Startup Spotlights

In a strong vote of confidence for India’s industrial deep-tech ecosystem, Bengaluru-based DATOMS has raised a significant Series A round led by Big Capital JSC to accelerate its full-stack enterprise IoT platform.

The funding comes at a pivotal moment when manufacturing, energy, utilities, and logistics companies across India are racing to digitize operations, optimize assets, and achieve sustainability goals. DATOMS’ platform enables precisely this—connecting machines, sensors, and legacy equipment into a unified system that delivers real-time visibility, predictive maintenance, and advanced analytics .

In a historic moment for Indian technology, Sarvam AI has unveiled what may be the most important AI model ever built on Indian soil—and it’s outperforming global giants on the tasks that matter most for 1.4 billion people.

The flagship release includes the Sarvam-105B (a highly efficient Mixture-of-Experts model with 105 billion total parameters and approximately 9 billion active parameters) and the lighter Sarvam-30B variant. Both were trained from scratch on Indian compute infrastructure under the IndiaAI Mission .

The formal signing took place on February 20, 2026, during the historic India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. The agreement was inked by Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary of India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), alongside US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor and Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg .

This accession places India at the heart of a “trusted” and innovation-driven alternative to concentrated dependencies in the global silicon stack—from raw minerals to frontier AI models—and marks a strategic convergence between the world’s largest democracy and one of its fastest-growing technology ecosystems .

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