Opinion Matters!

Got more feedback or just want to get in touch? Reply to this email and we’ll get back to you.

Thanks for reading.

Until tomorrow!

Hanoomaan India Business team

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