AI-led computer vision solutions for manufacturing and retail operations. Its visual intelligence tools automate tasks such as product quality inspection on factory lines and real-time shelf monitoring in retail stores. The platform helps manufacturers detect defects and ensure consistent product quality, while enabling retailers to track stock availability, shelf placement and compliance through automated image-based analytics. Revenue scale undisclosed, clients include Fortune 500 companies - Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, GSK, Reckitt, Pepsico. $2M Pre-Series A co-led by Finvolve and India Accelerator, with existing investors Cognify, IPV, AIF, IIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Centre (where it was incubated). Founded in Mar 2017, Noida based. Founders: CEO Amit Singh (IIM Lucknow '19) is ex-IMRB International and Tetra Pak, and was Retail Strat Planning Lead on the Samsung account at Cheil Worldwide; CTO Amit Srivastava (IIM Lucknow '16) was at ST Microsystems for 16 years, most recently as Principal Product Manager.

Next-generation electrolyzers for green hydrogen production. The startup has developed a patented, membrane-less architecture designed to lower manufacturing costs and reduce system complexity, making hydrogen production more efficient and scalable. ₹28CR Pre-Series A from HDFC Bank and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. Existing investors Aavishkaar Capital, Peak XV Partners, Speciale Invest and Micelio Fund also participated. Founded in Aug 2020, Bangalore based. Both co-founders, Prasanta (SRM '11; Univ. of Manchester '12; Université Grenoble Alpes Ph.D. in Fluid Mechanics, Energy and Process Engineering '19); and Rochan (KU Leuven Master's; Eindhoven University of Technology PhD in Engineering Physics/Applied Physics) were part of the Entrepreneur First 2020 cohort and started out soon after their PhDs.

Defence deep-tech company building signal processing systems for next-generation electronic warfare and communication payloads across platforms, including drones, ground systems, naval vessels and satellites. The company leverages advanced in-lab modelling and simulation to reduce reliance on flight testing, enabling faster iterations. $20M Series A funding round led by General Catalyst along with 360 One Asset Management and existing investor Pravega Ventures (who led the Pre-Series A in Jan 2025). Founded in Nov 2017, Hyderabad based. Founders: CEO Satya (BITS Pilani '07) was at National Instruments in Hyderabad for a decade (most recently as Strategic Sales Manager); CTO Avinash (Padmasri Dr B V Raju Institute of Technology '12) was a Director at Encore Techno Systems.

Fabless semiconductor startup building ultra-efficient AI compute hardware. The company is developing an analog, in-memory AI System-on-Chip integrated with optical interconnects to significantly reduce energy consumption compared to conventional digital accelerators. Headquartered in Singapore with R&D in Bengaluru, founded in Jun 2024. $1.8M Pre-Series A funding led by Bluehill.vc & a99. Founder & CEO Saravana (Anna University Chennai '08; Ulm University '16) was previously the CTO at EMTensor Inc. (electromagnetic brain imaging) and is ex-Qualcomm.

Building next-generation power management systems for AI data centres and cloud infrastructure. The company focuses on redesigning how power is delivered from the grid all the way to processor cores. Instead of optimizing individual components, C2i develops configurable, platform-based power architectures that improve power density, simplify system design and support the reliability demands of large-scale AI workloads. $15M Series A led by Peak XV Partners, with participation from Yali Deeptech & TDK Ventures. Founded in Jun 2024, Bangalore based. Founders: CEO Ram (Rutgers Master's) was at Texas Instruments for 20 years (with almost a decade heading Power Management Products); Director of Mixed Signal Design Vikram (IIT Delhi '00; Stanford Master's 03) was also at TI for 20 years (applications engineer); VP of Engineering Preetam (IISc Master's '00) was at TI for 24 years (Architect and Chief Technologist).

Fabless semiconductor company building high-performance analog and mixed-signal chips for next-generation applications. The company develops AI-enabled ICs and sensor interface technologies used across EVs, smart energy, industrial automation and aerospace. $10M Series A co-led by investor Ashish Kacholia and Unicorn India Ventures, with participation from Roots Ventures, Caperize Fina, MAIQ Growth Scheme. Founded in Oct 2017, Noida based. Founders: Rakesh (Punjab Engineering College '86) was at semicon company STMicroelectronics from 1991 till founding VerveSemi in 2017; Pratap (IIT Roorkee '04) is also from STMicroelectronics (13 years).

AI-led drug discovery company building a platform to make pharmaceutical R&D faster and more capital efficient. Using a proprietary combination of machine learning and generative AI, they discover novel chemical entities, repurpose existing drugs and revive clinically validated molecules. Operates on a B2B model, working with pharma and biotech to license assets and co-develop programs. ₹70CR Series A co-led by IAN and Speciale Invest, with participation from Tenacity Ventures, BYT Ventures and others. Founded in Jul 2019, Bangalore based. Founders: CEO Narayan (IIT Delhi '96) was at Philips Innovation Campus for a decade as software architect, before joining Prysm Displays as Diector of Systems and Software and as a Partner at dev firm Topspot Labs; Chief Scientific Advisor and Co-Founder Shridhar (Univ. of Mumbai '90; Ohio State PhD '96) has worked at AstraZeneca, Orchid, Dr. Reddy's and Glemark, leading large research teams, and is the Chairman & CEO of the Foundation for Neglected Disease Research; Chief Data Scientist & Co-Founder Amit (NIT Trichy '00) was a software consultant at Topspot Labs for eight years; no information on his background prior to Topspot.

Fleet telematics and vehicle intelligence company building intelligent, connected hardware that turn vehicles into smart, data-enabled machines. Its solutions span vehicle safety, security and fleet intelligence. Products include crash detection with automatic SOS alerts, remote immobilisation to prevent theft, AI-based driver behaviour tracking, and fleet management platforms that offer real-time tracking, vehicle diagnostics and regulatory compliance. OEM customers include Sonalika and Volvo Eicher. $4.8M in a funding round led by Ashish Kacholia, with participation from existing backer Piper Serica Angel Fund. Founded in Jan 2021, Delhi based. Founders: CEO Sumit (SRM IST '17) founded Fidomotus (used cars retailer) in 2018; CTO Kapil (Maharaja Agrasen '20) is from E&Y and TantraByte (data scientist); CPO Narendra (Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam '17) is also from TantraByte and STEMROBO Technologies.

Healthcare devices company with a wearable non-invasive medical device designed to deliver drug-free pain relief for musculoskeletal conditions. Built on photobiomodulation technology, it stimulates cellular repair to help manage musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis, sciatica, back pain, and joint stiffness. Sold upon clinician recommendations and direct to customer. ₹20CR (~$2.2M) Pre-Series A round led by V3 Ventures, 3i Partners and Ideaspring Capital. Founders in Jun 2022, Hyderabad based. Founders: CEO Sri Velliyur (UVCE '91) was an ERP consultant to UNDP before a five year stint at Peoplesoft Financial, working on projects for Ford Motor Corp; no prior information available on CTO Surya.

Marine robotics startup building AI-enabled underwater drones and vessels for inspecting infrastructure that is hard to reach. Its robots are used to survey pipelines, ports, tunnels and offshore assets, delivering high-accuracy visual data, 3D mapping and non-destructive inspections for energy, defence and maritime operators. This replaces manual, risky underwater work with faster and safer automation. The company has executed 150 projects acros 80 clients including Tata Power, NHPC, Adani, ONGC, BPCL and Maersk, and has a recent ₹47CR order from the Indian Navy. ₹13CR Pre-series A round by AWE Funds and Unicorn India Ventures. Founded in Sep 2016, Kochi based. Founders: CEO Johns (College of Engineering Trivandrum '10; IIT Delhi '13) was previously an engineer at Grey Orange and Samsung; CTO Kannappa (College of Engineering Trivandrum '10; IIT Delhi '14) was previously a project scientist at the National Institute of Ocean Technology. Comps: Octobotics (seed round led by Navam Capital last week); AquaAirX (seed round led by Rainmatter last month).