Inc42

Beauty and personal care ecommerce major Nykaa expects to report net revenue growth in the late twenties in the quarter ended March 31, 2026 (Q4 FY26), the highest increase in the past 12 quarters. The net revenue growth for the full FY26 is expected to be at the upper end of mid-twenties.  In an exchange filing, Nykaa said that the consolidated growth in its gross merchandise value (GMV) is expected to be in the late twenties in Q4, while net sales value (NSV) growth is expected to be in the ea

Bitcoin rewards startup GoSats has raised $5 Mn (about ₹47 Cr) in its Series A funding round led by US-based VC firm Konvoy, with participation from existing backer Y Combinator and Web3-focused Taisu Ventures. The startup plans to utilise the fresh funds to accelerate user acquisition with an aim to increase its user base to 1 Mn in the coming years from 1.5 Lakh currently. It will also use the capital to expand its product suite, improve its tech stack, especially through AI-driven personalisa

It was May 2025 when we last came across Kult, and the company’s narrative of starting afresh after leaving hundreds of employees unpaid looked like a game of smoke and mirrors. Indeed, we called it exactly that at the time.   But if we are talking games, the story of Kult is now looking like a real-life Whac-A-Mole. Most of us have played this at some point in our lives, and most of us end up leaving the table frustrated. This is exactly what employees at Kult feel now, eleven months after that

A short-seller report sent MakeMyTrip’s stock to its lowest point in a year. The question at the centre of the controversy—how India’s largest OTA defines profit—was never hidden. It has been sitting in the company’s own SEC filings for four years. At the heart of the issue is the adjusted margin metric, which has become an analog for profitability in the OTA space. Investor decks, quarterly earnings calls focus on the adjusted margins and not on the operating profit.  MakeMyTrip defines Adjuste

Most frequent travellers will relate to this: you get your boarding pass, clear security checks at the airport, and finally settle at your gate, when you suddenly start to feel something’s amiss.  You frisk your handbag just to realise you have forgotten your phone charger at home. Now, the restless you has two options: either go on a hunt to find a new one or board the plane without it.  Well, Blinkit has just stepped up to comfort you in this situation. On April 1, April Fools’ Day, Albi

After a relatively stable 2025, expectations were that the Indian startup ecosystem would carry forward the momentum into 2026. However, the trend so far has remained uneven.  In Q1 2026, the ecosystem entered a recalibration phase, with total funding falling 26% YoY to $2.3 Bn across 271 deals, down from $3.1 Bn in the same period last year, as per Inc42’s “Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q1 2026”. Even as overall funding fell, deal activity held up, supported by a higher number of smaller d

Listed fintech SaaS company Zaggle’s chief financial officer (CFO) Aditya Kumar tendered his resignation with immediate effect on April 3. Kumar cited “personal reasons” for his exit.  He joined the company in 2022 as a vice president – finance and was elevated to the position of CFO later in the year.  Prior to Zaggle, Kumar has held various positions with companies like Spandana Sphoorty, noon, The Sanmar Group in a career spanning over 14 years. Meanwhile, Zaggle elevated deputy CFO, Ra

New-age tech stocks regained some momentum in a holiday-shortened week. Thirty one out of the 55 new-age tech companies under Inc42’s coverage gained in a range of 0.26% to close to 17% this week. Broader market movement heavily impacted performance of new-age tech stocks during the three trading sessions of the week. After heavy selling on March 30 (Monday), stock momentum regained on April 1 (Wednesday) and April 2 (Thursday).  On Monday, 11 new-age tech stocks – Wakefit, MobiKwik, FirstCry, A

Indian startup funding momentum slowed down in the first week of April amid escalation in geopolitical tensions. Between March 30 and April 3, startups raised about $131.5 Mn across 18 deals. This marked a 62% decline from the $348.2 Mn raised across 25 deals last week. Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Mar 30 — April 03] Date Name Sector Subsector Business Model Funding Round Size Funding Round Type Investors Lead Investor 3 Apr 2026 Noon Enterprise Tech Horizo

Startup IPOs, which were once a rather uncommon phenomenon, have been driving the narrative in the world’s third largest startup ecosystem over the past few years. Amid growing business maturity and high market liquidity, 55 new-age tech companies have gone public in recent years. About 18 new-age tech companies have launched IPOs since the start of 2025, amid strong investor appetite for higher-risk, high-growth bets. A critical factor underpinning a company’s public market debut is the partici

Listed two wheeler EV maker Ola Electric Limited has received Production Linked Incentive (PLI) certification for its electric bike, Roadster X+ 4.5 kWh.  The certification, issued by the global automotive research centre (GARC), confirms that the Roadster X+ 4.5 kWh meets the minimum domestic value addition (DVA) requirements, making all units eligible for incentives under the PLI-Auto scheme. The development comes amid a series of strategic moves undertaken by Ola Electric to boost sales after

San Francisco-based product design startup Noon has raised $44 Mn (about ₹407.6 Cr) in a funding round led by Chemistry, First Round Capital, Scribble Ventures, Elevation Capital and Afore Capital. The round also saw participation from angel investors associated with companies like Meta, Canva, Apple, and OpenAI.  Founded in 2024 by ex-Bookpad CEO Aditya Bandi and ex-Leap cofounder Kushagra Sinha, Noon is an AI-native product design platform that allows users to build functional products using r

D2C instant food brand Yu Foods’ revenue more than doubled in FY26. Cofounder and CEO Bharat Bhalla told Inc42 that the brand’s operating revenue zoomed 114% to ₹75 Cr from ₹35 Cr in FY25.  The cofounder said that the startup registered growth in sales throughout the fiscal year, with its sales touching ₹10 Cr in March. Meanwhile, Yu Foods’ bottom line remained largely flat even as the startup continued to spend on expansion. Its net loss for FY26 was about ₹8 Cr, slightly higher than the ₹7.7 C

LPG Crisis Hits Gig Economy Hard Six years after the COVID lockdown, a new crisis is pushing India’s migrants back onto the road. The conflict in West Asia has triggered an LPG crunch, which is hitting the country’s kitchens, factories and gig workforce. So, are we looking at a migrant worker exodus? Ground Reality: The blockage of ship movement through the Strait of Hormuz has sent the prices of a 1 kg LPG cylinder, which once cost ₹100, to nearly ₹400 in the grey market. This jump is forcing l

Bengaluru-based AI startup NeuroPixel.AI has wound down its operations after six years of building GennAI solutions for the fashion ecommerce sector. In a post on Linkedin, its cofounder and CEO Arvind Venugopal Nair said the decision was triggered amid a lack of business penetration due to intense competition from large tech players, particularly after Google launched NanoBanana Pro, a powerful image generation model.  NeuroPixel.AI’s proprietary technology, which once gave it an edge, struggle

Six years ago, flyovers across India witnessed streams of migrant and gig workers walking miles to reach home. It was about survival back then, and it still is about survival now, even if the same scenes have not yet been witnessed.  Amid escalating tensions in West Asia and the conflict between US-Israel and Iran, global supply chains have come under strain, hitting India’s LPG or cooking gas consumers. Vessel movement and trade through the Strait of Hormuz is almost at a standstill, impacting

Chennai-based dronetech startup Garuda Aerospace has pre-filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the SEBI. While the exact size of the IPO is yet to be determined, the company’s board, via an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on March 19, approved an IPO that can comprise a fresh issue of up to ₹750 Cr along with an undisclosed offer for sale (OFS) component. “With respect to the Offer, the Company will be required to file a pre-filed draft red herring prospectus with the SEBI

Aquaculture-focused agritech startup Aquapulse has netted ₹25 Cr (about $2.7 Mn) in its ongoing Series A round led by NABVENTURES via its AgriSURE Fund. The startup intends to use the fresh capital to set up an in-house processing facility to improve quality control and margins. Additionally, a portion of the capital will be deployed to expand its farmer network to 15,000 farmers across states like Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, while also strengthening its technology stack. Aquapulse i

Footwear maker Mirza International’s MD Tauseef Mirza has acquired D2C brand Solethreads. The D2C brand’s founder and CEO Sumant Kakaria made the announcement in a LinkedIn post, without disclosing the deal size or other details. Kakaria said the vision behind starting Solethreads was to make everyday footwear more “cool” and accessible through a tech-led approach. Over time, the startup scaled its online reach and added physical retail as it grew. Regulatory filings show that Mirza became a dir

It was a subdued March for the Indian startup ecosystem. The escalating tensions in West Asia continued to trigger supply chain shocks and market volatility, resulting in the bloodbath for new-age tech stocks. Meanwhile, skyrocketing oil prices inflated operating costs for startups in logistics-intensive mobility and food delivery sectors. The ensuing LPG crisis has temporarily thrown many eateries out of work. The impact was also visible on the investment front. As per Inc42, Indian startups cu