2025 In Review: The Best Of Inc42’s 30 Startups To Watch

With a record number of startup IPOs, consistent private capital flow and new avenues for tech innovation emerging in India, 2025 was a defining year for the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.

The funding landscape remained resilient, with Indian startups raising more than $11 Bn in fresh capital and maintaining the recovery momentum seen in 2024. While investors remained discerning, dry powder flowed into promising ventures across sectors ranging from AI and deeptech to consumer tech and enterprise platforms.

But what drove the ecosystem forward was the surge in startup IPOs. Marquee names like Groww, Meesho, Lenskart, Pine Labs and Ather Energy debuted on domestic exchanges, unlocking liquidity for founders and early investors.

On the innovation front, 2025 saw startups embrace frontier technologies at an unprecedented pace. GenAI became mainstream, with integration across the existing ecosystem accelerating sharply. The semiconductor revolution gained traction, as well as ventures in spacetech, robotics, climate tech and sustainable mobility.

Against this backdrop, Inc42 presents the best up-and-coming startups that caught our eye this year. While some in the cohort have already gone public, many are approaching soonicorn status.

From breakthrough AI ventures to trailblazing deeptech and scalable consumer platforms, these startups are poised to shape India’s innovation landscape in the years ahead.

As we step into 2026, we present the 66th cohort of 30 Startups To Watch, featuring ventures that shone brightest this year.

Editor’s Note: The list below is presented alphabetically and is not a ranking.

Globally, India is among the top five military spenders, but its homegrown defence production hit a record INR 1.27 Lakh Cr in FY24, as startups and MSMEs emerged as the game changers. Bengaluru-based defence tech startup Ammunic Systems, set up in 2024 by siblings Priyanka and Krishna Singhal, is a key player in this transition.

It designs and develops weapon subsystems, especially advanced electronic fuzes, warheads and munition integration technologies. These ‘intelligent’ innards or modular, digital components replace legacy mechanical designs and control when and how modern weaponry will detonate across land, air and naval platforms. In essence, Ammunic is giving India complete ownership over the ‘brains’ of its arsenal through domestic technology to enhance the country’s battlefield capabilities.

The product line includes smart firing systems and networked munitions for land operations and gravity-drop munitions used in aerial warfare. On the naval front, it has developed India’s first advanced electronic underwater fuze, a mission-critical component for modern naval munitions and autonomous underwater vehicles. A patent has been filed for the technology.

Ammunic follows a prototype-to-scale model aligned with the defence ministry’s Make-II and Technology Development Fund (TDF) pathways, which enable industry-led innovation without upfront government funding. However, Ammunic raised $1.1 Mn in private funding from India Accelerator in July 2025.

These early engagements also put Ammunic as a key driver of Atmanirbhar Bharat, helping India reduce its dependence on military imports.

As Delhi gasps through an airpocalypse and India grapples with recurring climate shocks, the economic toll is no longer abstract. Toxic air alone costs India around $100 Bn a year in economic impact, including reduced productivity and business losses, according to a Fortune India report. Recognising the paralysis caused by climate volatility, Akanksha Priyadarshini and Vamsi Krishna launched Aurassure in 2022 to provide targeted climate intelligence required to shield cities and ensure operational safety.

The Bhubaneswar-based climate tech startup builds SMART (sensor-based monitoring, analysis, reporting and tracking) devices that capture hyper-local/granular data on air quality, weather patterns and flood risks in real time. Its proprietary sensor network continuously feeds environmental data into an analytics platform that generates short- and long-range climate forecasts, maps urban heat islands and issues early warnings for floods and extreme weather.

Aurassure has deployed more than 2K sensors across 200 Indian cities. It has entered the global market through its Brazil-based subsidiary, which is now active in 100+ cities. In 2025, the startup raised $2.8 Mn in a pre-Series A round, led by Rainmatter and Unicorn India Ventures. With revenues growing 150% YoY since its seed funding, Aurassure is now targeting aggressive expansion across the Global South.

As India races to build a semiconductor ecosystem worth $100-110 Bn by 2030, the focus is steadily shifting from assembly-led manufacturing to indigenous chip design. Policy thrusts around electronics and core technology infrastructure have made it clear that long-term self-reliance will hinge not just on fabrication, but on owning the intelligence embedded inside critical systems. Azimuth AI sits squarely at this inflexion point.

Founded in 2022 by Praveen Yasarapu and Sridevi Badiga, the fabless startup develops energy-efficient and AI-enabled systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

The platform-on-a-chip integrates custom multi-core computing, intelligent power management, advanced analogue sensing and embedded memory to deliver up to 10x performance gains while lowering costs and system complexity. It was unveiled by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister for electronics and IT.

Built on Azimuth’s software-defined silicon architecture and paired with Cyient’s strengths in mixed-signal design, power systems and low-energy ASICs, the platform also supports custom ASIC turnkey models spanning design, fabrication, OSAT management and final chip delivery.

Headquartered in Folsom, California, with operations in Hyderabad, Azimuth raised INR 100 Cr from a clutch of investors such as Cyient, AUM Ventures and Moneta Ventures and completed silicon tape-out. With initial production planned for Q2 2026, the startup is positioning itself as a design-first semiconductor initiative, aligned with India’s push to build proprietary chip intelligence.

Indian household savings had a roller-coaster ride in recent years. Net financial assets rose to 6% of GDP in FY25, a vital rebound from the five-decade low of 4.9% in FY23. But this macro recovery masks a structural mismatch.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 shows that 58% of India’s workforce is now self-employed. It means millions of people without regular jobs do not have steady cash flow for savings or investments, but legacy products demand the periodicity and predictability of 9-to-5 paycheques. Bachatt was founded in November 2024 to address this exclusion.

A brainchild of Anugrah Jain, Ankur Jhavery and Mayank Agarwal, the Dekhi-based fintech has built a daily savings platform specifically for India’s self-employed and non-salaried population. Targeting individuals in the INR 30-70K earning bracket, the app allows users to invest as little as INR 51 a day or INR 1,001 a week via UPI, aligning wealth creation with the erratic rhythm of their earnings.

Bachatt is registered with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) as an MF distributor and has partnered with ICICI Prudential and SBI Mutual Fund to channel low-ticket investments into low-risk debt products. The focus is on consistency over yield and on habit-building over financial engineering.

This pragmatic approach secured a $4 Mn seed round, co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and InfoEdge Ventures at a pre-revenue stage. Prominent angel investors, including Abhiraj Bhal, Sunil Prabhune, Abhinav Sinha and Maninder Gulati, also participated in that round.

Bachatt also claims it has onboarded 10 Lakh users and crossed INR 50 Cr in AUM. The early traction validates an interesting thesis.

Overseas employment is a lucrative option for the Indian workforce. An average of 3.4-3.9 Lakh workers received emigration clearance under the ECR category annually during 2022-2024, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. But the entire journey can be high-friction and low-transparent. BorderPlus, a tech-led workforce mobility platform, is helping Indian professionals build international careers, with an initial focus on the nursing staff and other healthcare workers.

Started by upGrad cofounder Mayank Kumar and former OYO executive Ayush Mathur in early 2025, the Mumbai-based platform helps resolve the most challenging issues of cross-border employment, ranging from language proficiency and credential verification to visa processing, ethical hiring and post-arrival integration. Its end-to-end model also combines finishing-school training, German language preparation and documentation support, designed to improve placement outcomes and long-term employability.

To support workforce readiness, it has partnered with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for German language training and established a regional training centre in Kochi, backed by an INR 10 Cr scholarship initiative.

The talent mobility startup raised $7 Mn in its first institutional round led by Owl Ventures, with participation from Binny Bansal, Mithun Sacheti, Ritesh Agarwal and others. The money will be used to scale operations and strengthen the platform’s functions.

As demand for cross-border talent rises, BorderPlus is positioning itself as a connective layer between India’s skilled workforce and regulated overseas labour markets.

Its acquisition of German healthcare recruiting firm Onea Care further signals its intent to build permanent, ethical hiring pathways across the EU.

India is the third-largest coconut producer globally, but discarded shells often end up as agricultural waste, which is openly burnt to make charcoal. Yet, with innovative upcycling, this carbon-rich biomass can yield battery-grade nanocarbons. This will not only reduce rare earth imports for battery manufacturing but also boost cell performance.

As India scales up EV adoption and focusses on efficient energy storage, cleantech startup Cancrie is converting coconut shell waste into high-performance components to drive the sustainable development of next-generation batteries.

Founded in 2020 by Akshay Jain and Mahi Singh, the Jaipur-based startup has patented the technology to produce customised nanocarbons tailored for different battery chemistries, improving efficiency and lifecycle. Cancrie’s materials are commercialised for lead-acid batteries, where the company claims 25-30% longer battery life by reducing heat loss and improving charge efficiency.

Five lead-acid battery manufacturers use its nanocarbons for e-rickshaws, solar systems and UPS applications. Besides, more than 50K batteries using Cancrie’s material have been sold.

Beyond lead-acid, the startup is running trials with lithium-ion, lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) and sodium-ion batteries. It launched paid pilots with Mercedes for LFP cells and completed a UNIDO-backed pilot using a drone powered by Li-ion batteries.

Cancrie raised $1.5 Mn from Roots Ventures, IIMA Ventures and SIDBI this year.

As satellite constellations multiply and commercial missions grow more complex, demand for diversified in-orbit services and space logistics is rising. Satellite servicing alone is projected to reach $9 Bn by 2032. The broader space logistics segment, including payload hosting and cargo return, is on track to hit nearly $18 Bn by 2030. Against this backdrop, spacetech startup Catalyx Space is building the infrastructure to make orbital operations faster and simpler for researchers and enterprises.

Launched in 2024 by Rifath Shaarook, Saqib Hussain, Keerthan Chand Aluvala and Clinton D Antony, Catalyx is headquartered in San Francisco, with operations in Ahmedabad.

Another key offering is the Cosmotron satellite bus, which enables customers to integrate payloads and access mission data directly via a web portal supported by a ground-station network. By combining payload integration, mission management and data access into a single platform, the startup aims to cut operational complexity and turnaround time for LEO missions.

In 2025, Catalyx raised $7.1 Mn from Outlander VC, Together Ventures, Higher Life Ventures and Nivesha Ventures to advance its orbital roadmap. It has partnered with more than 26 space missions, launched one orbital satellite and completed a second successful drop test of its REX re-entry capsule from 14,000 ft. It is also planning to demonstrate a 50-kg-class Cosmotron platform in early 2026.

Underwater monitoring of critical infrastructure — ports, oil rigs, dams, naval assets and more — has traditionally relied on diver-led operations and on expensive, frequently imported unmanned systems. But as India expands its maritime footprint, there is a strategic push for homegrown autonomous ‘eyes’ to boost defence, infrastructure and maritime security. Identifying these requirements, Coratia Technologies is building underwater robotic platforms, turning murky, high-pressure depths into a transparent, data-driven operational layer for higher inspection frequency and optimum control.

Incubated at NIT Rourkela in 2021 by Debendra Pradhan and Biswajit Swain, Rourkela-based Coratia develops autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), engineered for deep, low-visibility sub-surface operations. Its flagship UWROV Jalasimha has achieved Technology Readiness Level-9 (TRL-9). It has been commissioned by the Indian Navy, marking one of the earliest operational deployments of a locally developed specialised piece of hardware.

The startup also developed Jaladuta and Navya, autonomous surface vehicles using sonar-based mapping and AI/ML-driven real-time data analytics for precision tasks.

It also raised $2 Mn in a pre-Series A round led by MGF Kavachh, a defence-focused venture fund set up by former defence secretary Ajay Kumar. Coratia is using the capital to scale production and meet the rising demand for unmanned sub-surface sovereignty.

As enterprises scale their digital operations, application performance monitoring, or APM, has evolved from a backend routine into the backbone of the modern tech stack. In a technology-driven economy where companies cannot afford software errors or downtime, the global APM market is set to reach $20.6 Bn in the next five years, fuelled by rapid cloud adoption and increasingly complex IT environments. CubeAPM entered this arena in 2023 to rethink application insights for modern developers and businesses.

Founded by former BharatPe CTO Vijay Aggarwal — later joined by Trainman cofounder Vineet Chirania — the Gurugram-based startup monitors application performance, infrastructure health and system reliability for mission-critical, high-traffic platforms. To capture larger enterprise accounts and drive higher ARPU, the platform recently integrated a sophisticated log management solution into its core stack.

The strategy is yielding significant operating leverage.

This growth is anchored by a client base that surged from 20 to 54, as established enterprises adopted its new-age APM solutions.

In 2025 alone, the startup onboarded major players, including redbus, TBO, Mamaearth and Practo, among others. It has also carved out a dominant niche in logistics, supporting more than 10 industry leaders such as Delhivery, Shadowfax, Shiprocket, Freight Tiger and WheelsEye.

With India established as its core market, CubeAPM is now eyeing global expansion across the US, the EU and Southeast Asia. It is also targeting a $4 Mn ARR milestone for 2026.

As GenAI transitions from a coding assistant to an autonomous creator, the world of software development is undergoing a structural shift. This has given rise to vibe coding, where non-coders can build applications through natural language prompts. Emergent sits squarely at this inflexion point, systematically shrinking all engineering barriers and helping the new class of users turn intent into deployable software.

Set up in 2024 by brothers Mukund and Madhav Jha, the platform allows users to create production-ready applications by describing all app features in simple, natural language. Mukund, the former CTO at Dunzo, brought his operational expertise in scaling real-world systems to the new venture. Madhav, a PhD in computer science and an early contributor to Amazon SageMaker, helped build the technical foundation. Together, they have designed a platform that utilises specialised AI agents to do the heavy lifting in the background, whether it is coding, debugging or testing. In the absence of traditional coding tools or an integrated development environment (IDE), there is no need to interpret compiler errors or navigate codebases. Popular use cases include logistics tools, marketplaces and chatbots built by solo founders and small businesses.

Emergent’s ‘post-code’ development model has triggered immediate traction. After its public launch in mid-2025, it has amassed 3 Mn users, including 60K paying customers.

As vibe coding redefines who can build software/apps, and how quickly, Emergent is positioning itself not as a developer tool, but as the primary interface for a future where software creation becomes a consumer activity, not an engineering expertise.

As India’s coffee culture shifts away from the café-as-a-third-place concept — cool hangouts outside of home and work — the economics of large-format cafés are beginning to fray. Urban consumers, especially Gen Z, now increasingly prioritise quick, repeat consumption and consistent quality, pushing the grab-and-go model to the forefront of the premium coffee segment.

Launched in 2023 by Sohrab Sitaram and Shiv Dhawan, First Coffee operates at the centre of this shift. The Delhi-headquartered coffee chain focusses on fast service and standard quality, avoiding the cost-heavy trappings of premium ambience. Its target customer is the daily coffee drinker who wants speciality-grade caffeine without paying for real estate, décor or downtime.

The brand bridges the gap between boutique coffee estates and mass-market QSRs by tightly controlling how coffee is sourced, prepared and served. It sources beans from the Harley Coffee Estate, with select offerings scoring up to 91 on the Speciality Coffee Association scale, and operates tech-enabled stores equipped with Eversys machines to standardise taste and output. This operational discipline enables consistent, high-quality beverages across locations, a feat that smaller artisanal cafés often struggle to ensure as they expand.

During this period, the coffee chain closed a pre-Series A round to fund expansion and hosted more than 30 community-led events to deepen customer engagement despite its quick-service format.

As First Coffee emerges as a fast-scaling neighbourhood chain, it plans to deepen its presence across major Indian metros in 2026. It will also push its business model as a tech-led speciality coffee brand built for everyday consumption, not extended café dwell time.

India’s ice cream market is worth $3.65 Bn and growing at 13% annually, but consumer behaviour is shifting fast. Buyers today increasingly want indulgence without the sugar spike, the calorie count or the health trade-off.  Traditionally, that meant choosing between taste and nutrition, although most sugar-free options fail to deliver on taste. Mumbai-based Go Zero reckons it has cracked this problem.

Kiran Shah launched the D2C brand in July 2022 after spending a decade in the ice cream business, where he also led Apsara Ice Creams. Go Zero makes a wide range of high-protein, low-calorie and plant-based ice cream.

To ensure rapid growth, the brand sells exclusively through quick-commerce platforms instead of retail stores. Customers from more than 16 cities can order on Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and the like for instant gratification. After its Shark Tank India appearance in February 2025, the number of monthly users doubled from 4-5 lakh to 8-10 lakh, while revenue grew 3.2x to INR 35 Cr in FY25, from INR 11.1 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

On the flip side, Go Zero does not make its products in-house. Instead, it works with contract manufacturers who produce all items according to specifications, enabling the brand to respond quickly when demand surges.

The brand is now expanding into Ahmedabad and Jaipur, adding sugar-free shakes and desserts to its product range, and signing more manufacturers to meet production requirements. By leveraging an aggressive quick-commerce network to distribute its health-focussed products, it aims to become India’s leading brand for guilt-free indulgence.

In May 2025, Green Aero Propulsion, a deeptech startup incubated at IIT Delhi, demonstrated a hydrogen-powered jet engine prototype. The Blue Dragon ran without a hitch, proof that hydrogen propulsion can work in an aviation context.

The aviation industry currently accounts for 2.5% of global carbon emissions, although aviation and shipping combined could reach 15-25% by 2050 if no interventions take place. Hence, the use of hydrogen as a clean fuel is one of the few credible pathways for lowering emissions without compromising performance. Green Aero’s test run has put it at the forefront where engineering and efficiency meet to counter climate constraints.

Launched by Prithwish Kundu and Anushila Chatterjee in 2023, the startup develops hydrogen propulsion systems and advanced gas turbines to decarbonise aviation, defence and other transportation sectors. Additionally, it has pioneered airblast atomisers for small aero engines, becoming a global first in this niche.

Its focus extends beyond decarbonisation, though, as it aims to strengthen India’s defence innovation roadmap with sustainable, high-performance propulsion systems.

Green Aero’s prototype-level achievements became a solid revenue opportunity when L&T’s Precision Engineering and Systems division signed an agreement with Green Aero to develop indigenous micro turbojet engines for military drones.

As green hydrogen technology can be used for strategic defence and energy applications, the startup seeks to transform the aviation landscape while addressing national security and global climate imperatives.

India produces around 6.5 Mn tonnes of hydrogen annually, largely to fuel refineries and fertiliser plants. But almost all of it is grey hydrogen made from natural gas and carries a heavy carbon footprint.

While the country’s national mission targets 5 Mn tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, adoption has remained limited. Today, clean hydrogen costs two to four times more, and transporting it from production sites to factories only adds to costs. That is where HYDGEN steps in, enabling factories to produce low-cost, clean hydrogen on-site for low-carbon manufacturing.

Set up in 2024 by Manipaddy Krishna Kumar and Goutam Kumar Dalapati, HYDGEN is a Singapore-based deeptech startup with extensive operations in Mangaluru. Hydrogen generators use its proprietary AEM (anion-exchange membrane) electrolysers to split water and produce high-purity hydrogen. Localising hydrogen production at the point of use accelerates adoption, cuts transportation costs, and reduces waste and emissions.

Serving sectors such as chemicals, metals, cement and mobility, the technology enables industrial clients to transition from grey to green hydrogen without disrupting existing operations or supply chains.

The startup recently raised $5 Mn in equity and debt to upgrade its manufacturing, increase electrolyser output and scale operations across India, Southeast Asia, Japan, the EU and the Middle East. Its progress reflects the broader push to make green hydrogen economically viable at an industrial scale.

India’s quick commerce boom is no longer confined to groceries and daily essentials. What began as a race to deliver a handful of items in under 15 minutes has now delved deeper into hyperlocal fulfilment and is projected to reach $40 Bn by 2030. As categories expand, the limiting factor is no longer consumer demand, but the operational infrastructure required to run dense, city-level delivery networks at speed.

Launched in 2024 by former Dunzo VP Sumit Anand and former ApnaKlub product head Rupesh Thakare, Inamo has built the operational backbone for the next phase of quick commerce. Rather than competing for consumer mindshare, the startup focusses on the less visible layer of the ecosystem, enabling businesses to set up, scale and optimise dark-store networks that support rapid, reliable fulfilment.

The platform offers an end-to-end operating stack spanning dark-store management software, dedicated last-mile delivery fleets and on-ground execution. Its service portfolio is designed for quick commerce companies, large grocery and FMCG brands, and retailers looking to build local fulfilment capabilities without developing infrastructure from scratch.

Revenue is generated through a mix of outsourced operations, technology licensing and delivery optimisation services, allowing Inamo to participate directly in the unit economics of fast-growing fulfilment networks.

It recently raised $3 Mn to expand its dark-store footprint, strengthen its technology stack and scale its team. The timing is deliberate. As quick commerce players broaden into categories such as medicines and healthcare services, the need for tightly run, compliance-ready and cost-efficient local infrastructure is becoming mission-critical. For Inamo, the opportunity lies not in consumer branding, but in quietly enabling the operational and logistics layer that makes India’s instant-delivery economy viable at scale.

Imagine this. On a clear, quiet morning, hundreds of drones entered restricted airspace undetected and tried to wreak havoc. But they could not, as an AI-powered defence system tracked, identified and neutralised threats across thousands of square kilometres in real time. That system was built by Indrajaal, a Hyderabad-based startup that combines mobility, AI-driven threat assessment and autonomous systems to develop state-of-the-art anti-drone technology for India’s most sensitive installations.

Founded in 2023 by Kiran Raju, Sunil Kalidindi and Mallela VN Sai, Indrajaal develops AI-powered and autonomous wide-area anti-drone systems capable of protecting up to 4K sq. km. against rogue drones, including swarms and autonomous threats. These systems are deployed at strategic locations to safeguard ports, refineries, power plants and key military installations.

In November 2025, Indrajaal unveiled the Ranger, India’s first fully mobile AI-powered anti-drone patrol vehicle (ADPV). Unlike fixed installations that protect a single location, Ranger detects, tracks and neutralises hostile drones while on the move, enabling security forces to patrol urban areas, border roads and critical corridors with real-time aerial threat protection. Its key features also include global navigation satellite system (GNSS) spoofing, radio-frequency jamming, an AI-powered command system and even a spring-loaded kill switch.

Indrajaal recently raised $5.5 Mn in a pre-Series A round, co-led by India Accelerator and Finvolve. The funding will support order execution, regulatory certifications, product completion and team expansion.

As India’s anti-drone market expands from $65.7 Mn in 2024 to a projected $496.7 Mn by 2031, it is creating room for platforms like Indrajaal that are scaling autonomous systems to align with the country’s growing emphasis on self-reliant drone defence.

Launched in 2023 by Ishan Sukul, Himanshu Gupta, and Niraj Chitnis, Kreo is a developer of gaming hardware and accessories, catering to India’s rapidly expanding gaming and content-creation community.

Built as a D2C brand and headquartered in Bengaluru, Kreo controls the entire product journey from design to delivery, ensuring consistent quality and an enhanced user experience. Its offerings include gaming peripherals, ergonomic furniture and India-made monitors, supported by its custom software layer, Kontrol, which manages the hardware ecosystem.

It also entered new categories such as gaming chairs and scaled up domestic assembly operations.

Kreo is now preparing for its next phase of growth. The startup is targeting INR 150 Cr ARR in 2026, plans to reach 50% domestic manufacturing, and is laying the groundwork for exports to the US.

India’s $7.9 Bn agricultural tractor market may soon see a surge. With diesel prices at record levels and operating costs steadily squeezing farm economics, interest in electric alternatives is beginning to surface. The country sells close to 1 Mn diesel tractors annually, but electrification remains nascent, creating room for early entrants rethinking how farm power is built and priced.

Moonrider was founded in 2023 by former Volvo executives Anoop Srikantaswamy and Ravi Kulkarni to bring electric tractors into mainstream agricultural use. Its current lineup includes 27 HP, 50 HP (Highforce) and 75 HP (Maxforce) models, each built around what the startup describes as the world’s first oil-cooled thermal solution for tractors. Moonrider says this design cuts running costs by up to 75%, while keeping pricing within reach for commercial adoption.

The platform has formed four exclusive partnerships, with customers capable of absorbing 6K units over a period of 36 months. Globally, it is the only tractor manufacturer to receive road-readiness approval across all three form factors in its portfolio.

In January 2025, the startup raised $2.2 Mn in a seed round co-led by AdvantEdge Founders and Micelio Fund, with participation from angel investors. Later, it secured another $6 Mn from deeptech-focused VC firm pi Ventures.

The immediate focus is execution.

Edge AI chips are emerging as a key area of interest as India scales its semiconductor capabilities. The core reason is efficiency. These processors run AI inference directly on devices, reducing power consumption and reliance on the cloud. With the country targeting a $113.5 Bn semiconductor market by 2030 under its semiconductor mission, Netrasemi is developing a product line to meet the rising demand for efficient, application-ready Edge AI silicon.

Set up in 2020 by Jyothis Indirabhai, Sreejith Varma and Deepa Geetha, this fabless semiconductor startup offers purpose-built Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) for Edge AI workloads. Its power-efficient neural processing units (NPUs), a class of specialised hardware accelerators, and proprietary silicon IPs enable high-performance AI/ML operations.

Beyond silicon, it works closely with customers on architecture guidance, FPGA-based proof-of-concept validation, custom chip feature exploration and joint research for advanced Edge AI applications.

Headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram, Netrasemi serves OEMs across surveillance, industrial robotics, smart infrastructure and other IoT-driven sectors, helping them shorten development cycles for AI-enabled products. It has also raised a Series A round of $12.4 Mn led by Zoho, with participation from Unicorn India Ventures.

India’s overall home services market is vast but completely fragmented and chaotic. Valued at $57-59 Bn in FY25, it is overwhelmingly informal, with online penetration below 1%, translating to $464-487 Mn in organised digital transactions. But that gap is now beginning to close, as urban consumers increasingly prioritise speed, reliability and predictability over informal, unstructured service networks.

Given this shift in the mindset of new-age households, former Bain Capital investor Anjali Sardana set up Pronto in 2025. The startup offers 10-minute on-demand house help, as well as pre-scheduled and recurring options, covering everyday requirements such as cleaning, laundry and vegetable chopping. Operating primarily in Gurugram, it has serviced more than 500 homes since its launch, focussing on density and execution rather than wide-area sprawl.

The platform draws from the operating playbook of quick commerce, adapting speed-led fulfilment models to house help. To support this approach, it already raised $14 Mn in 2025, earmarked for expansion and service reliability.

Pronto is eyeing aggressive expansion and plans to set up 10 local hubs, hire 700 service professionals and scale to 1 Lakh orders per day by June 2026. The startup is also in the process of closing its Series C and D rounds, as it looks to consolidate its presence in India’s fast-evolving on-demand house help market.

Despite many labour-intensive processes, the industrial landscape at home is changing rapidly. Rising labour costs, the push for efficiency and government incentives for manufacturing are driving companies toward flexible automation, not just on assembly lines but across inspection, logistics and facility operations. India installed 8,510 industrial robots in 2023, a 59% jump that placed it seventh globally.

Amid this wave, IIT Roorkee alumni Karan Patil, Dhruv Patil and Manoj Pochat set up Sakar Robotics in 2023 to develop advanced automation solutions, including robots with mobility and machine vision systems. The Pune-based startup has adopted ‘3As’ — automation, affordability and agility — for its product line and integrates inspection, decision-making and action into a single adaptive unit. This allows its intelligent robots to operate across industries with minimal human oversight.

Sakar’s innovation playbook is built on a single-machine, multiple-tasks concept, while its robots navigate unpredictable environments and execute diverse tasks. It means enterprises find a versatile alternative to the traditional, rigid automation setups. Its product line places it firmly in the forefront of India’s industrial robotics market, projected to reach $3.5 Bn by 2030.

The startup rolled out its Linen Inspection and Sorting Assistant (LISA) in 2025 for Indian Railways, automating 100% of linen quality checks in five facilities and reducing complaints by 80%. Additionally, it deployed MMR sanitation robots for biotech and manufacturing companies, launched its autonomous surveillance robot, Sakar Guard, at the India Mobile Congress, and delivered all-terrain robots for IIT research.

It will also broaden its surveillance robot portfolio to facility management players, foster a strong R&D-driven workplace culture and maintain regulatory compliance across operations.

Nine out of 10 Indian households use oral care products, but few are aware of what works best for good oral health. Woke consumers, especially urban buyers, want better formulations, cleaner sourcing and sustainable choices. But a much larger base continues to rely on mass-market products that may fall short of higher oral-health standards.

When actor Karan Raj Kohli and producer Viraj Kapur spotted this gap, they realised there was clear headroom for innovation, improvement and business growth even across income tiers. The outcome was Salt Oral Care, a Mumbai-based direct-to-consumer brand launched in 2022. It offers sustainable products and has won over urban buyers who want better ingredients and less plastic waste.

Salt replaced plastic packaging with aluminium tubes and glass bottles and then built its product range around quality ingredients, compliant manufacturing and ethical sourcing. The focus was less on disruption for its own sake and more on raising quality benchmarks in a category that touches households daily. It also positioned sustainability as a design choice rather than a marketing hook.

Salt’s core offerings — toothpaste, mouthwash, electric brushes and mouth sprays — are meant to deliver efficacy and sensory experience. Its hero products, Dawn & Dusk day-night toothpaste and Matcha toothpaste, drive a 30% repeat customer rate.

Its growth model balances brand-building and performance marketing, underpinned by ERP-driven demand forecasting, streamlined operations and disciplined financial management.

International expansion is also on the cards. Salt will enter the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the US and the UK to grow revenue 2-3x in the next 12-18 months. The goal is to build a global Indian oral care brand with a strong product pipeline, repeat customers, and operations that scale efficiently.

India’s defence electronics market is projected to nearly double from $7.46 Bn in 2025 to $11.35 Bn by 2032. But the strategic advantage lies in building an indigenous core that does not rely on foreign supply chains during conflicts.

Abhijit Kothawale, Rohan Gala and Rahul Vamsidhar set up Sanlayan Technologies in 2023 as a defence electronics startup with expertise in electronic warfare (EW), mission-critical avionics and radar systems. In essence, it addresses the growing need for a comprehensive EW tech stack and provides cost-effective alternatives to traditional military hardware.

The platform develops complete integrated systems as well as specialised subsystems, covering antenna arrays, RF front ends, digital signal and radar data processing. It also specialises in advanced electronic systems for the detection, tracking and neutralisation of threats, including counter-drone capabilities, jamming and spoofing.

The startup grew its capabilities through strategic acquisitions, including Dexcel Electronics, an embedded systems firm with a 25-year legacy in defence and space projects, and Versabyte Data Systems, a leading power-electronics company serving Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Electronics, DRDO and the armed forces.

In less than a year, Sanlayan has onboarded storied clients including the Indian Armed Forces, DRDO, BEL and private defence contractors. It also raised INR 186 Cr in Series A to power its position in the growing defence tech market.

Founded in 2025 by Biddappa Muthappa and Shabareesh Raj, Sash.AI is a Bengaluru-based AI startup that builds domain-specific agentic AI solutions for enterprises and global capability centres (GCCs). In addition, it addresses a common challenge in enterprise AI adoption: generic models’ failure to align with business workflows, limiting their impact.

Its flagship suite, OrchestrAI, offers 350+ prebuilt agents covering finance, HR, procurement, analytics, sales support and more. Beyond software, it provides end-to-end services including data engineering, GenAI workflow integration, DevOps/MLOps, analytics and managed AI support.

In 2025, Sash.AI launched eight demo-ready accelerators and four plug-and-play products focussed on agentic AI.

Enterprises increasingly rely on voice interfaces for customer support, lead management, operational automation, training and media applications. But existing solutions often fail at scale or cannot integrate seamlessly with enterprise systems.

Founded in 2023 by Akshat Mandloi and Sudarshan Kamath, smallest.ai builds hyper-realistic AI voice agents and ultra-fast text-to-speech (TTS) models, capable of generating 10 seconds of speech in just 100 milliseconds.

The startup offers Waves, a TTS and voice-cloning platform, and Atoms, a real-time AI voice agent system that integrates with CRMs and enterprise workflows.

Serving 5K+ SMBs and large enterprises across India and the US, smallest.ai’s agents handle more than 1 Mn calls across sectors, including ecommerce, logistics, real estate and debt collection. The platform supports English, Hindi and 30+ languages, enabling scalable, cost-efficient deployment of AI-driven voice solutions.

It also launched Lightning ASR and TTS, expanded the team from five to 30, opened offices in San Francisco and Mumbai, and delivered one of the world’s most powerful agentic builders for voice AI.

India’s healthcare system remains trapped in deep-seated systemic hurdles — long wait times, opaque billing practices and a culture of commission-based incentives for referrals and tests. However, these challenges prompted a group of healthcare leaders to find a credible solution.

Set up in 2023 by former Apollo Hospitals’ chief revenue officerVarun Dubey, Practo’s founding member Manoj Kumar and Apollo chief marketing officer Alexander Kuruvilla, Superhealth is building a hospital chain designed to put clinical outcomes and patient experience at the centre of care delivery.

The Bengaluru unit provides OPD and IPD care across specialities such as cardiology, orthopaedics and gastroenterology. Its proprietary SuperOS platform digitises consultations by converting doctors’ voice notes into digital prescriptions in seven Indian languages. More importantly, there is Magic Discharge, which automatically handles all admissions and discharges, enabling a zero-wait system.

Superhealth plans to set up 10 hospitals in Bengaluru by 2026, deepen AI integration across operations and begin national expansion. It will create thousands of healthcare jobs in the process and restore trust and efficiency in Indian hospital care.

India has a protein problem hiding in plain sight. According to recent surveys, more than 70% people fall short of the recommended protein intake, while diets shift towards processed foods and convenience snacking. The issue is not lack of awareness. It is more about making protein-rich food so tasty that people will actually enjoy eating. Functional afterthoughts like protein shakes and supplements do not serve that purpose.

Actor Ranveer Singh and Think9 Consumer founder Nikunj Biyani launched SuperYou in November 2023 to address this malady. The brand’s approach is straightforward: make protein a natural part of snacking that will fit seamlessly with modern lifestyle.

Its debut product, a protein wafer bar, comes in four flavours —  chocolate, chocolate-peanut butter, strawberry crème and cheese. Each bar contains 10g of protein but has no added sugar. The brand has also introduced fermented yeast protein, becoming the first in India to explore this ingredient at scale. Products are available online via Amazon, Flipkart, Zepto, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart, while offline distribution is done through Reliance Fresh and WellnessForever

In 2025, SuperYou closed a second funding round of $7 Mn, reached an ARR of INR 200 Cr and established an early footprint across modern retail and ecommerce channels.

Shapewear has quietly shifted from being a wardrobe secret to a fashion essential. Women no longer hide it, but buy it intentionally for fit, comfort and confidence. However, most available products are designed for Western body types and climates, leaving Indian women with ill-fitting imports or basic local alternatives that don’t work well with traditional outfits.

That is why influencer Kusha Kapila and fashion veteran Vimarsh Razdan launched UnderNeat in 2025 with a simple premise. They will make functional, body-type inclusive shapewear that actually works for Indian bodies, Indian climates, and Indian outfits, including sarees, bodycon dresses, tube tops and more.

Advanced moisture-wicking yarns from Germany and Derco’s seamless manufacturing deliver comfort, breathability, and performance in Indian heat.

Kapila’s 4.5 Mn+ social media following drives D2C sales, while fast product iterations and marketplace distribution keep the portfolio tight and problem-focussed.

Fireside Ventures and Honasa cofounder Ghazal Alagh backed the startup’s recent $6 Mn pre-Series A round to scale operations and expand distribution nationwide. UnderNeat is targeting INR 30 Cr in FY26 and INR 100 Cr within 36 months through marketplaces, quick commerce platforms and exclusive brand outlets in key cities.

Korean beauty, lifestyle and entertainment have exploded in India. K-pop and K-dramas dominate Gen Z feeds, and Korean skincare routines go viral on Insta. In fact, the K-beauty market is projected to jump from $400 Mn in 2024 to $1.5 Bn by 2030. But these products often sit behind premium price tags or are hard to find outside major metros.

Gaurav Karmani and Mohit Khurana founded Uni Seoul to bring the culture, lifestyle and aesthetics of Seoul to India through affordable products across popular categories such as home & living, personal care, gifting and fashion accessories. The startup aims to translate Korean luxury into accessible, everyday experiences for Indian consumers.

After its online launch in 2023, Uni Seoul entered brick-and-mortar retail and opened flagship stores in Pune, Nashik and Bengaluru. Its Church Street outlet reached INR 97 Lakh GMV in the first month (January 2025), and the brand scaled into A+ malls in Tier I cities.

Backed by a high-conviction seed round of INR 5 Cr, Uni Seoul has expanded its portfolio with collectable blind box series, bag charms, plush drops and seasonal SKUs. Its Test–Gate–Scale framework and proprietary PPIC model ensure efficient SKU launches and inventory management, driving strong store productivity. In 2026, the focus is on aggressive store expansion, deeper SKU breadth and higher basket sizes, positioning Uni Seoul as India’s go-to Korean lifestyle retail brand.

Electric two-wheelers in India started with premium buyers and early tech adopters. But the real volume sits elsewhere, among daily commuters in Tier II and III cities who need affordable, practical mobility, not feature-loaded showpieces.

Kunal Arya and Ankit Arya founded Zelio in 2021 to build exactly that: electric scooters designed for daily urban and semi-urban commutes. Instead of chasing high-speed models packed with features, Zelio focussed on cost control, practical range and a dealer-led distribution strategy that could reach non-metro markets.

The approach worked. Zelio crossed INR 94 Cr in revenue in FY24 and scaled to more than INR 173.4 Cr in FY25, driven by rising vehicle volumes and an expanding dealer network. Manufacturing capacity sits at around 72K per annum, giving the company room to grow without immediate heavy capex.

Market share has grown by more than 3x since listing, and shares have jumped by more than 200%. Now the focus is on margin discipline, portfolio additions and a wider geographic reach as EV funding turns more selective.