This past week, the business and finance sectors saw a flurry of activity, with significant developments in IPOs, funding rounds, mergers and acquisitions, and key leadership changes. Here’s a concise overview of the major headlines, based on the provided news document:
Business and Finance Highlights
- Ola Electric reported a Q1FY26 loss of Rs 428 crore, with revenue rising to Rs 828 crore.
- DSP Asset Managers partnered with Cybrilla to bring Mutual Funds to more Indians via ONDC.
- PayU India secured INR 302 Cr from Prosus to grow its credit business and also raised Rs 302 crore from a Prosus arm.
- Smartworks IPO closing with a 13.5X oversubscription.
- Groww plans to launch a new platform to augment revenue.
- EximPe secured the RBI’s cross-border payment aggregator licence.
- Coworking space provider WeWork India received SEBI approval to launch its IPO.
- Infibeam closed its INR 700 Cr Rights Issue with 1.4X oversubscription.
- Fractal Analytics bagged $170 Mn via secondary sale at a $2.4 Bn valuation.
- ChrysCapital’s acquisition of a 90% stake in Indian bakery chain Theobroma for Rs 2,410 crore.
- B2B unicorn Udaan acquired Indore-based ShopKirana in an all-stock deal.
- Dairy brand Dodla Dairy acquired Osam Dairy for Rs 271 crore.
- Reliance Retail acquired home appliances brand Kelvinator.
- In strategic partnerships, Jio Financial Services tied up with Allianz for a 50:50 reinsurance joint venture. On the other hand,
- MTNL defaulted on an ₹8,585 Crore loan to seven PSU banks.
Funding and Investment News
- The week saw substantial funding for various startups. Chennai-based deeptech robotics startup
- Unibose raised Rs 5.5 crore in funding. AI research startup
- Gibran raised $2.6 million in funding from Together Fund.
- The Wedding Company raised $1 million.
- Trupeer.ai, an AI video platform, raised $3 million in funding. Ambulance service platform
- Dial4242 raised Rs 9 crore. Homegrown Voice AI startup
- Navana AI raised Rs 7 crore in a round led by Antler India.
- Vaaree raised $4.6 million. Healthtech Startup
- Truemeds bagged $20 Mn from Peak XV. Quick Fashion Startup
- KNOT raised $3 Mn.
- Parkobot, an Airbnb for parking, raised Rs 2 crore. Chennai-based drone intelligence startup
- Zuppa raised $1.5 million. B2B platform
- DCG Tech raised Rs 15 crore. Spacetech Startup
- OmSpace Rocket and Exploration bagged $3 Mn. IPO-Bound
- Aequs netted INR 128 Cr via Rights Issue.
- Nisarg Shah-led Kettleborough VC launched an Rs 80 crore fund II.
- Phi Commerce raised INR 51 Cr from BEENEXT.
- QpiAI bagged $32 Mn.
- NODWIN is set to raise funding and will no longer be a Nazara subsidiary.
- CureFit raised $2 Mn.
- FreshToHome eyes up to $50 million raise.
- W Health Ventures is set to close a $100 mn fund II.
Key Appointments and Leadership Changes
- Several major companies announced leadership changes.
- PhonePe hired Shivnath Thukral as VP for public policy and government affairs.
- Shriram AMC appointed former Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund manager Prateek Nigudkar.
- L’Oréal India appointed Jacques Lebel as country manager. Hemant Rupani is set to take over as CEO of
- Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages in September.
- Arvind Fashions named Amisha Jain as MD & CEO. IIT Varanasi graduate Satish Sharma joined
- PhysicsWallah as the chief marketing officer.
- Axis Bank named Neeraj Gambhir as Executive Director for a 3-year term.
- Godrej Properties has named Amitesh Shah as Zonal CEO for MMR.
- Rebel Foods reshuffled, with Cofounder Ankush Grover appointed Global CEO.
Other Notable News
- Elon Musk confirmed Tesla will let shareholders decide on xAI investment. Russia plans to import a 1 million skilled workforce from India.
- Temasek hit a $50 billion milestone in India.
- GAIL signed a 10-year LNG supply deal with Vitol and extended its pact with Oil India.
- Sun Pharma launched the alopecia drug Leqselvi in the US. Alakh Pandey’s
- PW will offer full tuition waivers for children of SSB martyrs and personnel.
- Plum committed INR 200 Cr to expand into digital health services. Andhra Pradesh eyes INR 25,000 Cr investment under Space Policy 4.0.
- Tesla drove into India with its first store in Mumbai’s BKC. Yoga-wear brand
- Lululemon is set to launch in India in 2026, partnering with Tata CLiQ. Japan’s
- SMFG is said to eye a $1.1 billion additional deal for Yes Bank.
- Specta will invest ₹250 cr.
- Google inked a $3 billion US hydropower deal.
- Zepto Cafe is scaling down operations.
- Sarvam will open-source its models under the IndiaAI Mission.
- Shapoorji Pallonji will develop a 5-acre housing project in Pune.
- Airtel will offer a 12-month Perplexity Pro subscription for free.
- Ullu ventured into the Web3 space with UlluCoin.
- Reliance rolled out a 4-hour fashion delivery service, ‘AJIO Rush’. Following the
- Air India Plane Crash, Tata Sons set up ‘AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust’.
- Air India Express took delivery of its 50th MAX aircraft.
- IIT Madras launched YD One, India’s lightest active wheelchair. Finally, the
- ED summoned Google and Meta in a betting app case
The rich variety of headlines this week creates a powerful image of the economic dynamism and forward motion of India. Everything from massive investments supporting high-tech startups to tactical market entrances and new product launches reflects the vibrancy across sectors.
All of these developments, together with major leadership changes, add up to reinforce India’s increasing confidence and active efforts to solidify its role as a leading economic force worldwide.