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Artificial intelligence poses numerous challenges for employees but can improve governance in governments, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.
Featured stories
Vembu’s AI warning: one worker could do the work of ten
Artificial intelligence (AI) could allow one skilled employee to do work that previously required 10, reshaping employment even as it creates new opportunities. That is the warning from Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu. “What it does mean is a rebalancing across the economy and that is painful when we go through it. The only thing we can do is to accept that it is coming and be prepared for it,” he wrote on X.
Maharashtra launches MahaINDUS AI to speed up government work
Maharashtra is giving its government offices an AI upgrade. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched MahaINDUS, an AI platform designed for government offices, on October 28, 2026. The government said the initiative aims to improve transparency, accountability and administrative efficiency. By combining AI with integrated databases, departments are expected to find eligible beneficiaries, verify claims and assess welfare schemes more effectively.
Beyond AI infrastructure, India’s tech boom rests on the efficient use of power and water
At TechSparks 2026, founders of SolarSquare and Boson Whitewater unpack why overcoming perception, pricing gaps, and consumer trust matters far more in climatetech than just building the technology.
Funding news
Venttup raises $3M co-led by Rainmatter and Unicorn India Ventures
Industries 5.0 startup Venttup has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A funding round co-led by Rainmatter, backed by Zerodha, and Unicorn India Ventures. The company will use the funds to expand its engineering team, establish precision manufacturing capabilities and invest in rapid prototyping and AI-led sourcing.
Venttup is setting up a manufacturing facility in Bengaluru to support precision machining, turning and sheet metal production for energy transition, defence, aerospace and space applications. The company reported fivefold growth to ₹10 crore in FY2025-26 and has added over 15 blue-chip customers in the past year. Its business opportunity pipeline stands at approximately ₹30 crore.
Jagruti Rehabilitation Centre raises Rs 28 crore in Series A
Jagruti Rehabilitation Centre has raised Rs 28 crore in its first institutional funding round, led by Alkemi Growth Capital. The investment will support geographical expansion, increased clinical capacity, specialised care programmes and stronger insurance and corporate partnerships.
Founded in Pune in 2008, Jagruti provides mental healthcare, addiction treatment, rehabilitation and elder care services. The organisation currently operates more than 19 centres across nine cities, with over 1,600 beds and 40 doctors. It has supported more than 82,000 individuals. Jagruti plans to expand to over 40 centres and 4,000 beds across Tier I and Tier II cities over the next three to four years.
Coratia Technologies raises Rs 18 crore for underwater robotics
Underwater robotics startup Coratia Technologies has raised Rs 18 crore in a bridge funding round led by MGF Kavachh. The capital will support execution of its Rs 66 crore Indian Navy contract under the iDEX initiative, research and development, product development and manufacturing expansion.
Founded by Debendra Pradhan and Biswajit Swain, Coratia develops indigenous underwater robotic systems for defence, infrastructure and industrial applications. Its flagship Jalasimha underwater remotely operated vehicle has achieved Technology Readiness Level 9. The company's technologies can also support inspections of dams, bridges, ports, pipelines and offshore assets. Coratia had raised Rs 17 crore from MGF Kavachh, Piper and SIDBI in a pre-Series A round in 2025.
Carbelim secures Rs 10 crore from IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund
Kerala-based deep-tech startup Carbelim has secured Rs 10 crore from the IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund, becoming the first startup from the state to receive investment from the fund. Founded by Karthika Gopi and Rahul Babu, the company develops microalgae-based carbon capture and air-purification systems that absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen. Carbelim has filed 13 patents, including seven in the US and six in India.
Image source: Pixabay
The funding is expected to help the company create more than 50 jobs and pursue its target of achieving Rs 100 crore in turnover through international markets. The Rs 1,000 crore fund is backed by IIT Madras, IIT Madras Research Park and Unicorn India Ventures.
Docterz raises Rs 5 crore, with doctors contributing 60% of funding
Healthcare technology company Docterz has raised Rs 5 crore from approximately 35 investors, including doctors who use its platform. Nearly 60% of the funding came from around 20 doctors, alongside investors such as SUGAR Cosmetics co-founder Vineeta Singh and former CaratLane CEO Avnish Anand. Founded by practising paediatrician Atish Laddad, Docterz provides digital medical records, appointment management, billing and patient engagement tools.
Its platform supports more than 5,000 doctors across India, with a strong presence in paediatrics. The company will use the capital to expand its reach, explore acquisitions and develop practical AI-enabled tools for medical practitioners, while maintaining a focus on patient data security and clinical independence.
ISLAND Beauty raises Rs 2.58 crore from AJ VC
Skincare brand ISLAND Beauty has raised Rs 2.58 crore from AJ VC to support product development, brand awareness and customer acquisition. Co-founded by Shirley Setia, Korean skincare expert Jinsoon Lee, Mayank Jain and Sakshi Jain, the company combines Korean skincare ingredients with formulations developed in India for local weather conditions and consumer needs. Its proprietary Core Barrier Matrix approach focuses on both skin-barrier repair and defence, encouraging simpler and more consistent skincare routines.
The brand's current portfolio includes cleansers, toners, serums, moisturisers and lip-care products. Over the next three years, ISLAND Beauty plans to expand its product range and strengthen its market presence, positioning itself around barrier-focused skincare for Indian consumers.
Viridian Ingni Propulsion raises Rs 1.47 crore in pre-seed round
Chennai-based propulsion technology startup Viridian Ingni Propulsion has raised ₹1.47 crore in a pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The company has also secured ₹53.75 lakh in grants from government programmes and other institutions. Founded in February 2024 by Sriram G, the startup develops electric propulsion systems integrating motors, controllers and firmware. The funding will help it move from validated prototypes to pilot production, establish manufacturing infrastructure and complete certification requirements.
Other news
Dialog Axiata, IITM Pravartak partner on technology research
Sri Lankan connectivity provider Dialog Axiata has partnered with IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation to advance applied research and technology development in Sri Lanka. The memorandum of understanding, signed in Colombo, will connect research networks with Sri Lankan universities, government bodies and industry stakeholders.
The collaboration will explore innovation and incubation, applied research, artificial intelligence, skills development and international knowledge sharing. Initial areas under consideration include Sinhala and Tamil conversational AI, technology-enabled dengue prevention and solutions to human-elephant conflict. The partnership will begin with selected pilot projects before considering wider deployment. The initiative aims to strengthen Sri Lanka's research capabilities and translate academic work into practical solutions addressing national and societal challenges.
Zoho upgrades Analytics with agentic AI capabilities
Chennai-based technology company Zoho has upgraded Zoho Analytics with an intelligence layer designed to connect business data, contextual understanding and automated actions. The platform introduces semantic and ontology layers to help AI agents interpret organisational structures, business terminology and key metrics. Its conversational business intelligence assistant, Ask Zia, uses six specialised sub-agents to handle data analysis, modelling, visualisation, preparation, coding and SQL generation. The platform also supports automated workflows, more than 500 existing data connectors and 30 additional connectors.
New governance features allow administrators to monitor agent activity, data access and costs. Zoho Analytics also introduces enhanced visualisations, forecasting tools and data science capabilities, enabling businesses to move from reporting towards AI-assisted operational execution.
Urban households expected to spend Rs 1.97 lakh crore this festive season: Local Circles
Urban Indian households are projected to spend approximately ₹1.97 lakh crore on festive purchases in 2026, according to a LocalCircles study. The estimate is around ₹12,000 crore higher than in 2024, despite moderating from the previous year's GST-related high. About 57% of urban households plan festive purchases, spending an average of nearly ₹20,000 each. Clothing, footwear and accessories lead planned purchases, followed by home appliances, furniture and travel. The study also points to growing demand for quick commerce as consumers postpone purchases until closer to festivals. Platforms including Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, Amazon Now and Flipkart Minutes are expanding their reach and reporting higher festive-season activity.
Fruugo partners with PayGlocal to help Indian sellers reach global markets
Global online marketplace Fruugo is entering India through a partnership with cross-border payments company PayGlocal and technology and operations provider DMSMatrix. The initiative will give PayGlocal's more than 12,000 merchants access to Fruugo's international marketplace, helping Indian businesses sell to consumers across more than 40 countries. Sellers in categories including electronics, clothing and home decor will be able to explore overseas demand and diversify their sales channels. The partnership combines Fruugo's international shopper network with PayGlocal's payments infrastructure and DMSMatrix's onboarding and operational capabilities. The initiative targets micro, small and medium enterprises seeking greater product visibility as domestic e-commerce competition intensifies and international online shopping continues to expand.
upGrad School of Technology partners with MongoDB
upGrad School of Technology has partnered with MongoDB to strengthen industry-integrated engineering education and prepare students for modern software development and AI applications. The collaboration will provide eligible students with access to MongoDB for Academia, technical learning resources and fully sponsored certification vouchers. The two organisations will also explore curriculum enhancements, hackathons, innovation challenges, guest lectures, internships and career opportunities. Faculty members will receive access to technical resources, while designated faculty champions will support adoption of modern database technologies.
The partnership aims to bridge the gap between academic learning and industry requirements, particularly in cloud-native development, artificial intelligence and database engineering. It will give students practical exposure and recognised credentials to improve career readiness.
Procol's AI procurement platform manages over $30 billion in spending
AI-powered procurement technology company Procol is helping manufacturing enterprises automate purchasing workflows across multiple plants, suppliers and business units. The company works with more than 150 manufacturing businesses across over 10 countries, including Havells, Emami, Blue Star and Aditya Birla Group. Its platform automates processes spanning supplier onboarding, requests for quotations, electronic auctions, approvals and accounts payable, while integrating with enterprise systems such as SAP and Oracle. Procol says its implementations have saved buyers more than 8,100 hours of manual work and enabled procurement cycles to become significantly faster. The company currently manages over $30 billion in spending and reports generating more than $1 billion in savings across its customer base.
Wadhwani FPO Entrepreneurship Program launched in Karnataka
The Centre of Excellence for Farmer Producer Organizations, supported by Karnataka's Department of Horticulture and the National Entrepreneurship Network, has launched the Wadhwani FPO Entrepreneurship Program in the state. The initiative aims to strengthen Farmer Producer Organizations through business planning, market access, mentoring and execution support. Its first Growth Bootcamp brought together 27 FPOs and more than 60 participants, including government officials, business experts and FPO leaders. Participating organisations assessed their businesses, identified growth opportunities and selected priority initiatives for the next 12 months. They will now enter a structured 10-week programme featuring expert-led group and individual sessions. The programme aims to help FPOs become more sustainable enterprises, improve farmer incomes and create rural economic opportunities.
Devnagri AI expands from translation to multilingual AI infrastructure
Language technology company Devnagri AI has announced an evolution from a translation-focused platform to multilingual AI infrastructure for enterprises. The company aims to integrate language capabilities directly into business workflows rather than treating translation as a standalone function. Its offerings include multilingual content processing and AI-driven communication tools designed for customer-facing services and internal operations. The platform supports cloud, hybrid and on-premises deployment, enabling organisations to integrate language technology within their existing security and technology environments. Founded in 2021 by Nakul Kundra and Himanshu Sharma, Devnagri AI focuses on helping businesses engage users in their preferred languages. The company believes contextual multilingual capabilities will be increasingly important as enterprises expand AI adoption across India's linguistically diverse markets.
TutorCloud AI launches integrated platform for K-12 education
TutorCloud AI has launched an integrated artificial intelligence-powered platform connecting students, teachers, parents and school administrators in one ecosystem. Designed for K-12 education, the platform aims to support personalised tutoring while giving educators and families greater visibility into students' learning journeys. The initiative reflects a focus on using AI to help teachers understand learning progress and identify student needs, rather than simply generating answers. By bringing different stakeholders onto a common platform, TutorCloud AI seeks to improve coordination between classroom instruction, home support and school administration. The company positions the system as a way to make learning more personalised and connected, while enabling educators to use technology to better understand and support individual students.
Wissen Technology strengthens Singapore leadership with Tinku Gupta
Wissen Technology is strengthening its Singapore operations through a delivery-led strategy focused on engineering expertise, product development and business outcomes. The technology services company has appointed Tinku Gupta as Vice Chairman of Wissen Technology Singapore. Gupta brings more than 30 years of experience spanning technology, financial market infrastructure, business operations and cybersecurity. Wissen aims to help enterprises modernise technology platforms and accelerate innovation. Founded in 2000, the company says it has delivered projects worth more than $1 billion and serves over 20 Fortune 500 companies.
Vaani AI Research launches self-service platform for voice AI agents
Bengaluru- and Singapore-based Vaani AI Research has launched a self-service developer platform for building, deploying and managing voice AI agents. Users can describe the agent they want, preview its voice, configure actions and deploy it across phone calls, websites, applications and WhatsApp. The platform is built around Vaani's voice infrastructure, which connects speech models with the systems needed to operate agents in production. Its capabilities include inference optimisation, memory and conversational controls. The launch follows the company's experience deploying voice AI in enterprise workflows, where poor conversational experiences can frustrate customers and lead to lost opportunities. The platform aims to simplify development and deployment of voice-based AI services for businesses and developers.
Festive invoice financing crosses Rs 20,000 crore, says M1xchange
India's pre-festive financing volumes crossed Rs 20,000 crore in 2026, with micro, small and medium enterprises increasingly using formal invoice discounting to fund seasonal demand, according to trade receivables platform M1xchange. Financing for micro-MSMEs grew more than 100% year-on-year, while average daily festive financing increased over 40%. The company projects overall festive-season financing to grow approximately 30% this year. Invoice discounting enables suppliers to access working capital against unpaid invoices, helping them purchase inventory and meet delivery commitments before customers make payments. Sector-wise trends show strong festive-period activity in consumer durables, e-retail, e-commerce and paints. The findings highlight the growing role of formal credit mechanisms in supporting smaller suppliers during peak business periods.
Fluke begins local manufacturing of digital multimeter components in India
Fluke Corporation has launched a local manufacturing initiative in India, marking a step towards expanding its domestic manufacturing capabilities under the government's Make in India programme. The first phase covers manufacturing associated with the Fluke 115 and Fluke 117 digital multimeters, including local production of printed circuit board assemblies. The initiative follows the company's progression from Class II to Class I Local Supplier status. Fluke said the move would strengthen its engagement with Indian customers and support the country's industrial development. The company aims to build local capabilities while maintaining its global standards for quality, precision and reliability. The initiative is intended to establish a foundation for further expansion of manufacturing operations in India.
Otto launches voice AI CRM for field sales teams
Voice AI company Otto, also known as Ottoverse, has launched a voice-based customer relationship management platform designed for field sales representatives. The system enables sales teams to manage CRM activities through phone calls rather than manually entering information after customer meetings. Representatives can report meeting outcomes, while Otto updates deal records, saves contacts, drafts follow-up emails, creates tasks and prepares summaries for managers.
The platform uses voice AI models trained on field sales conversations and is designed to recognise product names, part numbers and different accents. Its context layer connects calls, meetings, emails, calendars and enterprise resource planning records to provide relevant customer information. Headquartered in New York and Mumbai, Otto is backed by Gutter Capital.
Masai School cuts course fees by 50% in IIT Patna partnership
Masai School has reduced course fees by 50% across its programmes through a partnership with Vishlesan i-Hub at IIT Patna, aiming to make technology upskilling more accessible. The programmes include Analytics with Agentic AI and Applied AI and Machine Learning Essentials, with the latter also available in Tamil and Telugu.
About 70% of Masai's students come from Tier II and Tier III cities. The collaboration will combine industry-led mentoring, access to the IIT ecosystem and placement support. Vishlesan i-Hub has enrolled 14,971 learners across its programmes, with nearly 60% studying in languages other than English. The initiative seeks to address affordability and language barriers affecting access to employment-oriented technology education.
Hoopr launches Smash Plus for music licensing in TV and OTT advertising
Music technology startup Hoopr has launched Hoopr Smash Plus, a platform for licensing music for television commercials, OTT advertising, films, web series and corporate productions. Kisna Jewellers is the first brand to use the service, licensing the track 'Woh Kisna Hai' from the Tips catalogue for a campaign featuring Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput Kapoor. The platform aims to simplify macro-sync licensing, which typically requires separate agreements with record labels, publishers and copyright societies.