Ujjwal Jain stepped down as CEO of PhonePe’s Share.Market ahead of anticipated IPO

Ujjwal Jain Share.Market resignation

Ujjwal Jain, the Chief Executive Officer of Share.Market has resigned his office in a major leadership change, the stockbroking and wealth management platform owned by the fintech giant PhonePe. This transfer occurs at an opportune time to the parent firm, which is gaining readiness to launch its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO). Jain, the key figure in the launch of PhonePe into the competitive wealth and broking market, has played a pivotal role in its development since its creation.

Leadership and strategic realignment

PhonePe launched Share.Market is strategically diversifying its financial services beyond its leading role in digital payments. Jain, as the CEO, was left with the task of spearheading this growth and paying attention to democratizing access to investment by the increasing number of retail investors in India. 

The platform, under his leadership, added the capability of trading in stock, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), positioning itself as a discount brokerage service. During Jain’s tenure, the platform attempted to access the middle-class market by building on PhonePe’s huge user base and working to promote financial literacy with digital products and easy-to-use investments.

Industry observers are closely watching the movement of a prime leader such as Ujjwal Jain, who is leaving just as PhonePe prepares to potentially hold a public market offering. As reports indicate that the fintech giant seeks to command large capital in its forthcoming IPO, the firm has been working on streamlining its leadership structure in its different business units. 

The broader strategy at PhonePe consists of integrating its financial services, such as lending, insurance, and wealth management, to unlock a single and profitable business model for its potential investors. Replacement of leaders at this level is commonly considered a subset of overall restructuring in the corporation that makes every business unit optimized towards growth and responsibility in the long term.

Competitive landscape

The stockbroking industry in India is growing by the day, with competition being stiff between old players such as Zerodha, Upstox, and Groww, along with new entries of traditional finance and other players of large technological wizards. The challenge faced by the Share.Market is the aspect of making its offerings special and attracting more people to participate in the markets in India, which has a large population of retail investors, where only a small portion actually interact with the markets. 

Jain had already emphasized that AI and technology can be utilized to streamline complicated investment procedures and help build trust among those who are new to the stock market and who usually avoid this activity. His successor will have the job of sustaining this momentum and taking the platform to sustain the high growth expectations of the parent company.

Conclusion

The departure of Ujjwal Jain also represents a pivotal chapter in the history of Share.Market, as a platform, is placed in a shift between its infant stage and a more mature phase of development within the ecosystem of PhonePe. His exit, which occurred in the build-up to the IPO of the company, indicates the continuous changes in the executive deck of the company as it seeks to venture into the public markets.

As Share.Market is still sailing through the challenges of the Indian brokerage market, and the new leadership will focus on expanding the user base of the platform and fulfilling the commitment of making wealth creation within the reach of the millions of Indians. The market is closely monitoring the effect of this transition on the future of PhonePe’s dream of wealth management.

Square Yards crosses the ₹2,000 crore revenue milestone in FY26, EBITDA jumps 3.7 times

Square Yards founder

Square Yards is a platform based on full-stack real estate. Square Yards has recorded a strong financial performance during the fiscal year 2026, crossing ₹2,000 crore in revenue. The company showed a significant year-on-year performance, virtually doubling its top line performance and at the same time enhancing its profitability signatures. This is a significant scale period for this firm as it proceeds to consolidate its multiple business units under its entire property ecosystem.

Revenue growth and segment performance

The revenue of the company in operation was ₹2,060 crore in FY26, which is a significant jump compared to the ₹1,003 crore that was the figure recorded in FY25. This 105% growth illustrates the successful scaling techniques that the platform has adopted in the real estate market. 

Co-existing with this strong increase in revenue, the firm recorded a huge turnaround in its operating profitability. The increase in the EBITDA of the period is 3.7 times, as ₹39.5 crore in the last fiscal year increased to ₹146 crore in FY26. 

The company also posted a significant bottom-line improvement. Net loss decreased considerably to ₹75 crore in FY26, as compared to a loss of ₹225 crore in FY25. This reduction of the deficit and the top-level revenue is encouraging. Since the company is effectively shifting towards a more profitable and efficient financial approach, it begins to capture a larger portion of the real estate value chain.

The revenue growth of Square Yards is attributed to its wide array of services, which extends the lifecycle of real estate deals and management. The core real estate company will continue to be the largest source of total revenue, contributing ₹1,200 crore in FY26. This division remains the foundation of the company, being supported by the volume of transactions.

The contribution of financial and mortgage services to the total revenue comes to ₹326 crore, as a reaction to the idea of the platform to unite credit and lending services with buying a property. The home interior and renovation was also performing well, contributing ₹270 crore to the company’s books. 

The rental and property management division earned ₹160 crore. This multi-segment strategy will enable Square Yards to create value at various points of the real estate life cycle, including the initial property find and buy process, financing, interior design, and long-term property management.

Strategic positioning and operational costs

When the company expanded its business, the overall costs correspondingly increased, reaching ₹1,262 crore in FY25 and ₹2,165 crore in FY26. Much of this spending went to human capital, which is critical to the service model that is expansive at the firm. 

The highest employee benefit cost of the fiscal year was ₹1,280 crore. This underscores the huge investment necessary to sustain a workforce that can handle the complexities of transacting real estate and service delivery in its different verticals.

Marketing and advertising also became the main priority, and the total spending was ₹220 crore. The firm has continued to invest in technology infrastructure, and the IT-related expenses are expected to increase to ₹105 crore in FY26. These expenses indicate that the firm is dependent on digital tools to facilitate a smooth user experience that aids its full-stack real estate business model.

The financial performance of FY26 is a portrait of a firm that is quickly developing scale and enhancing its operational well-being. The company has been able to monetize its average revenue per user by cross-selling services in its core real estate, mortgage, interior, and renting operations to strengthen its market presence. 

Its capacity to reduce net loss and increase revenue twice is a sign that the underlying business architecture is maturing. As the platform continues to compose its integrated ecosystem, the growth of the EBITDA scaling and the ability to manage losses effectively predetermines the future success. The performance of the company emphasizes the power of the full-stack approach in addressing all the nuances of the property business, including financing up to after-sales services.

Conclusion

The performance of Square Yards in FY26 indicates a transformative season for the organization. Reaching the ₹2,000 crore mark in revenue and increasing its EBITDA by a significant amount, the platform has already demonstrated that it is able to produce high growth in output, as it is able to respond to the bottom-line profitability concerns. The net losses are decreasing even at rising costs of operations and marketing, indicating a strong and scalable business model.

Galgotias University launched a ₹10 crore innovation fund to identify, scale, and nurture student entrepreneurs

Galgotias University ₹10 crore innovation fund

The Galgotias Innovation Fund (GIF) is a major move performed by Galgotias University in an attempt to enhance a strong entrepreneurial spirit amongst its ranks of students. This institutional investment program is estimated to be worth ₹10 crore and is particularly aimed at identifying, developing, and accelerating high-potential startups within the university ecosystem.

Through this vital financial coverage, the university seeks to harmonize the disconnect between scholarly research and business outcomes by effectively enabling young founders to bring their studies and novel concepts to scale and achieve a level of competitive business that is viable globally.

Launch and central pillar

The launch of the GIF can be described as a strategic addition to an already-existing platform of innovation at Galgotias University. Before the inception of this fund, the university had created a sophisticated support infrastructure to aid student founders, including industry-based centers, industry alliances, and advanced incubation services. 

The key pillar of this ecosystem is the Galgotias Incubation Centre of Research Innovation Startups and Entrepreneurs (GICRISE), which has already demonstrated its efficiency, as 135 startups have been supported so far. Already 30 of these ventures are revenue-generating, and this is a sign of the universities being able to accommodate real business deliverables to an effect as opposed to just theorizing on idea generation.

Innovation ecosystem and mentorship

In addition to the financial capital, startups chosen on the GIF will have access to the current innovation ecosystem, which encompasses modern prototyping environments and research laboratories. The university has invested in specialized centers, including critical emerging technology, like supercomputing, advanced Artificial Intelligence research, semiconductor technology, drone intelligence, electric mobility, data analytics, and 3D printing. 

Such facilities are accompanied by industry-linked laboratories evolved in association with an international technology mastermind, such as HP, Intel, Cisco, Tata Technologies, Microchip, Tableau AI, and L&T. Such infrastructure guarantees that the student founders possess the required means of practical education, technical confirmation, and pilot introduction.

Besides the physical resources, the fund offers a rich mentorship layer. The chosen startups may anticipate receiving systematic assistance, such as faculty experience, help with go-to-market strategies, networking with investors, and a driver of client procurement and product development. 

It is a broadly implemented strategy aimed at working with founders during all the crucial phases of a startup lifecycle-starting with the confirmation of the idea and ending with the preparation of a full-fledged market presence. With this inclusive nature of focus on these diverse fields, the university would like to witness that creative solutions to real-life complications, irrespective of the industry, would get the push it needed to succeed.

Conclusion

With the launch of the Galgotias Innovation Fund has established a new standard in academic institutions across India because the university is truly empowering the efforts of students and emerging entrepreneurs through material, multi-faceted forms of support. Galgotias University is successfully developing a channel of job seekers becoming job creators by creating capital with a robust ecosystem of capital-industry partnerships, mentorships, and premium technical laboratories.

This initiative can be viewed as an example of the university’s aim at applied learning and technology-driven innovation, as more student ventures shift out of the prototype stage and into the patterns of successful market integration, finally ensuring that the next generation of founders can address global challenges.

Natixis CIB expands in India with the establishment of a new branch of GIFT City in Gujarat

Natixis CIB GIFT City branch

Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking (Natixis CIB) has officially achieved a major milestone in its global expansion strategy by establishing a new branch in Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT City). The significance of this strategic move is that it indicates that the institution is determined to expand its presence in India and expand its overall presence in the Asia Pacific region.

By setting a physical presence in GIFT City, a leading global finance sector in India, Natixis CIB will reap sustainable growth, create international diversification, and substantially increase its capacity to deliver to corporate and institutional clients in the fast-changing Indian fiscal environment.

Leadership and global expansion

The move to open a branch in GIFT City is not just another routine update on operations but is an operational aspect of the long-term Asia-Pacific strategy of Natixis CIB. Bruno Le Saint, who is the CEO of Asia Pacific and Middle East based at Natixis CIB, states that the new branch is a key part of the grand expansion strategy of the bank. 

Through strengthening its regionalization, the institution enhances its ability to provide its valued customers with high-quality service in what the bank describes as a strategic and fastest-emerging market. This growth is part of the bank’s desire to be in the middle of the financial action in India, which will enable it to effectively react to the unique demands of business organizations and institutions that operate in the nation.

Natixis CIB has made Pranav Vyas the Head of Natixis IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in GIFT City to lead the development and operational success of this new entity. Vyas has extensive experience working in the banking industry with more than 23 years of experience in this field. His career is marked by the profound, thorough knowledge of the Indian market, and a long experience in the field of growth of business franchise. 

The institution believes that the strategic leadership and experience of Vyas in creating successful organizations within the context of the GIFT City should play a pivotal role in the development of the bank. Vyas will report to Sanjeev Kumar, the Singapore country manager and head of South East and South Asia at Natixis CIB, so that the new branch is tightly integrated into the overall local bank strategy.

Primary focus and growth

The new branch will primarily focus on offering premium, customized financing services that meet the unique needs of its diverse clientele base. Sanjeev Kumar emphasizes that the strategic goal of the branch is twofold: it not only will assist the Indian clients with their global ambitions but will also act as an intermediary between the international clients and the vibrant and developing financial market in India. This two-fold focus is expected to support cross-border business growth and improve liquidity and financial assistance to organizations that have overseas interests.

The branch is suitably positioned to provide a vast range of foreign currency-priced structured products and financing solutions. Such products are intended to serve different vital parts of the economy, and these include energy, commodities, infrastructure, aviation, and export financing, which also includes External Commercial Borrowings. Through product diversification, Natixis CIB will have assurance that it can satisfy the intricate financial requirements of corporate and institutional clients needing advanced instruments to control their capital and growth policies.

The Indian market entry of Natixis CIB into GIFT City is supported by a larger organizational pledge towards sustainable financing. Natixis CIB is a global financial institution operating a range of services such as advisory services, investment banking services, financing services, and capital market services to an international customer base of corporations, financial institutions, and sovereign institutions. 

One of the pillars of its contemporary business is its firm commitment to ensuring that its portfolio of financing arrangements corresponds with a carbon neutrality trajectory by 2050, and at the same time enables its customers to minimize their own environmental footprint. This sustainability commitment is inherent in the manner in which the institution conducts business in the global arena and shapes the long term vision of its business in India.

The institution intends to expand its operations in GIFT City according to business expansion, applicable regulatory frameworks, and operational needs. Such a measured scaling strategy indicates the careful consideration of the regulatory environment and the intention of the institution to create a stable and sustainable system of business in the area. Natixis CIB has indicated that it owes a debt of gratitude to the Indian government and the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) for offering it the opportunity to come up with this branch.

Conclusion

The establishment of the branch of the Natixis CIB bank in GIFT City signifies a breakthrough in the association of the institution with the Indian financial market. Natixis CIB can play an important role in helping its clients develop by offering a compelling mix of financial products, a long-term sustainability commitment, and a deep knowledge of local markets based on its leadership team, which has a long and rich history in India and the global market.

With the expansion of the branch, it can turn into a critical point of the Asia Pacific network of the bank, enabling capital interchange and supplying financial infrastructure that allows the organization to navigate the challenges of international trade and development. This strategic growth highlights the significance of GIFT City as a newcomer to the global financial institution interested in partaking in the India development narrative.

ABBS launches its flagship MBA in Entrepreneurship programme to redefine management education

ABBS MBA in Entrepreneurship

As one of the leading management institutions in Bengaluru, Acharya Bangalore Business School (ABBS) stands to redefine the future of business education in India through the introduction of its flagship course in the area of entrepreneurship, known as the MBA in Entrepreneurship programme. This new initiative is to be developed under a single and ambitious objective of making real entrepreneurs instead of the usual, heavy-theory-based academic models that historically have dominated postgraduate management studies.

The programme, to which applications are currently being accepted in the 2026-27 academic year, signifies an immense change in the narrative of pedagogical approach, prioritizing practical application and venture development over traditional classroom learning.

Programme structure

In contrast to regular MBA programmes, where the idea of entrepreneurship is often reduced to the formal boardroom case-studies, discussions, or imaginary entrepreneurial plans, the ABBS model incorporates the concept of venture creation within the core of its curriculum. 

The structure of the programme is carefully aimed at helping the students go through the lifecycle of a business. The initial year is entirely devoted to the initial phases of the entrepreneurship process, such as the strict idea-checking and thorough market analysis. This forms the foundation on which students base their ventures.

As students advance to the second year, the focus is now on practical implementation. The curriculum programming demands that participants go beyond planning to develop prototypes, register new businesses, and be actively involved in investment strategies. 

When students leave school at the end of their two-year course, they are not only supposed to have graduated, but to have started and run a real business. This practical nature will make the learning process inevitably tied to the practical production, so that the students will be able to find their way to the dynamics of the startup world based on practical experience, as opposed to pure labels.

Applications and strategic partnerships

Understanding that on the way to successful entrepreneurship, there exist technical, legal, and financial setbacks, ABBS has limited the enrolment of this programme to only 60 students. This is a strategic constraint that should guarantee each student is mentored with close attention and highly individual guidance. In this effort to help these aspiring entrepreneurs, the institution has put together a full-time support system comprising experienced entrepreneurs who offer insights on the ground, a legal advisory team, a financial advisory team, and a digital advisory team.

A network of high-profile partnerships also contributes to the strength of the programme. ABBS has taken sides with key agencies, such as Karnataka State Council of Science and Technology, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME), and the National Small Industries Corporation. 

Further partnership with the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Karnataka Technology Innovation Authority, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), and Enactus gives a strong ecosystem. These partnerships provide students with unmatched access to strategic resources, including access to funds, professional incubation, and market exposure, which are very important in the startup and sustenance of a business in a competitive market.

The programme will start on August 6, 2026, and it is also in the process of inviting graduates who fit the requirements of eligibility. Candidates should have a graduation degree with a minimum 50% marks and 45% in the reserved categories, and qualified marks in the national-level entrance tests, including CAT, MAT, CMAT, or KMAT. Applications may be completed online via the formal ABBS admissions portal, and the application deadline is July 31, 2026.

The ABBS MBA (Entrepreneurship) aims at fundamentally changing the way of thinking of its students by combining rigorous academic training with the immediate task of building and running real-life startups. The objective is to generate job makers instead of job takers, which is a direct change to the emerging Indian startup economy. With the ever-evolving ecosystem, this model of education that focuses on practical skills and market readiness would be a blueprint to other management institutions that wish to develop the coming generation of business leaders.

Conclusion

The launch of the MBA in Entrepreneurship at ABBS is also an indicator of maturity in the approach applied to professional education in business in India. The institution is practically closing the frequently larger disparity between theory and the reality of business management by requiring students to establish, grow, and run their own businesses by the time they graduate.

ABBS is striving to have a physical presence in the Indian entrepreneurial environment through its strategic collaborations with government agencies and innovation-imparting bodies in conjunction with a curriculum that focuses on action rather than theory.

Ubiqedge secured ₹10 crore in a seed funding round led by Piper Serica

Ubiqedge founders

Ubiqedge has raised ₹10 crore in seed funding to help it speed up its vision of digitizing industrial infrastructure. Piper Serica led the investment round. Piper Serica is a company that is recognized to have strategic interests in high-growth technology. Other industry figures, such as Atomberg CEO and co-founder Shibam Das and investor Sumit Chhazed, also participated in the round.

This capital inflow is a major milestone in the life of the young company since it will be ready to expand its business and improve its technology functioning in the market, which is observable to be craving more of industrial efficiency.

Technological framework and vision of Ubiqedge

Ubiqedge was established in March 2024. Ubiqedge was founded by a team of Visat Patel, Archit Khandelwal, Akhilesh Thorat, and Hetvi Shah. The startup has gained momentum as it positions itself as an industrial infrastructure operating system despite its comparative nearness to the competitive tech space. 

The founders identified that numerous core industry areas, including water management, construction, and solar energy, were struggling with disjointed systems, manual monitoring processes, and the inefficiencies that have reared their heads in decision-making. Ubiqedge seeks to address the issue of slow decision-making processes that affect industrial productivity by establishing a single platform that will provide connectivity between hardware and software.

The fundamental aspect of the innovation of Ubiqedge is the integrated hardware and software stack. The company has created a hardware platform called KLEON, which is the physical platform that is used as the interface for data collection and monitoring. In comparison to the classical method of functioning, the AI-based approach of Ubiqedge can detect anomalies and initiate automated actions, which will alleviate the human factor of human control to a significant extent.

Impact and strategic roadmap

The practical real-world use of Ubiqedge technology is already bearing physical consequences in various sectors. The startup is already proven to have the ability to work on large-scale projects, saying that it has already completed the digitization of more than 23,000 borewells. Its AIoT solutions have resulted in an amazing decrease in the number of issues that are solved in less time, with the firm indicating more than 80% increase. 

These measures highlight the value pitch of the startup, proving that AIoT solutions can go beyond theoretical efficiency to achieve a practical operational impact. The services that the company offers find application in markets such as water management, air quality analysis, solar energy production, and mass construction projects, which enable businesses to achieve their goals regarding operational efficiency and high-quality regulation.

Ubiqedge has a clear business expansion plan with the recently obtained ₹10 crore. The capital will be used mainly to enhance the AI of the company so that its software layer, SAMASTH, can still be able to give further and more precise information. Also, the funds will be utilized to scale deployments of current and novel industrial use cases. 

A key component of this growth plan is the expansion of the company’s network of system integrators and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) partners, which will enable Ubiqedge to integrate its technology into a wider scope of industrial hardware. As the startup matures, it will remain in competition with the established players in the industrial IoT market, including Samsara, Teltonika, Kristnam, and Datoms, and each of which is seeking a portion of a rapidly growing smart-infrastructure market.

Conclusion

Piper Serica-led seed funding is a strong confirmation of the Ubiqedge business model and the ability to break the industry infrastructure market. Ubiqedge is establishing itself as a necessary ingredient of the contemporary industrial ecosystem by dealing with the severe pain points of inefficiency and manual dependence using an advanced, full-stack AIoT solution.

A strong technological and growing list of successful applications gives Ubiqedge a solid position to propel the next industrial digitization wave, enabling businesses to streamline their workflow and meet the increasingly complex requirements of the new regulatory landscape.

Power Grid Corporation of India has approved a proposal to secure ₹4,000 crore funding from the State Bank of India

Power Grid ₹4,000 crore funding

The Power Grid Corporation of India has made a major leap towards enhancing its financial base by stating that its board of directors has passed a proposal to increase its capital base by a large sum of money. As part of its continuing synergy with key state-owned enterprises in India, the firm has paved the way to raise funds of ₹4,000 crore through the State Bank of India (SBI). SBI is the largest state-owned bank in the country. This announcement, formally notified to the stock exchanges, highlights the strategic way the utility provider is approaching its liquidity and capital needs.

Approval and strategic significance

The board of directors has specifically indicated its approval for raising funds either by an unsecured rupee term loan or a line of credit, which is a flexible bank facility. In choosing this particular instrument, Power Grid Corporation of India will be placing itself advantageously to tap into capital conveniently and flexibly. 

The unrestrained nature of this rupee term loan indicates a high degree of institutional trust between the two state-owned giants. This form of financial structure gives the utility company a stable source of finance that could be used to satisfy numerous operational or strategic financial requirements as they occur.

The official notification of the exchanges is a material update to investors and market participants. This is an indication that the company is busily working to optimize its balance sheet. The move to borrow against the credit facility of the State Bank of India is indicative of a larger tendency to use the domestic banking base to finance massive infrastructure and utility projects. 

Due to the magnitude of operations that need to be undertaken in maintaining and expanding the national power transmission grid, access to such a large amount of line of credit through such a conventional banking institution is a wise financial choice that would keep the company in a healthy position to realize its corporate goals.

The Power Grid Corporation of India, under the patronage of the Ministry of Power, is the largest electric power transmission utility in India. Its operations are so huge that it cannot afford not to have uninterrupted and sustainable access to funds to ensure that the power transmission framework of the country is sustainable and stable. 

The acquisition of ₹4,000 crore in the form of a term loan or line of credit is a critical component of the financial management model of the company. It enables the utility to be in a position to ensure that it possesses the required liquidity to meet its recurring capital outlay needs, which are characteristically enormous and prolonged in duration.

This action by the board supports the fact that there is strong internal governance and financial planning processes at Power Grid. By obtaining a large bank facility in advance, the utility is able to eliminate risks relating to unexpected capital requirements or changes in the credit market. 

This proactive measure is especially relevant when it comes to an entity that is essentially intertwined with the core of the Indian economy. The alliance with the State Bank of India further supports the collaborative dynamic in which the key actors in the public sector have, which places the utility under the financial sponsorship of the most important state-owned public lender.

Focus on its primary mission

This announcement follows a period where large infrastructure players are promptly assessing their financing needs in order to keep pace with the requirements of an expanding economy. With the power demand in India constantly growing, the utility provider should also be constantly stressed on operational excellence, and thus, it must have financial strength. 

The move to raise funds, especially through the SBI, not only confirms the creditworthiness of Power Grid but also shows how the relationship between these two Indian economic staples is strengthened. Although the utility company is already known to have a large and dependable system of transmission network, the capital facility infusion is likely to be a supportive element in its overall strategic objectives. It provides the company with the assurance of knowing that it can concentrate its efforts on its main mission of transmitting power in the country efficiently, with the reassurance that it is financially secure because of the strong credit assistance of the State Bank of India.

Conclusion

The decision to monetise to a maximum of ₹4,000 crore with the help of the State Bank of India is a significant milestone in the financial handling of the Power Grid Corporation of India. Using the terms of an unsecured rupee term loan and a line of credit, the company has practically won a flexible and available substantial capital resource.

The company is the largest electric power transmission utility in India, and its capacity to utilize its capital effectively is the key to the further stability of the power industry in the country. This shift does not merely indicate the enduring strategic partnership between the two most significant state entities in India, but it also places Power Grid in a better position to continue to drive its operational capacity and act responsively to the changing demands of the power transmission system in India.

Ctruh secured $2.5 million in a seed funding round co-led by Inflection Point Ventures and Avinya Ventures

Ctruh founder

Ctruh has raised a seed funding amounting to $2.5 milion. It indicates that the investors are optimistic about the future of the 3D and Extended Reality (XR) technologies. Inflection Point Ventures and Avinya Ventures co-led this latest round of investment. A wide range of investors also participated in the funding, including India Accelerator, Founder’s Avenue, Anthill Ventures, Finvolve, and LVX.

There were also influential individual investors like Vivek Sinha and Shivakumar Ganesan, who also participated. It strengthened the capital base of the company as it embarked on its subsequent growth.

Strategic vision and value proposition

The new capital injection follows a previous capital inflow of $2 million that the company received in an earlier investment by Pankaj Jain and Dharmendra Jain in January 2023. Vinay Agastya founded Ctruh in 2022. 

Ctruh has quickly established itself within the deep-tech ecosystem with the convergence of Artificial Intelligence, 3D modelling, and Extended Reality being its point of focus. The trend of the company has shown a steady inflow of institutional interest over the past few years, and the company intends to use it to further expand internationally and develop technology further.

The core of the Ctruh value proposition is a browser-native 3D engine, VersaAI, and its own platform, Commverse Studio. The startup solves a major obstacle to the adoption of 3D content: the necessity of downloads or special hardware. 

Ctruh offers a no-code, browser-native platform that enables a high-quality 3D experience to run without friction on different devices. Such accessibility is made possible by VersaAI, a system with sophisticated algorithms that transform ordinary images, text, and video into rich 3D resources, thus simplifying the creation pipeline business-wise.

Expansion strategy and brand deployment

In addition to building assets, Ctruh provides Commverse Studio, a platform to help brands create, deploy, and operate 3D and XR experiences. This platform aims to incorporate the full lifecycle of 3D content, including its creation and deployment to commerce and performance analytics. 

This holistic approach allows companies to develop immersive digital experiences that not only engage the audience but also can be measured. Offering such tools, Ctruh enables brands to leave a standstill digital presence and transition to a more interactive, 3D space, increasing the rate of user engagement and conversion in different segments of the industry.

Competing with other prominent players in the space, like mirrAR, Eccentric, Metadome.ai, and Trezithe, by establishing itself as a background infrastructure layer. With more sectors moving toward 3D-first approaches, the need to have user-friendly, browser-based infrastructure is likely to grow exponentially.

The funds obtained recently are specifically allocated to expedite research and development, product innovation, and international expansion. Ctruh has set its goals for the United States and the United Arab Emirates by 2026. 

This growth plan shows that the company is confident in the global applicability of its technology. Enhancing its presence in these markets, Ctruh is seeking to grow the platform in response to the demands of international brands that seek to modernize their digital experience with high-end 3D and XR experiences.

Conclusion

Ctruh has a strong technological base and has been applying a democratization strategy to 3D and XR content creation, which explains its successful seed round of $2.5 million. The company has also developed a niche in the deep-tech market by addressing issues of compatibility and hardware demands with a browser-native model.

Ctruh will be in a strong position to improve its product offerings and carry out its bold international expansion plans with the backing of established venture firms and individual investors. As the startup keeps advancing crucial technologies in the 3D field, the way that it will influence the manner in which brands engage with consumers via immersive technology may become more significant, cementing its ownership portion within the dynamic realm of digital reality.

Revenue of Smartworks crosses ₹500 crore in Q4 FY26 as the company maintains profitability

Smartworks revenue ₹500 crore

Smartworks has been able to negotiate the intricacies of the commercial real estate and office marketplace to cross the major revenue mark of ₹500 crore in less than a quarter. This growth highlights an era of strong growth and working efficiency, as the firm proceeds to expand its activities, while simultaneously showing a well-defined trend of sustainable profitability. Smartworks has been experiencing an upward trend in the business model and financial performance in the consecutive quarters, as it has made profits.

Robust growth and profitability

The financial reports submitted to the National Stock Exchange reveal a significant growth in operations revenue in the fourth quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. Smartworks has recorded operating revenue of ₹520 crore, an impressive 45% year-on-year growth over the previous fiscal year, which reported ₹358 crore. A large part of this remarkable performance is owed to the diversified revenue streams of the company. 

Smartworks primarily earns revenues by creating and designing serviced office areas as well as licensing these offices. The firm supports its revenue foundation with its specialized fit-out services and other ancillary services to suit the changing requirements of contemporary companies that require flexible and efficient workstations. 

The company recorded a total income of ₹533 crore in the quarter, inclusive of the non-operating income that stood at ₹13 crore. This increased compared to the ₹362 crore registered in the corresponding period in the previous year.

In addition to the quarterly achievement, the overall annual result will provide a more comprehensive view of the financial turnaround of the company. In the ending of the 2026 fiscal year, During the closure of the 2026 fiscal year, Smartworks registered an aggregate revenue of ₹1,796 crore. 

This is an excellent growth of over 30% relative to the revenue of ₹1,374 crore achieved in 2024. Smartworks recorded a profit of ₹10.5 crore in the whole year, a significant profit in comparison with the loss of ₹63 crore in the 2025 fiscal.

Operational expenditure and financial performance

The following breakdown of the expenditure will show the internal framework of the financial management at Smartworks. In the fourth quarter of the 2026 fiscal year, the company incurred a total expenditure of ₹510 crore, compared to ₹367 crore recorded in the fourth quarter of the previous year. 

Depreciation, which involved lease agreements, amounted to ₹234 crore, the largest share of these costs. It is a typical cost structure of firms within the managed office space industry, where lease obligation is a substantial share of capital investment. 

The operating expenses incurred next are ₹139 crore. The other outflows were finance costs, employee benefit expenses, and other miscellaneous overheads. The growing revenue turnover was higher than the increment in these spending, which enabled the company to continue to make profits over several quarters. According to Smartworks, the profit stood at ₹16.6 crores in the quarter as compared to the loss of ₹8.3 crores as experienced during the same period last year.

The market position and value of Smartworks have indicated financial performance. At the reporting date, the company shares have been traded at about ₹445.9 per share. The net outcome of this market activity is market capitalization of ₹5,102 crore, which becomes an estimated value of $537 million. 

This valuation shows how the investor community trusts the business model of the firm and its prospects of further expansion in the managed office space. This success in maintaining profitability and, at the same time, growing its top-line revenue by 45% every year, quarter-end, is a sign of a strong position in the market and execution of operations.

Conclusion

The fourth quarter of the 2026 fiscal year is an indication of the development of maturity in Smartworks. The ability to hit the ₹500 crore revenue mark within a quarter and remain profitable has cemented the company within the managed office space market. Shifting towards profitable full-year status and impressive revenue growth per year portrays the strategic emphasis of the company on the balancing act between rapid scaling and fiscal discipline.

With Smartworks continuing to use its main service platforms of workspaces and fit-out facilities, its financial results give a clear indication of the rising demand for flexible office services in the existing business environment.

Unlimit supports Brevistay’s expansion plans and enhances the user experience with next-generation payment infrastructure in India

Unlimit Brevistay partnership payment infrastructure India

Through innovative service templates and strong financial technology, the Indian hospitality sector is undergoing a massive transformation. The most notable innovation that has facilitated the transition is Brevistay, a new platform that focuses on hourly hotel reservations, which provides the option to only pay as long as they are at a given property.

Brevistay has collaborated with Unlimit, a prominent international fintech company, to boost its ambitious expansion strategy and better the user experience. This partnership aims to incorporate next-generation payment infrastructure into the Brevistay ecosystem, so transactions are as easy as the hospitality services served.

Primary advantage and technological synergy

Brevistay has found a niche in the Indian market by focusing on the needs of travelers who have short-term requirements, including people with long layovers or business travelers who need a temporary resting place. The issue with the scaling of such a model is that a payment system capable of managing large quantities and a wide range of types of transactions with a hundred percent reliability is required. 

Brevistay is also solving the problem of utilizing a highly complex gateway that facilitates a range of payment options, such as credit and debit cards, UPI, and digital wallets, by partnering with Unlimit as its strategic payment provider. The technological synergy also enables Brevistay to offer a frictionless checkout experience, which is essential to the service model that is constructed based on the concept of speed and convenience.

The increased level of security and efficiency introduced to the platform is one of the main benefits of the collaboration with Unlimit. Trust is the currency in the digital economy, and Unlimit has implemented sophisticated fraud detection and prevention systems into its infrastructure. These checks and balances assure that the platform and the users are safe against all forms of unauthorized activities and activities leading to high success rates of legitimate transactions. 

In the case of Brevistay, this will lead to a major drop in payment defaults and conflicts, and the management team will have more time to concentrate on aspects of expansion and property collaboration instead of financial challenges in administration. The strength of this next-generation infrastructure is a driving force of Brevistay as it tries to further infiltrate the metro and Tier II cities in India.

Partnership and financial inclusion

The partnership is also a major step towards financial inclusion and modernization in the Indian travel business. Unlimit is also enabling Brevistay to reach a wider pool of Indian technology-savvy consumers by offering a payment gateway designed to support local preferences, including the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This is a local payment processing method that ensures that users of different economic statuses can easily access the flexible hospitality services. 

The analytics offered on the platform by Unlimit can help Brevistay to gain a more in-depth insight into customer purchasing behaviour and preferences. Such lessons are essential to designing future service provision and marketing plans that will eventually lead to increased customer retention and sustainability of the business.

The user experience in the hourly booking segment is usually high-stress and requires urgent confirmation. Failure of the payment process to be completed in time may result in customer dissatisfaction or a dropped booking. The unlimited processing systems of Unlimit will guarantee real-time processing of payments, allowing customers of Brevistay to have immediate confirmations of their bookings. 

This is especially relevant to the staycation and transit sectors of the market, whereby users tend to be last-minute decision makers. The partnership will eliminate technical entry barriers so that the innovative concept of hourly stays has a global-class financial backbone, which makes it feasible and appealing to millions of travelers.

Conclusion

The financial partnership between Unlimit and Brevistay is a substantial illustration of the potential of fintech to become an innovation driver in more traditional sectors such as the hospitality industry. By incorporating a next-generation payment infrastructure, not only is Brevistay enhancing its internal processes, but it is also establishing a new level of customer convenience within the Indian travel marketplace.

Unlimit has the global experience of payment solutions and localization, which offers an ideal platform on which Brevistay can grow its distinctive model nationwide. The partnership strengths of these two companies are poised to be instrumental in the future of the Indian hospitality industry, as the desire for flexible and affordable travel options only increases.

SportVot secured ₹32.7 crore in a fresh funding round led by the IAN Alpha Fund

SportVot founder & Co-founders

SportVot is a startup located in Mumbai at the nexus of sports, media, and technology. SportVot has raised ₹32.7 crore in a fresh funding round. The IAN Alpha Fund led this investment. This was a major step towards the mission of the startup to digitalize sports at the grassroots. A wide range of investors also participated in the round, like Anicut Capital, Let’s Venture, Capital A, Succeed Innovation, Garima Vohra, and Gaurav Chanana.

The capital injection is preceded by a pre-Series A investment in February 2024, where SportVot raised ₹9.4 crore with Omidyar Network India as the significant investor in the scaling technology.

Capital utilization and foundation of SportVot

This round of ₹32.7 crore proceeds is allocated to two key strategic areas: globalization and technical infrastructure development. SportVot also plans to further invest in AI-based production and distribution, which is fundamental to ensuring high quality at low cost in a professional grade. 

The startup will enable high-quality sports content to reach larger audiences by automating parts of the broadcasting process. The company is seeking to expand its reach into the international markets where it has already started to take off, and guarantee that local sports talent worldwide can be found and presented on a digital platform.

SportVot was established in 2019 by Sidhhant Agarwal, Shubhangi Gupta, and Yash Bhagwatkar. SportVot was founded to address an enormous gap in the sports industry. The company states that out of all the sports being played worldwide, almost 99 percent never get streamed or aired, mostly because of the steep prices of traditional production and the absence of access to advanced technology. 

SportVot fills this gap by implementing cloud technology as well as a complete set of web services that enable the streaming of matches by both large and small tournament hosts. This democratized access not only brings visibility to athletes but also assists local sports associations in garnering the much-needed investment and sponsorship.

Operational strategy

The startup has already shown remarkable operational performance, as it has already reported streaming over 500,000 matches. It covers over 30 countries, and its viewer base has over 100 million. SportVot is experiencing high growth rates in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. 

The revenue model used by the company is multidimensional because it mainly earns it income through the charges placed on sports bodies and tournament organizers regarding specialized video production/streaming services. The platform plans to use direct-to-consumer monetization like pay-per-view models, subscriptions, and brand partnerships to establish a long-term financial system in grassroots sports.

Conclusion

The most recent round of funding led by IAN Alpha Fund makes SportVot a powerhouse of digitalizing sports across the globe. The company is not only generating a successful business by targeting the large untapped market of unstreamed matches, but it is also generating a talent discovery pipeline. Since it has to compete with such players as CricHeroes and FanCode, the use of AI-based production and cloud technology offers a competitive advantage in cost-efficiency and scalability to SportVot.

The new capital will enable the startup to deliver professional-grade broadcasting to all corners of the planet, as this way, the excellence of the grassroots will cease to go unrecognized by audiences around the world and investors.

Sahi secured $33 million in a Series B funding round led by Accel

sahi founders

Sahi is a trading performance-based stock trading platform co-founded by Swiggy, the former CTO, Dale Vaz. Sahi has raised $33 million in its Series B funding round. This was a huge capital infusion led by Accel and strongly backed by Elevation Capital. The growth fund led by Accel added about $20 million to the round, with the balance of the financing coming through earlier investors.

The current round places the Bengaluru-based startup at a valuation of approximately $200 million, more than three times higher than its Series A round of less than a year ago at a valuation of $60 million.

Primary focus and operational milestone

The capital is the newly obtained capital that will be allocated to various strategic projects that should witness Sahi cement its presence in the competitive Indian broking market. One of the key areas is expanding what the company invests in technology and an artificial intelligence stack. 

Sahi intends to advance its AI-native resources to deliver high-quality trading results to its customers and remain lean in its operations. The corporation intends to use the capital to diversify its products into new markets and vigorously grow its user base. This growth is at the heart of the objective of the firm to transform itself from a niche platform used by active traders to a more holistic provider of financial services.

Since its operations in January 2025, Sahi has recorded an impressive growth curve. The platform, which now focuses on futures and options (F&O) and cash, registered a 24-fold expansion in trade volumes and a 19-fold expansion in active traders between April 2025 and March 2026. 

The platform has already completed more than 13 crore trades, and of that, 86% of the action happened in the 2026 fiscal year. The firm has managed to introduce an average of 4 lakh demat accounts and has recently crossed the milestone of 1 million trades per day.

Rapid progression and regulatory strategy

Launched in 2023, Sahi by Dale Vaz and former Kotak Securities executive Manish Jain is emerging as a high-performance competitor to established companies such as Zerodha, Groww, and Dhan. Though the company has acquired a research analyst license to provide investment advisory services, its strategic focus is still strongly anchored on its transactional business. 

Sahi seeks to dominate a large portion of the daily turnover at the NSE and BSE by focusing on the active traders instead of penetrating the wider wealth management market directly. According to a platform, it contributes an average of 3% of daily trades in its operating segments.

The Series B round is a rapid development in the history of Sahi fundraising after a $10.5 million Series A round in June 2025 and a $6.8 million seed round in late 2023. After these rounds, the company’s shareholding structure, led by Aartiya Technologies Private Limited, has changed to a combination of institutional heavyweight and angel investors. 

Conclusion

The successful Series B raise by Sahi at $33 million is a historic moment in the Indian wealthtech space, especially as the active trading sector is still evolving. Sahi is in a position to disrupt the status quo of the Indian broking industry with a tripled valuation and a clear roadmap to product expansion.

As it keeps polishing its technology stack and integrating additional performance traders, the emphasis on speed and intelligence by Sahi may be the template for the future of digital trading in India.