Founded in 2019 and backed by investors such as Peak XV’s Surge (formerly Sequoia Capital India), Whiteboard Capital, and Kunal Shah, BiteSpeed empowers e-commerce businesses to personalize marketing and customer support across channels including WhatsApp, email, SMS, Instagram, voice, and web chat—all through a single AI-powered platform.

Its AI-driven tools enable brands to recover abandoned carts, deliver personalized order updates, re-engage inactive shoppers, and offer real-time support from a unified dashboard. By merging marketing automation with conversational AI, BiteSpeed helps Shopify-first merchants increase conversions and customer lifetime value while simplifying operations.

The company says it now serves over 5,000 brands across 50+ countries, with customers including Dot & Key, Bombay Shaving Company, Mokobara, Minimalist, mCaffeine, and Zouk. BiteSpeed also highlights strong adoption in India, along with growing traction in international markets such as the UK, the Middle East, South Africa, and Australia.

“Crossing $5 million in ARR shows the trust our customers place in us and the impact BiteSpeed delivers,” said Vinayak Aggarwal, Founder & CEO of BiteSpeed. “As e-commerce brands grow, they need AI tools that turn every interaction into revenue—and that’s exactly what we’re building.”

BiteSpeed also said that it is rolling out a slate of new features, including AI voice agents and AI-native email marketing, to help brands drive more revenue from its platform. To support this expansion, the Bengaluru-based startup plans to scale its team size to over 100 employees by the end of the year.

“After carefully building the company focused on fundamentals for the last 5 years, we are now at an inflection point in our journey,” said Vinayak. “With growth being the key focus in this next phase, we’re looking for the right talent to help us shape the future of AI-native e-commerce.”

The funding round values the company at $120 million (₹1,050 crore) and comes just eight months after its $8 million seed round, which saw backing from industry leaders including Binny Bansal, Mukesh Bansal, Lalit Keshre, Ankit Nagori, and Kunal Shah, among others.

Launched in June, FirstClub currently offers packaged foods, bakery, dairy, and nutrition products; has set up four dark stores in Bengaluru; has added 4,000+ SKUs; and has scaled to a 180-member team.

With the latest capital infusion, the startup aims to expand to 35 stores across all Bengaluru pincodes within six months while diversifying into home essentials, kids’ food, pet care, and gifting. It is also testing new models such as subscription deliveries and in-store cafés at dark stores serving food prepared with FirstClub’s own ingredients.

By focusing on premium groceries instead of discounts and 10-minute delivery hype, FirstClub is achieving stronger unit economics.

“We are operating with 2x average order values versus any other platform in this category. Our repeat rates are over 60 percent… and we are also operating with the highest gross margin in the industry,” Ayyappan said.

The same discipline is evident in its dark store model—rather than building dense, high-rent networks to chase faster deliveries, FirstClub keeps a leaner footprint with each store covering several pincodes.

“Instead of having three different stores in three different pincodes, we are operating with one store that services all three, which brings down capex,” Ayyappan said. By offering 30-minute deliveries, the firm is also able to locate stores in lower-rent zones.

The company is planning to fast-track expansion in Bengaluru with slotted deliveries and a subscription offering. “We realized that we can roll out our slotted delivery and subscription models much faster than quick commerce. So that is what we are currently focused on,” he added.

FirstClub’s premium focus hasn’t limited its reach; a notable share of orders originates from budget communities and paying guest facilities, underscoring cross-segment appetite for clean-label groceries, according to Ayyappan.

“FirstClub has demonstrated rare early product-market fit within just three months of launch, building a full-stack platform with category ownership, operational discipline, and strong consumer love,” said Barath Shankar Subramanian, Partner at Accel.

Nishit Garg, Partner at RTP Global, added, “In a world of overwhelming product choices and confusing ingredient labels, FirstClub is closing the trust gap for Indian consumers.”

Ayyappan also said the company has explored acquisition opportunities in adjacent categories but plans to stay focused on organic growth in the near term.

“There are quite a few D2C brands in the categories we are looking to get into that are available from an M&A perspective, and we have had on-and-off conversations. But for the next three months, we do not want to dilute our focus. But that is something we will definitely explore at some point in time,” he said.

As India’s $6 billion quick commerce market races toward a $40 billion future, FirstClub is betting on quality to stand apart. The next six months in Bengaluru, including the festive season, will be a decisive test of its leadership potential.

The startup plans to channel the fresh funds into strengthening both its product capabilities and go-to-market operations. Speaking on expansion, co-founder and CEO Div Makkar said the company will focus on hiring more talent across its US and India teams.

Currently, WizCommerce operates teams out of Bengaluru and Gurugram in India and has about 10–15 employees based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. However, the company’s sales remain centered entirely in the United States, which accounts for 95% of its revenue, with no immediate plans to launch operations in India.

“We’re are not really targeting India as a geography for sales,” Makkar added.

The company also intends to leverage a portion of the funds to strengthen its artificial intelligence offerings. According to Makkar, “The plan is to launch AI employees by Q1 next year for these wholesalers and sort of improve the current services as well.”

The funding comes amid an industry landscape pressured by tariffs, freight costs, and operational inefficiencies, all of which are compressing margins. WizCommerce aims to help distributors unlock profitability by placing AI at the center of workflows, turning complex processes into faster, intelligent operations.

At present, WizCommerce’s solutions are used by 700 sales representatives and more than 300,000 buyers across sectors like home décor, furniture, lighting, gifts, and general merchandise. Its client base includes Avandium Trading, Turkana Foods, and Arteriors Homes, among others.

“Distribution is still largely run on legacy systems. WizCommerce is addressing that gap with an AI-first product built for the industry’s day-to-day needs. Their early traction shows they’re well-placed to lead the shift,” said Rishen Kapoor, VP at Peak XV Partners.

The funds will be used to expand its product categories, enhance its technology infrastructure, build leadership teams, and strengthen distribution and marketing efforts as the company aims to accelerate its growth in the fashion industry.

ANNY follows a vertically integrated, inventory-light model with a focus on trend-driven fashion in the accessible luxury segment. Since its launch, the company claims to have achieved 8x growth.

“Our vertically integrated model, coupled with real-time trend responsiveness, allows us to minimize inventory risk and maximize consumer joy. With Atomic Capital’s backing, we are not just scaling faster, we are scaling smarter. This investment fuels our ambition to become a Rs 100 crore ARR brand by next year and drive a true movement in India’s fashion-tech landscape,” said Japjot Singh, founder and CEO of the company.

The company intends to focus on product innovation, technology development, and enhancing customer experience, while also strengthening brand visibility and driving community engagement initiatives.

The announcement came from cocreatd, a UK-based venture studio that incubated System7 as its first startup. Furthermore, according to cocreatd, this acquisition not only validates its startup support model but also highlights the potential of AI in driving rapid value creation.

Nicolas Baxter, co-founder of System7, commented, “Co-created gave us an incredible platform to start—funding, expertise, and a phenomenal community. I don’t think there’s a better time to build a startup. I’m thrilled about joining and leading Vault’s AI incubator and know we can build some amazing new tech companies together.”

Founded in 2025, the AI automation platform focuses on building next-generation companies powered by AI, enabling teams to leverage cutting-edge technology for smarter business operations. The platform specializes in workflow solutions for marketing and sales teams, simplifying complex processes through seamless automation.

System7 addresses a significant market gap: while companies seek AI-driven solutions, many face challenges in implementation. To solve this, the AI automation company has developed practical workflows, automation tools, and curated collections that deliver real-world results.

Meanwhile, Vault PLC commits to turning ideas into next-generation businesses by identifying opportunities where technological innovation meets market demand. Its focus spans blockchain, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality. Operating through Vault Ventures, the company follows a regulated approach and maintains a digital asset treasury function.

Vault’s AI incubator model further strengthens its mission to accelerate companies that combine advanced technology with growing market needs, paving the way for disruptive innovations.

Brian Stocksbridge, Chairman of Vault PLC, added: “We’re at an inflection point where AI and blockchain are converging. System7’s practical approach to AI, plus Nicolas joining our board, positions us perfectly for this intersection. We’re excited to support their growth as part of our mission to develop big ideas into next-generation companies.“

cocreatd co-founds day-zero startups by offering comprehensive support, funding, and community access. Since its launch in October 2024, as reported by EU-Startups, the venture studio has already co-founded eight companies and invested over €1.1 million in them. Moreover, its approach has been highly effective, taking the first incubation from concept to exit in under eight months.

Operating across creative services, AI-driven tech solutions, and next-generation media platforms, cocreatd strongly believes that “great ideas shouldn’t be built alone—they should be co-created (or cocreatd).”

Oliver Yonchev, co-founder of cocreatd, said, “We co-found day zero startups with brilliant people—they dream it, we help make it happen. Nicolas had a clear vision and the talent to execute it. This acquisition shows what happens when you give exceptional founders the right support. I couldn’t be more excited for Nicolas and to start the next chapter with Vault. Their mission and ambition align with ours, so it’s a perfect partner.“

Backed by global accelerator Y Combinator, Decentro plans to use the funds to drive enterprise adoption, expand its product suite, and strengthen its engagement with financial institutions. The company simplifies the process for banks, fintechs, and NBFCs to build financial services through its API-first infrastructure.

Founded by Rohit Taneja and Pratik Daudkhane, Decentro offers API-based solutions that automate workflows for customer and business verification, online payments, and AI-driven debt recovery. These tools help businesses eliminate manual processes, enhance compliance, and improve efficiency.

Decentro currently facilitates over ₹50,000 crore in annual payments for more than 1,300 clients—including digital lenders, banks, NBFCs, and financial service firms. It has become a go-to platform for fintechs looking to scale quickly without building financial infrastructure from the ground up.

In a significant strategic shift, Decentro now plans to relocate its parent company’s domicile from Singapore to India within the next 12 to 18 months. This move not only underscores its growing commitment to the Indian market but also aligns with its broader objective of navigating local regulations more effectively and addressing customer needs more closely.

The company has also introduced two key applications for financial institutions:

• Scanner: A real-time risk assessment engine that enables lenders to evaluate customer risk swiftly.
• Neobot: An AI-powered voice agent that facilitates debt collection through automated conversations in regional languages.

According to startup data platform TheKredible, Decentro’s revenue jumped 47% in the last fiscal year—from ₹12 crore in FY23 to ₹17.7 crore in FY24. However, it reported a loss of ₹2.46 crore in FY24, likely due to increased spending on product development and market expansion.

Despite the short-term loss, Decentro’s revenue growth, product innovation, and upcoming move to India signal its strengthened role in shaping the country’s digital financial infrastructure. With new capital and strategic realignment, the company is poised for broader impact in the fintech ecosystem.

According to sources, SoftBank has urged Oyo to wait until it demonstrates stronger financial performance before proceeding with an IPO. The broader market conditions, impacted by global uncertainty and a decline in investor risk appetite—partly attributed to tariff policies under U.S. President Donald Trump—have further contributed to the delay.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund, the largest shareholder in Oyo, holds a stake that surpasses even that of founder Ritesh Agarwal, who owns over 30% of the company. According to the report, Agarwal was pushing for a swift IPO to help fulfill terms tied to a restructured $2.2 billion loan he obtained in 2019 to increase his ownership stake in Oyo.

The loan, which was personally guaranteed by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, had its first repayment due in December. Lenders had suggested they might extend the repayment deadline if Oyo successfully listed within this year.

However, the report noted that SoftBank may support Ritesh Agarwal in securing an extension on the loan in return for postponing the IPO plans.

Oyo’s decision to delay its third attempt at going public highlights the ongoing challenges the company faces amid market volatility and pushback from its largest investor, SoftBank. While founder Ritesh Agarwal had hoped for a quick IPO to meet obligations tied to a significant loan, the current economic conditions and investor caution have led to a reassessment. The outcome of this delay will depend on how Oyo navigates its financial performance and SoftBank’s influence, with the potential to reshape the company’s future growth trajectory.

Rohan Nayak stated that the Lightspeed India-backed company currently has an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of approximately ₹2,000 crore.

“The growth levers have primarily been expanding the content catalog. Since audio series is a new category, it’s not like you have a large catalog to start with. You have to figure out on your own how to get high-quality content in different sub-genres,” Nayak said.

Originally focused on romance and drama, the Bengaluru-based Pocket FM has significantly broadened its content library to include genres like fantasy, science fiction, and thriller. After establishing itself in India and expanding into the US, the platform has now entered the European market, particularly in Germany and the UK, where it has already crossed ₹100 crore in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

Looking ahead, the company aims to introduce more language options and strengthen its presence in Europe, while also planning to expand into various Latin American countries.

Pocket FM, now rebranded as Pocket Entertainment, has witnessed over 100 billion minutes of streaming, with 5 million microtransactions taking place each month. Currently, 85% of its revenue is driven by user payments through microtransactions, while the remaining 15% comes from advertisements.

The platform competes with major players like Spotify, as well as emerging content platforms such as Kuku FM, backed by Krafton, and Pratilipi, which recently secured a $20 million funding round led by Jungle Ventures.

With the launch of Pocket Novels and Pocket Toons, Pocket Entertainment expects these new verticals to significantly contribute to its growth in the current fiscal year.

According to Rohan Nayak, Pocket Entertainment’s U.S. operations are already profitable, and its India business is expected to reach breakeven by next month.

“At a Pocket group level, of course, we are not profitable because Europe is a new market and we’re also investing in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. But the bottom line is that we’re not burning that much,” he said, without giving loss figures. The company had posted a loss of Rs 165 crore in FY24.

Pocket FM has invested significantly in AI technology, generating more than 50,000 AI-produced shows over the past year as part of its content expansion efforts.

“AI is helping us not just unlock high-quality content, but also driving down costs at the same time,” said Nayak. “In fact, our content costs have already gone down by 2-3x because of AI. The AI shows have already generated over Rs 50 crore in revenue and are growing at a monthly rate of 30-40%.”

It is reportedly in talks to raise fresh capital. “We’re always in conversations with investors, and there’s a lot of significant interest in Pocket, at the moment. But it depends. It’s not like we’re actively raising at the moment, but we’re in conversations,” he said.

Founded in 2018, Pocket FM has raised approximately $196 million to date from prominent investors such as Lightspeed, Tencent, and Goodwater Capital.

Despite its growth, the company underwent multiple rounds of layoffs last year, with the most recent occurring in January, when about 75 employees were let go as part of a cost-reduction strategy.

“Pocket, as a business, does employ a lot of contractors for shows—for writing content. And whenever our show strategy changes—for instance, if you’re shutting down some shows or decide to change your content pipeline—you tend to terminate contracts, which gets perceived as layoffs,” Nayak said.

As stated in a press release, this capital markets services licence will enable Aspire to expand its offerings to include investment solutions designed to help businesses in Singapore optimize their capital.

Aspire has announced the upcoming launch of Aspire Yield, an investment solution integrated into the Aspire Business Account. This solution aims to provide businesses with a unified platform to access investment opportunities and manage their finances.

Aspire Yield offers flexible investment options with no minimum investment requirement, no lock-up period, and next-business-day liquidity.

Through this initiative, Aspire aims to help small businesses overcome the challenge of being excluded from “competitive” investment opportunities, typically reserved for large corporations with strong banking relationships.

“Without access to investment options, these businesses struggle to optimize their funds while ensuring liquidity, limiting their ability to grow sustainably,” Aspire said in a press release.

Aspire Yield will close this gap by allowing startups and small businesses to earn competitive returns on idle capital while ensuring that funds remain easily accessible for operational requirements.

Aspire Yield aims to empower small businesses and startups by allowing them to earn competitive returns on their idle capital while maintaining liquidity for operational needs. This solution seeks to level the playing field, giving businesses typically excluded from such opportunities a chance to optimize their capital effectively.

Aspire’s new offering reflects its commitment to supporting small businesses and startups. It helps them access financial solutions that were once reserved for larger corporations, thus driving growth and financial empowerment within the sector.

Innov8 completed a ₹110 crore primary funding round, diluting 10% of its equity to raise the amount. Investors oversubscribed the round by 2.7 times, raising the funds at a valuation of ₹1,000 crore.

Prominent family offices, including those of Mankind Pharma, Gauri Khan, Rupa Group, and Jagruti Dalmia, led the round. These investors contributed 55% of the total funds raised.

Innov8 has revealed its plan to double the number of its coworking centres in India to 100 by 2025.

The company will use the raised funds to support strategic growth opportunities, including acquisitions, technology enhancements, partnerships, and expansion into specialized market segments.

“The funds raised will empower Innov8 to accelerate our expansion plans, building on the strong growth and operating leverage we are already achieving. It also underscores the trust and confidence our investors have in our vision, business model, and growth trajectory,” Rakesh Kumar, Group Chief Financial Officer of OYO, said.

Innov8 recently opened two new centres in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Andheri. Each centre covers over 1 lakh square feet and offers a total seating capacity of 3,000, making them Innov8’s largest facilities.

This expansion is part of Innov8’s ongoing effort to grow its presence in key Tier 1 cities, including Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad.

Furthermore, Innov8 plans to add 4 million square feet of managed office space across India over the next three years.

“Over the past few years, we have prioritized long-term, sustainable growth. This capital infusion will not only strengthen our financial stability but also lay a robust foundation for future expansion,” Pankhuri Sakhuja, Business Head of Innov8, said.

Founded in 2015, Innov8 has experienced over 90% occupancy in its centres, fueled by the growing demand for flexible office spaces.

The company reported a Profit After Tax (PAT) of ₹62 crore for 2023-24, including one-time exceptional items, a significant increase from ₹2.5 crore in the previous year.

Innov8, founded by Ritesh Malik, now operates in ten cities with over 30 centres.