Lighthouse Canton launched a ₹1,200 crore LC Luminere Credit Fund

Lighthouse Canton ₹1,200 crore LC Luminere Credit Fund

Lighthouse Canton is a leading international investment institution. Lighthouse Canton has officially revealed the launch of its LC Luminere Credit Fund. The new initiative is an SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), catering to an emerging private credit market in India. The launch reflects the firm’s dedication to financial solutions that also meet the changing requirements of investors and mid-to-large-scale enterprises.

Substantial corpus and dual focus

The LC Luminere Credit Fund is set to emerge as one of the strongest private credit funds in the segment with an ambitious corpus of ₹1,200 crore (approximately $130 million). This is an absolute size that incorporates a greenshoe agreement and grants the fund room to grow as market conditions and investor demand dictate. 

From a structure perspective, the fund will be a six-year fund, but has an expectation of being in an average deal for about three years. The reason for this range is chosen carefully, as it allows companies to grow while maintaining the agility needed for effective management of diverse credit portfolios.

Lighthouse Canton’s investments in structured credit are designed to help close the equity lending gap. The fund is dedicated to delivering appealing risk-adjusted returns and consistent, predictable cash payments to shareholders. 

Its ability to offer both stability and performance makes it an attractive choice for those considering diversifying their portfolios with senior secured structured credit strategies. The idea behind these strategies is to provide the predictable income normally associated with debt, while still capturing the higher return potential that is often linked to equity-like instruments.

Core investment strategy and institutional strength

A key investment philosophy of the LC Luminere Credit Fund is its focus on providing senior secured loans to businesses that are engaged in the “real economy.” The investments are backed by strong collateral, providing an additional protective surface for deployed funding resources. 

The fund’s mandate is broad yet targeted, encompassing various financial needs such as growth capital, acquisition financing, and sponsor-backed deals. The fund will pursue opportunities in refinancing and cross-border transactions, delivered a full package of credit solutions to its partner companies.

Lighthouse Canton has a wide origination network that supports its investment pipeline. Accessing more than 500 issuer relationships, the institution has a special capacity to develop proprietary deal flow and is linked to more than 1,000 families of promoters. 

Lighthouse Canton’s pan-Asia alternatives platform secures the infrastructure and know-how to implement sophisticated credit solutions in different credit markets, backed by this deep-rooted network. The fund has successfully launched its operations, with its initial portfolio of investments now safely housed, and has a compelling pipeline of material investments across various sectors such as industrials, conglomerates, and consumer stocks.

Lighthouse Canton is providing considerable institutional support for the launch of the LC Luminere Credit Fund. The firm is a global investment institution that provides a wide range of investment products and services through wealth management and asset management. It has more than 220 staff across strategic facilities around the world, such as Singapore, Dubai, London, and India. 

The firm’s international reach enables it to combine the best practices of other markets with insights gained from the Indian context, resulting in a multi-layered approach to private credit in India. Lighthouse Canton currently manages over $5 billion of assets under management (AUM) and has the size and expertise necessary to deal with large-scale Alternative Investment Funds. 

The establishment of this credit fund of ₹1,200 crore is a natural progression of the strategy adopted by the company to grow in the high-growth sectors, where capital structures can be used to unlock significant value. The fund will aid mid-sized and large companies through secured funding, contributing positively to the entire financial sector within the region.

Conclusion

The launch of the LC Luminere Credit Fund has been a landmark success for Lighthouse Canton and its further expansion into the Indian private credit market. The fund offers a comprehensive financial offering with an even blend of income and growth prospects since it will be investing in a corpus of ₹1,200 crore and focus on senior secured lending.

Lighthouse Canton has a deep network of relationships and a global team of credit experts to identify and realise high-quality credit opportunities. The structured credit funds will be an increasingly significant source of flexible funding for corporate growth and economic development as the Indian economy evolves.

HCLTech is in talks to invest approximately $150 million into Sarvam AI in the landmark funding round

HCLTech explores $150 million investment opportunity in Sarvam AI funding round

HCLTech is one of the leading IT services companies in India. HCLTech is said to have advanced talks to stake an investment of around $150 million in Sarvam AI. This investment comes from a $200 million to $250 million raise for the Bengaluru-based startup. With this infusion of capital, HCLTech is making a strong case for the change in the Indian IT landscape, shifting from a typical model of services to a strategic partnership with home-grown AI-native firms. The various initiatives put forth by HCLTech are expected to enable them to tap into Sarvam AI’s local talent pool to roll out large-scale, indigenous artificial intelligence solutions for their global clients.

Partnership and growing valuation

Sarvam AI has become a pillar of India’s sovereign AI goals, working to create foundational AI models from scratch in India. This new round of financing would increase the valuation of the startup to about $1.5 billion, making it worth seven times more than its valuation in less than two years’ time. 

Its rapid growth is an indication of investor confidence in its technical prowess and the ability of its technology to compete with the best artificial intelligence systems around the world. This company was founded in July 2023 by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, who were at one point part of the brain trust that made up the founders of AI4Bharat, headed by Nandan Nilekani. Within a very short period of time, it has established itself as a major player in creating full-fledged generative artificial intelligence solutions.

HCLTech would be leading the fundraising round while getting help from technology behemoth NVIDIA and venture capital firm Accel. This partnership with NVIDIA comes at a good time since this company uses NVIDIA’s powerful processors in training its models.

With the participation of Accel, the startup gets the necessary financial resources and market opportunities to expand operations beyond the shores of India. These partnerships offer Sarvam the essential “triple threat” of resources: specialized hardware, the cloud, and enterprise reach.

Significant momentum and infrastructure scaling

In recent times, Sarvam AI has made substantial strides with the release of its two large language models, a 30 billion parameter model and a 105 billion parameter model, at the India AI Impact Summit. These models are specifically engineered to achieve superior performance on benchmarks focused on the Indian languages. 

According to the startup’s co-founders, their models are not only more cost-effective but also perform better on the sub-genre level of the linguistic sub-continent. The emphasis on “Indic” languages represents one of the most distinctive features, accommodating a vast market that is typically difficult for global big-tech giants to effectively penetrate.

The Government’s AI India Mission, a government-led program with a budget of ₹10,000 crore to create India’s sovereign AI infrastructure, provides a further boost to the startup’s success. Sarvam AI has been one of the primary beneficiaries of this mission, as they have received nearly ₹99 crore in subsidies to obtain 4096 NVIDIA H100 GPUs from Yotta Data Services. 

This immense computing capability enables the company to close the gap between the development of domestic AI and international ones, allowing for the quick training of complex AI models. The funding highlights the significance of the work done by Sarvam to create an independent and self-sufficient AI ecosystem.

Conclusion

The $150 million worth of investment by HCLTech in Sarvam AI is not only a monetary investment but is a historic moment in India’s technological sphere. Upon completion, it will also become the largest private market funding round ever for an Indian AI company, propelling Sarvam to become a leading AI unicorn.

It represents a period in which Indian IT giants actively participate in molding the future by investing in deep-tech startups. This investment will give Sarvam AI the runway it needs to redefine India’s role in the global technology ecosystem and take the lead in the sovereign AI race, as it continues its commercialization efforts with enterprise and government customers.

Tasty Nibbles announced its strategic roadmap for pan-India presence through the health-focused tuna range

Tasty Nibbles announces pan-India expansion through its health-focused tuna product range

Tasty Nibbles is a HIC-ABF consumer brand. Tasty Nibbles has officially announced its strategic roadmap to move forward in pan-India expansion. The approach is centered around the newly introduced health-based convenience food industry, specifically focusing on the company’s tuna line under the canned foods category. The intention behind the growth strategy is to capitalize on the increase in demand for health-based ready-to-eat food products in the nation and position tuna as an important source of nutrition in the modern Indian diet.

Partnership with Milind Soman

To drive this nationwide expansion and build brand visibility, Tasty Nibbles has enlisted the rider of the herd of fitness icons, Milind Soman, as brand ambassador. The partnership was officially announced at a grand event featuring brands in New Delhi. 

Key leadership, such as Sunil P Krishnan, Vice-President Sales, and Manoj TP, Senior Manager, Key Accounts, along with industry players, distributors, and e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms’ representatives, participated in the event. The partnership is designed to bridge this gap between convenience and fitness, building on Soman’s influence to help educate the consumer on the health benefits of tuna.

Announcement and expansion strategy

As per the announcement, Cherian Kurian, Managing Director of Tasty Nibbles, stated that the future of the food business lies at the intersection of three things: health, trust, and convenience. He added that tuna is a common protein food consumed across almost the world, but India’s per capita consumption is relatively low despite a huge population of about 1.4 billion people. This difference is a huge opportunity for the brand to bring out a clean and high-quality lean protein offering to millions of Indian homes who are in the nascent phase of tuna adoption.

Through this expansion strategy, the aim is to have Indian consumers be health-conscious without compromising their lifestyle demands. This was reemphasized by Milind Soman, who confidently remarked that good health begins with choosing what you eat every day.

Milind Soman singled Tasty Nibbles out for praise, for making tuna, one of the easiest and most powerful ways to get lean protein, easy and convenient for the average person. The company is aiming to allow the brand to reinforce its national footprint and increase the visibility of the tuna’s nutritional quality.

Conclusion

The brand is about to make a visually appealing transformation from being a regional brand to becoming a pan-India brand. With a health-centric product range and brand endorsement from Milind Soman, the organization will find itself at the forefront of the tuna segment in India. With the expansion of the brand into different platforms, the focus of the brand will remain on creating a trustworthy image that makes high-quality protein easily accessible in Indian meals.

Evenflow Brands achieved a financial milestone with positive EBITDA in FY26

Evenflow Brands achieves positive EBITDA milestone during FY26 financial performance update

Evenflow Brands is a leading house of brands startup. Eventflow Brands has officially announced a major improvement in its financial health for the fiscal year 2026. As stated by the investor update from Entrackr, the startup was successful in reaching a position where its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were positive in the entire fiscal year. This is a remarkable achievement by the company, considering how tough the competition is within the field of e-commerce roll-ups.

Transition to profitability and revenue insights

For the fiscal year 2026, the net sales of Evenflow Brands were ₹53.06 crore. The company is keen on bottom-line growth and reported a positive EBITDA of ₹41.19 lakh for the year, with a margin of 0.8%. 

Along with net sales, the GMV of the company was recorded as ₹81.5 crore in FY26. From a financial point of view, there is a constant improvement in profits, with a strong record in the last quarter of the year.

EBITDA margin improved significantly throughout the year. Specifically, the margin is increased to 4.5% in Q4 of FY26 as compared to 1.6% in the previous quarter of FY26. The EBITDA for Q4 was ₹73.65 lakh.

According to co-founder Utsav Agarwal, the success of Evenflow Brands in the last quarter played a huge role in closing the year on a positive note. The company highlighted its distinctiveness from other market players as the only business operating in its niche with current zero debt.

The transition to profitability was not accidental but the result of targeted strategic initiatives. Evenflow explained that the positive financial impact can be credited to multiple areas, such as sourcing, marketing spending reduction, and operational efficiency. 

According to the data, the cost of goods sold (COGS) also dropped in the fourth quarter from 50.2% of net sales in Q3 to 47.9% in Q4. This cost saving on the core was balanced by a disciplined investment in advertising and promotion. Marketing expenses also experienced a significant decline, falling from a high mark of 25.4% in Q1FY26 to 20.6% in Q4FY26. 

These presented tangible opportunities for the company to improve its contribution margin, after pulling supply chain costs, which jumped from 7.7% in Q1 to 16% by Q4. Despite these fluctuating factors, the company’s internal operations remained robust; employee costs are at about 8% of net sales and were consistent across the entire fiscal year.

Brand portfolio and primary objective

Evenflow Brands was founded by Uber ex-team members Utsav Agarwal and Shashank Ranjan and has a business model of acquisition and growth of digital-first consumer brands. The business strategy is to expand through marketplaces and fast commerce platforms. 

Evenflow carries a range of products in various lifestyle categories such as fitness, home, kitchen, gardening, and baby care. It has clients like Xtrim, Yogarise, Rusabl, Babypro, Trendy Homes, Cinagro, and Frenchware.

To date, it has raised a total capital of nearly ₹45 crore in various funding rounds. These include top companies and investors like Village Global, Venture Catalysts, 100Unicorns, and Equanimity Ventures. 

The company has attracted backing from prominent Angel investors such as Kunal Shah and Vijay Shekhar Sharma. In the broader market, Evenflow rivals other e-commerce house of brands and roll-up businesses, including Mensa Brands (now known as BRND.Me), GlobalBees, and GOAT Brand Labs.

The initial success has paved the way for Evenflow Brands to focus on a more aggressive expansion phase. The leadership team has already signaled that it is prepared to “press the growth lever” and significantly scale the business in the near term. 

The primary objective is to reduce the size to make the business double in size within the next 6-8 months and keep the EBIT above 2.5%. The double emphasis on short-term growth and long-term profitability indicates a shift from a phase of stabilization to a phase of high growth.

Conclusion

By declaring a profit in FY26, Evenflow Brands proves itself as a disciplined and robust participant in the world of startups. It has optimized its supply chain, reduced marketing costs, and maintained consistent operational costs. Evenflow is seeking to demonstrate that the house of brands approach is both high growth and profitable, which is quite ambitious for the rest of the 2027 financial year.

The EleFant secured $1 million in a pre-Series funding round led by Growth Sense Venture Fund

The EleFant secures $1 million in pre-Series funding led by Growth Sense Venture Fund

The EleFant raised $1 million in its pre-Series funding round. The capital injection is a major milestone on the path for the company to scale up and further develop its innovative circular play model. Growth Sense Venture Fund led this investment round. This round also attracted an active panel of investors, including JIIF, Arian Capital, various prominent investors like Asit Oberoi, Vimal Saboo, and other angel investors who have trusted the startup’s vision.

Vision and technological growth

The successful closing of this round of $1 million investment marked the outlining of clear objectives for the upcoming use of these investments through The EleFant. One of the core focuses of the business will be the integration of its technical infrastructure within the business. Through the use of the funding, the company plans to scale up its physical presence within the larger market to reach more families with its product.

Sourabh Jain and Srishti Jain founded The Elefant with the aim of offering a low-cost and environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional toy ownership. The business model involves a toy subscription and circular play platform targeted at children ages 0-12. 

This model provides an answer to a parent’s problem, namely, how fast children grow out of games, and then these become a mess and a waste. The EleFant also provides a subscription service where a collection of educational and recreational materials rotates to provide children with new stimuli without the commitment of a purchase. 

Operational scale and leadership

With over 1,000 distinct toys and books from more than 90 quality brands, the EleFant has earned its reputation. This broad spectrum allows for children of all age groups to access high-quality products that support their developmental needs. Its accessibility is one of the factors that contribute to its popularity, with monthly subscription plans beginning at a competitive cost of ₹599. 

The company utilizes a ‘Franchise-Invested, Company-Operated’ (FICO) model to maintain its extensive logistics and inventory. This hybrid methodology has enabled the startup to achieve high growth with control in operations. The company currently has more than 125 franchise locations and has grown to 18 cities nationally.

The leadership at The EleFant has set its ambitious goals for this coming year. With this new pre-Series funding, the startup has stated that they will substantially influence the market with a 50K subscriber count within the next 12 months. 

The plans in the areas of geographical expansion from 18 cities to more than 20 cities in the same period support this growth trajectory. This expansion extends the company’s presence to urban and semi-urban areas, with a vision of establishing sustainable play and the rental of toys as a culturally acceptable norm for Indian families.

Conclusion

The EleFant’s pre-Series funding raised $1 million, highlighting a rising trend in sustainable, subscription-based business models amongst Indian consumers. These impressive offerings represent a diverse range of products from international and domestic brands, paired with an affordable monthly payment, creating a valuable asset for today’s parents. The company is continuing to upgrade its technological capabilities and franchise network. It is positioned to reshape the understanding of early childhood play and learning within the family unit.

Groww investors sell 4.7% stake worth ₹5,352 crore, following IPO lock-in expiry

Groww Investors Sell 4.7% Stake ₹5,352 Crore After Lock-In Expiry

Several prominent Groww investors have sold large shares on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The sale comprised around 29.52 crore shares, corresponding to 4.7% of the total shares. The transaction was valued at an average of ₹180.4 on a per-share basis, resulting in the overall value of the transaction being more than ₹5,352 crore. The massive divestment came directly after the end of the six-month locking exercise imposed on its pre-IPO investors was made official.

Institutional participation and “block deal” structure

Several heavyweight institutional investors participated in the bulk deal, which has played a very crucial role in the early stages of the development of Groww. Some of the prominent sellers include Peak XV Partners, YC Holdings (Y Combinator), and Ribbit Capital. Ribbit Capital was mentioned as one of the key sellers during this session. 

Significantly, Peak XV Partners’ stake in the fintech leader remained large despite its recent exit, suggesting that the partnership has still not lost faith in the fintech giant’s future. The trade took place on the NSE screen-based trading platform as a secondary sale. 

According to market data, the transaction was carried out at a discount of more than 8% from the previous day’s closing price, at a floor price of around ₹177 per share. The relatively new “block deal” mechanism actually enabled those massive institutional players to transact a large amount of equity without adding any more extreme volatility to the open market – though the stock did undergo a significant downward rebalancing during the session itself.

Expansion and revenue growth

Groww has effectively turned the conventional broker model on its head with the launch of a technology-driven, digital interface for stock, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), futures, options (F&O), and IPO trading. This transformation has helped Groww become a behemoth in India’s youth-driven, tech-literate retail audience.

Groww has established itself as India’s largest stock brokerage firm by the number of active clients as of April 2026. According to NSE data, as of now, the platform has around 1.3 crore active users and holds the dominant market share of 28.48%. 

This positions Groww ahead of platforms like Zerodha, Angel One, and Upstox, all of which have extensive experience in the industry. One of the factors that has contributed to the company’s high valuation and the interest of global private equity firms is its capacity to keep users engaged and continuously increase its product lines.

The stake sale follows outstanding financial performance from Groww in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company, as per the shareholder letter dated July 26, recorded total revenue of ₹1,535.5 crore in the March quarter. 

This marks an astonishing increase of 80% over the ₹849.5 crore standalone figure of the previous year. The company’s digital-first strategy has shown operational efficiency as it reported PAT of ₹686 crore in the Q4 FY26.

Conclusion

The bulk deal valued at ₹5,352 crore is a major step in Groww’s transition to become a public company, injecting liquidity into the early investors who believed in the company’s offerings for nearly 10 years. The company stands as the leader in the field, which gives it a stable future. This lock-in period is coming to a close for over 400 crore shares, and the market should expect further adjustments in the balance of ownership.

Groww has an estimated 28% market share and has made decent profits every quarter, standing out as one of the key companies in India’s burgeoning financial technology sector, with its promise to make domestic savings more “financial”.

Instafix secured ₹7.55 crore in a pre-seed funding round co-led by Titan Capital and 8i Ventures

Instafix secures ₹7.55 crore in pre-seed funding from Titan Capital and 8i Ventures

Instafix has raised ₹7.55 crore in its pre-seed round of funding. The investment was led by leading venture capital firms Titan Capital and 8i Ventures. There were also several prominent angel investors, such as Anish Srivastava and Bharat Kalia, participating in the round. The investment is a major inflection point as the Gurugram-based startup aims to move into the highly fragmented electronics repair sector in India.

Instafix can continue to expand its operations and service offering model with the support of experienced investors such as Titan Capital, a firm with investments such as Mamaearth and Urban Company.

Mission and technological development

The startup plans to utilise the newly obtained capital with a clear intent, which includes scaling its present operations in Gurugram. In addition to geographical expansion, a large portion of the capital will be focused on improving the services offered. The company concentrated on repairs to the iPhone, but it intends to also offer repair services to premium Android models. 

Instafix plans to make a significant development spend on tech infrastructure. It’s essential to preserve its key value proposition: “under 30 minutes” on-site repairs. Development of this strong technological base is important in simplifying the booking, efficient handling of the technician logistics, and providing a seamless experience for end consumers.

Aniket Kale and Chetan Chauhan founded Instafix in 2025, with the vision to make quality repair an automatic choice for every household in the country. The founders recognized a huge need in the consumer electronics industry, valued at nearly $73 billion annually and expanding by 20% each year. 

The existing repair landscape of consumers often finds themselves between a rock and a hard place, either going to the local unaccredited repair shop or to the official manufacturer repair shop, where they face hefty repair bills. Instafix aims to overcome these limitations by providing the necessary security, convenience, and affordability of high-quality certified repair. 

Customer-centric service model

Instafix is distinguished by its customer-centric approach to its service delivery model, offering speed, transparency, and reliability. The customer can schedule their repair through the Instafix platform, after which an accredited technician arrives at the customer’s premises to undertake the repair process. This entire repair process takes an average of 30 minutes and is performed in the customer’s direct presence, for complete transparency and data security. 

Instafix also provides a money-back guarantee for repairs that can last up to one year to increase trust. It offers 50% or less commission than traditional OEM service centers. The quick uptake reflects high consumer demand for durable and efficient repair options. With its expanding reach and entry into new electronics categories, the company is capitalising on an enormous opportunity in the Indian retail space.

Conclusion

Instafix’s healthy finances, well-planned development goals, and impressive growth suggest that the startup will eventually become a national electronics maintenance network. The aim to provide high-quality repair services to all should ensure that the startup plays a significant role in preventing electronic waste and provides an efficient alternative to current unsustainable buying habits.

CEO Nitish Mittersain of Nazara signals divestment from esports and adtech business verticals

Nazara CEO Nitish Mittersain signals divestment from esports and adtech business verticals

A significant strategic decision has been made by Nazara Technologies, specifically, the divestment of their vertical operations in the esports and adtech industry verticals. According to news by the Founder and CEO of Nazara Technologies, Nitish Mittersain, Nazara plans to concentrate on its core gaming operation.

This constitutes a significant strategic decision by the company, which is based in Mumbai, as it wants to cut down on its accounting work and focus on other growth areas in the gaming industry. According to reports, this move will witness Nazara transformed into a more focused gaming company rather than being involved in a variety of media and advertising businesses as it has been over the past few years.

Primary driver behind the divestment strategy

The primary driver for this divestment is Nazara’s desire to focus on key gaming segments, especially its PC and console gaming businesses. These areas are critical to where the company will focus its growth in the future, as noted by CEO Nitish Mittersain. 

Nazara aims to redirect investments and operational resources to building new gaming intellectual property (IP) and acquisitions by exiting non-core segments. This shift represents a resolution aimed at leveraging the rising demand for high-quality gaming experiences in both a global and domestic sense, which is no longer primarily mobile gaming.

Centres of Excellence have been created internally by Nazara to facilitate a more streamlined way of functioning, which would be covered under one coordinated umbrella. These centres focus on important areas, which include User Acquisition, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Growth, and Product Development.

Through the common operating framework, the company will create centralized support for the current IPs the company owns and any future ones they acquire. The structural change will enhance the efficiency of the company and ensure the most efficient deployment of the company’s technological and analytical resources to the benefit of the company’s main gaming products.

Planned exit and financial performance

Two of Nazara’s key business pillars are scheduled for exit. Its operation takes place through NODWIN Gaming, one of the top recognized subsidiaries in youth media and competitive gaming. 

NODWIN Gaming’s operations span a wide range, including freerolls, creator networks, and tournaments by the likes of Trinity Gaming, Comic Con India, Freaks 4U Gaming, and Ninja Global. Nazara’s approach suggests it will go back and focus on the software and game development part of the business as the brands become a significant part of the market, but it seems ready to make.

On the adtech side, the divestment will impact Datawrkz, an advertising technology platform in which Nazara holds a majority stake. Traditionally, Datawrkz has niche specialized areas of digital advertising, monetization, and user acquisition strategies. 

Scales’ move signals the company’s intent to part ways with the adtech division, marking a departure from its long-term plans that relied on third-party advertising services as an essential component. The change reflects the company’s strategy to streamline some of its service-related firms and pursue a move toward a product-focused approach in the gaming industry.

This strategic adjustment follows a challenging set of operating data and an evolving regulatory landscape. Operating revenue at Nazara fell from ₹520 crore in the 4Q of 2025 to ₹398 crore in the same period this year. 

The company’s performance for the full year of FY26 reflected resilience, with its revenue based on operations growing by 12.6% to reach ₹1,829 crore. The company’s profit rose by 60.8% and stood at ₹82 crore for the fiscal year. The numbers reflect short-term fluctuations but indicate that the company is on a positive path as it prepares for the transition phase.

External factors have also played a role in shaping Nazara’s new direction. The firm abandoned its plan to acquire a minority stake in PokerBaazi’s parent company, Moonshine Technology, last year. 

The move followed the passing of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which has essentially banned all forms of online gambling games in India. Nazara Technologies’ move into real-money online gaming spaces like those mentioned above has been driven by the lucrative nature of such industries. This has led the firm to withdraw from those areas in pursuit of more profitable traditional PC and console gaming IP products.

Conclusion

It’s a game-changing moment for Nazara Technologies by moving away from the esports and adtech sectors. The company’s divestiture of significant assets like NODWIN Gaming and Datawrkz suggests a new narrative that highlights its confidence in the power of the pure-play gaming business model.

The development of internal centers of excellence that work toward creating games related to PC and console games highlights its newfound focus on technology as a core aspect of content creation. The divestiture will help consolidate the firm’s diverse portfolio in preparation for building a leaner and more efficient company in the future.

Silicon Road Ventures partners with Ajay Mahajan to launch a ₹150 crore fund to strengthen agentic AI innovation

Silicon Road Ventures partners with Ajay Mahajan to launch ₹150 crore fund for agentic AI innovation

Silicon Road Ventures (SRV), a leading commerce technology-focused VC, has signed an agreement with Ajay Mahajan for launching a new Alternative Investment Fund (AIF). The fund is developed specifically to target early-stage start-ups working on solutions based on the Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector, within the Business-to-Business (B2B) commerce technology space.

The fund has a corpus of ₹150 crore. It makes it a major investment in the domain of future intelligent enterprise tools. The project has already taken a significant leap forward with its successful Category-II registration by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), setting the stage for the start of the investment phase in a timely manner.

Primary objective and partnership

The primary objective of this new AIF is to discover and support startups that are going beyond the automation phase to agentic AI. The fund will be focused on the solutions to address critical operational challenges across the commerce value chain, said Ajay Mahajan. Multi-channel commerce, where companies sell through multiple channels, and complicated supply chains and logistics are both subjects of key focus. The fund aims to invest in fintech products and services that ease B2B transactions and tackle consumer insight and retail efficiency. 

The fund’s emphasis on agentic AI helps to support technologies that can reason, plan, and execute tasks independently, delivering greater efficiency and intelligence to B2B businesses. There is a strong focus on this theme because of the new trend in the tech industry – artificial intelligence is no longer a passive tool, but an active agent managing complex business processes. 

The partnership is driven by the idea that the Indian start-up ecosystem is fertile with AI founders who can create globally competitive solutions for the Retail and e-commerce space. The fund aims to be a catalyst for these early-stage ventures, taking them from early product development to market-ready solutions for domestic and international B2B clients.

Foundation and leadership

Sid Mukherjee established Silicon Road Ventures in 2019, and the firm quickly gained recognition as a leading firm in early rounds, usually at the Seed to Series A stage. The firm has a fairly defined mandate to invest in commerce technology, covering Retail, e-commerce, and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG).

SRV has already invested in over 46 technologies, with a proven track record of spotting new developments in the areas of fintech and supply chain management. One of the unique aspects of the firm’s strategy is its involvement with academic institutions. Sid Mukherjee’s earlier efforts have involved setting up funds at his alma mater, BITS Pilani, and Kennesaw State University to provide a lifeline and non-dilutive funding to student-led startups.

The leadership that’s up there has a wealth of industry knowledge. Sid Mukherjee previously served as co-founder and CEO of Software Paradigms International (SPI), a technology solutions provider specializing in the retail space. Since this success, the company was acquired by the IT services giant Cognizant in 2018. 

SRV has a unique background in building and scaling a retail technology business that enables it to assess the real-world usefulness and market appeal of innovative AI commerce solutions. The collaboration with Ajay Mahajan brings the firm’s expertise to the table when dealing with investment opportunities in India and assisting high-growth AI startups.

Conclusion

The launch of Silicon Road Ventures (SRV) AI-themed fund with an investment of ₹150 crore by Ajay Mahajan, CEO of SRV, is an important development in the Indian Venture capital space in the deep tech and B2B space. The aim of targeting agentic systems reflects the strategic choice to invest in the most innovative and cutting-edge aspects of artificial intelligence, aimed at changing the way these retailers and supply-chain businesses function.

The AIF is well-positioned to develop the next generation of commercial technology entrepreneurs, thanks to SEBI’s Category II registration and a leadership team with an extensive entrepreneurial and investment history. The innovations supported by this investment partnership are expected to shape the future of efficient and AI-powered B2B commerce as the retail and e-commerce sectors become even more digitalized.

India EXIM Bank announced a comprehensive plan to secure ₹99,500 crore in FY27

India EXIM Bank unveils ₹99,500 crore plan for FY27 financial growth and funding strategy

India EXIM Bank is generally known as the Export-Import Bank of India. EXIM Bank has made an extensive strategy to raise ₹99,500 crore for the financial year 26-27. The strategy would help improve EXIM Bank’s ability to lend and facilitate smoother international transactions for both India and other countries.

This comes at a time when the global financial market is witnessing significant volatility due to the geopolitical situation and the interest rate cycle. In spite of the external pressures, the bank pays due attention to seeking capital to realize the mandate as the country’s leading export finance institution.

Proposed fundraising exercise and primary objective

The proposed exercise for raising funds will be a balanced approach using domestic and international bases. Of the total ₹99,500 crore, the bank plans to secure a significant portion by selling its bonds and other debt instruments within India. 

The bank’s dependence on the home market is indicative of its faith in the local liquidity market and its capacity to draw in domestic institutional investors. India EXIM Bank will seek overseas capital markets for Foreign Currency funding requirements, as it is critical to finance India’s exporters who operate in different jurisdictions internationally and need financing in major world currencies.

A borrowing program this size requires a delicate approach to the global interest rate environment. India EXIM Bank MD Harsha Bangari stated that the bank is constantly keeping a check on the actions of the major central banks, especially the US Federal Reserve. 

The global economy is expected to transition into a new interest rate environment that may be characterized as stable or declining, and the bank is positioning its market entries accordingly in order to minimize borrowing expenses. The bank’s diversified borrowing portfolio helps to reduce risk through reliance on a single market or currency, as it bolsters its position against rapidly changing global economic conditions.

This huge capital raising is essentially for the bank to expand its loan portfolio. India EXIM Bank is crucial in securing long-term credit for Indian exporters to help secure coveted international projects and boost their manufacturing capabilities. 

The revenue collected for FY27 will be utilized in different industries such as engineering, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, etc., which are the major contributors to India’s foreign trade earnings. The bank is also increasingly focusing on supporting small and medium enterprises that are looking to enter the global value chain.

Apart from the conventional export credits, part of the funds will also be allocated for strategic projects like Lines of Credit to foreign governments. These credit facilities allow other nations to buy Indian products or services, thus establishing more markets for Indian businesses. 

The bank’s ability to provide competitive financing is a major factor in the success of Indian companies bidding for global contracts. The bank has also captured ₹99,500 crore to keep it as an industry-dependent bank in a highly competitive global market.

Management and the bank’s performance

The bank’s increasing capital base is a testament to its robust financial position and its proactive risk management approach. The bank benefits from a robust credit rating and is a government-backed institution, so the volatility is not an issue globally, which lenders enjoy when the bank accesses the capital on favorable terms. 

The management has stated that the shape of the borrowing plan is flexible as per market conditions and real-time export credit needs. This agility is pivotal in maintaining a healthy balance sheet and providing funding for the export sector.

This ambitious FY27 plan has been built on the back of the bank’s performance in the previous years. The current fundraising initiative is part of this gradual expansion strategy, which will ensure that the organization remains ahead of others in terms of driving economic growth in India. The move ensures that the bank does not suffer any liquidity challenges arising from geopolitical uncertainties or changing sentiments in the markets.

Conclusion

The bank is drawing on market conditions in its own country and abroad to show its advanced method of capital management capable of meeting costs and access. The flow of strategic planning, directed at the timing and diversification, gives an institution a clear roadmap for success, even in the face of the challenges faced from global market volatility. These funds will be injected into the economy to give the impetus to Indian exporters and support India’s local trade strategies.

Kotak AMC successfully closed its maiden private credit fund, exceeding ₹2,000 crore in commitments

Kotak AMC closes maiden private credit fund with commitments exceeding ₹2,000 crore

Kotak Alternate Asset Managers is a part of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company. The Kotak AMC has successfully closed its first private credit fund, thereby making history in the field of alternative investments. The agreement known as the Kotak India Private Credit Fund has already gained interest among both local and foreign investors, receiving commitments above ₹2,000 crore.

The closing of this agreement is in line with the growth strategies of the Kotak AMC to venture into other areas of investment that will cater to the demand for private debt issuance in the Indian business community.

Primary objective and investment

The primary objective of the Kotak India Private Credit Fund is to enable flexible and tailored credit solutions to various types of Indian companies. This private credit fund differs from conventional bank loans in that it allows for more flexibility in terms of how credit is provided and what kind of securities or assets it requires. 

The fund will particularly focus on growth capital, acquisition capital, and the provision of bridge loans to companies seeking to expand their business or tidy up disparate holdings. The reason Kotak AMC is after customizing credit instruments is that it wants to fill funding voids left by conventional financial entities, especially when accessing funds that demand the time momentum of money, or require more sophisticated financial engineering.

The fund’s investment objective is to create single-digit alpha for investors through sourcing and aggregating high-quality borrowers with strong business models. The private credit market also has received a boost in recent times, with companies turning to diversifying beyond the public debt markets and toward less conventional sources such as banks. 

With their expertise in the regional credit market, Kotak’s investment professionals will conduct thorough due diligence to ensure that the funds are invested in businesses that have potential for growth and profitable cash generation. The goal of this selective approach is to protect the capital base of the fund and to also benefit from the yield benefits offered by a private debt investment.

Investor participation and the role of alternative investment funds

Advanced investors such as sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies, and family offices participated in the successful fundraise. Its ability to deliver over the original expectations implies that institutional investors increasingly want to diversify their portfolios beyond stocks and bonds and invest in alternative assets. 

Private credit is becoming an increasingly appealing asset class in today’s economic climate due to its perceived low volatility and higher yields relative to public market assets. Kotak AMC’s reputation and proven excellence in managing alternative assets made these significant commitments by both global and local partners possible.

The closure coincides with the continued maturation of the Indian private credit market, involving better regulation and increasingly educated borrowers. The growing formalisation of the economy is likely to further increase the demand for structured credit, thus offering a rich environment like the one launched by Kotak. 

Private credit, with its “speed to market” and varied repayment options, is an indispensable tool in corporate India’s growth aspirations. The timing of Kotak’s first fund appears favorable, and it provides a robust platform for investors to join the India growth narrative from a credit perspective.

Kotak India Private Credit Fund stands as a testament to the rising significance of Category II AIFs in the Indian financial system. AIFs have become an essential alternative source of credit as traditional banks are restricted by the government in their lending practices for various corporate categories. 

These funds enable the desired buying and selling of companies and investment in new projects that require the flow of capital and are vital to the development of the industry. The ₹2000 crore pool under management by Kotak AMC is a way of providing not only capital but also being a strategic partner to the investee companies, with the sharing of good guidance in financial discipline and long-term value creation. 

Conclusion

The successful closure of the Kotak India Private Credit Fund with commitments of over ₹2,000 crore is a testament to the strength of Kotak AMC’s alternative assets platform. The company’s ability to connect with and now serve cutting-edge global financing and capital markets and bridge the perceived gap between such sophistication and the Indian enterprise is clearly building a solid platform for its private credit initiatives.

The fund has the potential to make a significant impact on the Indian corporate landscape, offering flexible funding for companies and profitability for investors. The successful first offering further strengthens the credibility of private credit as a genuine mainstream investment option in India and ushers in a new chapter in the growth journey of Kotak Alternate Asset Managers.

SCIKIQ secured $1.5 million in its maiden funding round led by Triton Investment Advisors

SCIKIQ raises $1.5 million funding backed by Triton Investment Advisors

SCIKIQ is an AI-focused enterprise intelligence solution. SCIKIQ has raised $1.5 million (approximately ₹14 crore) in its maiden funding round. Triton Investment Advisors led this investment round. It has been an important milestone for the startup since it seeks to enhance its position in the dynamic market of AI solutions and data management solutions. Thus, this investment is reflective of the general trend of investors’ acceptance and belief in AI-driven solutions as effective tools in helping enterprises manage their data.

Global expansion and product innovation

The reason behind raising the funds from the market is the utilization of the collected funds in order to support the global expansion strategy of the business and help with sales and marketing initiatives. The company has decided to focus on international regions like the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.

In order to continue with its expansion plan, SCIKIQ intends to set up regional offices, develop regional teams, and make strategic investments in the process of sales and marketing. The ultimate goal is to enable the company to fulfill the needs of different geographical organizations.

The program will also allocate part of its funds for the development of the SCIKIQ Data Platform. The company aims to leverage cutting-edge technologies by incorporating new data and AI features into the main service. 

Through ongoing enhancements to its platform, SCIKIQ works toward delivering organizations with stronger tools that can help the integration, control, and operation of data for cutting-edge AI and analytics initiatives. Product development has always been at the core of the venture’s mission, contributing to its efforts to assist enterprises in addressing the challenges of data-centric digital transformation.

Core operations and the ability of SCIKIQ

Gaurav Shinh, founder of SCIKIQ, described the funding round as a critical inflection point for the company. He emphasized that the investment during an era where enterprise AI adoption is taking a turning point all over the world. The emergence of AI has driven a need for advanced data platforms that can process and execute intricate intelligence tasks, as enterprises in diverse sectors seek to incorporate AI into their fundamental operations. With this new capital injection, Shinh said that the company was poised to speed up its product innovation and enhance its AI capabilities to address the increasing global demand.

Operating in the Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) sector, the platform currently supports a wide range of clients in different critical sectors such as supply chain, retail, airlines, manufacturing, and healthcare, among others. The flexibility of the AI-native architecture is reflected in SCIKIQ’s capacity to offer customised answers to such a variety of industries. The platform has the capability to connect various data sources and implement comprehensive governance measures, empowering these organizations to extract maximum value from their data and achieve operational excellence and competitive advantages.

Conclusion

The successful $1.5 million fundraise led by Triton Investment Advisors serves to highlight the essential nature of AI-native platforms in contemporary enterprise operations. SCIKIQ has an international strategy for expansion into the USA, UK, and UAE and is dedicated to ongoing product innovation, moving into another phase of growth.

The startup’s emphasis on data unification and operationalisation for AI aligns with the current industry push to become more intelligent, data-driven organisations. With its growing regional strength and investments in its technical capabilities, SCIKIQ is well-positioned to help companies around the globe prepare for its important role in the next generation of AI-powered intelligence and analytics.