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Featured Stories "Never underestimate your ‘authentic intelligence'," Shradha Sharma tells entrepreneurs, as she kicks off 16th edition of TechSparks In a world where artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing rapidly, Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, urged founders to trust their own "authentic intelligence”. Setting the tone for TechSparks 2025—India’s largest startup-tech conference in Bengaluru, Shradha told entrepreneurs not to forget their authentic intelligence—which comes from their intuition, emotional depth, and lived experiences. That is something no machine can replace, she said. This year's edition of TechSparks from November 6 to 8, 2025, centres around the theme 'India 2030: Powered by AI'. "For the next three days, feel from the heart, learn, and work. And never underestimate your authentic intelligence, your own intelligence. We should protect ourselves, our authenticity," Shradha reiterated, welcoming everyone to the 16th edition of TechSparks. Read more here. Mukesh Bansal picks Deepinder Goyal as his dream collaborator, citing his ‘extreme ambition and intensity’ Serial entrepreneur Mukesh Bansal, who has previously built two of India’s most recognisable consumer brands—Myntra and Cult.fit—said he wants to collaborate with Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Eternal (formerly Zomato), calling him one of the few entrepreneurs who combine “extreme intensity with extreme ambition.” “I think Deepinder thinks very differently. His mindset and his ability to combine extreme intensity with extreme ambition—that’s pretty unique,” Bansal said during a fireside chat with YourStory's Shradha Sharma at TechSparks 2025. The comment comes at a time when Goyal has started exploring new-age mobility and aerospace. Goyal, one of India’s most prolific founder-investors, has in recent months expanded his interests far beyond Eternal's core businesses. Read more here. AI hype is ahead of reality: Nurix AI Founder Mukesh Bansal The hype around artificial intelligence mirrors the past noise around ecommerce. While there is no doubt that the technology will transform the world, Nurix AI’s Mukesh Bansal pointed out that today, the hype is ahead of reality. The world is now seeing an increase in investments, valuations, narratives, and headlines around AI. However, to understand the technology, one needs to take a close look at how AI has changed the way enterprises work and how it has helped improve efficiency. In a fireside chat at TechSparks 2025 Bengaluru, Bansal added that the use of AI has not significantly contributed to changing a company’s top-line or bottom-line growth. Read more here. Tech30: Meet the 30 startups powering India’s next innovation wave India’s startup story has entered its next act. After navigating funding slowdowns and global headwinds, a new generation of founders is building for resilience, sustainability, and scale. They’re not just chasing valuations; they’re solving hard problems in energy, AI, biotech, and robotics, often with homegrown technology that rivals global standards. YourStory has played a pivotal role in highlighting and presenting these entrepreneurs across fields. And, at TechSparks, we highlight their stories as part of Tech30, a list of India’s 30 most promising startups poised to become major disruptors across fields. Handpicked from more than 2,000 applications, the startups this year were chosen by a jury comprising veterans from the startup ecosystem, and YourStory's team of senior editorial and research staff. The Tech30 report was unveiled on Day 1 of TechSparks 2025, India’s most influential startup-tech conference. Read more here. Profitability and predictability, not hype, signal IPO readiness: WestBridge’s Sandeep Singhal For Sandeep Singhal, Co-founder and Managing Director at WestBridge Capital, the readiness of a company to go public is defined by profitability and predictability more than valuation or investor appetite. Speaking at TechSparks 2025, alongside Indiqube founders Rishi Das and Meghna Agarwal, Singhal said most young companies operate in an environment of volatility where business models are still being refined and private capital governs key decisions. But the equation changes, he argued, once a company demonstrates both consistent profits and a clear, predictable growth trajectory. “Once the company passes that phase and gets to a place where it’s got two Ps—profits and predictability—once you get to predictability where you can steadily grow at a certain rate and are at a place where a common lay person can understand that this company makes profits, it’s in the founder’s interest to move from private to public investors,” he said. Funding News BabyOrgano raises Rs 20 Cr from RPSG Capital Ventures Ahmedabad-based Ayurvedic kids’ wellness brand BabyOrgano has raised Rs 20 crore in a Pre-Series A round led by RPSG Capital Ventures, with participation from existing investor Sauce.vc. The company said it will use the funds to expand product innovation, marketing, and offline reach as it targets ₹100 crore in revenue by FY27. Founded in 2020 by Riddhi and Ripul Sharma, BabyOrgano makes Ayurvedic, chemical-free wellness products for children, including its flagship Baalprashan Swarnaprashan Drops—India’s first clinically approved Swarnaprashan for immunity and cognitive growth. RPSG’s Abhishek Goenka said the brand sits “at the intersection of Ayurveda and safe, science-backed childcare,” while Founder Riddhi Sharma said the funding will help scale its mission to bring natural, trustworthy wellness solutions to Indian parents. Zomato, Blinkit launch drive to help delivery partners access welfare schemes Zomato and Blinkit have launched a nationwide initiative to help their delivery partners register for central and state government welfare schemes. The first facilitation camp, held in Bengaluru in partnership with social enterprise Haqdarshak, enabled over 280 new registrations, taking the total to more than 6,000 partners since April 2025 and unlocking benefits worth Rs 150 crore. The camps connect gig workers to schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, e-Shram, and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, offering insurance, pensions and food security benefits. Zomato’s Chief Sustainability Officer Anjalli Ravi Kumar said the initiative aims to bridge access gaps, particularly for women and PwD delivery partners. More camps are planned in Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi in the coming weeks as part of Zomato and Blinkit’s broader efforts to strengthen social protections for gig workers. Lokal expands into jobs and agri-tech to empower India’s small-town users Bengaluru-based hyperlocal startup Lokal has launched two new digital platforms—Sahi Jobs and AgriLoka—aimed at tackling trust and access gaps in India’s blue and grey-collar job market and agricultural sector. Sahi Jobs is a verified job marketplace designed to protect workers from scams and exploitation by conducting AI and human-led verification of recruiters. Every job listing undergoes checks before going live, and the platform will soon include employer reputation scores to promote accountability. Meanwhile, AgriLokal connects farmers directly with agronomists in their local languages, offering real-time advice on soil health, pest control, irrigation, and modern farming practices. Co-founder and CEO Jani Pasha said the new launches deepen Lokal’s mission to provide trusted, language-first digital solutions for India’s 900 million vernacular internet users. Both apps are now live on Google Play Store. SpaceTech startup ULOOK raises Rs 19 Cr from growX ventures and InfoEdge Ventures ULOOK Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a Bengaluru-based space intelligence company developing autonomous satellite swarms for RF sensing and spectrum awareness, has raised Rs 19 Cr in a seed round led by growX ventures and InfoEdge Ventures. The company said the funding will be used to accelerate ULOOK’s mission to build indigenous capability in radio-frequency (RF) intelligence, marking a decisive step toward strengthening India’s technological sovereignty in space and security-enabling domains. (This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
