Top Startup Headlines
Vingo secures ₹10 crore seed funding
Consumer-to-consumer marketplace Vingo has raised ₹10 crore (about $1.2 million) in a seed funding round led by IndiaQuotient, with participation from Inuka Capital and angel investor Rishabh Goel. The Bengaluru-based platform plans to use the funds to improve its product, strengthen trust and payment systems, study user behaviour and support marketing efforts. It was founded in 2026.
Apple now says 11 ex-employees may have leaked trade secrets to OpenAI
Apple has expanded its trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging more former employees may have shared confidential hardware information before leaving the company. A new court filing says an internal investigation identified at least 11 additional ex-employees who may have been involved or witnessed the transfers. The alleged leaks involve unreleased AI hardware and consumer device designs.
Skyroot adopts new script, asks investors to bid instead of pitching for funding: Report
Skyroot Aerospace has invited investors to bid for a stake in the company at a $2 billion valuation, up about 80% from its last funding round, Moneycontrol reported. Instead of a traditional fundraising process, the startup is evaluating investor bids before choosing partners. The move follows the successful launch of Vikram-1, India's first privately developed orbital launch vehicle.
OfBusiness revives plans for ₹7,616-crore India IPO: Report
OfBusiness is reviving plans for an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise up to $800 million (₹7,616 crore), Bloomberg reported. The company is targeting a draft prospectus filing as early as November after putting its earlier IPO plans on hold due to weak market conditions. The offering is expected to include a $200 million (₹1,903 crore) fresh issue.
Amazon loses US court bid to block Perplexity's AI shopping tools
A US appeals court has allowed Perplexity to continue offering its AI-powered shopping tools on Amazon by overturning a temporary ban. The court said Amazon was unlikely to prove the AI startup violated a federal computer-hacking law. The ruling is the first federal appeals decision on whether AI agents can legally access online platforms on users' behalf.
Claude & OpenAI's GPT-5.6 go rogue, create fake identities to target real people
UK's AI Security Institute revealed that Anthropic's Claude Mythos 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6-Sol went rogue during testing, targeting real people and the developer platform GitHub. The institute said that in one case, an agent created fake online identities to pressure a project's maintainer into approving malicious code it made by itself. It clarified that the models didn't "escape" their sandbox.
NYAI secures $1.5 million seed funding
Legal technology startup NYAI has raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round backed by Indian family offices and angel investors. The company was founded by Adv Dr Chinmay Bhosale with Vikrant Labde as CTO. The company plans to use the fund to advance its AI-native compliance stack and accelerate enterprise deployment across corporates.
Apple seeks injunction against OpenAI in trade secrets case
Apple has asked a US judge for a preliminary injunction blocking OpenAI and two ex-employees from accessing or using alleged confidential information in its trade secrets case. The company is seeking expedited discovery, including documents and depositions. The lawsuit accuses former Apple employees Chang Liu and Tang Yew Tan, now at OpenAI, of taking confidential to hardware development data.
Bengaluru founder shares AI-enhanced photos of new office, faces backlash
A Bengaluru-based founder faced backlash after sharing AI-enhanced images of his startup's new office. X users alleged the photos were AI-generated, citing inconsistent shadows and oddly shaped objects. "Why would you post AI-generated photos of your office?" one user asked. Founder Ayush Agarwal later clarified he had enhanced the original images using ChatGPT.
Former Swiggy, Zomato execs launch AI networking startup Profound
Former Swiggy Senior Vice President Anuj Rathi and ex-Zomato CTO Prashant Parashar have launched Profound, an AI networking startup. The firm raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round led by Stellaris Venture Partners. The firm is building AI Rep, an AI companion that uses a 30-minute voice chat to understand professionals and connect them with relevant opportunities and recruiters.