October 2026

43 briefs archived this month.

• AI

  Grok Reportedly Advised Donald Trump to Capture Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro

  Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok reportedly encouraged US President Donald Trump to invade Venezuela and capture President Nicolás Maduro. According to reports, Trump consulted the xAI-developed chatbot for advice prior to making geopolitical decisions regarding Venezuela. The incident highlights the growing real-world intersection between generative artificial intelligence models and high-stakes political decision-making. As foundational models become increasingly accessible to global leaders and policymakers, concerns continue to mount among experts regarding the reliability, guardrails, and potential national security risks associated with consulting unverified AI chatbots for complex geopolitical strategies and military actions worldwide.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• AI

  OpenAI Launches Virtual Clothes Try-On Feature in ChatGPT

  OpenAI is rolling out shopping features for ChatGPT that enable users to virtually try on clothing and accessories. Users can upload their own photos to see how apparel fits and looks, expanding the chatbot's multimodal capabilities into digital commerce. The update also introduces a Favorites library, allowing users to save and curate products they find during their conversations. This move marks OpenAI's direct push into e-commerce integration, leveraging generative AI computer vision to enhance consumer shopping experiences and potentially opening up new monetization and affiliate discovery channels for the platform globally.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• AI

  Google Tests Orbital Chip for Space Data Centers

  Google has launched its first advanced computing chip into orbit, taking an experimental step toward testing the feasibility of space-based data centers. The company highlighted significant logistical hurdles, estimating that SpaceX's Starship vehicle would need to launch approximately 1,600 times to transport necessary infrastructure before operational space data centers can become practical. Deploying compute clusters in orbit aims to tap into direct solar power and natural vacuum cooling, but launch costs, radiation shielding, and satellite maintenance remain critical challenges. Google's orbital experiment represents early exploration into next-generation extraterrestrial computing hardware to support growing AI processing demands.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• AI

  OpenAI Fires Three Safety Researchers Over Sensitive Information Handling

  OpenAI has dismissed three researchers from its AI safety team following an internal investigation that found they improperly handled sensitive proprietary information, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The departures come amid ongoing scrutiny regarding governance, transparency, and internal safety protocols at the prominent AI lab. OpenAI has experienced several high-profile safety departures over recent months, raising broader questions about how leading frontier labs balance rapid commercialization and proprietary secrecy against safety verification. OpenAI has not publicly disclosed the identities of the researchers or the exact nature of the compromised material.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• AI

  Opus 5.5 Shows Distinct Linguistic Markers in AI Text Analysis

  Researchers analyzing synthetic text patterns have uncovered notable linguistic quirks in advanced artificial intelligence models like Opus 5.5. The study reveals distinct stylistic signatures that differentiate AI-generated content from human writing, with the word dependable appearing 23 times more frequently in the model's outputs than in human benchmarks. Other habitual phrases such as this matters frequently surface across various writing prompts. As generative AI text floods enterprise communications and academic work, identifying these statistical linguistic markers provides critical insights for detecting automated content, fine-tuning upcoming foundation models, and evaluating human-AI alignment.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• AI

  OpenAI Fires Three Safety Researchers Over Alleged Data Leaks

  OpenAI has terminated three researchers from its AI safety team following allegations that they leaked sensitive and confidential company information to an external safety organization. The dismissals highlight escalating tensions within the generative artificial intelligence industry regarding transparency, internal governance, and the stewardship of proprietary frontier research. OpenAI stated that safeguarding confidential intellectual property and internal communications remains essential as competition intensifies among global frontier AI laboratories. This development comes amid broader industry-wide debates over safety protocol oversight, researcher autonomy, and whistleblowing protections as frontier artificial intelligence capabilities rapidly accelerate toward artificial general intelligence benchmarks.

  Oct 1 · OfficeChai

• AI

  Amazon AWS Releases Strands Decider 2B Decision AI Model

  Amazon Web Services' Strand Labs has launched Strands Decider 2B, entering the expanding market of specialized decision models. The release arrives amid a surge in compact, reasoning-focused AI architectures designed to streamline autonomous workflows and logic processing. Strands Decider 2B aims to rival existing decision-focused architectures by enabling systems to evaluate complex contextual scenarios and select optimal programmatic actions. The launch reflects broader industry momentum toward targeted, lightweight models optimized for enterprise decision-making rather than general-purpose text generation. Developers can integrate the model into cloud-based pipelines for automated reasoning and policy enforcement tasks.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• AI

  Shopify Introduces Canvas for Conversational AI-Powered Online Store Building

  Shopify has introduced Canvas, a website builder that allows online merchants to design and modify digital storefronts through natural language conversations. Powered by Shopify’s AI assistant Sidekick, the tool interprets merchant prompts to generate layouts, adjust themes, and implement structural edits while providing real-time visual previews of changes. The conversational interface is designed to reduce the technical barriers associated with manual web design and custom coding. By integrating generative AI directly into storefront development, Shopify aims to help small businesses and independent sellers launch, personalize, and iterate on their e-commerce presence much faster without requiring web development expertise.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• AI

  OpenAI Halves Rate Limits on $200 Pro Subscription Plan

  OpenAI is reducing rate limits for its premium $200 per month Pro subscription plan. The company plans to lower compute caps from 20 times the standard Plus plan down to 10 times. OpenAI representative Tibo Sottiaux confirmed the upcoming reduction, which affects power users and enterprise developers relying heavily on advanced reasoning models like o1 and o1-mini. The move reflects surging infrastructure constraints and the soaring compute costs associated with running frontier reasoning models at scale, prompting OpenAI to recalibrate compute allocations across its tiered subscriber base.

  Oct 1 · OfficeChai

• AI

  Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Calls for AI-Native Operating Systems

  Airbnb Chief Executive Officer Brian Chesky stated that autonomous AI agents will require a fundamentally new operating system to reach their full potential. In an interview discussing consumer AI trends, Chesky explained that existing operating systems like iOS and Android were designed for human interaction rather than autonomous software agents. Chesky emphasized that Airbnb is actively adapting its platform to become agent-friendly, enabling autonomous digital assistants to discover, book, and coordinate travel accommodations directly. He argued that the future of personal computing will center on agent-first application ecosystems.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• Funding

  Photon Raises $4.5M to Replace Mobile Apps With Messaging AI Agents

  Photon has raised $4.5 million in funding to develop AI agents designed to replace traditional mobile applications. The startup enables software developers to build AI agents that interact with users directly across messaging channels, including iMessage, SMS, RCS, and email. Photon is betting on a structural shift in user behavior, where consumers increasingly prefer executing tasks and receiving services via conversational messaging interfaces rather than downloading and navigating standalone mobile apps. The capital will support its platform development to help companies build and deploy conversational agents across multiple platforms.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• Funding

  Seeds Fincap Raises ₹100 Crore in Series B Led by Dell Foundation

  Delhi NCR-based digital lending startup Seeds Fincap has raised over ₹100 crore ($10.4 million) in a Series B funding round led by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Existing investors Z47 and Lok Capital, alongside Norinchukin Capital and Alteria Capital, also participated. Founded in 2021 by Subhash Chandra Acharya, Avishek Sarkar, and Sumeet Dhall, the NBFC provides micro-loans ranging from ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh to underserved MSMEs. The startup, which manages ₹722 crore in assets under management, will use the proceeds to expand its branch network, improve risk management systems, and enter new markets.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• Funding

  Jio Platforms Files DRHP for 100% Fresh Issue Public Listing

  Reliance Industries subsidiary Jio Platforms Limited has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its initial public offering. The proposed listing comprises a 100% fresh issue of up to 27 crore equity shares with a face value of ₹10 each, with no offer-for-sale component from existing shareholders. The entire proceeds will be directed toward capital expansion across Jio's digital connectivity, broadband, cloud, and artificial intelligence verticals. The company plans to list its equity shares on both the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange.

  Oct 1 · YourStory

• AI

  OpenAI Sparks Controversy After Solving Math Problem Using Researcher Prompts

  NYU mathematician Tristan Buckmaster has raised concerns over intellectual property privacy after an unreleased OpenAI model solved a Navier-Stokes equations proof shortly after he entered unpublished drafts into OpenAI's Codex coding tool. While OpenAI denied that Buckmaster's research directly trained the system, it acknowledged that user interaction data may be utilized to refine its AI models depending on account settings. The incident highlights growing anxiety among academic researchers, engineers, and scientists regarding data privacy and the potential scraping of proprietary or unpublished research when using commercial AI tools and coding assistants.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• AI

  Legato Launches AI-Powered Smart Glasses to Replace Traditional Hearing Aids

  Hearing technology startup Legato has launched its AI-powered hearing glasses, designed to provide an accessible and discreet alternative to traditional hearing aids. The device integrates artificial intelligence into everyday eyewear frames to assist individuals with hearing impairments, specifically targeting common barriers such as high costs, physical discomfort, and social stigma associated with standard audio devices. By combining ambient audio processing and smart acoustics within a standard glasses form factor, Legato aims to democratize hearing care and expand assistive hardware adoption among consumers seeking non-intrusive, everyday health technology solutions globally.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• Startup

  Fresh Bus FY26 Revenue Jumps 2.4X to ₹63.5 Crore; Loss Widens

  Ixigo-backed electric intercity bus operator Fresh Bus reported a 2.4X surge in operating revenue to ₹63.5 crore for FY26, up from ₹26.3 crore in FY25. However, the startup's net loss widened by 33% to ₹43.6 crore from ₹32.8 crore, driven by an 81.4% increase in total expenses to ₹107.2 crore due to fleet and route expansion. Founder and CEO Sudhakar Reddy Chirra stated that the company achieved positive contribution margins of 15% to 17% in March 2026 and aims to achieve overall profitability between April and June 2027.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• Startup

  Indian Startups Raise $760.7M in September 2026 Across 210 Deals

  Indian startups raised $760.7 million across 210 deals in September 2026, marking an 11% dip from August's $857.4 million, according to Inc42 data. Despite the monthly drop, Q3 2026 funding grew 5% year-on-year to $2.2 billion across 210 deals. Key funding rounds in September included Pixxel's $100 million Series C, Ultraviolette Automotive's $85 million Series E, and Simple Energy's $185 million round. The IPO pipeline also gained momentum with Moneyview, AceVector, and Spinny moving toward listings, while RentoMojo and ESDS Software made market debuts.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• Funding

  Satlyt Raises $8M to Build Open AI Operating System for Satellites

  Satlyt, an orbital computing startup founded by a former Google and SpaceX product manager, has raised $8 million in fresh funding. The company aims to become the Android of orbital computing by providing open software capable of running artificial intelligence workloads across satellites from multiple manufacturers. This approach directly contrasts with SpaceX's proprietary, vertically integrated ecosystem. Satlyt plans to use the capital to accelerate software development and deploy edge AI processing capabilities directly in space, enabling satellites to analyze imagery and telemetry data on orbit before transmitting essential insights back down to Earth.

  Oct 1 · TechCrunch AI

• Startup

  Kuku FM Clocks ₹1,484 Cr Revenue And Turns Profitable In FY26

  Audio and video content platform Kuku FM’s parent company, Kuku Technologies, reported a six-fold surge in operating revenue to ₹1,484.2 crore for FY26, up from ₹241.5 crore in FY25. The IPO-bound company turned profitable, posting a profit before tax of ₹88.6 crore. Subscription revenue drove over 99% of top-line earnings at ₹1,475.4 crore, while marketing and advertising spends ballooned nearly fourfold to ₹1,105 crore. The rapid expansion was largely propelled by the scaling of Kuku TV, its microdrama platform producing over 150 shows monthly, alongside its core audio entertainment offerings.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Startup

  India’s E2W Sales Rebound 12% In September As Legacy OEMs Surge

  India’s electric two-wheeler registrations rebounded 12.2% month-on-month to reach 2.07 lakh units in September, up from 1.84 lakh units in August, according to Vahan data. On an annual basis, sales nearly doubled from 1.05 lakh units in September 2025. Legacy automakers TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, and Hero MotoCorp captured approximately 61% of total registrations, recording steady month-on-month growth. In contrast, new-age EV startups saw mixed momentum: Ather Energy grew 4.9%, while Ola Electric declined 3.5% and BGauss remained flat, as traditional players expanded distribution ahead of the festive season.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• Funding

  SBI Mutual Fund Acquires ₹300 Cr Stake In Swiggy

  SBI Mutual Fund acquired an additional 1.18 crore equity shares in Swiggy via open market transactions, investing over ₹300.6 crore based on prevailing stock prices. The purchase lifted SBI Mutual Fund's aggregate holding across its schemes to 14.16 crore shares, or roughly 5.1% of Swiggy’s total equity, crossing SEBI's mandatory disclosure threshold. The move comes after Swiggy capped foreign shareholding at 49.5% to attain Indian-owned and controlled company status. This regulatory pivot enables quick commerce arm Instamart to transition to a direct inventory-led procurement model, aimed at expanding margins and operational efficiency.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• Funding

  Jio Financial And Allianz Infuse ₹640 Cr Into Insurance JV

  Jio Financial Services and Germany’s Allianz have jointly infused ₹640.1 crore ($66.5 million) into their general insurance joint venture, Jio Allianz General Insurance. Both partners contributed ₹320.05 crore each via a rights issue, maintaining their equal 50:50 shareholding structure. The fresh capital will fund operational rollout across health and general insurance segments targeting retail and commercial clients. The move strengthens Jio Financial’s broader financial ecosystem, which includes Jio Insurance Broking and a reinsurance JV, Allianz Jio Reinsurance, which underwrote ₹266 crore in gross premiums during Q1 FY27.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• Funding

  Indian Startups Raise $2.9 Billion in Q3 2026 Led by EV and AI

  Indian startups secured approximately $2.9 billion across 240 deals in Q3 2026, marking a modest recovery from $2.78 billion in Q3 2025 but falling short of Q2's $3.5 billion. Growth and late-stage deals contributed $1.89 billion across 46 transactions, while 194 early-stage rounds crossed $1.01 billion. Electric vehicle maker Simple Energy led individual funding with $182 million, followed by physical AI developer SiMa.ai at $150 million. Emergent, River Mobility, Navi, Slice, and Pixxel also raised over $100 million each. The quarter also witnessed six startup stock market listings and six operational shutdowns.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• AI

  Google Unveils Gemini 4 Argon With 1 Million Token Output Limit

  Google has announced Gemini 4 Argon, its latest frontier AI model targeting software engineering, cybersecurity, and enterprise knowledge workloads. A major upgrade in Argon is its 1 million token output capacity, up from 64,000 tokens, enabling sustained reasoning across complex workflows. Google reported a state-of-the-art score of 77.9% on the DeepSWE v1.1 software engineering benchmark. The model is priced at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, with cached inputs discounted by 95%. Paid API customers and Google AI Ultra subscribers will receive early access before broader rollout.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• Startup

  Teachmint Revenue Grows 2.8X to Rs 205 Crore in FY26

  Edtech startup Teachmint reported a 2.8X jump in operating revenue to Rs 205.3 crore for FY26, up from Rs 74.2 crore in FY25, according to regulatory filings. The company significantly narrowed its loss before share-based expenses by 34.2% to Rs 28.9 crore, down from Rs 43.9 crore. Revenue growth was primarily driven by Teachmint X, an AI-powered connected classroom device combining an AI teaching assistant with digital boards. The device is expanding across the Middle East, SAARC, and Southeast Asia. Operating expenses, excluding goods cost, rose just 11.6%, showing strong operating leverage.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Startup

  Razorpay Launches Apple Pay Support for Indian Online and In-Store Merchants

  Fintech major Razorpay has rolled out Apple Pay integration for online and in-store payments in India. The service enables users to complete transactions using Face ID, Touch ID, or passcodes instead of typing card details or entering SMS OTPs. Initial merchant partners include Zepto, ixigo, IndiGo, Tata 1mg, and JioMart. The rollout aligns with the Reserve Bank of India’s alternative authentication framework that took effect in April 2026. Apple Pay uses tokenized credentials to protect card information during transactions, offering enhanced fraud protection and reducing cart abandonment for online businesses.

  Oct 1 · YourStory

• Funding

  Cybersecurity Startup Zaperon Secures Rs 7 Crore Seed Round From IPV

  Delhi-based cybersecurity startup Zaperon has raised Rs 7 crore in a seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures. Founded in 2021 by Vineet Gupta and Sachin Aggarwal, Zaperon builds enterprise security tools protecting against data breaches through a unified console. The platform combines identity security, data protection, and AI governance to regulate access across IT environments. Zaperon plans to deploy the capital to enhance its product capabilities, introduce enterprise-grade AI security frameworks, and expand its footprint in India and the US. The company currently serves banking, healthcare, manufacturing, and public sector clients.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Startup

  Fintech Niyo Cuts Losses by 58% as FY26 Revenue Hits Rs 178 Crore

  Travel fintech platform Niyo reported a 78% year-on-year increase in revenue to Rs 178 crore for FY26, up from Rs 100 crore in FY25. The startup reduced its net loss by 58% to Rs 33 crore, driven by operating efficiencies and AI deployment across customer support, marketing, and operations. Operating expenses rose 20% to Rs 201 crore, largely due to expanding Kanji Forex under its AD-II licence. Niyo is diversifying beyond core travel cards into forex cash, remittances, flights, hotels, and international eSIMs while expanding GIFT City operations through its licensed subsidiary Finnew Global Solutions.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• AI

  Gemini 4 Argon Generates Up to 1 Million Output Tokens

  Google’s newly announced Gemini 4 Argon model features the ability to generate up to 1 million output tokens in a single prompt, compared to the 128,000 output token limit typical among competing frontier models. This expanded output window enables developers to generate entire enterprise software codebases, comprehensive technical manuals, and extensive long-form analytical reports without breaking outputs into multiple requests. By scaling generation limits alongside large input context windows, Google seeks to capture developers and enterprises building autonomous coding agents, deep-research workflows, and complex automated software engineering pipelines requiring massive continuous generation.

  Oct 1 · OfficeChai

• Startup

  UPI Volume Drops 1.8% Month-On-Month To 24.07 Billion In September

  Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transaction volume fell 1.8% month-on-month to 24.07 billion in September from 24.51 billion in August, according to National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data. Total transaction value also declined 1.5% to ₹29.37 lakh crore from ₹29.82 lakh crore. Despite the monthly dip, transaction volumes rose 23% year-on-year, with daily volume averaging 802 million. The decline comes amid ongoing industry debates surrounding the Centre's new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework set for October 15, which introduces a 0.4% charge on eligible person-to-merchant payments exceeding ₹2,000.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• Startup

  OTPless Names Manas Poddar as Chief Business Officer Amid Expansion

  Bengaluru-based identity and access management startup OTPless has elevated early team member Manas Poddar to Chief Business Officer. In his new role, Poddar will manage revenue, enterprise sales, and strategic partnerships as the company expands into broader identity infrastructure. Poddar, who joined in 2023 and previously worked at BharatPe, follows the recent elevation of co-founders Satyam Nathani and Tanmay Sagar to CEO and COO. OTPless reports over 300 million authenticated users, Rs 36 crore in annualized revenue with 2.5X year-on-year growth, and profitability over the last two quarters.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Funding

  Seeds Fincap Raises Rs 100 Crore in Series B Round

  Gurugram-based MSME-focused NBFC Seeds Fincap has raised over Rs 100 crore ($10.4 million) in a Series B funding round led by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Existing investors Z47 and Lok Capital, alongside Norinchukin Capital and Alteria Capital, also participated. Founded in 2021 by Subhash Chandra Acharya, Avishek Sarkar, and Sumeet Dhall, the lender provides loans between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh to underserved nano-enterprises. Seeds Fincap plans to use the fresh funds to expand its branch network, aiming to achieve Rs 1,000 crore in assets under management by March 2027.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Funding

  Unveilr AI Raises Pre-Seed Funding from AJVC at Rs 16.7 Cr Valuation

  Mumbai-based AI marketing startup Unveilr AI has secured an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round from Aviral Bhatnagar’s AJVC at a valuation of Rs 16.7 crore. Founded in February 2026 by Sanditya Srivastava, the startup provides search engine optimisation and answer engine optimisation tools. Its AI agents track brand visibility across platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude to boost discovery. Unveilr AI plans to deploy the capital to expand its engineering and sales teams, enhance agent capabilities, and grow its client footprint across India, the UAE, and the US markets.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Funding

  Aignosis Raises Rs 4 Cr Seed Round Led by Antler and Nikhil Kamath

  Jaipur-based healthtech startup Aignosis has raised Rs 4 crore in a seed funding round led by Antler, Nikhil Kamath, Varun Dua, and IIMA Ventures. Founded by Raksheet Jain and Divyansh Mangal, the company builds an AI-assisted developmental screening platform for autism in children aged 16 months to nine years using computer vision. Having secured CDSCO Class B certification, Aignosis has completed over 8,000 screenings across 20 government Primary Health Centres in Rajasthan and partnerships with Mankind Pharma and Apollo Shines. It aims to conduct 1 lakh screenings by FY27 across multiple Indian states.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Startup

  Former Elevation Capital Investor Mayank Khanduja Joins Bessemer Venture Partners

  Bessemer Venture Partners has appointed former Elevation Capital investor Mayank Khanduja as Partner for its India practice. Based out of the firm's Bengaluru office, Khanduja will spearhead early-stage investments across consumer technology, artificial intelligence, healthcare, and deeptech. Khanduja previously spent 15 years at Elevation Capital, backing prominent startups such as ShareChat, NoBroker, PlaySimple Games, Loop Health, and Atlys. His appointment strengthens Bessemer’s India leadership as the venture firm deploys its $350 million second India fund, announced in March 2025. Bessemer’s broad portfolio includes Swiggy, Medi Assist, Perfios, Sarvam, Boldfit, and Urban Company.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Funding

  Bangalore Watch Company Raises $1.4 Mn Seed Funding to Expand Globally

  Homegrown luxury brand Bangalore Watch Company has secured $1.4 million in a seed round from existing customers, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 2018 by Nirupesh Joshi and Mercy Amalraj, the brand designs and manufactures mechanical watches priced between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, themed around Indian aviation, space, and culture. The company plans to use the capital to expand into key international watch collector markets and open retail locations. BWC currently produces 1,500 watches annually and aims to quadruple its manufacturing capacity over the next three to five years.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Startup

  SBI Mutual Fund Raises Swiggy Stake Above 5% for Rs 300 Cr

  SBI Mutual Fund has increased its stake in food delivery and quick commerce major Swiggy to 5.12% after purchasing an additional 1.18 crore shares for approximately Rs 300 crore via open-market transactions. The acquisition raised its total holding to 14.15 crore shares, crossing the 5% regulatory disclosure threshold mandated by SEBI. The move follows Swiggy shareholders approving a 49.5% cap on aggregate foreign ownership to transition into an Indian-owned and controlled company. In Q1 FY27, Swiggy reported a 7% year-on-year increase in revenue to Rs 6,812 crore while narrowing net losses by 34%.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Funding

  Moneyview Shares Surge Over 60% in Blockbuster Stock Market Debut

  Digital lending platform Moneyview made a stellar stock market debut, listing at Rs 55.61 on the BSE, a 63.6% premium over its issue price of Rs 34. The fintech company's Rs 1,092 crore initial public offering was subscribed nearly 98.5 times, driven by massive demand from institutional buyers. Founded in 2014 by Puneet Agarwal and Sanjay Aggarwal, Moneyview will use Rs 750 crore from the fresh issue to boost lending operations and capitalise its NBFC subsidiary Whizdm Finance. The company posted Rs 3,351 crore in revenue and Rs 242 crore in net profit in FY26.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Startup

  UPI Logs 24 Billion Transactions in September Despite Slight Monthly Dip

  The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed 24.07 billion transactions worth Rs 29.37 lakh crore in September 2026, according to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). While total monthly volume dipped 1.8% month-on-month from August's record 24.51 billion transactions due to fewer calendar days, average daily transactions rose 1.4% to 802 million. Daily transaction value reached Rs 97,913 crore. Year-on-year, UPI volume grew 23% and value rose 18%. In August, PhonePe led the market with a 45.64% transaction volume share, followed by Google Pay at 32.26% and Paytm at 8.03%.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Startup

  TVS Retains Electric Two-Wheeler Market Lead In September As Registrations Rise

  India’s electric two-wheeler market rebounded in September, with registrations rising over 12% month-on-month to 2.07 lakh units from 1.85 lakh in August, according to Vahan data. TVS Motor maintained its market leadership with 53,989 registrations, capturing a 26.06% market share. Bajaj Auto secured the second spot with 48,383 registrations and a 23.51% share, growing 17% month-on-month. Ather Energy ranked third with 30,479 registrations, while Hero MotoCorp surged 27% to 24,306 units. Ola Electric slipped to fifth place with 13,449 registrations, marking a 3.53% monthly decline amidst rising competition.

  Oct 1 · Entrackr

• Funding

  Moneyview Lists at 64% Premium on BSE with $1B Valuation

  Digital lending platform Moneyview made a strong stock market debut, listing at ₹55.6 on the BSE, a 64% premium over its issue price of ₹34. On the NSE, shares debuted at ₹55, giving the company a market capitalisation of ₹9,788.6 crore ($1.01 billion). The ₹1,092 crore initial public offering, comprising a ₹750 crore fresh issue, was subscribed 98.46 times overall. Founded in 2014 by Puneet Agarwal and Sanjay Aggarwal, Moneyview will use ₹325 crore for default loss guarantees and deploy capital into its NBFC arm, Whizdm Finance, following a 2.6X jump in Q1 net profit.

  Oct 1 · Inc42

• Funding

  Simple Energy Raises Rs 1,750 Crore in Series C Round

  Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler manufacturer Simple Energy has secured Rs 1,750 crore in its Series C funding round. The equity round was led by Dr. Arokiaswamy Velumani Family Office alongside co-founders Suhas Rajkumar and Ankit Gupta. Bengaluru-based high-net-worth individual Amit Mishra and the Haran Family Office also participated. Founded in 2019, Simple Energy builds electric two-wheelers with in-house architecture, powertrains, battery packs, and software. The fresh capital brings the startup's total funding past Rs 2,530 crore, positioning it for aggressive nationwide scaling after overcoming initial supply chain disruptions and delivery timeline hurdles.

  Oct 1 · YourStory

• Funding

  Indian Startup Funding Rose 5% YoY To $2.2 Billion In Q3

  Indian startup funding increased 5% year-on-year to $2.2 billion across 210 deals in Q3, according to Inc42 data. Capital deployment concentrated heavily in growth-stage Series A and B rounds, which surged 38% to $1.1 billion, while late-stage funding fell 10% to $994 million. Artificial intelligence led all sectors by attracting $438 million, up 265% year-on-year, followed closely by cleantech at $433 million and deeptech at $290 million. Traditional sectors lagged, with fintech dropping 11% to $249 million and ecommerce declining 31% to $245 million. Bengaluru led all cities, raising over $1.4 billion.

  Oct 1 · Inc42