Nisus Finance Services Co to invest a significant capital of ₹90 crore in Paranjape Schemes’ Hinjewadi project

Nisus Finance invests ₹90 crore in Paranjape Schemes’ Hinjewadi real estate development project

Nisus Finance Services Co has officially declared a substantial capital of ₹90 crore to be invested in a large-scale real estate development in Hinjewadi, Pune. The capital injection involves its real estate-focused Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), identified as the Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund-I (RESO-I). This strategy focuses on investing in Realnet Ventures, who operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the well-known development company called Paranjape Schemes (Construction).

This development company, owned by Shrikant Paranjape and Shashank Paranjape, has used this investment opportunity to further develop its regional expansion plans, including its residential project pipeline.

Integrated township and specific project

The project that is receiving the investment is all part and parcel of Blue Ridge, a broad and maturely developed township of 150 acres constructed by Paranjape Schemes (Constructions) in Hinjewadi Phase One. This township is one of the largest landmarks in the area, with a well-rounded infrastructure that integrates various attractions under one roof. 

The development has now produced 33 residential towers, home to over 6,000 families currently living in the project. The township has three Special Economic Zones (SEZs) that together employ more than 35,000 IT professionals, making it a key economic node in Pune.

In addition to its residential and commercial aspects, Blue Ridge includes an abundance of social and institutional frameworks and contemporary conveniences. The township has its own educational facility, a variety of commercial businesses, and recreation areas that are designed to enrich the quality of its citizens’ lives. 

This encompasses such facilities as a nine-pocket golf course, basketball court, and tennis court at the township level. The project is also being integrated into this vibrant and operational community, which gives it a unique competitive edge, tapping into the social and economic world of the wider township.

Project specifications and financial perspective

The funded project is a phased construction of a multi-unit residential apartment tower located on 1.09 acres of conveyed property. It has a considerable total saleable area of 4.02 lakh sq.ft. The project’s architectural modernization is intended to provide a comfortable home environment for a total of 188 high-end apartments, with a particular emphasis on larger formats to answer increasing family and professional needs in the IT corridor.

The tower is divided into three-BHK and four-BHK units. The three-BHK layouts come with an average size of 1300 sq ft and are designed to provide ample rooms to urban families. The larger four-BHK units offer an average of 1,700 square feet, which comes up to the requirement of the market for premium luxury housing in the township. These specific, larger configurations directly relate to the demographic demands of the high-income professionals who work within the adjoining SEZs.

Financing-wise, the residential project looks exceptionally promising for the developers as well as for Nisus Finance Services Co. The estimated Gross Development Value is approximately ₹370 crore. This high market value reflects the premium nature of the development, owing to its locality, Hinjewadi Phase One, which has a high real estate valuation.

With solid sales projections and faithful execution schedules, the development is expected to generate an operating profit of around ₹143 crore. With this ‘cushion,’ it shows that the project continues to be highly viable and offers a strong return on the Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund-I investment. The Nisus Finance assurance of structural viability of the tower demonstrates institutional certainty in the financial metrics and the cash flow proposition of the Paranjape Schemes’ subsidiary.

Conclusion

Nisus Finance Services Co’s investment in Paranjape Schemes’ Hinjewadi project, valued at ₹90 crore, is turning pivotal moments for real estate development in Pune’s primary IT hub. Nisus Finance is investing in Realnet Ventures under its specialized RESO-I fund, which boasts strong fundamental metrics and a proven development trajectory.

The central position of the tower in the flourishing, 150-acre Blue Ridge township provides instant access to the best social infrastructure, commerce, and modern recreational facilities, thus eliminating most market risks. Having an expected Gross Development Value of ₹370 crore, and an estimated operating surplus of ₹143 crore, this premium residential block is poised to satisfy the local demand for expanded three-BHK and four-BHK homes.

Rapido secured $240 million in a fresh primary funding round led by Prosus, elevating its valuation to $3 billion

Rapido raises $240 million from Prosus in funding round valuing the company at $3 billion

Rapido has raised $240 million in a fresh primary funding round. The major Dutch technology investor Prosus drove this new investment success. The capital raise’s ability to bring the company’s total value to $3 billion on a post-money basis represents a major milestone in its financial growth. Current institutional partners like WestBridge Capital and Accel, as well as others, widely participated in the round, supported by well-developed confidence in the company’s business model and growth trajectory.

Aim and primary capital injection

This $240 million primary capital raise is part of a much larger financing that is currently closed by Rapido. This transaction is part of a larger $730 million primary and secondary financing package announced by the company. With the investment of this large amount of capital, Rapido is laying a strong foundation to support its growth and continued dominance in the rapidly evolving Indian mobility market.

The huge capital injection is likely to provide extra ammunition to the company that is attempting to take on market giants like Uber and Ola. One of the key strategic objectives of this funding is to take the platform beyond the largest metros of India. The demand in Tier-2 and smaller market segments is picking up at a tremendous pace. This is an opportunity for a cost-efficient transport solution. 

The funding will enable Rapido to expand on its existing mobility services in Tier-1 cities and discover and capture new demand corridors in rural and emerging urban areas. The capital will be invested specifically in increasing the demand through new markets and structural strengthening of existing markets. 

The transition of India’s economic activity from metros to smaller cities has created two important structural bottlenecks: a lack of reliable and affordable mobility options and fewer opportunities for flexible and dignified earning avenues. Rapido seeks to shape a new category at the exact point of intersection of these two structural needs to become a mobility service that is directly a large-scale economic driver for regional development.

Ambitious market expansion and operational roadmap

The vast majority of the $240 million of that funding will go towards aggressively scaling up the company’s network of “captains,” the people who drive the rides on the platform that are both quick bikes and automobiles. The company aims to expand earning opportunities nationally, with flexible work available to thousands of new drivers in high-growth areas. This growth will help the startup to keep a consistent supply of vehicles because of the continuous surge in consumer demand, thereby minimizing wait periods and service gaps in its electronic platform.

Rapido will spend a substantial amount of resources on developing the technology and talent that drives its platform infrastructure. This includes investment in advanced software algorithms, which will further enhance platform efficiency, optimize ride matching, and route mapping. 

Through upgrades to its central digital architecture, Rapido hopes to provide a much more stable, streamlined user and passenger experience, allowing its decentralized transportation system to sustain extremely high transaction volumes while it continues to grow and ramp up operations.

Another key component of Rapido’s post-investing roadmap is the reinforcement of its first and last-mile connectivity. For the vast majority of people, it is still a major challenge to commute to and from the major transit centres in a growing Indian city. 

Rapido plans to take a different approach, achieving its goal through a fleet that it expects to be very easy to access and far more cost-effective than other public transport options. The integration aims to streamline everyday mobility for millions of commuters in urban and semi-urban settings, positioning the platform as an essential component for a more equitable economic development.

Conclusion

With the $240 million capital raise, which values the company at a staggering $3 billion, it is a defining moment for the company and the Indian ride-hailing sector. With this particular transaction, the startup has successfully attracted capital up to $730 million at a global level, demonstrating that its generation of low-cost, multi-modal mobility service is something that has generated enough investor interest. The company’s focus on the Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets reflects confidence regarding the future growth of the Indian economy.

The utilization of significant capital to expand its first and last-mile network, boost its technology infrastructure, and create its underdeveloped captain network provides a solid base for the company to expand its economic inclusion impact and demonstrate the power of affordable, connected mobility to deliver new employment opportunities and regional prosperity.

Apollo Tyres shares reported a massive gain after Q4 net profit surges 242% year-on-year to ₹631 crore

Apollo Tyres reports ₹631 crore Q4 profit surge with strong stock market gains

After the company’s fourth quarter results as dated March 31, 2026, share prices of Apollo Tyres soared upward on the stock exchanges. The top tyre company enjoyed an astounding 241.76% increase in its consolidated net profit, which rose to ₹630.97 crore in the quarter under review as against the net profit of ₹184.62 crore in the same quarter of FY22. Operating execution and strong underlying market demand were further underpinned by this dramatic improvement in the bottom line and robust double-digit growth in quarterly revenue.

Primary business and operations

After the announcement of these strong quarterly numbers, investor appetite shifted sharply, leading to an immediate market sell-off. The business remains mainly focused on tyres, which are produced and sold in a large global distribution network. 

As expected, the market sentiment about Apollo Tyres’ excellent quarterly results was reflected in a 1.31% surge in share prices to close at ₹401.70 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). This clearly indicates the confidence of traders in the future growth potential and strategies of Apollo Tyres.

In the last quarter of the fiscal year, there was a significant growth trend observed for Apollo Tyres regarding its top line. The total operating income of the firm was at ₹7,335.67 crore, rising by 14.19% from ₹6,423.59 crore in the March quarter of 2026.

The profit before tax and exceptional items (PBIT), excluding taxes, was recorded at ₹617.78 crore in the fourth quarter of FY26, reflecting robust growth compared to ₹378.75 crore gained in the same period. Notably, there were also exceptional items of ₹456.13 crore in this quarter.

Geographically, the leading operating locations have significantly contributed to the overall performance of the company. For instance, there was a considerable growth of 15% year-on-year in revenue earned from the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (APMEA), with revenues reaching ₹5,346.44 crore due to the continuing commercial success in these emerging economies.

Regarding Europe, there was a strong increase in revenue of 15.28% to ₹2,180.25 crore. However, revenues derived from other small operating locations had a steep fall in revenue of 80.95%, totaling ₹225.57 crore in the quarter.

Full-year earnings growth and corporate governance approvals

In terms of performance for the full financial year, Apollo Tyres continued its steady upward momentum on both revenue and profit lines for the year ended FY26. In accordance with the above increase in consolidated net profit, the company recorded a consolidated net profit of ₹1,372.42 crore for the year, compared to the consolidated net profit of ₹1,042.7 crore of FY25.

Consolidated operating income increased by 8.98% to record ₹28,470.60 crore for the fiscal year. It indicates a proven extension of the company’s total market share and distribution capacity for the year.

Considering the high profitability, the board of directors introduced attractive incentives for the shareholders of the company. The board recommended a final dividend of ₹2.50 per equity share of a face value of Re 1 each for the financial year FY26. The dividend payment will be dependent upon the company getting approval from its shareholders at the forthcoming AGM of the company.

The final dividend payment is additional to the interim dividend payment made by the company, which had declared an interim dividend of ₹3.50 per equity share during the FY26; therefore, the total dividend payout for the year was massive 600%. In addition to financial and dividend announcements, the board addressed various other significant corporate governance and leadership transition issues. 

The board formally approved the necessary intimation of the shareholders’ approval for the re-appointment of Lakshmi Puri as an independent director of the company. The proposed renewal of the appointment is for another five-year continuous term, anticipated to commence from 29th October 2026, to maintain the continuity of operations for the company as it advances towards a new phase of expansion internationally.

Conclusion

The bottom-line profit reported by Apollo Tyres saw an increase of nearly 242% during Q4, achieving a figure of ₹631 crore, a promising indication of an end-of-the-year performance. Driven by steady increases in sales, specifically in the APMEA region and Europe, the tyre manufacturing company has continued to prove its strength in operating in such economic and geopolitical situations.

An outstanding growth rate of 20% of the domestic truck-bus radial division indicates strong market presence and brand power. Combined with generous total dividend payments for the block year of 600%, the financial results demonstrate a blend of growth-focused investments for the firm and solid value for shareholders.

Legend of Toys secured ₹21 crore in its pre-Series A funding round

Legend of Toys secures ₹21 crore in pre-Series A funding round for business expansion

Legend of Toys is a toy company that is characterized by innovation based on characters. Legend of Toys has raised ₹21 crore in its pre-Series A funding round. Rounding materialized with wide participation from a diversified group of prominent institutional and angel participants, including Singularity Early Opportunities Fund, Veltis Capital, Enzia Ventures, DeVC, Atrium Angels, and Stride. This round is a testament to the investor demand for home-grown toys that focus on design, performance, and storytelling premiums.

Capital utilization and current portfolio

The company has given a clear pathway on how the newly acquired ₹21 crore will be deployed. The funds raised will be used mainly for entering new play categories and extending its current product offering, the brand said in its statement. 

Legend of Toys aims to invest heavily in consumer marketing and digital expansion, boosting brand visibility on online platforms. The capital, apart from the digital transformation, will also be used for enhancing the production facilities in India and allowing the brand to penetrate foreign markets. Such an approach is essential for the realization of the firm’s plans to become the market leader within the international premium toy market.

Founded in 2024 by Afshaan Siddiqui and Vinay Jaisingh, Legend of Toys is distinguished by a focus on developing more characterful and high-performance products that would cater to modern collectors and enthusiasts. The product portfolio of the company consists of 1:64 Tabletop RC Drift Cars, High-Speed RC Cars, Small-Round RC Trucks, RC Drift Cars, and Off-Road RC Trucks. 

The products are offered in the company’s premium line at prices starting from ₹1,599 to ₹8,799. Focusing on customer support and community-building, the company seeks to establish a loyal consumer base that is interested in both the functional and narrative aspects of the products.

Growth and financial performance

From its inception, Legend of Toys has been showing strong financial momentum and has claimed to have created an Annualized Revenue Run rate (ARR) of ₹30 crore in just 18 months of startup operations. The firm presently operates at a healthy month-on-month growth level of 20%, reflecting the positive demand for its narrowly focused product. 

A key part of its business model is the direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment, where estimates suggest it has performed unit economics positively. This drive for profitability and sustainable growth has played a crucial role in securing the best investors at this pre-Series A level.

The development of Legend of Toys coincides with a structural transformation occurring in the Indian toy industry. Statistically, there is a huge trade imbalance, as exports have grown by 239% and imports have dropped by 52% from FY 2014-15 to FY22-23. 

With a strong focus on local manufacturing and design, Legend of Toys is well-equipped to take advantage of this “Make in India” trend. As part of this growing list of highly funded companies focused on children, the company also comprises a subscription-based toy company called The Elefant as well as a manufacturing-based startup company called BIDSO, which was able to raise ₹63 crore through its own Series A round of funding.

Conclusion

The success of the Legend of Toys’ fundraising process of ₹21 crore reflects how mature the Indian toy market is becoming, along with the potential for creating niche brands in this market segment. As an investment from reputable firms like Singularity and Enzia Ventures, Legend of Toys is expected to leverage its monthly growth and move into other geographies. The success of Legend of Toys has established a new benchmark for the ideas and designs of Indian startups to carve out a space in the global play and entertainment market.

Scripbox plans to secure approximately ₹170 crore through a strategic combination of debt and equity for IPO

Scripbox plans to raise ₹170 crore through debt and equity ahead of IPO

Scripbox is a wealthtech company based in Bengaluru. In view of the continued transformation within the company, Scripbox has decided to launch another fundraising effort to raise about ₹170 crore through a combination of debt and equity financing. The move is a sign of the company’s intention to increase its presence and enhance its position in preparation for an initial public offering. The offering is segmented into two parts to support “inorganic growth” and the company’s own financial needs, according to the regulatory paperwork.

Authorization and primary objective

The initial capital raise is in the form of an equity infusion of up to ₹60 crore. Scripbox’s board of directors recently passed a resolution approving the issue of equity shares, preference shares, or convertible instruments to a select band of investors, which includes family members and friends. 

The primary objective for this equity round is to scale back the firm’s growth trajectory and strengthen the company’s financial balance. Scripbox is taking steps to build a healthier capital base. It is actively laying the groundwork for its planned initial public offering (IPO) to ensure the business is well capitalized to meet the rigorous demands of the public capital markets.

In parallel to this equity round, Scripbox has now received approval to raise an additional ₹110 crore through debt. This credit avenue is projected to come from both banking institutions, financial institutions, and Non-Banking Financial Companies. This debt is specifically to be utilized to supply the liquidity required for a significant acquisition. 

Scripbox is seeking to acquire the mutual fund distribution business of an Independent Financial Advisor based in Delhi. By consolidating existing customer relationships into its platform, the move is a strategic effort to build up its customer base and assets under management.

Acquisition strategy and financial growth

The acquisition will be effected through a transactional process under a Business Transfer Agreement. In this deal, Scripbox will assume the AMFI Registration Number and all the client-related liabilities and requirements from the AMFI firm in Delhi. 

The Independent Financial Advisor has remained unidentified in the paperwork, but the reasons behind the transaction are obvious: Scripbox seeks to become more dominant in the wealth arena by acquiring regional members. The inorganic expansion process enables the company to rapidly expand its distribution channels and gain an advantage in the fiercely competitive mutual fund industry.

Since its launch in 2012, Scripbox has earned a strong reputation as a major digital wealth management platform. It offers retail investors a broad range of financial products, including mutual funds, fixed deposits, and more recent products such as US stocks, exchange-traded funds, and the National Pension System. 

The platform is designed with the core mission of providing personalized investment and financial planning solutions, meeting the changing expectations of modern-day investors in India. The company has experienced a stellar financial track record recently. The recent performance has observed a shift in Scripbox towards sustainability, which is currently valued at around ₹1,150 crore. 

While official results are pending for FY26, there was a significant milestone in FY25, where the company managed to come out as a profitable entity. In this period, Scripbox earned a profit of ₹12.7 crore. This shift from losing business to a profitable one is important to any business aiming at investments from the public and success at IPO.

Conclusion

The raise of ₹170 crore with Scripbox is a two-fold strategy designed to expand and stabilize. The company’s strategy of acquiring assets with debt and capitalizing on its reserves with equity is effectively establishing it as a full-fledged participant in the wealth tech sector. Acquiring an established mutual fund distribution business reflects a strategy of building scale through consolidation. The financial moves provide a base for the firm’s next steps in creating profitable avenues and preparing for its market entry in the Indian financial services sector.

Lighthouse Canton launched a ₹1,200 crore LC Luminere Credit Fund

Lighthouse Canton ₹1,200 crore LC Luminere Credit Fund

Lighthouse Canton is a leading international investment institution. Lighthouse Canton has officially revealed the launch of its LC Luminere Credit Fund. The new initiative is an SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), catering to an emerging private credit market in India. The launch reflects the firm’s dedication to financial solutions that also meet the changing requirements of investors and mid-to-large-scale enterprises.

Substantial corpus and dual focus

The LC Luminere Credit Fund is set to emerge as one of the strongest private credit funds in the segment with an ambitious corpus of ₹1,200 crore (approximately $130 million). This is an absolute size that incorporates a greenshoe agreement and grants the fund room to grow as market conditions and investor demand dictate. 

From a structure perspective, the fund will be a six-year fund, but has an expectation of being in an average deal for about three years. The reason for this range is chosen carefully, as it allows companies to grow while maintaining the agility needed for effective management of diverse credit portfolios.

Lighthouse Canton’s investments in structured credit are designed to help close the equity lending gap. The fund is dedicated to delivering appealing risk-adjusted returns and consistent, predictable cash payments to shareholders. 

Its ability to offer both stability and performance makes it an attractive choice for those considering diversifying their portfolios with senior secured structured credit strategies. The idea behind these strategies is to provide the predictable income normally associated with debt, while still capturing the higher return potential that is often linked to equity-like instruments.

Core investment strategy and institutional strength

A key investment philosophy of the LC Luminere Credit Fund is its focus on providing senior secured loans to businesses that are engaged in the “real economy.” The investments are backed by strong collateral, providing an additional protective surface for deployed funding resources. 

The fund’s mandate is broad yet targeted, encompassing various financial needs such as growth capital, acquisition financing, and sponsor-backed deals. The fund will pursue opportunities in refinancing and cross-border transactions, delivered a full package of credit solutions to its partner companies.

Lighthouse Canton has a wide origination network that supports its investment pipeline. Accessing more than 500 issuer relationships, the institution has a special capacity to develop proprietary deal flow and is linked to more than 1,000 families of promoters. 

Lighthouse Canton’s pan-Asia alternatives platform secures the infrastructure and know-how to implement sophisticated credit solutions in different credit markets, backed by this deep-rooted network. The fund has successfully launched its operations, with its initial portfolio of investments now safely housed, and has a compelling pipeline of material investments across various sectors such as industrials, conglomerates, and consumer stocks.

Lighthouse Canton is providing considerable institutional support for the launch of the LC Luminere Credit Fund. The firm is a global investment institution that provides a wide range of investment products and services through wealth management and asset management. It has more than 220 staff across strategic facilities around the world, such as Singapore, Dubai, London, and India. 

The firm’s international reach enables it to combine the best practices of other markets with insights gained from the Indian context, resulting in a multi-layered approach to private credit in India. Lighthouse Canton currently manages over $5 billion of assets under management (AUM) and has the size and expertise necessary to deal with large-scale Alternative Investment Funds. 

The establishment of this credit fund of ₹1,200 crore is a natural progression of the strategy adopted by the company to grow in the high-growth sectors, where capital structures can be used to unlock significant value. The fund will aid mid-sized and large companies through secured funding, contributing positively to the entire financial sector within the region.

Conclusion

The launch of the LC Luminere Credit Fund has been a landmark success for Lighthouse Canton and its further expansion into the Indian private credit market. The fund offers a comprehensive financial offering with an even blend of income and growth prospects since it will be investing in a corpus of ₹1,200 crore and focus on senior secured lending.

Lighthouse Canton has a deep network of relationships and a global team of credit experts to identify and realise high-quality credit opportunities. The structured credit funds will be an increasingly significant source of flexible funding for corporate growth and economic development as the Indian economy evolves.

HCLTech is in talks to invest approximately $150 million into Sarvam AI in the landmark funding round

HCLTech explores $150 million investment opportunity in Sarvam AI funding round

HCLTech is one of the leading IT services companies in India. HCLTech is said to have advanced talks to stake an investment of around $150 million in Sarvam AI. This investment comes from a $200 million to $250 million raise for the Bengaluru-based startup. With this infusion of capital, HCLTech is making a strong case for the change in the Indian IT landscape, shifting from a typical model of services to a strategic partnership with home-grown AI-native firms. The various initiatives put forth by HCLTech are expected to enable them to tap into Sarvam AI’s local talent pool to roll out large-scale, indigenous artificial intelligence solutions for their global clients.

Partnership and growing valuation

Sarvam AI has become a pillar of India’s sovereign AI goals, working to create foundational AI models from scratch in India. This new round of financing would increase the valuation of the startup to about $1.5 billion, making it worth seven times more than its valuation in less than two years’ time. 

Its rapid growth is an indication of investor confidence in its technical prowess and the ability of its technology to compete with the best artificial intelligence systems around the world. This company was founded in July 2023 by Vivek Raghavan and Pratyush Kumar, who were at one point part of the brain trust that made up the founders of AI4Bharat, headed by Nandan Nilekani. Within a very short period of time, it has established itself as a major player in creating full-fledged generative artificial intelligence solutions.

HCLTech would be leading the fundraising round while getting help from technology behemoth NVIDIA and venture capital firm Accel. This partnership with NVIDIA comes at a good time since this company uses NVIDIA’s powerful processors in training its models.

With the participation of Accel, the startup gets the necessary financial resources and market opportunities to expand operations beyond the shores of India. These partnerships offer Sarvam the essential “triple threat” of resources: specialized hardware, the cloud, and enterprise reach.

Significant momentum and infrastructure scaling

In recent times, Sarvam AI has made substantial strides with the release of its two large language models, a 30 billion parameter model and a 105 billion parameter model, at the India AI Impact Summit. These models are specifically engineered to achieve superior performance on benchmarks focused on the Indian languages. 

According to the startup’s co-founders, their models are not only more cost-effective but also perform better on the sub-genre level of the linguistic sub-continent. The emphasis on “Indic” languages represents one of the most distinctive features, accommodating a vast market that is typically difficult for global big-tech giants to effectively penetrate.

The Government’s AI India Mission, a government-led program with a budget of ₹10,000 crore to create India’s sovereign AI infrastructure, provides a further boost to the startup’s success. Sarvam AI has been one of the primary beneficiaries of this mission, as they have received nearly ₹99 crore in subsidies to obtain 4096 NVIDIA H100 GPUs from Yotta Data Services. 

This immense computing capability enables the company to close the gap between the development of domestic AI and international ones, allowing for the quick training of complex AI models. The funding highlights the significance of the work done by Sarvam to create an independent and self-sufficient AI ecosystem.

Conclusion

The $150 million worth of investment by HCLTech in Sarvam AI is not only a monetary investment but is a historic moment in India’s technological sphere. Upon completion, it will also become the largest private market funding round ever for an Indian AI company, propelling Sarvam to become a leading AI unicorn.

It represents a period in which Indian IT giants actively participate in molding the future by investing in deep-tech startups. This investment will give Sarvam AI the runway it needs to redefine India’s role in the global technology ecosystem and take the lead in the sovereign AI race, as it continues its commercialization efforts with enterprise and government customers.

Tasty Nibbles announced its strategic roadmap for pan-India presence through the health-focused tuna range

Tasty Nibbles announces pan-India expansion through its health-focused tuna product range

Tasty Nibbles is a HIC-ABF consumer brand. Tasty Nibbles has officially announced its strategic roadmap to move forward in pan-India expansion. The approach is centered around the newly introduced health-based convenience food industry, specifically focusing on the company’s tuna line under the canned foods category. The intention behind the growth strategy is to capitalize on the increase in demand for health-based ready-to-eat food products in the nation and position tuna as an important source of nutrition in the modern Indian diet.

Partnership with Milind Soman

To drive this nationwide expansion and build brand visibility, Tasty Nibbles has enlisted the rider of the herd of fitness icons, Milind Soman, as brand ambassador. The partnership was officially announced at a grand event featuring brands in New Delhi. 

Key leadership, such as Sunil P Krishnan, Vice-President Sales, and Manoj TP, Senior Manager, Key Accounts, along with industry players, distributors, and e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms’ representatives, participated in the event. The partnership is designed to bridge this gap between convenience and fitness, building on Soman’s influence to help educate the consumer on the health benefits of tuna.

Announcement and expansion strategy

As per the announcement, Cherian Kurian, Managing Director of Tasty Nibbles, stated that the future of the food business lies at the intersection of three things: health, trust, and convenience. He added that tuna is a common protein food consumed across almost the world, but India’s per capita consumption is relatively low despite a huge population of about 1.4 billion people. This difference is a huge opportunity for the brand to bring out a clean and high-quality lean protein offering to millions of Indian homes who are in the nascent phase of tuna adoption.

Through this expansion strategy, the aim is to have Indian consumers be health-conscious without compromising their lifestyle demands. This was reemphasized by Milind Soman, who confidently remarked that good health begins with choosing what you eat every day.

Milind Soman singled Tasty Nibbles out for praise, for making tuna, one of the easiest and most powerful ways to get lean protein, easy and convenient for the average person. The company is aiming to allow the brand to reinforce its national footprint and increase the visibility of the tuna’s nutritional quality.

Conclusion

The brand is about to make a visually appealing transformation from being a regional brand to becoming a pan-India brand. With a health-centric product range and brand endorsement from Milind Soman, the organization will find itself at the forefront of the tuna segment in India. With the expansion of the brand into different platforms, the focus of the brand will remain on creating a trustworthy image that makes high-quality protein easily accessible in Indian meals.

Evenflow Brands achieved a financial milestone with positive EBITDA in FY26

Evenflow Brands achieves positive EBITDA milestone during FY26 financial performance update

Evenflow Brands is a leading house of brands startup. Eventflow Brands has officially announced a major improvement in its financial health for the fiscal year 2026. As stated by the investor update from Entrackr, the startup was successful in reaching a position where its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) were positive in the entire fiscal year. This is a remarkable achievement by the company, considering how tough the competition is within the field of e-commerce roll-ups.

Transition to profitability and revenue insights

For the fiscal year 2026, the net sales of Evenflow Brands were ₹53.06 crore. The company is keen on bottom-line growth and reported a positive EBITDA of ₹41.19 lakh for the year, with a margin of 0.8%. 

Along with net sales, the GMV of the company was recorded as ₹81.5 crore in FY26. From a financial point of view, there is a constant improvement in profits, with a strong record in the last quarter of the year.

EBITDA margin improved significantly throughout the year. Specifically, the margin is increased to 4.5% in Q4 of FY26 as compared to 1.6% in the previous quarter of FY26. The EBITDA for Q4 was ₹73.65 lakh.

According to co-founder Utsav Agarwal, the success of Evenflow Brands in the last quarter played a huge role in closing the year on a positive note. The company highlighted its distinctiveness from other market players as the only business operating in its niche with current zero debt.

The transition to profitability was not accidental but the result of targeted strategic initiatives. Evenflow explained that the positive financial impact can be credited to multiple areas, such as sourcing, marketing spending reduction, and operational efficiency. 

According to the data, the cost of goods sold (COGS) also dropped in the fourth quarter from 50.2% of net sales in Q3 to 47.9% in Q4. This cost saving on the core was balanced by a disciplined investment in advertising and promotion. Marketing expenses also experienced a significant decline, falling from a high mark of 25.4% in Q1FY26 to 20.6% in Q4FY26. 

These presented tangible opportunities for the company to improve its contribution margin, after pulling supply chain costs, which jumped from 7.7% in Q1 to 16% by Q4. Despite these fluctuating factors, the company’s internal operations remained robust; employee costs are at about 8% of net sales and were consistent across the entire fiscal year.

Brand portfolio and primary objective

Evenflow Brands was founded by Uber ex-team members Utsav Agarwal and Shashank Ranjan and has a business model of acquisition and growth of digital-first consumer brands. The business strategy is to expand through marketplaces and fast commerce platforms. 

Evenflow carries a range of products in various lifestyle categories such as fitness, home, kitchen, gardening, and baby care. It has clients like Xtrim, Yogarise, Rusabl, Babypro, Trendy Homes, Cinagro, and Frenchware.

To date, it has raised a total capital of nearly ₹45 crore in various funding rounds. These include top companies and investors like Village Global, Venture Catalysts, 100Unicorns, and Equanimity Ventures. 

The company has attracted backing from prominent Angel investors such as Kunal Shah and Vijay Shekhar Sharma. In the broader market, Evenflow rivals other e-commerce house of brands and roll-up businesses, including Mensa Brands (now known as BRND.Me), GlobalBees, and GOAT Brand Labs.

The initial success has paved the way for Evenflow Brands to focus on a more aggressive expansion phase. The leadership team has already signaled that it is prepared to “press the growth lever” and significantly scale the business in the near term. 

The primary objective is to reduce the size to make the business double in size within the next 6-8 months and keep the EBIT above 2.5%. The double emphasis on short-term growth and long-term profitability indicates a shift from a phase of stabilization to a phase of high growth.

Conclusion

By declaring a profit in FY26, Evenflow Brands proves itself as a disciplined and robust participant in the world of startups. It has optimized its supply chain, reduced marketing costs, and maintained consistent operational costs. Evenflow is seeking to demonstrate that the house of brands approach is both high growth and profitable, which is quite ambitious for the rest of the 2027 financial year.

The EleFant secured $1 million in a pre-Series funding round led by Growth Sense Venture Fund

The EleFant secures $1 million in pre-Series funding led by Growth Sense Venture Fund

The EleFant raised $1 million in its pre-Series funding round. The capital injection is a major milestone on the path for the company to scale up and further develop its innovative circular play model. Growth Sense Venture Fund led this investment round. This round also attracted an active panel of investors, including JIIF, Arian Capital, various prominent investors like Asit Oberoi, Vimal Saboo, and other angel investors who have trusted the startup’s vision.

Vision and technological growth

The successful closing of this round of $1 million investment marked the outlining of clear objectives for the upcoming use of these investments through The EleFant. One of the core focuses of the business will be the integration of its technical infrastructure within the business. Through the use of the funding, the company plans to scale up its physical presence within the larger market to reach more families with its product.

Sourabh Jain and Srishti Jain founded The Elefant with the aim of offering a low-cost and environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional toy ownership. The business model involves a toy subscription and circular play platform targeted at children ages 0-12. 

This model provides an answer to a parent’s problem, namely, how fast children grow out of games, and then these become a mess and a waste. The EleFant also provides a subscription service where a collection of educational and recreational materials rotates to provide children with new stimuli without the commitment of a purchase. 

Operational scale and leadership

With over 1,000 distinct toys and books from more than 90 quality brands, the EleFant has earned its reputation. This broad spectrum allows for children of all age groups to access high-quality products that support their developmental needs. Its accessibility is one of the factors that contribute to its popularity, with monthly subscription plans beginning at a competitive cost of ₹599. 

The company utilizes a ‘Franchise-Invested, Company-Operated’ (FICO) model to maintain its extensive logistics and inventory. This hybrid methodology has enabled the startup to achieve high growth with control in operations. The company currently has more than 125 franchise locations and has grown to 18 cities nationally.

The leadership at The EleFant has set its ambitious goals for this coming year. With this new pre-Series funding, the startup has stated that they will substantially influence the market with a 50K subscriber count within the next 12 months. 

The plans in the areas of geographical expansion from 18 cities to more than 20 cities in the same period support this growth trajectory. This expansion extends the company’s presence to urban and semi-urban areas, with a vision of establishing sustainable play and the rental of toys as a culturally acceptable norm for Indian families.

Conclusion

The EleFant’s pre-Series funding raised $1 million, highlighting a rising trend in sustainable, subscription-based business models amongst Indian consumers. These impressive offerings represent a diverse range of products from international and domestic brands, paired with an affordable monthly payment, creating a valuable asset for today’s parents. The company is continuing to upgrade its technological capabilities and franchise network. It is positioned to reshape the understanding of early childhood play and learning within the family unit.

Groww investors sell 4.7% stake worth ₹5,352 crore, following IPO lock-in expiry

Groww Investors Sell 4.7% Stake ₹5,352 Crore After Lock-In Expiry

Several prominent Groww investors have sold large shares on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The sale comprised around 29.52 crore shares, corresponding to 4.7% of the total shares. The transaction was valued at an average of ₹180.4 on a per-share basis, resulting in the overall value of the transaction being more than ₹5,352 crore. The massive divestment came directly after the end of the six-month locking exercise imposed on its pre-IPO investors was made official.

Institutional participation and “block deal” structure

Several heavyweight institutional investors participated in the bulk deal, which has played a very crucial role in the early stages of the development of Groww. Some of the prominent sellers include Peak XV Partners, YC Holdings (Y Combinator), and Ribbit Capital. Ribbit Capital was mentioned as one of the key sellers during this session. 

Significantly, Peak XV Partners’ stake in the fintech leader remained large despite its recent exit, suggesting that the partnership has still not lost faith in the fintech giant’s future. The trade took place on the NSE screen-based trading platform as a secondary sale. 

According to market data, the transaction was carried out at a discount of more than 8% from the previous day’s closing price, at a floor price of around ₹177 per share. The relatively new “block deal” mechanism actually enabled those massive institutional players to transact a large amount of equity without adding any more extreme volatility to the open market – though the stock did undergo a significant downward rebalancing during the session itself.

Expansion and revenue growth

Groww has effectively turned the conventional broker model on its head with the launch of a technology-driven, digital interface for stock, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), futures, options (F&O), and IPO trading. This transformation has helped Groww become a behemoth in India’s youth-driven, tech-literate retail audience.

Groww has established itself as India’s largest stock brokerage firm by the number of active clients as of April 2026. According to NSE data, as of now, the platform has around 1.3 crore active users and holds the dominant market share of 28.48%. 

This positions Groww ahead of platforms like Zerodha, Angel One, and Upstox, all of which have extensive experience in the industry. One of the factors that has contributed to the company’s high valuation and the interest of global private equity firms is its capacity to keep users engaged and continuously increase its product lines.

The stake sale follows outstanding financial performance from Groww in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company, as per the shareholder letter dated July 26, recorded total revenue of ₹1,535.5 crore in the March quarter. 

This marks an astonishing increase of 80% over the ₹849.5 crore standalone figure of the previous year. The company’s digital-first strategy has shown operational efficiency as it reported PAT of ₹686 crore in the Q4 FY26.

Conclusion

The bulk deal valued at ₹5,352 crore is a major step in Groww’s transition to become a public company, injecting liquidity into the early investors who believed in the company’s offerings for nearly 10 years. The company stands as the leader in the field, which gives it a stable future. This lock-in period is coming to a close for over 400 crore shares, and the market should expect further adjustments in the balance of ownership.

Groww has an estimated 28% market share and has made decent profits every quarter, standing out as one of the key companies in India’s burgeoning financial technology sector, with its promise to make domestic savings more “financial”.

Instafix secured ₹7.55 crore in a pre-seed funding round co-led by Titan Capital and 8i Ventures

Instafix secures ₹7.55 crore in pre-seed funding from Titan Capital and 8i Ventures

Instafix has raised ₹7.55 crore in its pre-seed round of funding. The investment was led by leading venture capital firms Titan Capital and 8i Ventures. There were also several prominent angel investors, such as Anish Srivastava and Bharat Kalia, participating in the round. The investment is a major inflection point as the Gurugram-based startup aims to move into the highly fragmented electronics repair sector in India.

Instafix can continue to expand its operations and service offering model with the support of experienced investors such as Titan Capital, a firm with investments such as Mamaearth and Urban Company.

Mission and technological development

The startup plans to utilise the newly obtained capital with a clear intent, which includes scaling its present operations in Gurugram. In addition to geographical expansion, a large portion of the capital will be focused on improving the services offered. The company concentrated on repairs to the iPhone, but it intends to also offer repair services to premium Android models. 

Instafix plans to make a significant development spend on tech infrastructure. It’s essential to preserve its key value proposition: “under 30 minutes” on-site repairs. Development of this strong technological base is important in simplifying the booking, efficient handling of the technician logistics, and providing a seamless experience for end consumers.

Aniket Kale and Chetan Chauhan founded Instafix in 2025, with the vision to make quality repair an automatic choice for every household in the country. The founders recognized a huge need in the consumer electronics industry, valued at nearly $73 billion annually and expanding by 20% each year. 

The existing repair landscape of consumers often finds themselves between a rock and a hard place, either going to the local unaccredited repair shop or to the official manufacturer repair shop, where they face hefty repair bills. Instafix aims to overcome these limitations by providing the necessary security, convenience, and affordability of high-quality certified repair. 

Customer-centric service model

Instafix is distinguished by its customer-centric approach to its service delivery model, offering speed, transparency, and reliability. The customer can schedule their repair through the Instafix platform, after which an accredited technician arrives at the customer’s premises to undertake the repair process. This entire repair process takes an average of 30 minutes and is performed in the customer’s direct presence, for complete transparency and data security. 

Instafix also provides a money-back guarantee for repairs that can last up to one year to increase trust. It offers 50% or less commission than traditional OEM service centers. The quick uptake reflects high consumer demand for durable and efficient repair options. With its expanding reach and entry into new electronics categories, the company is capitalising on an enormous opportunity in the Indian retail space.

Conclusion

Instafix’s healthy finances, well-planned development goals, and impressive growth suggest that the startup will eventually become a national electronics maintenance network. The aim to provide high-quality repair services to all should ensure that the startup plays a significant role in preventing electronic waste and provides an efficient alternative to current unsustainable buying habits.