Inc42

From meme-led matching to a full voice AI stack, @SchmoozeX is redefining Gen Z dating. With retention rates doubling, the platform is proving that compatibility is about more than just surface-level preferences. Read more inc42.com/buzz/schmooze-…

“Every café business is just a play between three costs.” ☕ At The D2C Retreat 2025, Raghav Verma, Cofounder of Chaayos broke down the unit economics: COGS, rent, and manpower define everything. While QSRs optimise for lower costs, café brands balance higher rentals with better margins on food. The goal? Hitting a strong 20–25%+ EBITDA 📹 Watch the full video to gain deeper insights! #Inc42 #reels #video #tea #Chaayos #fyp #D2CRetreat2025

After a volatile week, new-age tech stocks saw a mixed trend amid Q4 earnings and global tensions. 👇 🔷 28 out of 56 stocks gained (0.16%–18%), while an equal number declined up to 10%. 🔷 ideaForge emerged as the top gainer, surging 18.4% ahead of its Q4 results. 🔷 Stocks of Shadowfax, Ather Energy, Aequs, Groww, Aye Finance and Honasa Consumer hit fresh highs. 🔷 On the downside, Unicommerce fell 9.84% post muted Q4 results, while Wakefit and Zaggle hit all-time lows. 🔷 Paytm declined after RBI cancelled the licence of its payments bank arm. 🔷 Overall, the total market cap dipped to $129.67 Bn from $131.25 Bn last week. 📊 Broader markets remained range-bound, with Sensex and Nifty gaining ~0.5% amid global volatility, rising crude prices, and continued FII outflows. #Inc42 #trending #TechStocks #StockMarketIndia #IndianMarkets #MarketUpdate #Startups #NewAgeTech #ideaForge #Paytm #Groww #AtherEnergy #BusinessNews

India’s sneaker market is shifting from shelves to subculture👟 💸 What was once functional footwear is now driven by 𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬, and 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝐙-𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 From global brands to emerging D2C players, the battle is no longer just about product it’s about relevance, community, and timing 🔥 With a $𝟔.𝟓 𝐁𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, sneakers are fast becoming a serious consumer play Which is that one brand that comes to your brand when you think 'Sneakers'?👇 #Inc42 #trending #Sneakers #D2C #GenZ #Indiansneakers #Streetwear

@GnaniAi 5/7

@GnaniAi 4/7

Why are users tired of dating apps? It’s because of the endless profiles and bios. @SchmoozeX tackles this with its voice AI matchmaker ‘Riya’ that gauges humour and values through conversation. Read more inc42.com/buzz/schmooze-…

Why are 350 million Indians suddenly swapping mathri for makhana? Because at 45+, the game changes. Insulin resistance kicks in. Muscle mass drops. Joint pain becomes real. Immunity needs support. Or pay the price. Traditional snacks weren't built for this. Functional snacks are. The new age-specific snacking basket includes: ✓ Antioxidant-packed butterfly pea teas (not regular chai) ✓ Protein chips with 15g per serving (not empty-calorie namkeen) ✓ Vitamin-fortified low-sugar drinks (not sugar-loaded juices) ✓ High-fiber millet crackers (not maida biscuits) ✓ Low-GI ice creams with real protein (not glucose bombs) Brands like Yoga Bar, Farmley, Vahdam, Slurrp Farm, Blue Tea and Happilo aren't just selling snacks - they're solving age-related health challenges one bite at a time. This isn't a trend - it's a ₹10,000+ Cr market opportunity reshaping Indian F&B. Want the full story + comprehensive brand list? 📖 Read the complete Inc42 feature: 4-2.co/snacking #SilverSnacking #FunctionalFood #HealthyAging #D2C #IndianStartups #WellnessRevolution #Inc42 #FoodInnovation

Indian startup funding rebounded sharply in the last week of April, with startups raising $204 Mn across 19 deals — a ~5X jump from $39 Mn last week.👇 🔷 Fintech emerged as the top-funded sector, raking in $57.5 Mn across deals including Sahi, Oolka and Credilio. 🔷 In terms of deal volume, Advanced Hardware & Technology led with five deals, raising $13 Mn in total. 🔷 Accel and India Accelerator emerged as the most active investors, backing two startups each. 🔷 Despite the overall surge, seed-stage funding dropped 74% to $4.6 Mn during the week. 🔷 On the IPO front, OnEMI Technology Solutions opened its IPO for bidding, while MakeMyTrip, Spinny and Acko advanced listing plans. 🔷 In M&A, Palo Alto Networks is set to acquire Portkey, while JSW One Platforms acquired BuildNext. #Inc42 #trending #StartupFunding #IndianStartups #FundingNews #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #Fintech #Deeptech

From coin watches to hand-painted dials, @JaipurWatch is building a design-led identity in a market dominated by global names. Read more inc42.com/startups/insid…

“People in India aren’t price conscious, they’re value conscious”🇮🇳 At the Griffin Retreat 2026, Sibabrata Das shared how a more premium, better-designed fan outsold a cheaper energy-efficient one. The takeaway is simple: consumers don’t chase low prices, they chase better value For brands, the real job isn’t just affordability, but building and clearly communicating value 📹Watch the full video to gain deeper insights! #Inc42 #reels #video #fyp

Ujjwal Jain, CEO of IPO-bound PhonePe’s stockbroking arm Share.Market and its wealth management vertical, has stepped down from his role after nearly four years.👇 In a LinkedIn post, Jain described his exit as the close of a “decade-long Chapter 1”, adding, “This is not a goodbye. This is a relaunch.” Jain founded wealth management startup WealthDesk in 2016 and retail-focused advisory OpenQ (Quantech Capital) in 2018 along with Sujit Modi. Both ventures were acquired by Walmart-owned PhonePe in 2022. In August 2023, PhonePe entered the stockbroking space with the launch of Share.Market under its subsidiary PhonePe Wealth Broking Pvt Ltd, with Jain leading the business as CEO. 🔗 Read the full article here: 4-2.co/48wcI2H #Inc42 #news #LeadershipExit #Stockbroking #PhonePe

India AI Impact Summit put 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨. $350Mn in funding, 22 Indian languages, models trained on Indian soil, chosen by the Govt of India to build India’s sovereign LLM 🤖 And if you haven’t been following; this is the same India that gave the world Perplexity $1.5Bn+ raised, 250+ team, an Indian-origin founder building the AI search engine that overtook ChatGPT on India’s App Store💰 𝐏𝐌 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐢 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐭 CEO Aravind Srinivas to talk about AI’s potential for India Two startups. Two different bets. Both ones every Indian should know Join us at Inc42 AI Summit 2026 — India's largest invite only AI Summit, Bengaluru to decode how businesses are building defensible AI moats 🚀 Co-presented by @SkyflowAPI Powered By - @IntellemoAds, @avalara, @Vobiz_Ai Associate Partner - @peakxvpartners, @CapitalRukam, @Mobavenue_ AI Tech, @cloud_keeper, @SuperleapAI, @RocketlaneHQ 🗓 28 May 2026 ⁣ 📍The Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru⁣ Book your pass from here: events.inc42.com/ai-summit/?utm… #Inc42 #event #AISummit2026 #AI #tech #LLM

“Offline isn’t just stores. It’s branding, experience, and trust.”🛍️ Snitch's founder, Siddharth Dungarwal breaks down omnichannel the right way. Online brings speed, the first click. But offline drives higher AOV, better repeats, and stronger connection through touch and feel The insight? E-commerce gets you in. Offline makes you stay 📹 Watch the full video to gain insights! #Inc42 #reels #video #fashion #clothing

AI funding in India is up 73% YoY. Yet, the AI startup graveyard is filling faster than ever. Builder.ai, Kruti, NeuroPixel, Wuri, CodeParrot - 10 shutdowns in 12 months. $1.5 Bn+ in combined funding. The cause of death? Check the full breakdown here - 4-2.co/aistory #AIStartups #IndiaStartups #VentureCapital #StartupNews #AI #TechStartups #StartupEcosystem #IndianTech #GenAI #StartupFunding #Entrepreneurship #Inc42

Remember when ranking #1 on Google was the dream? In 2026, the new dream is showing up when someone asks ChatGPT "what's the best product in [your category]." Writesonic, Gushwork and LLMLab are three Indian startups quietly building the Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) playbook for it. Globally, Profound just raised funding that brings it to a $1B valuation, while doing the same thing. The shift from SEO → GEO is real, and it's happening right now! Full breakdown → 4-2.co/endofseo #SEO #GEO #AISearch #ChatGPT #Perplexity #Startups #IndianStartups #Inc42 #BrandDiscovery #AIMarketing #FutureOfSearch #Writesonic #Gushwork #LLMLab #Profound #Promptwatch #Conductor

.@Apple’s outgoing CEO @tim_cook said he is “over the moon excited” about India, calling the country a “huge opportunity” for the tech giant.👇 Highlighting India as a key growth driver, Cook pointed to the market’s long-term potential. “Yes, I think it’s (India) a huge opportunity for us. We’ve been focused on this for a while. It’s the second largest smartphone market in the world and the third largest PC market,” he said during Apple’s second quarter 2026 earnings call. The remarks come on the back of Apple’s strong Q2 FY26 performance, with revenue rising 17% YoY to $111.2 Bn, driven by sustained demand for its iPhone lineup and broad-based growth across global markets. The company added that it recorded double-digit growth across most regions, including India, the US, Latin America, Greater China, Western Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia. 🔗 Read the full article here: 4-2.co/4cLGuD2 #Inc42 #news #Apple #Profits #marketupdates

India’s dating app market is crowded, but it is moving beyond the swipe. Bengaluru-based @SchmoozeX is betting on ‘Riya’, a conversational voice AI that understands personality better than a photo ever could. Find out how it can change the game. Read more inc42.com/buzz/schmooze-…