Startup Spotlights

In a move that solidifies its position as India’s undisputed innovation capital, the Karnataka government has unveiled a visionary blueprint for the future: the Karnataka Startup Policy 2025-2030. With a substantial outlay of ₹518.27 crore, the policy sets an ambitious target of fostering 25,000 new startups over the next five years, strategically aiming to distribute this growth by launching 10,000 of these ventures beyond the confines of Bengaluru.

In a significant validation of India’s burgeoning B2B AI landscape, Gurugram-based startup Wyzard.ai has announced a successful ₹4.5 crore (approximately $500,000) angel funding round. This maiden external raise is notable not just for its amount, but for the caliber of its backers—a veritable who’s who of tech industry veterans from across the globe.

In a landmark move for Indian entrepreneurship, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has thrown open the doors to the country’s most comprehensive startup intelligence. Through its Centre for Research on Startups and Risk Financing (CREST), the premier institute has launched ‘Startups for All’—a visionary platform designed to dismantle the traditional barriers of information and access that have long plagued aspiring founders, especially those outside major metropolitan hubs.

The narrative around India’s startup ecosystem is undergoing a profound and necessary shift. Move over, fintech and e-commerce; there’s a new powerhouse in town, and it’s colored in shades of green. The first ten months of 2025 have delivered an unmistakable signal: India’s climate-tech sector is not just growing; it’s exploding.Recent data reveals a staggering $1.95 billion raised across 128 funding rounds from January to October 2025. This represents a massive 40% year-on-year jump in capital inflow, a figure made even more significant by the fact that it occurred despite a decrease in the total number of deals. This trend signals a crucial maturation—investors are no longer just sprinkling bets; they are placing concentrated, high-conviction wagers on scalable, high-impact innovators poised to solve the planet’s most pressing challenges.

In a historic move to position India as a global leader in science and technology, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme at the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025 in New Delhi on November 3, 2025. The fund aims to catalyze private-sector R&D in high-stakes domains like artificial intelligence, semiconductors, space technology, defense deep-tech, biotechnology, quantum computing, and clean energy, addressing India’s longstanding R&D spending gap and fostering innovation sovereignty under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.