• Startup Pulse
    EloElo Group raises $80 million in a Series C round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, with MIT Investment Co. and existing investors participating. Peppermint Robotics raises ₹100 crore (approximately $10.5 million) in a Pre-Series B round led by pi Ventures and Crane Venture Partners, with Asiana Fund participating. Traversal raises $120 million in a Series B round at a $1 billion valuation, led by Kleiner Perkins, Redpoint and Khosla Ventures, with Sequoia Capital, Battery Ventures and Amex Ventures participating. GIVA raises over $100 million in a round led by Multiples Alternate Asset Management. The Croffle Guys raises ₹14 crore in a round led by V3 Ventures, with N.A.N Partners participating. Solgram raises over $1 million in a pre-seed round led by DSG Consumer Partners and Saama Capital, with Kapil Chopra participating. Sachin Tendulkar makes a strategic investment in Metasports Interactive, the company behind Hitwicket. The amount was not disclosed. Hyeglo Beauty raises ₹7 crore in a round led by Sauce, with Giga Capital, Consumer Collective, Reckitt's Arjun Purkayastha and The Patient Capital participating. Unify Foodworks raises ₹5 crore in seed funding through convertible debentures from Atrium Ventures, SailThru Ventures, Arjun Vaidya and Abhishek Goyal. OBSESS raises approximately ₹3 crore in an angel round from Pushpendra Singh, Amit Goel and Harshit Vij. EloElo Group raises $80 million in a Series C round led by Hornbill Capital and NBCUniversal, with MIT Investment Co. and existing investors participating. Peppermint Robotics raises ₹100 crore (approximately $10.5 million) in a Pre-Series B round led by pi Ventures and Crane Venture Partners, with Asiana Fund participating. Traversal raises $120 million in a Series B round at a $1 billion valuation, led by Kleiner Perkins, Redpoint and Khosla Ventures, with Sequoia Capital, Battery Ventures and Amex Ventures participating. GIVA raises over $100 million in a round led by Multiples Alternate Asset Management. The Croffle Guys raises ₹14 crore in a round led by V3 Ventures, with N.A.N Partners participating. Solgram raises over $1 million in a pre-seed round led by DSG Consumer Partners and Saama Capital, with Kapil Chopra participating. Sachin Tendulkar makes a strategic investment in Metasports Interactive, the company behind Hitwicket. The amount was not disclosed. Hyeglo Beauty raises ₹7 crore in a round led by Sauce, with Giga Capital, Consumer Collective, Reckitt's Arjun Purkayastha and The Patient Capital participating. Unify Foodworks raises ₹5 crore in seed funding through convertible debentures from Atrium Ventures, SailThru Ventures, Arjun Vaidya and Abhishek Goyal. OBSESS raises approximately ₹3 crore in an angel round from Pushpendra Singh, Amit Goel and Harshit Vij.
  • Digital Public Infrastructure Brazil: IIIT-Bangalore and DATAPREV Partner to Establish CIPD

    Digital Public Infrastructure Brazil

    Bengaluru: IIIT-Bangalore’s Centre for Open Societal Systems (COSS) and Brazil’s DATAPREV have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the Centro de Infraestrutura Pública Digital (CIPD) in Florianópolis, marking a major step in strengthening Digital Public Infrastructure Brazil initiatives. The MoU was formally signed on October 30, 2025.

    The newly established CIPD is envisioned as a dedicated center of excellence for advancing Digital Public Infrastructure Brazil, with planned extensions across the Latin American region.

    The initiative brings together India’s global leadership in DPI and Brazil’s strong track record of digital innovation to jointly design, implement, and scale open, interoperable systems.

    Also Read: Synergy 2025 Showcases Innovation and Collaboration at IIIT Bangalore

    The collaboration will support capacity building through training programs, knowledge exchange, piloting of open-source digital solutions in labour, education, and social protection sectors, and advancing applied research on DPI frameworks.

    Digital Public Infrastructure Brazil: High-Level Delegation Supports the Collaboration

    The MoU was signed by Prof Debabrata Das, Director of IIIT-Bangalore, and Rodrigo Assumpção, CEO of DATAPREV.

    The ceremony, held in Brasília, saw participation from Ambassador of India to Brazil Dinesh Bhatia, MGI Executive Secretary Cristina Kiomi Mori, Deputy Secretary for Digital Transformation Beatriz Vasconcellos, EkStep Foundation CEO Shankar Maruwada, COSS CEO Ramesh M.C., DATAPREV board members, senior government representatives, and staff.

    During the event, MGI Minister Esther Dweck and Ambassador Bhatia highlighted the critical role of this India–Brazil partnership in enabling inclusive digital transformation through DPI-driven systems.

    Also Read: Next-Generation Telecom Technologies Get a Push with TEC-IIIT Naya Raipur Collaboration

    COSS CEO Ramesh M.C. described the partnership as a landmark effort in bilateral digital cooperation. “We are honoured to collaborate with DATAPREV to launch the first institutional Brazil–India initiative in Digital Public Infrastructure Brazil. This aligns with the strategic vision advanced by President Lula and Prime Minister Modi,” he said.

    Prof. Debabrata Das noted that the collaboration aims to co-create scalable and inclusive digital systems. “By combining IIIT-B’s experience in DPI and Brazil’s digital public innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to societal empowerment across Latin America,” he added.

    The Centre for Open Societal Systems (COSS) is a joint initiative of the EkStep Foundation and IIIT-Bangalore, focused on enabling nations to design, adopt, and implement Digital Public Infrastructure. COSS aims to positively impact one billion lives by 2030 through global DPI adoption.

    Author

    • Salil Urunkar

      Salil Urunkar is a senior journalist and the editorial mind behind Sahyadri Startups. With years of experience covering Pune’s entrepreneurial rise, he’s passionate about telling the real stories of founders, disruptors, and game-changers.

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