ThinkMetal Secures ₹27 Crore Led by IAN Alpha Fund to Scale Indigenous Precision Manufacturing

IAN Alpha Fund, the second fund in the IAN Group’s series of venture capital funds, has led a ₹27 crore funding round in ThinkMetal, an advanced materials and manufacturing technology company building indigenous technologies for high-value precision manufacturing. The round also saw participation from 3i Partners and existing investors.

The new capital will support ThinkMetal’s next phase of growth, including product development, expansion of its materials and R&D capabilities, strengthening of the team, and wider adoption of its technology among industrial customers.

Manufacturing high-value precision metal parts, tools and components for demanding industrial applications can involve long lead times, expensive tooling, specialised equipment and dependence on imported technologies. ThinkMetal is building an integrated technology stack to address these challenges by combining advanced materials, manufacturing processes, industrial systems and application development.

Its current commercial beachhead is SistemT1, an industrial metal additive manufacturing system designed to enable faster and more flexible production of precision metal components. SistemT1 is powered by ThinkMetal’s proprietary FuseX™ metal filament technology, which forms part of the company’s growing materials and process IP portfolio.

Founded by Sabyasachi Ghosh and Arushi Sharma, ThinkMetal has progressed from technology development to enterprise application-led pilots and is now focused on taking these solutions into larger commercial deployments. The company is also expanding its materials library and building in-house capabilities for processing and developing newer materials.

ThinkMetal serves industrial manufacturers requiring qualified, high-value precision manufacturing for mission-critical applications across sectors including aerospace, defence, space, automotive and electric mobility. Rather than building around a single machine, the company is developing capabilities across materials, manufacturing technology and application knowledge with the aim of building deeper IP and indigenous technology capabilities that can extend across industrial applications. The company estimates a global opportunity of approximately $110 billion across advanced manufacturing and materials.

Sabyasachi Ghosh, Co-founder & CEO, ThinkMetal, said: “This investment is an important step in ThinkMetal’s journey from technology development towards commercialisation. We’ll use this capital to strengthen our product development, expand our team and materials capabilities and accelerate adoption across industrial applications. Our long-term focus remains on building deep indigenous capabilities in materials and manufacturing technologies from India for global markets.”

Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said: “Strong nations are built on core materials and manufacturing technologies they own. ThinkMetal is building toward that for India in metal additive manufacturing, with an integrated stack of indigenous hardware, proprietary materials and manufacturing technology. Its platform enables manufacturers to produce high-value precision metal parts up to 10x faster and at half the cost, with part quality tested at NABL/ASME- accredited labs. With 17+ IPs already filed, Arushi and Sabyasachi have built a genuine deep-tech moat, developing capabilities across materials, processes and applications that can create a deeper technology and IP base, and we believe ThinkMetal can redefine how India makes high-value precision metal parts. We are proud to back them.”

ThinkMetal’s long-term vision is to build a global materials innovation and intelligence company, making advanced materials and mission-critical precision manufacturing faster, more accessible and industrially scalable, while building globally competitive technology capabilities from India.

About ThinkMetal:

ThinkMetal is an advanced materials and manufacturing technology company building indigenous solutions to make high-value precision manufacturing faster, more predictable and scalable. Industrial metal additive manufacturing is its current commercial beachhead, while its long-term focus is on building deeper capabilities in advanced materials, manufacturing technology and manufacturing intelligence for critical industrial applications.

About IAN Alpha Fund:

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group's series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.

About IAN Group:

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. IAN Group backs founders across domains and helps them scale their companies across India and beyond. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

India’s Ist Nano Surface Care Brand Invisel Raises ₹4 Crore in Funding Led By IAN Angel Fund

(Left to Right) Atharva Ulangwar (Founder & CEO) and Sumedh Yeolekar (Co-founder & CMO); Invisel

IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, has led a ₹4 crore funding round in Invisel, India's first nanotechnology-based home surface protection brand, along with BeyondSeed, with participation from FAAD Capital. The investment marks the company's first external funding after building a profitable business entirely through bootstrapped operations.

Founded by Atharva Ulangwar (Founder & CEO) and Sumedh Yeolekar (Co-founder & CMO), Invisel is introducing a new way for homeowners to care for their living spaces. Instead of repeatedly cleaning surfaces after they get damaged, the company's invisible protective coatings help prevent stains, hard water marks, and everyday wear before they happen.

The idea emerged from a simple observation. While working with industrial nano coatings for several years, founder Atharva saw cutting-edge formulations being supplied to businesses across sectors, but rarely reaching end consumers. Homeowners facing common problems such as stained bathroom glass, fading marble, or damaged upholstery had no practical solution to prevent the damage in the first place.

The company was created to change that by bringing industrial-grade surface protection directly into consumers' hands through products that can be applied in minutes without professional expertise.

Within just over a year of commercial operations, the company has served more than 60,000 customers across 900+ pin codes, generated ₹5.2 crore in FY26 revenue, and achieved profitability all without raising external capital. Alongside its D2C business, they also work with institutional partners who are leading OEMs in the Furniture industry, while offering professional application services across multiple cities.

The fresh capital will be used to establish a dedicated manufacturing and research facility in Pune, strengthen the company's materials science capabilities, accelerate product innovation, build greater consumer awareness around preventive surface care, and support domestic and international expansion.

Atharva Ulangwar, Founder & CEO, Invisel, said, “We spent years making nano coatings that were genuinely world class, and then handing them over to other brands to put their name on. The technology worked, the market access didn't exist. Invisel was built to close that gap: to take industrial grade surface science and put it directly in the hands of an Indian homeowner, in a form they can use themselves.
This round lets us do three things we've been unable to do while bootstrapped: scale up our manufacturing and R&D facility, deepen the formulation science with senior research talent, improve marketing and distribution across online and offline channels, and take the Invisel brand to households across the world. We've grown to over 60,000 customers without external capital and while remaining profitable. With this investment, our focus is on building this new category from scratch and becoming the category leaders. Whenever anyone thinks of Nano Coatings, they should think of Invisel.”

Sumedh Yeolekar, Co-founder & CMO, Invisel, said, “We’re not building another home-care brand; we’re building an entirely new category around preventive care. For decades, consumers have been taught to clean, repair and replace after something gets damaged. We believe the future is about protecting surfaces before that damage happens. Our ambition is to make surface protection as fundamental to owning a home as cleaning itself and make Invisel the brand that defines that shift.”

India's home care industry is evolving rapidly as consumers invest more in premium homes, interiors and long-lasting products. Yet almost every solution available today focuses on cleaning surfaces after they have been damaged. They are taking a different approach by making protection the first step rather than the last.

Its invisible coatings form a protective layer on surfaces such as glass, marble, tiles, fabric, leather and metal, helping reduce cleaning effort while extending the life of household materials. A single application lasts between 6-12 months and can be completed within minutes.

Unlike most nano coating businesses that primarily serve industrial customers, Invisel has built a fully integrated consumer brand with in-house formulation, manufacturing and multiple distribution channels spanning e-commerce, institutional partnerships and professional services.

The company plans to expand its professional application network from three cities to twelve, establish its first international presence in the UAE later this year, introduce five new product categories, and grow its team across research, manufacturing, sales and marketing. It is also investing in advanced materials research and patent development to strengthen its long-term innovation pipeline.

About Invisel

Invisel is India’s first nanotechnology-based home surface protection brand. Founded in November 2024 and headquartered in Pune, Invisel manufactures invisible nano coatings that protect everyday home surfaces including glass, tile, fabric, leather, marble and metal from stains, hard water damage and everyday wear. Alongside its Direct-to-consumer business, Invisel works with institutional partners, including leading OEMs in the furniture industry, while offering professional application services across multiple cities. Invisel manufactures all its formulations in-house and has served over 60,000 customers across India. For more information, visit www.invisel.in

About IAN Angel Fund

IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, is a SEBI-registered Category I AIF and part of India's leading early-stage investment platform, which pioneered angel investing in the country. Today, IAN invests through its Angel Fund and venture capital funds, backed by a network of approximately 500 investors, including iconic entrepreneurs and industry leaders from India and overseas. The platform enables founders to raise capital from ₹50 lakh to ₹50 crore as they scale, while offering investors a diversified early-stage portfolio across both emerging and growth-stage startups.

About IAN Group

IAN Group is India's largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered venture capital funds, including the US$100 million IAN Alpha Fund. IAN supports entrepreneurs with capital, mentoring by experienced founders, and access to global markets. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

Farm Watt Innovations Raises ₹32.5 crore Funding led by IAN Alpha Fund

Founding Team – Farm Watt Innovations

IAN Alpha Fund, the second in the series of IAN Group’s VC funds, has co-led the ₹32.5 Crore funding round of Farm Watt Innovations, along with Rainmatter. The fresh capital will be utilized to strengthen the supply chain for India's rapidly expanding bioenergy sector, increase the number of biomass collection networks, construct additional aggregation hubs, invest in machinery, and develop its workforce.

Founded in 2023 by Kumar Neelendu, Kumar Neelendu brings over 23 years of diverse leadership experience, with the majority of his career dedicated to rural development, spanning financial inclusion, agriculture, and sustainable livelihood initiatives.

Since 2015, he has been actively involved in the renewable energy and bioenergy sector, working closely with European technology partners to secure the marketing rights for several advanced and future-ready technologies in the Compressed Biogas (CBG) industry. He has played a key role in introducing and commercializing these technologies across India and international markets.

Recognizing a critical gap in the emerging bioenergy ecosystem, Neelendu founded Farmwatt Innovations. He observed that while millions of tonnes of agricultural residue were being openly burned every year, the SATAT initiative had simultaneously triggered rapid investment in CBG and other green energy projects. However, there was no organized platform to connect biomass availability with the growing industry demand.

Going forward, Farmwatt aims to expand beyond aggregation and technology integration by developing its own portfolio of CBG, bio-pellet, and biochar plants, creating a fully integrated circular bioeconomy platform that delivers environmental, social, and economic impact.Approximately 92 million tonnes of crop residue are burned annually in India, contributing considerably to soil degradation and air pollution while releasing an estimated 34 million tonnes of CO2 into the sky. In addition, India produces around 500 million tons of agricultural residue a year, much of it is underutilized even though it has the potential to be used as feedstock for renewable energy.

The Government of India's SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) policy, which is propelling the swift growth of compressed biogas (CBG) facilities throughout the nation, has given this option even more impetus. However, the absence of a dependable, well-organized biomass supply chain that can produce high-quality feedstock on a large scale continues to be one of the industry's key problems.

The investment underlines IAN Alpha Fund's conviction that India's clean energy transition would depend on a robust biomass supply chain. They have created a unique strategy that helps both farmers and bioenergy companies by fusing an organized aggregation network with a thorough understanding of rural markets. The company is well-positioned to grow as the need for biomass continues to rise, thanks to its seasoned founding team, expanding network of farmers, and solid industry alliances.

Kumar Neelendu, Founder & Managing Director, Farm Watt Innovations, said, “This investment marks an important milestone in Farm Watt's journey towards building a scalable circular bioeconomy. As on the one hand, we had industries coming up in the biogas sector, like Reliance, IOCL, HPCL, BPCL. And, on the other, we had a situation where farmers were burning agri-waste. We thought it was the best time to get into the business.”

Sarika Saxena, Managing Partner at IAN Alpha Fund, said, “India’s transition to clean energy hinges on solving a massive, dual-sided challenge: managing millions of tonnes of underutilized crop residue while meeting the bioenergy sector’s soaring demand for reliable biomass. This isn’t just an environmental hurdle—it’s a massive supply-chain opportunity.

Farm Watt is capturing this market by building the missing link between farmers and the renewable energy ecosystem. Through their dependable biomass aggregation network, they are simultaneously curbing stubble burning, boosting rural incomes, and accelerating India’s circular bioeconomy. We are proud to back a team whose deep rural market expertise and sharp execution capabilities position them to become a definitive leader in the space.”

Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Bihar are among the states that the company intends to grow. Additionally, it intends to grow into digital biomass supply chain solutions, carbon credits, biochar, biomass preprocessing, and Bio-CBG initiatives.

The demand for a dependable biomass supply chain is anticipated to increase quickly as India keeps investing in compressed biogas and renewable energy. By lowering stubble burning, raising farmer earnings, and assisting the nation's move to cleaner energy, Farm Watt hopes to play a significant part in this change.

About Farm Watt Innovations:

Farm Watt Innovations Pvt Ltd is a climate-focused agribusiness and bioenergy enabler, working at trisection of agri waste management, rural livelihoods and renewable energy supply chain. Our core activity revolves around transforming agri residues into economic value while addressing critical environmental challenges like stubble burning causing air pollution and greenhouse gas emission. Our primary business activity involves aggregation, processing, and supply of agricultural biomass to downstream bioenergy applications such as Compressed Biogas (CBG) plants, bioenergy facilities, and circular bioeconomy enterprises.

A key pillar of our work is decentralized agri-residue aggregation hubs at clusters located at block level. Hubs facilitates collection, baling, storage, quality control and logistics of agri residues following standardized operational protocols, safety systems, and transparent weighing and payment mechanisms to ensure efficiency and fairness. We are currently operating from 15 Hubs spread across 6 states of northern, central and eastern India.

About IAN Alpha Fund:

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.

Ericsson Launches Nationwide 5G Innovation Challenge for Societal Impact

• The initiative seeks to accelerate the 5G ecosystem in India to build national capability in support of the country’s ‘Digital India’ Agenda.
• Open to startups, researchers, academic institutions and innovators nationwide. 
• Award winning solutions will be showcased at the India Mobile Congress 2026

Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) today announced the launch of its ‘Ericsson Innovation Challenge’, a nationwide initiative designed to identify and support innovative technology solutions that address critical societal challenges through the application of 5G and technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cloud and Internet-of-Things (IoT). Launched in partnership with IAN Mentoring and Incubation Services and TiE Delhi-NCR, the Ericsson Innovation Challenge seeks to bring together India's startup ecosystem, research community, academic institutions and technology innovators to develop and deploy solutions that can create measurable impact across sectors critical to the country's development.

This initiative has been specifically designed for India and forms part of Ericsson's global 150-year jubilee celebrations, reflecting the company's long-standing commitment to innovating to create positive societal impact.

The Ericsson Innovation Challenge will focus on solutions that address public-benefit challenges in areas such as rural technology and digital inclusion, healthcare access and diagnostics, climate and environmental sustainability, agricultural productivity and food security, and advanced manufacturing. Through the initiative, Ericsson aims to strengthen national capability – in building the use of 5G technologies while encouraging innovation that delivers meaningful outcomes for communities across India.

Nitin Bansal, Managing Director, Ericsson India, says, "For 150 years, Ericsson has pushed the boundaries of innovation to connect people, transform industries and positively impact the communities in which we operate. As we celebrate this milestone, we are proud to launch the Ericsson Innovation Challenge, an initiative that brings together innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs in India to leverage 5G technology in order to solve real-world challenges.”

“India has a dynamic innovation ecosystem that can leverage 5G and other emerging technologies to address critical needs across healthcare, agriculture, sustainability, manufacturing and digital inclusion. Through this initiative, we hope to support solutions that can deliver measurable impact, strengthen the 5G ecosystem and contribute to India's digital future", he added.

"At IAN, we have always backed founders who see opportunity where others see obstacles. The Ericsson Innovation Challenge does exactly that — it asks India's innovators to look at our most critical societal challenges and answer them with the power of 5G. As partners in this initiative, IAN brings not just capital but deep mentoring expertise to help the most promising solutions mature into ready investment ventures. We are delighted to provide a platform that connects these innovators with the support, guidance and networks they need to turn bold ideas into lasting impact.”- Padmaja Ruparel, Co-Founder- IAN Group and Senior Managing Partner - IAN Alpha Fund. 

“India's entrepreneurs have never lacked ambition — what they need is the right platform, the right mentors and the right moment. The Ericsson Innovation Challenge brings all three together. TiE Delhi-NCR is proud to partner in identifying and nurturing solutions that use 5G to address India's most pressing needs across healthcare, agriculture, sustainability, food security and digital inclusion. Through our mentorship network and rigorous jury process, we will help ensure that the ideas which rise to the top at India Mobile Congress 2026 are not just innovative, but ready to scale and create lasting impact." said Geetika Dayal, Director General, TiE Delhi-NCR. 

About the Ericsson Innovation Challenge

The Ericsson Innovation Challenge is open to researchers, faculty members, technology transfer offices, incubatees of recognised incubators, and Indian startups so that they can develop 5G technology solutions that are innovative, ready for deployment and have measurable societal impact in India. Participants will be evaluated by a high-profile jury on the potential societal impact, innovation, scalability and sustainability of their solution, as well as its alignment with the identified problem area selected by the participant.

Applications will open on 2nd July 2026 and close on 22nd July 2026. Following a multi-stage evaluation and mentoring process led by industry experts, investors and ecosystem leaders, shortlisted participants will gain access to mentorship, venture-building support and engagement opportunities with Ericsson and its partners, TiE Delhi-NCR and IAN. The top teams will showcase their solutions before industry leaders, policymakers, investors and technology experts, with the winners being recognized at the final awards ceremony at India Mobile Congress 2026.

Interested applicants can learn more about the eligibility criteria and application process for the Ericsson Innovation Challenge here

IAN Angel Fund Deploys Over ₹115 Crore in FY26, Strengthening India's Early-Stage Innovation Economy

• Milestone reflects growing conviction in deeptech, spacetech, biotech, and IP-led startups, reinforcing the critical role of angel capital in India's innovation journey

In a significant milestone for India's early-stage investment ecosystem, IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, has deployed over ₹115 crore during FY26, reinforcing its commitment to backing founders at the stage where capital is often the hardest to secure but arguably the most consequential.

At a time when India's startup ecosystem is increasingly shifting its focus towards deep technology, R&D-led innovation, and strategic sectors, the Fund's investment activity highlights the growing importance of early conviction capital, the first institutional backing that enables founders to transform breakthrough ideas into scalable businesses, well before revenue acceleration or large venture capital rounds.

The ₹115 crore deployment reflects continued investor confidence in the high-quality, rigorously evaluated investment opportunities presented through the IAN Angel Fund platform. Investments during the year spanned eight high-potential sectors, including deeptech, life sciences and healthtech, climate and sustainability, cybersecurity, logistics, edtech, food & beverage, and consumer technology.

Importantly, 75% of the deployed capital was invested in new portfolio companies, while 25% was allocated towards follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies. The follow-on participation underscores not only the quality of founders and their execution capabilities but also the long-term value created through IAN's active mentoring, strategic guidance, and extensive investor network.

The Fund's portfolio reflects the changing nature of India's entrepreneurial landscape. Rather than focusing solely on fast-scaling digital businesses, they continue to back companies building foundational technologies, industrial capabilities, and intellectual property across sectors that are increasingly aligned with India's long-term strategic priorities.

Among the startups funded by the IAN Angel Fund are Rymo Technologies, The Sweet Change, PlaySuper, Biodimension, InterCosmos, Peping, LearnTube, Trishul Space, Fery Rides, Lamark Biotech, Innovodigm, Peptris, Endure Air, SecurWeave, Contrails AI, Chargeup, Famyo, Artment, and Harajuku, representing sectors ranging from spacetech and biotechnology to climate innovation, cybersecurity, and next-generation consumer brands.

These investments underscore the company’s growing focus on companies developing breakthrough technologies in sectors where commercialisation cycles are longer, technology risk is higher, and conventional venture funding typically enters much later.

The milestone also reflects the broader evolution of India's startup financing landscape. As sectors such as deeptech, spacetech, semiconductor technologies, health innovation, and advanced manufacturing receive increasing policy support and market attention, the role of angel investors is becoming even more significant. By providing founders with early conviction capital, strategic mentorship, and market access, angel investors enable companies to validate technologies, build products, and prepare for larger institutional funding.

IAN believes that India's innovation ambitions will increasingly depend on strengthening this earliest layer of capital formation. The Fund's FY26 deployment is therefore more than a portfolio milestone; it is a reflection of how angel investing in India is becoming more thematic, technology-led, and aligned with the country's long-term innovation and strategic priorities.

About IAN Angel Fund

IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, is a SEBI-registered Category I AIF and part of India's leading early-stage investment platform, which pioneered angel investing in the country. Today, IAN invests through its Angel Fund and venture capital funds, backed by a network of approximately 500 investors, including iconic entrepreneurs and industry leaders from India and overseas. The platform enables founders to raise capital from ₹50 lakh to ₹50 crore as they scale, while offering investors a diversified early-stage portfolio across both emerging and growth-stage startups.

About IAN Group

IAN Group is India's largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered venture capital funds, including the US$100 million IAN Alpha Fund. IAN supports entrepreneurs with capital, mentoring by experienced founders, and access to global markets. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

Aquapulse Raises ₹45 Cr Led by NABVENTURES, With IAN Alpha Fund Joining to Transform India’s Shrimp Value Chain for Global Exports

IAN Group, the country's largest early-stage investment platform, through IAN Alpha Fund, has participated in the successful closure of Aquapulse's ₹45 crore funding round, led by NABVENTURES through its AgriSURE Fund. The company plans to deploy the fresh capital to strengthen farm-level technology and disease management systems, expand its farmer procurement network across eastern India, scale processing and export operations, and build working capital infrastructure to support its growing global business.

With assistance from Aquapulse in the areas of water quality monitoring, feed discipline, disease early-warning systems, and harvesting coordination, local entrepreneurs can oversee clusters of shrimp ponds according to the company's aquapreneur concept. The Company brings increased transparency and consistency for purchasers around the world while giving smaller, shrimp farmers stable revenue streams. Pre-harvest technology assistance, lagoon-based harvesting, processing collaborations, and export logistics are all integrated by the company into a single traceable supply chain platform. At the moment, they mostly export shrimp to China, Vietnam, and Japan, but it also serves institutional and modern trade clients in the country.

Established in 2023 by Abhishek and Abhilash Dwivedy, Aquapulse uses a hub-and-spoke strategy to directly enable increased productivity and therefore earnings for small shrimp farmers. While the company started with Odisha based farmers, the company has demonstrated scale as it expanded its model to Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal farmers. The Company has created a technology-enabled, farmer-focused procurement platform that directly links shrimp producers with organized domestic and international markets.

India is one of the biggest exporters of frozen shrimp in the world, and the industry contributes significantly to the nation's seafood export in 2025, for instance, seafood exports from India amounted to US$ 8.28 billion. Nonetheless, a significant portion of shrimp output still originates from dispersed smallholder farms, which largely lack access to organized market connections, technological assistance, stable pricing, and traceability mechanisms. Simultaneously, foreign consumers are keen for end-to-end sourcing visibility, sustainability, and consistency in quality, as there is a high demand for Indian shrimps. The company’s model is based on the belief that India's strength is based on organizing its large number of small farmers by integrating technology with organized market access. For India, this is an excellent aggregation model for low-earning small farmers to access global customers, with significantly higher earnings.

Abhishek Dwivedy, Co-Founder, MD & CEO, Aquapulse, said, “This round is a vote of confidence in the smallholder shrimp farmer. The capital lets us deepen the aquapreneur cluster model, strengthen pre-harvest technology at the pond, and scale processing and exports without losing the farmer-first discipline we started with. We are not trying to replace the existing value chain overnight. We are trying to organise it — pond by pond, cluster by cluster — so that quality, traceability and farmer income all move in the same direction.”

Abhilash Dwivedy, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer, Aquapulse, said, “Our job is to make the smallholder shrimp farmer a named, recognised participant in the global seafood chain — not an anonymous input.”

Sarika Saxena, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “We invest in scalable, execution-driven companies that bridge critical market gaps. Aquapulse stood out immediately due to their deep understanding of the aquaculture ecosystem and a ground-level operational model that drives genuine value for both vendors and customers. By building a seamless 'farm-to-port' platform, Abhishek and Abhilash are matching dynamic international demand with unparalleled transparency, traceability, and market access. Aquapulse perfectly aligns with our fund’s thesis: backing innovative solutions that solve real-world problems at scale."

About Aquapulse

Aquapulse is the brand of Phoenix Marine Exports and Solution Pvt. Ltd. (PMES), a pond-to-port integrated shrimp aquaculture tech and seafood export company headquartered in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The company works directly with smallholder shrimp farmers across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal through an aquapreneur-led hub-and-spoke model — supporting them with pre-harvest technology, lagoon-based harvesting, processing and export logistics.

Aquapulse exports primarily to China, Vietnam and Japan, and serves domestic customers through a parallel channel. The company’s focus is on organising India’s fragmented smallholder shrimp value chain into a single, traceable platform that delivers consistent quality to global buyers and a more predictable livelihood to farmers at the pond.
About IAN Alpha Fund

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.

About IAN Group

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. IAN Group backs founders across domains and helps them scale their companies across India and beyond. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

IAN Alpha Fund Leads ₹45cr in ANSCER Robotics to Scale AI‑Native Automation and Global Expansion

• ANSCER Robotics is well positioned to address evolving global demand for intelligent automation

IAN Group, the country’s largest early-stage investment platform, has led a ₹45 crores funding round in ANSCER Robotics, from IAN Alpha Fund, the second in its series of VC funds, along with Info Edge, and other angel investors. The investment will support the company’s next phase of growth across product innovation, US expansion, strategic partnerships, and partner-led deployment across factories and warehouses.

Founded in 2020 by Ribin Mathew (CEO), Ebin Sunny (COO), Raghu V (CBO), and Raj Mohan (CTO), ANSCER Robotics is building one of India’s most advanced AI-native automation platforms for industrial environments. Built in India and engineered to global safety standards, the company is developing robots for demanding real-world manufacturing and warehouse conditions environments where robots need to operate safely alongside people, forklifts, production lines, and high-throughput industrial processes. Its modular hardware and software stack is designed to enable faster deployment, easier servicing, and scalable adoption across domestic and international markets.

ANSCER’s India-built global platform is backed by deep manufacturing capability with a manufacturing facility in Bengaluru capable of producing more than 1,000 robots a year, supported by a dedicated 20,000 sq. ft. testing area where every robot undergoes performance, endurance, and application testing before it leaves the facility.

Ribin Mathew, Founder & CEO, ANSCER Robotics, said, “The first era of automation was about machines following instructions. The next era will be about machines understanding context, learning from operations, and working alongside enterprise intelligence. ANSCER is building that future through a robotics platform developed in India, designed for global standards, and ready for the AI-native factory.”
The investment comes at a time when industries globally are rapidly increasing investments in automation and smart manufacturing. Rising labor costs, operational inefficiencies, safety concerns, and the growing need for faster supply chains are pushing companies to adopt intelligent robotics solutions at scale."

Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “We believe that industrial automation technology has reached a critical point globally. Today, companies view automation as a key resource for resilience, intelligence, and competitive advantage, not just efficiency. It was the team's vision for the development not only of robotic hardware but also of an intelligent, interoperable automation solution that could evolve with the adoption of enterprise artificial intelligence that impressed us the most. Their approach of integrating robots, orchestration software, fleet intelligence, and AI-native infrastructure places them well in an industry expected to experience rapid growth globally in the coming years.”

IAN Alpha Fund’s investment thesis is the Company’s differentiated ability to combine industrial-grade robotics hardware with intelligent software and AI- models and agents, to bring both efficiency and security to industrial systems transformation with the integration of robotics and AI. The company’s focus on building interoperable systems, scalable deployment models, and future-ready automation infrastructure aligned well with the fund’s thesis around next-generation manufacturing technologies.

India has the opportunity to become a global hub for next-generation industrial technologies, and Anscer represents the kind of deep-tech innovation needed to build that future. The company has demonstrated strong technological capabilities, a clear understanding of industrial workflows, and the ability to develop scalable robotics systems that can solve real operational problems across manufacturing and warehousing environments.

At a time when manufacturers and warehouses are increasingly looking to automate operations, improve efficiency, and reduce dependency on manual processes, ANSCER Robotics is building intelligent robotic systems designed for modern industrial environments. The company develops autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), fleet management software, and AI-driven automation systems that help factories and warehouses move materials faster, reduce operational downtime, improve worker safety, and streamline workflows. Please check if some marquee customer names could be added.

Built in India and engineered to global safety standards, the company’s modular hardware and software stack enables faster deployment, simplified servicing, and scalable adoption across domestic and international markets. They currently operate from their headquarters in Bengaluru with a sales and support presence in the US, supporting customers and partners across the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

About ANSCER Robotics

ANSCER Robotics is a Bangalore-based industrial robotics company building one of India’s most advanced AI-native automation platforms for factories and warehouses. The company designs and manufactures autonomous mobile robots, intelligent fleet software, and next-generation industrial systems that help enterprises improve material movement, productivity, safety, and operational efficiency.

Positioned at the intersection of robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and manufacturing, ANSCER is developing a future-ready platform that combines intelligent mobility, advanced vision systems, Vision-Language Model capabilities, and enterprise-grade software integration. Its architecture is designed to support real-time analytics, contextual decision-making, and seamless interoperability with customer-owned Artificial Intelligence models and digital systems.

The company is also developing an open robotics infrastructure layer aligned with Model Context Protocol (MCP) principles, enabling enterprises to securely integrate their own Artificial Intelligence agents and Large Language Models into robotic operations while retaining ownership of internal data.
Website: https://www.anscer.com/

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.

About IAN Group

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. IAN Group backs founders across domains and helps them scale their companies across India and beyond. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

The Sweet Change Raises ₹70 Lakhs in Funding Led By IAN Angel Fund

IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, has led a ₹70 lakhs early-stage funding round in The Sweet Change, India's cleanest natural sweetener brand, along with participation from Udaan Angel Partners.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen product development, expand its presence across e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms, grow brand awareness, and build a larger team as it scales operations across India.

Founded in 2024 by Manvi Agnihotri (Co-founder & CEO) and Sheen Hitashi (Co-founder & CBO), The Sweet Change was born out of a problem, observed at both a personal and professional level, that the co-founder Ms. Agnihotri witnessed closely during her years as a clinical nutritionist. Over the last 12 years, she has worked with more than 11,000+ patients dealing with diabetes, PCOS, insulin resistance, obesity, and lifestyle-related health conditions. One common challenge she repeatedly saw was the struggle to reduce sugar consumption without giving up taste.

The investment by IAN Angel Fund was driven by the growing demand for healthier food choices and the increasing awareness around metabolic health in India. The fund saw strong potential in the company’s clean-label positioning, differentiated product approach, and the founders’ deep understanding of consumer pain points.

The fund also viewed them as an emerging player in a category that is expected to see long-term growth as Indian consumers are increasingly moving towards preventive healthcare, fitness-focused lifestyles, and better nutritional choices. The company’s early customer adoption, repeat purchase trends, and capital-efficient growth further strengthened investor confidence.

Today, the company offers products made with natural ingredients, while avoiding artificial sweeteners. Its products are positioned as zero calorie, zero-sugar, zero-glycemic alternatives designed for health-conscious consumers as well as people managing medical and lifestyle conditions.

Manvi Agnihotri, Co-founder & CEO, The Sweet Change, said –

India deserves a sweetener it can trust. For 12 years, I watched people fail to quit sugar, not because they lacked discipline, but because the market failed them. This investment let us fix that - and put a clean, honest sweetener in every Indian kitchen that struggled to avoid sugar.

The Sweet Change has demonstrated strong early traction within a short span of launch. In just over a year, the brand has crossed ₹1.5 crore in revenue and fulfilled 12,000+ orders across India through its website alone. Built with a capital-efficient D2C model, the company is now gearing up to scale further through marketplaces and quick-commerce expansion.

For the Co-founder Sheen Hitaishi, the focus has been on building a brand that makes healthier choices simpler and more approachable for consumers.

While several sugar substitutes existed in the market, many contained artificial ingredients, had an unpleasant bitter aftertaste, or failed to build long-term consumer trust. This gap led to the creation of The Sweet Change, a brand focused on offering cleaner, more transparent, and better-tasting sugar alternatives for Indian consumers.

The company plans to continue expanding its omnichannel presence across D2C, marketplaces, and quick commerce, while also exploring opportunities in cafés, hospitality, and institutional partnerships over time.

About The Sweet Change

Founded by a clinical nutritionist after working with 11,000+ patients struggling with diabetes, PCOS, insulin resistance, and other lifestyle disorders, The Sweet Change was built on a powerful belief: people should never have to choose between health and sweetness.

The Sweet Change is building India’s next-generation clean sweetener brand creating natural alternatives that deliver the taste and experience of sugar, without the spike, guilt, or compromise. With a strong focus on clean ingredients, trust, and everyday usability, the brand is making healthier sweetness simple, enjoyable, and accessible for modern Indian consumers.Vision is to lead India’s shift away from refined sugar and build the country’s most trusted clean-sweetness brand for the next generation.

Mission

To bring healthier sweetness into 600 million Indian homes by creating products that make reducing sugar effortless, sustainable, and joyful - without compromising on taste.

About IAN Angel Fund

IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, is a SEBI-registered Category I AIF and part of India’s leading early-stage investment platform, which pioneered angel investing in the country. Today, IAN invests through its Angel Fund and venture capital funds, backed by a network of ~500 investors, including iconic entrepreneurs and industry leaders from India and overseas. The platform enables founders to raise capital from ₹50 lakh to ₹50 crore as they scale, while offering investors a diversified early- stage portfolio across both emerging and growth-stage startups.

About IAN Group

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered venture capital funds, including the US$100 million IAN Alpha Fund. IAN supports entrepreneurs with capital, mentoring by experienced founders, and access to global markets. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

IAN Alpha Fund Leads $6 Mn Investment Round in BigEndian Semiconductors

• As AI and edge computing surge, startup bets on security-first chip design to position India as a product-led semiconductor hub

IAN Group, the country’s largest early-stage investment platform, has led a USD$ 6 million funding round in BigEndian, through IAN Alpha Fund, the second in its series of VC funds, along with Vertex Ventures SEA, IvyCap Ventures, and other angel investors.

Sunil Kumar

The fresh capital will be deployed across chip design, team expansion, and tapeout cycles, one of the most capital-intensive and critical stages in semiconductor development. The company is also building cross-border partnerships, particularly in Taiwan, to bridge design and manufacturing, an essential step in navigating today’s globally distributed semiconductor supply chain.

Founded in 2024, BigEndian is developing System-on-Chips (SoCs) focused on AI Vision applications that enable machines to process and interpret visual data instantly. These are critical for applications such as smart surveillance, autonomous systems, industrial automation, and connected devices, where decisions need to be made at the edge, not the cloud.

The opportunity is also being shaped by a structural shift in the market. A significant majority of India’s surveillance and CCTV infrastructure currently relies on imported, predominantly Chinese SoCs. With increasing regulatory scrutiny globally and India’s STQC norms pushing for trusted, non-Chinese alternatives, OEMs are actively seeking reliable indigenous solutions, creating a well-defined and time-sensitive gap that companies like BigEndian are positioned to address.

The semiconductor industry is undergoing a structural shift away from general-purpose chips toward highly specialized silicon designed for AI, edge computing, and real-time data processing. At the same time, rising concerns around data security, cyber threats, and digital sovereignty are forcing companies and governments to rethink how chips are designed at the most fundamental level.

It is at this intersection that BigEndian is building, with a full-stack approach that integrates hardware, security, and software. Its “Secure by Design™” philosophy embeds security at the silicon level rather than as an afterthought, while its platform-led approach is designed to enable long-term ecosystem integration and recurring value creation.

Sunil Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, BigEndian Semiconductors, said, “Raising capital in semiconductors is never about the money alone. It’s about earning trust in your ability to execute. This funding validates not just our technology, but our approach to building silicon the hard way: from architecture to tape-out, with a long-term roadmap in mind. India has no shortage of engineering talent or market demand. What we need is conviction capital that understands the cost, risk, and importance of building fabless semiconductor companies. At BigEndian, we’re committed to proving that world-class chips can be designed, built, and scaled from India.”

Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “The semiconductor landscape is moving from scale to specialization, with increasing emphasis on secure, domain-specific chip design. BigEndian is building at the intersection of AI, edge computing, and hardware-level security, but what stood out for us, at IAN, was the team’s proven execution capability, with prior successful tape-outs, and the early market validation they have demonstrated through OEM partnerships.

We believe India’s opportunity in semiconductors lies not just in design services, but in building globally competitive product companies. BigEndian’s full-stack approach and focus on trusted, indigenous solutions position it well to address a critical and evolving market need.”

India’s opportunity in this space is both clear and urgent. The country already contributes significantly to global semiconductor design talent, yet captures limited value due to the absence of large-scale product companies. With policy tailwinds such as the India Semiconductor Mission and growing investor appetite for deeptech, the ecosystem is now primed for companies that can move up the value chain.

The broader market tailwinds are hard to ignore. AI-driven workloads, proliferation of smart devices, and the rise of edge computing are driving demand for custom silicon at an unprecedented pace. At the same time, geopolitical shifts and supply chain disruptions have made semiconductor self-reliance a strategic priority for nations.

Early indicators of market traction further strengthen this outlook, with the company already engaging with OEM partners who are actively aligning with emerging regulatory requirements and seeking dependable alternatives in the ecosystem.

In this environment, startups like BigEndian are not just building products, they are helping define India’s role in the global semiconductor value chain.

About BigEndian Semiconductors

BigEndian Semiconductors is a fabless semiconductor startup building secure, high-performance System-on-Chips (SoCs) for AI Vision applications - designed in India for the global. Founded by a veteran team with a track record in delivering world-first innovations—from 4G chipsets to unicorn-scale SaaS platforms—BigEndian is focused on developing silicon platforms that power next-generation AI Vision systems powering surveillance, industrial, automotive, IoT, and enterprise systems.

At the heart of BigEndian’s vision is a “Secure by Design™” philosophy that tightly integrates hardware and software. With deep expertise in VLSI, system architecture, and embedded software, the company is developing trusted silicon solutions that serve both national security and commercial needs.

Headquartered in Bengaluru with strategic partnerships across Taiwan and India, BigEndian is working to build an ecosystem that supports end-to-end semiconductor innovation—from architecture to tapeout to product launch. The company is backed by a leadership team with decades of experience at Intel, ARM, Broadcom, Cypress, Centillium, and Zenoti, and is supported by government programs and deep-tech investors.

BigEndian is on a mission to help India become a global hub for semiconductor design, innovation, and manufacturing, starting with Fabless, and building toward Fab.

About IAN Alpha Fund

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. IAN Group backs founders across domains and helps them scale their companies across India and beyond. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

IAN Alpha Fund Backs RoshAi’s Retrofit Autonomy Platform to Scale Driverless Industrial Fleets Globally

IAN Group, the country’s largest early-stage investment platform, has led a funding round in RoshAi of ₹22 Crore through IAN Alpha Fund, the second in its series of VC funds. RoshAi is a deep-tech autonomy company building retrofit-based driverless solutions for industrial vehicles. The investment will support the company in strengthening its product, expanding deployments, and scaling its presence across global industrial markets.

RoshAi is working to solve a long-standing challenge in industrial operations, enabling existing heavy vehicles in ports, mining sites, and logistics hubs to operate autonomously without requiring new fleet investments. As industries look to improve safety, reduce operational risks, and increase efficiency, the need for reliable and cost-effective autonomy solutions is becoming more pronounced. By combining AI-powered autonomy systems, sensors, and cloud-based fleet software, RoshAi allows operators to upgrade their current fleets and move towards driverless operations in a practical and scalable way.

The global industrial autonomous vehicles market is expanding rapidly, projected to grow from $47.6 billion in 2024 to $162.8 billion by 2030. RoshAi is focused on key segments within this opportunity, particularly autonomy retrofit kits and fleet management software, which are seeing strong adoption as operators look for faster and more efficient ways to implement automation.

The company has demonstrated early validation through partnerships with Tier 1 OEMs and repeat customer engagements. Its autonomy solutions have been tested over 100,000 km with zero safety incidents, supported by a growing patent portfolio and a technology stack designed for scalability across industrial environments.

Sarika Saxena, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “RoshAi is solving industrial autonomy through a retrofit-first approach, enabling operators to upgrade existing fleets rather than invest in new infrastructure. With strong early validation, repeat customer engagement, and a scalable autonomy platform, the company is well-positioned to build a globally relevant deep-tech business from India.”

Headquartered in Kochi, RoshAi is led by Dr. Roshy John and Rajaram Moorthy, who bring extensive experience in autonomous mobility, AI, and engineering. The team has built and tested its autonomy platform across industrial environments, demonstrating strong reliability and safety performance.

Roshy John, Founder & CEO, RoshAi, said,“Our focus is to make industrial operations safer and more efficient by enabling existing fleets to operate autonomously. This investment allows us to accelerate product development, scale deployments across global markets, and continue building a robust autonomy platform for industrial use cases. We are glad to have IAN’s support as we move into this next phase.”

RoshAi is building an autonomy platform that includes retrofit hardware, an in-vehicle autonomy system, and a cloud-based fleet management platform. This enables industrial operators to upgrade existing fleets instead of investing in new vehicles or infrastructure, reducing costs and accelerating adoption.

The company is currently working with industrial operators across ports, mining, and logistics environments through pilot projects and early deployments. It plans to expand into markets such as the United States, Australia, and Southeast Asia, where demand for industrial automation and driverless solutions is growing steadily.

With this investment, IAN Alpha Fund continues to back deep-tech startups building practical and scalable solutions for real-world challenges. The fund remains focused on supporting companies that solve problems from India, for India and the world.

About RoshAi

RoshAi (Rosh.AI Private Limited) is a deep-tech autonomy company that enables commercial vehicles operating in confined environments such as seaports, mining sites, airports, and industrial yards to run driverless using a combination of retrofit hardware and AI-powered fleet software. The company offers an autonomy operating system, vehicle retrofit kits, and a cloud-based fleet management platform that together deliver safer operations, higher uptime, and better unit economics for industrial customers. RoshAi follows an “Android-for-autonomy” model, licensing its AI software stack to OEMs and fleet operators globally while deploying its retrofit hardware for existing fleets.

About IAN Alpha Fund

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.

About IAN Group

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. IAN Group backs founders across domains and helps them scale their companies across India and beyond. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

IAN Angel Fund Backs InterCosmos to Power Next-Gen In-Space Transportation

IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, has invested in an early-stage funding round in InterCosmos, a next-gen in-space transportation company. The investment will help the company accelerate the development and flight qualification of its flagship propulsion technology, HyperX, and build its first in-flight demonstration.

Founded by aerospace engineers Gokul (Co-founder & CEO) and Aravinda Samy (Co-founder, COO & CTO), InterCosmos is working to solve a long-standing challenge in the space industry: to make propulsion systems safer, more reliable, and easier to operate without compromising performance. As the number of satellites and space missions continues to grow globally, propulsion has become critical, enabling in-orbit movement, maneuvering, and mission control. During the founders' tenure as project interns at LPSC/ISRO, they built expertise in the complexities of rocket propulsion, demonstrating strong technical and analytical capabilities in a demanding environment.

(Left to Right) Gokul Ravi (Co-founder & CEO) and Aravinda Samy (Co-founder, COO & CTO), at InterCosmos

This investment will be utilised to develop HyperX’s first in-flight demonstration and augment research and engineering capabilities to prepare HyperX for real-world space missions. The company is focused on demonstrating performance in orbit. This will be a critical milestone, as flight heritage is essential for adoption by customers and to enable commercial partnerships.

This investment by IAN Angel Fund reflects the growing investor interest in India’s spacetech industry. In fact, this investment underlines IAN Group’s focus on deeptech, with early-stage capital going into startups building critical infrastructure for the future of India’s, and eventually the global, space economy.

Headquartered in Chennai, with operations in Trivandrum, InterCosmos is targeting customers such as satellite manufacturers, spacecraft developers, and mission operators. These customers require reliable and safe propulsion systems for a wide range of applications, including satellite maneuvering, orbital mobility, launch vehicle upper stages, and future deep-space missions.

Gokul, Co-founder & CEO, InterCosmos, said, “This investment marks a significant milestone for InterCosmos as we move towards flight-qualifying our technology and accelerating the development of HyperX. We are building next-generation, non-toxic hypergolic propulsion systems to enable safe and efficient in-space transportation, delivering reliable, high-performance propulsion across a wide range of space missions.”

Traditional propulsion systems often rely on highly toxic fuels such as hydrazine, which are difficult to handle, expensive to operate, and heavily regulated. While alternatives exist, many of them compromise on performance or introduce complex ignition systems that reduce reliability. InterCosmos is addressing this gap by building HyperX, a non-toxic hypergolic propulsion system that offers the same reliability and operational simplicity as traditional systems while significantly improving safety and efficiency.

The global space economy is expanding rapidly, driven by increasing satellite launches, private space missions, and growing demand for in-space mobility. Industry estimates indicate that the space economy could grow to nearly $1.8 trillion by 2035, with propulsion emerging as a key enabling segment. As more satellites and spacecraft are launched, the need for efficient in-space transportation and maneuvering systems is expected to increase. It is creating strong opportunities for new propulsion technologies. InterCosmos is building solutions in this space.

Interestingly, the company’s vision is to expand beyond propulsion systems into broader in-space transportation infrastructure. This includes mobility platforms, re-entry vehicles, and interplanetary systems built on its HyperX technology platform. The company aims to contribute to the next phase of space mobility by enabling faster, safer, and more cost-effective spacecraft operations.

About InterCosmos:

InterCosmos is building next-generation in-space transportation technologies with HyperX, a novel non-toxic, high-performance hypergolic propulsion technology. As the company’s core platform and first commercial product, HyperX delivers safe, reliable, and scalable propulsion for the rapidly expanding space market.

Unlike traditional toxic propellants, HyperX enables easier handling, simplified ground operations, and reduced regulatory complexity without compromising performance.

About IAN Angel Fund:

IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, is a SEBI-registered Category I AIF and part of India’s leading early-stage investment platform, which pioneered angel investing in the country. Today, IAN invests through its Angel Fund and venture capital funds, backed by a network of ~500 investors, including iconic entrepreneurs and industry leaders from India and overseas. The platform enables founders to raise capital from ₹50 lakh to ₹50 crore as they scale, while offering investors a diversified early- stage portfolio across both emerging and growth-stage startups.

About IAN Group:

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered venture capital funds, including the US$100 million IAN Alpha Fund. IAN supports entrepreneurs with capital, mentoring by experienced founders, and access to global markets. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

IAN Alpha Fund Leads $9M Round in Skye Air Mobility’s Drone Logistics Push

Ankit Kumar, Founder & CEO, Skye Air Mobility

• IAN Alpha Fund leads Series B investment round in Skye Air Mobility
• Funding of $9M is to fuel hyperlocal drone delivery expansion

IAN Group, the country’s single largest early-stage investment platform, has led the Series B investment round in Skye Air Mobility, a leading hyperlocal drone delivery platform, through IAN Alpha Fund, second in the series of IAN Group’s VC Funds. The round also saw participation from AVNM Ventures, Faad Capital, Bajaj Capital, and other prominent investors, underscoring strong market confidence in Skye Air's autonomous logistics capabilities and Physical AI Infrastructure.

IAN Alpha Fund invests in innovative startups and MSMEs solving real problems or those aligning with India’s strategic imperatives. This investment reflects its conviction in next-generation logistics infrastructure being built with deep-tech products.

India’s last-mile logistics market is currently estimated at $5.5 billion and projected to reach $10 billion by 2030. Drone-enabled delivery is expected to capture a meaningful share as delivery speed, efficiency, and sustainability become increasingly critical for e-commerce and quick commerce players.

Founded by Ankit Kumar, Skye Air Mobility is building one of India’s leading hyperlocal drone delivery networks. The company combines autonomous drones, intelligent airspace management, and ground-based delivery infrastructure to enable scalable and sustainable last-mile logistics. In just over 2 years of operations, the company has completed more than 3.6 million autonomous deliveries while eliminating over 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. This demonstrates how aerial logistics can complement traditional supply chains and significantly reduce delivery times in dense urban environments. Their drones are designed to carry payloads of up to 10 kilograms, enabling applications ranging from e-commerce deliveries and pharmaceuticals to industrial supply chains.

A key differentiator in Skye Air’s model is its network-driven delivery architecture, which integrates aerial drones with ground logistics through a hub-pod-walker system designed specifically for Indian urban environments. This hybrid approach recognizes that drones alone cannot solve last-mile delivery challenges but can dramatically improve efficiency when integrated with existing logistics systems This also ensures that there is no dramatic loss of jobs by leveraging technology, in this case, drones

Skye Air also focuses on high-volume e-commerce logistics, one of the most demanding segments in the supply chain ecosystem, which has helped stress-test its technology and operational capabilities. The company already works with multiple enterprise customers across e-commerce, quick commerce, healthcare, and supply chain sectors. Across these two sectors, they have a portfolio of marquee customers, including Blue Dart Express, Shiprocket, Flipkart, Frido, Tata 1MG, Zepto and others.

Ankit Kumar, Founder & CEO, Skye Air Mobility, said, “When we started Skye Air, I was told that autonomous drone delivery in India was more than a decade away. We have completed 3.6 million deliveries and saved over 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ in just over two years, and we are just getting started. This fundraise marks our transition from proving the model to scaling the infrastructure. The capital will go toward deepening our Physical AI stack, connecting autonomous drones, intelligent airspace management through Skye UTM, and AI-powered ground robotics into a single seamless delivery chain. India has a rare opportunity not just to adopt the global playbook on drone logistics, but to write it for the world.”

Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said: “Last-mile logistics in India is not just a speed challenge, it is a structural one. The real unlock lies in the infrastructure that enables reliable, scalable autonomous aerial delivery. What stood out with Skye Air is that Ankit and the team recognised this early and built an integrated system combining airspace management, a hub-pod-walker network, and a Physical AI logistics stack. With over 3.5 million deliveries completed in two years, the model is already proving itself. India has a real opportunity to set the global benchmark for autonomous logistics infrastructure, and we are excited to back Skye Air in building that future.”

With the new funding, Skye Air plans to start expanding its operations beyond Delhi-NCR into cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, while further strengthening its technology stack across drone operations, airspace management, and autonomous logistics systems.

About Skye Air Mobility:

Skye Air Mobility is India's leading hyperlocal drone delivery platform, redefining last-mile logistics through autonomous aerial intelligence. In just two years of operations, the company has completed over 3.6 million autonomous deliveries while eliminating more than 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, demonstrating that speed and sustainability are not a trade-off.

At the heart of Skye Air's operations is Skye UTM, a proprietary AI-powered aerial traffic management platform that serves as the command-and-control backbone for complex urban delivery networks. Skye UTM enables safe, scalable, and coordinated drone operations across dynamic airspace making high-density, multi-route deployments not just possible, but reliable. Skye Air's flagship delivery drones are engineered to carry payloads of up to 10 kg, purpose-built for the demands of modern commerce from pharmaceuticals and e-commerce to food and industrial supply chains.

As India charts its course toward a drone-powered future, Skye Air Mobility stands at the forefront building the infrastructure, intelligence, and operational trust that will define what aerial logistics looks like at scale.

About IAN Alpha Fund:

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.

About IAN Group:
IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. IAN Group backs founders across domains and helps them scale their companies across India and beyond. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

IAN Alpha Fund Backs Peptris in ₹70 Crore Series A to Advance AI Drug Discovery

IAN Alpha Fund, the 2nd in the series of IAN Group’s VC funds, along with Speciale Invest, has co-led a ₹70 crore Series A funding round in Peptris, a Bengaluru-based AI-powered drug discovery company. The round also saw participation from Tenacity Ventures, BYT Ventures, and other investors. The investment strengthens Peptris’ proposition as one of the leading Indian AI drug discovery platforms progressing beyond molecule generation towards clinical-ready assets. It is an opportune time for such an investment, as companies like Peptris not only help drug companies globally reduce development costs amid high failure rates but also assist with life-cycle management of their patents.

Founded in 2019, Peptris has built an AI-led discovery engine that addresses one of the most persistent problems in healthcare: despite scientific advances, drug discovery remains slow, expensive, and failure-prone, leaving large unmet medical needs. This challenge is most acute in the pre-clinical stage, where time, capital, and scientific uncertainty often derail promising programs much before drugs reach the clinical stage.

Peptris’ differentiator is its proprietary AI models, which not only generate novel molecules but also help predict critical drug development parameters early. This enables faster and better-informed decision-making and has already resulted in the discovery of Novel Chemical Entities (NCEs) as well as drug repurposing and rescue opportunities, with multiple programs now advancing towards clinical development.

This fresh capital infusion will be used to advance its existing programs toward clinical readiness and to significantly expand its pipeline over the next 24 months. The company plans to initiate several new NCE programs, alongside multiple drug repurposing and rescue programs (shelved clinical stage drugs of other companies). The company will also expand teams across biology, chemistry, data science, and AI, while building dedicated business development capabilities in the US and Europe to deepen partnerships with global pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Business Model: Peptris follows a B2B engagement model, working closely with pharma, biotech, and select FMCG partners to license assets and co-develop programs. Several of its discovery programs each address multi-billion-dollar global market opportunities, underlining the company’s value potential.

Leadership Team: Peptris is led by a founding team comprising Narayanan Venkatasubramanian (CEO), Shridhar Narayanan (CSO), Anand Budni (CTO), and Amit Mahajan (Chief Data Scientist), bringing together deep expertise across AI drug discovery and computational science. The team combines strong academic grounding with hands-on experience in building technology-led platforms and translating complex biological problems into data-driven solutions.

CEO Statement: Narayanan Venkatasubramanian, Co-founder & CEO, Peptris, said, “Our mission has been to harness AI to address meaningful healthcare challenges that enhance quality of life, not merely extend lifespan. The true reward lies in seeing this work translate into hope for patients, relief for caregivers, and a more accessible future for those with limited or unaffordable treatment options. Peptris is especially encouraged to have IAN Alpha Fund share this conviction as an early backer, reinforcing our commitment to building impactful, patient-centered innovation.”

Investor Statement: Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “Drug discovery is becoming economically unsustainable, with expenses nearly doubling every nine years and pre-clinical development swallowing disproportionate time and capital. The use of AI for molecule discovery, which re-engineers the economics of early drug discovery by enabling faster decisions, reducing costs, and significantly accelerating go-to-market timelines, really excited us. This is driven by a team with scientific depth and computational rigor. This innovation could absolutely help change the drug discovery ecosystem not only in India but globally. At its core, this investment is about serving humanity better.”

Therapeutic Focus: Peptris focuses on therapeutic areas including rare diseases, inflammation, oncology, and women’s health to deliver a durable impact for patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems globally.

About Peptris

Peptris is an AI-powered pre-clinical drug discovery company based in Bengaluru. Peptris has created AI models to generate novel molecules and predict varied parameters that are critical to reduce failures in drug development. The approach has led to the discovery of Novel Chemical Entities (NCE), drug repurposing and rescue opportunities. With novel solutions and a healthy pipeline of molecules, Peptris is one of the few nimble AI drug discovery companies to be entering clinical development and has successfully licensed its first program in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

About IAN Alpha Fund

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology.

About IAN Group

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

IAN Group Backs e-TRNL Energy with ₹27.4 Cr Seed Round for Next-Gen Battery Cells

(Left to Right) Apoorv Shaligram (Co-founder & CEO) and Dr. Uttam Kumar Sen (Co-founder & CTO), e-TRNL Energy

IAN Group, the country’s single largest early-stage investment platform, has led a ₹27.4 crore seed round in e-TRNL Energy, a cleantech startup pioneering next-generation battery cell technology, through its 2nd VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. The round saw participation from Navam Capital, Speciale Invest, and other investors.

Founded in 2021 by Apoorv Shaligram (Co-founder & CEO) and Dr. Uttam Kumar Sen (Co-founder & CTO), e-TRNL Energy is led by founders with deep, hands-on experience across battery materials, cell engineering, and manufacturing. Apoorv brings over a decade of experience spanning lithium-ion research, cell fabrication, EV battery design, and scaling cell technologies for India, along with multiple technical publications in energy storage. Dr. Sen, a PhD in Energy Science & Engineering, is a seasoned battery researcher with over 2,700 academic citations and extensive experience in lithium-ion cell development and materials engineering.

While most battery innovation globally has focused on incremental chemistry improvements within legacy cell designs, e-TRNL Energy is taking a fundamentally different approach by rethinking the core cell architecture and manufacturing process itself. By redesigning the cell architecture, the technology enables safer batteries with significantly lower heat generation, faster charging, longer life, and higher energy density, while also improving manufacturing economics.

The funds raised will be used to complete product development, validate performance and safety, and demonstrate manufacturing capability in India.The company has already set up a 20,000 sq. ft. R&D and early manufacturing facility in Bengaluru to support testing and scale-up. It has been granted two patents for its battery cell design and has filed additional patent applications.

The company plans to establish a 250 MWh pilot manufacturing facility by 2027, with the intention of expanding it to a 2 GWh capacity later. Its first battery product will use LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) chemistry, with plans to develop LMFP and Sodium-ion batteries in the future. The company plans to supply its cells to battery pack manufacturers serving electric mobility and energy storage markets.

Apoorv Shaligram, Co-founder & CEO, e-TRNL Energy, said — Over the past three years, we've created a ground-breaking battery cell design and built precise machines and processes needed to realize it. With this funding round, we move towards demonstration, testing, and scaling our innovation for commercialization. Beyond positioning India as a leader in energy storage innovations, these efforts will also strengthen our resilience against global supply chain vulnerabilities in these changing times.

Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, — India’s energy transition will depend not just on adopting batteries, but on owning core cell design and manufacturing capabilities. What stood out with e-TRNL Energy was their first-principles rethink of cell architecture and manufacturing, rather than incremental upgrades to legacy designs. This integrated approach tackles performance, safety, heating, and cost together, which is exactly the kind of deep-tech innovation we back at IAN.

India is rapidly adopting electric mobility and renewable energy, but it still depends heavily on imported battery cells and manufacturing equipment. This creates supply chain risks and increases costs. e-TRNL Energy aims to build an indigenous battery cell design and manufacturing platform to reduce this dependence and strengthen India’s position in advanced energy storage.

The Indian battery cell market is expected to grow to nearly 400 GWh per year by 2035, representing a significant economic opportunity. However, building this capacity using existing global technologies would require large capital investments and imported machinery. The company’s approach focuses on developing both the battery cell and the manufacturing equipment in-house, which can potentially lower capital costs and improve efficiency.

About e-TRNL Energy:

e-TRNL Energy is an Indian start-up company in the energy storage space. Founded by experienced technologists from IIT Bombay and IIT Roorkee, e-TRNL Energy is working on a fundamental battery cell technology that is chemistry agnostic and can adopt all present Li-ion and future Na-ion chemistries. The technology offers battery cells with higher energy density and lower heating compared to its peers, with better pricing economics.

About IAN Alpha Fund:

IAN Alpha Fund, a $100 Mn SEBI-registered Category II AIF VC Fund, is the 2nd fund in IAN Group’s series of funds. The Fund explores opportunities in diverse sectors such as healthtech, cleantech, deep tech, agritech, medtech, hardware and electronics, manufacturing, Web 3.0, Metaverse, Industry 4.0, SaaS, and other sectors where innovation is transformational. The Fund invests in innovative startups solving real problems for India and the world, with sustainable business models enabling scale by leveraging technology. With the IAN Alpha Fund, IAN Group continues its two-decade legacy of building a portfolio of technology-focused, innovative companies led by founders who not only understand customer needs but also have the leadership qualities to build large and valuable businesses.

About IAN Group: 

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered Venture Capital Funds, the latest being a US$100mn VC Fund, IAN Alpha Fund. IAN enables entrepreneurs to raise from Rs. 50 lakhs to Rs. 50 crores, supported by high-quality mentoring by successful entrepreneurs, enabling access to global markets. IAN Group backs founders across domains and helps them scale their companies across India and beyond. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.