By Team Ys
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From Peak XV leading PostHog’s Series E funding round at unicorn valuation to CEF Group mission to convert India’s municipal solid waste into sustainable solutions, YourStory brings today’s headlines spotlighting bold bets across the startup ecosystem.
Featured Stories
Peak XV leads YC-backed PostHog’s $75M Series E round at unicorn valuation
India-based Peak XV Partners has led a $75 million Series E round in San Francisco-headquartered cloud-based product analytics tool startup PostHog, marking another addition to the firm’s expanding portfolio of overseas investments.
The latest round values the firm at $1.4 billion. “We can now proudly upgrade our status from unicorn adjacent to unicorn,” the company’s co-founder, James Hawkins, posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Commenting on Peak XV’s participation in the round, Hawkins said, “Choosing Peak XV was about the people. In every meeting with Shailendra (Singh), he has come across as genuine, excitable, and hard-working. Peak quickly proved themselves a delight to work with, and when we received an offer from them, we felt they were the best way for us to keep building. And that’s all that really matters to our users.”
Read more here.
This Delhi-based startup is converting India’s waste into sustainable solutions
India is among the world’s top 10 countries generating municipal solid waste. According to a report by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India generates over 62 million tonnes (MT) of waste annually. This is caused by rapid urbanisation, economic growth, and higher rates of urban consumption.
Only 43 MT of the total waste gets collected, with merely 12 MT being treated before disposal, leaving 31 MT simply discarded in waste yards. This reality not only threatens public health but also shapes how the world perceives India.
The crisis became a personal mission for Maninder Singh Nayyar, Founder and CEO of CEF Group. In 2013, after selling his online education company to a Singapore firm, he spent 16 months travelling across 17 countries.
Read more here.
GST bonanza: Value shoppers turn to premium electronics, appliances this festive season
The festive season is turning out to be promising for consumer electronics and appliances as the category rides on an uptick in consumer demand driven by cost savings from GST reforms, premiumisation, and festive season offers.
Personal electronics and appliances got a strong push during the first week of the festive season sales on ecommerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. According to a report by Datum Intelligence, appliances (primarily used for cooking and cleaning) and consumer electronics (for entertainment and communication) clocked gross merchandise value (GMV) growth of 34% and 41% year-on-year, respectively.
While the Indian consumption landscape had been trending towards premiumisation, high-ticket items like consumer electronics and white goods received a further windfall through the recent GST reforms.
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With the right ecosystem, even remote locations can emerge as hubs of innovation: STPI’s Arvind Kumar
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) could be easily referred to as a pioneer institution that laid the foundation for India’s information technology (IT) revolution. Functioning as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), STPI is now steering the industry’s growth beyond the metros.
Today, out of the 68 STPI centres operational in the country, 60 are located in Tier II and III cities. Through these centres and dedicated programmes, STPI aims to identify, nurture, and scale startups. So far, it has supported over 1,400 startups and also provided them with seed funding. This is expected to lead to wide-ranging benefits like tapping into a bigger talent pool, creating local jobs, and most importantly, promoting balanced regional growth.
“For budding entrepreneurs, especially engineering graduates from regional colleges, STPI offers a launchpad to transform ideas into scalable businesses without having to migrate to metros,” said Arvind Kumar, Director General, STPI, in an email interview with Enterprise Story.
Read more here.
TechSparks 2025 unveils power lineup of India’s boldest innovators
TechSparks 2025, India’s most influential startup and technology summit, returns to Bengaluru’s Taj Yeshwantpur from November 6-8, bringing together top entrepreneurs, investors, tech innovators, and policy leaders.
For 16 blockbuster years, YourStory’s flagship event has been the heartbeat of India’s innovation ecosystem, fueling over 2 million connections and hosting 2,300+ trailblazing voices.
This year’s theme, India 2030: Powered by AI, puts the spotlight on how AI and deeptech are rewriting the rules of business, governance, and everyday life. As India races toward a $10-trillion digital economy, TechSparks is where bold ideas, transformative ventures, and future game-changers take the stage.
Read more here.
Funding News
Spiritual-tech startup VAMA app raises 22 Cr in pre-Series A round
VAMA app, a virtual platform for spiritual and religious services, has raised Rs 22 crore in a pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by Wavemaker Partners with participation from marquee global investor 500 Global, alongside Sadev Ventures, Venture Catalysts, Silverneedle Ventures, and angels like Alok Nanavaty, Harit Nagpal, Swati Parikh, and Mahesh Kamdar.
The newly raised capital will be deployed toward expanding into new categories such as spiritual e-commerce and offline spiritual travel, deepening the platform’s product offerings, and scaling marketing efforts. In the medium term, VAMA also plans to launch services for the global NRI market, while strengthening its positioning as the most comprehensive FaithTech platform.
“With the support of marquee investors like 500 Global and the continued backing of Wavemaker, we are now building for scale, expanding into new categories, entering the NRI market, and creating a future where spiritual experiences are as seamless and reliable as any other digital service,” said Manu Jain, Co-founder & CEO of VAMA app.
Defencetech startup Unmannd secures $2M in funding from Speciale Invest and Accel
Unmannd, a defence tech startup building autonomous drones for contested environments, has raised approximately $2 million in a pre-seed round led by Speciale Invest and Accel. The funding will accelerate the commercialisation of aerial logistics platform Titan, advance Fury, a cUAS interceptor system, and support hiring and international export readiness.
Unmannd builds intelligent aerial platforms that excel in unpredictable and contested environments. The company’s full-stack approach combines custom compute hardware, AI-driven autonomy, multi-agent mesh networking, and aerospace-grade avionics to create drones.
“The future of defence and security is all about building drones that are smarter than those of the adversaries. That’s exactly what we’re building at Unmannd, systems that think ahead, collaborate seamlessly, and operate where others cannot,” said Yeshwanth Reddy, Co-founder & CEO of Unmannd.
Climaty AI secures $2 million in funding to expand carbon-conscious marketing solutions
Climaty AI, a CliMarTech (climate + marketing technology) company founded by Neel Pandya, has raised $2 million in early-stage funding led by Turbostart, with participation from AI experts and angel investors.
The startup will use the funding to advance its Agentic AI ecosystem, a self-optimising marketing infrastructure that automates campaign planning, creation, optimisation, and analytics while embedding sustainability.
Climaty AI aims to reduce inefficiencies in global advertising spend and deliver measurable, carbon-conscious outcomes for brands and agencies.
The company plans to expand across APAC, EMEA, the UK, and North America, responding to growing demand for sustainable, high-performance marketing solutions worldwide.
EyeROV bags a Rs 47 crore Indian Navy order for underwater robotics
EyeROV, India’s underwater robotics startup, has secured a Rs 47 crore contract with the Indian Navy to supply advanced Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (UWROVs). The deal strengthens India’s naval capabilities with indigenous, field-tested technology.
EyeROV’s UWROVs, including the 300m depth-rated military-grade TROUT, have been tested in extreme conditions—from deep-sea volcanic missions to the Antarctic—demonstrating precision, safety, and reliability. The vehicles support defence and commercial applications, including underwater surveillance and reconnaissance.
Johns T. Mathai, CEO, said the contract reflects eight years of dedicated innovation and reinforced India’s push for self-reliance in defence technology. EyeROV has completed over 100 deployments globally and counts DRDO, Indian Coast Guard, and CSIR among its clients.
Ignosis raises $4M to advance financial data inclusion in India
Ignosis, an enterprise-first Account Aggregator (AA) infrastructure and financial data intelligence platform, has raised $4 million in a pre-Series A round led by Peak XV’s Surge, with participation from Force Ventures, Razorpay Ventures, Kunal Shah of Cred, and existing investors.
Ignosis aims to tackle gaps in India’s financial ecosystem, where over 160 million consumers remain credit underserved and 80% of MSMEs struggle to access formal credit. Its AA infrastructure and AI-driven analytics enable banks and financial institutions to underwrite, assess risk, and offer personalised services securely and efficiently.
“AA is poised to become the default rails for financial data sharing, similar to UPI for payments. The funding will scale engineering, business, and compliance teams while expanding AI-driven financial data intelligence solutions across India,” said Co-founder Nirav Prajapati.
C-CAMP and NIMHANS launch centre for bio-entrepreneurship in neurosciences and mental health
The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) have inaugurated the Centre for Bio-entrepreneurship in Neurosciences and Mental Health. The initiative aims to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in mental health and neuroscience by supporting deep science-driven ventures.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Dr Taslimarif Saiyed, Director-CEO of C-CAMP, and Prof. Pratima Murthy, Director of NIMHANS.
The centre will provide scientific and business incubation, mentorship, and funding opportunities to bio-entrepreneurs. It aims to bridge the gap between clinical research and commercial application, addressing the mental health challenges faced by millions in India. The collaboration leverages NIMHANS’s clinical expertise and C-CAMP’s innovation ecosystem to develop scalable solutions for mental health care.
Yuma Energy and HPCL forge strategic partnership
Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider Yuma Energy has entered a strategic partnership with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). The collaboration will enable Yuma Energy to deploy battery-swapping stations in high-demand locations, from metro cities to tier-2 towns, ensuring riders, delivery fleets, and businesses have quick and reliable access to energy.
Leveraging HPCL’s extensive network, Yuma will roll out smart, AI-driven stations, meeting the growing demand for electric vehicles in the two- and three-wheeler segments.
The alliance combines HPCL’s national footprint with Yuma Energy’s battery-swapping expertise, providing convenient, affordable, and scalable clean energy solutions across India.
LEAD Group announces key leadership appointments to drive growth
LEAD Group, a school learning systems company, has announced strategic leadership changes as part of its ‘LEAD Vision 2030’ plan to expand its reach to 10 million students across 25,000 schools by 2030 and pursue a public listing.
Moiz Saif joins as Chief Financial Officer, Deepak Hariharan has been elevated to Chief Business Officer, Prasad Narasimha is now Head of HR, and Ajay Kashyap will take on the role of Chief Product and Technology Officer.
These appointments aim to strengthen LEAD’s leadership, drive innovation in pedagogy and AI-powered solutions, and support scaling the company’s mission to transform school education, empower teachers, and improve student learning outcomes nationwide.
WinZO, IEIC and Business Finland partner to boost India-Finland gaming ties
WinZO, an interactive entertainment platform, the Interactive Entertainment and Innovation Council (IEIC), and Business Finland have launched a collaboration to strengthen India-Finland gaming partnerships and develop export-ready ‘Made in India’ content.
The initiative will leverage Finland’s expertise in building globally competitive gaming clusters and India’s fast-growing gaming ecosystem to co-create innovative, export-ready games. The partnership will include knowledge exchange, talent development, and support for startups and developers in both countries.
Paavan Nanda, Co-Founder, WinZO, said, “India has all the ingredients to be a global leader of interactive entertainment – scale, diversity, and creativity. With Finland’s proven export model as inspiration, this collaboration will accelerate India’s journey towards building Indian content that is inclusive to cater to the global audiences.”
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
(Edited by Jyoti Narayan)
