Startup Spotlights

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, valued at over $1.2 billion in its last funding round, confirmed on February 20, 2026, that it is laying off approximately 5% of its workforce—around 200 employees—as part of a comprehensive pivot toward AI-driven automation across its operations .

The announcement came alongside news that Co-founder & COO Saurabh Jain is stepping down from his operational role after nearly a decade with the company, though he will continue as a shareholder and advisor during the transition .

This development places Livspace among a growing cohort of Indian consumer-tech companies making difficult but forward-looking decisions to integrate AI deeply into their business models—even when it means parting ways with long-time leaders and valued team members .

Infiheal, an AI-powered mental health platform, emerged as the winner of the prestigious “AI FOR ALL” National Challenge at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, held from February 16–20 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi .

Selected from over 10,000 applications submitted nationwide, Infiheal received the top prize of ₹25 lakh, massive national visibility, and the rare opportunity to showcase its platform directly in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, global AI leaders, and hundreds of delegates .

CS Tech AI, the pioneering company building IoT and AI-powered solutions for critical infrastructure, has successfully listed its shares on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) amid strong investor interest. The listing marks a significant milestone—not just for the company, but for India’s emerging deep-tech sector and the growing wave of innovation emanating from beyond traditional startup hubs .

This move provides liquidity to early investors and employees, enhances the company’s visibility and credibility, and opens new avenues for growth capital to scale solutions addressing some of India’s most pressing challenges: water security, climate resilience, and smart urban planning .

On the sidelines of the historic summit in New Delhi, the Government of Karnataka signed strategic cooperation agreements with France (specifically the Hauts-de-France region) and Poland—opening new corridors for AI research, startup exchange, and deep-tech innovation .

These pacts build on Karnataka’s existing global ties with innovation powerhouses like Singapore, Israel, and Germany, and signal the state’s ambition to become a preferred bridge for European ecosystems engaging with India’s fast-growing tech landscape

At the prestigious Manorama Techspectations conference in Kochi, Anuraj Ennai, CEO & Co-founder of InfinyAI Labs, delivered a masterclass on what it truly takes to build scalable technology innovation in India. Speaking on the panel “India’s Next Wave: Scalable Tech Innovation,” Anuraj outlined a compelling framework for how Indian deep-tech startups can move beyond copying Western playbooks to create solutions uniquely optimized for the country’s constraints and opportunities .

At the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, while discussions swirled around foreign robotics solutions on display, one machine captured the imagination of attendees and proved that India’s deep-tech ecosystem has arrived: PARAM, a state-of-the-art quadruped robot developed entirely by a Bengaluru-based deep-tech team .

PARAM wasn’t just another exhibit. With live demonstrations of dynamic locomotion, onboard AI perception, and modular versatility, it stood as a powerful symbol of rising domestic capability in advanced robotics and hardware innovation—a counterpoint to debates over foreign tech dominance and a tangible validation of the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision in one of the most complex engineering domains .