Peak XV, one of India’s largest venture capital (VC) firms, is cashing out big in 2025. Its early bets on Groww, Pine Labs, Meesho, Lenskart, Ather, Wakefit, Blinkit, Tata 1mg, and ixigo have together delivered ₹70,000-90,000 crore this year. For readers, it signals a turning point where Indian startups are creating real returns, not just headline valuations.

The Sleep Company, led by co-founder Priyanka Salot, saved ₹12 crore after choosing not to follow Google and Meta’s advice on store-visit ad campaigns. A zero-budget test in two cities showed no change in walk-ins, proving the ads weren’t driving footfall. The company cut the ₹1-crore monthly spend, underscoring the value of independent testing.

India has 1.97 lakh DPIIT-recognised startups, but only 4,147, a mere 2%, qualify for the government’s top profit-linked tax exemption, according to new Parliamentary data. While startups have created 21.11 lakh jobs and secured ₹47,500 crore in GeM orders, the strict eligibility norms mean the vast majority never access this flagship tax benefit, raising questions about policy reach.

Unlisted shares of Wakefit and Corona Remedies were trading at a premium of up to 18% in the grey market on Wednesday, ahead of their IPOs next week. Home and furnishings startup Wakefit has set a price band of ₹185-195 per share for its ₹1,289 crore IPO. Pharma firm Corona Remedies' IPO is worth ₹655.37 crore.

A scalable startup model in India relies on modular operations, low fixed overheads and rapid digital distribution. Businesses that separate core functions from variable tasks grow faster across tier II and tier III markets. Automation readiness, lean teams, repeatable sales formats and efficient supply chains allow expansion without expenses rising at the same pace as demand.

Social media remains effective when brands use consistent content, targeted segmentation and platform specific formats. India’s high engagement rates allow tailored campaigns to reach niche segments with controlled budgets. When combined with performance insights and community building, social media provides a reliable channel for demand creation and measurable return on investment.

Ad-intelligence platforms fall into five groups: spend trackers review multi-channel budgets, creative libraries catalogue assets and outcomes, audience-insight engines decode behavioural signals, predictive models estimate performance shifts, and benchmarking systems compare competitive activity. Each type supports a unique step in structured media planning and decision-making.

Market-mix modelling quantifies how each channel contributes to revenue by analysing historic sales, media spend and external variables. Brands use these models to understand marginal ROI shifts, adjust budgets toward stronger-return channels and limit overspend in declining ones. This approach improves long-term efficiency, particularly when market conditions tighten.

India’s top healthcare startups work across teleconsultation, diagnostics, digital therapeutics, preventive health and affordable primary care. These companies expand access in smaller cities, reduce wait times and offer remote monitoring options. By combining medical expertise with technology, they help bridge infrastructure gaps and deliver more reliable, cost efficient patient care.

India’s online retail is expanding faster than many developed markets due to mobile first adoption, logistics improvements and rising digital trust. Smaller cities drive a large share of new buyers, giving domestic platforms reach that is difficult to match internationally. Global markets stabilise around slower growth, while India pushes volume expansion across categories.

US-based startup Metaview put up a banner outside IIT-Delhi, taunting Donald Trump's $100,000 fees on H-1B visas. The banner, posted at IIT Metro Station, read, "Yes, we still sponsor H-1Bs. No, AI won't build itself," and "$100,000 isn't going to stop us from hiring the best." "[H-1B fees] is possibly an opportunity for...us," IIT-Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee told Bloomberg.

Strong product positioning creates clear customer understanding of value, differentiation and relevance. Effective messaging helps brands stand out, lowers acquisition friction and improves loyalty. When positioning is unclear, products blend into the market, conversions drop and marketing expenses rise. Clear benefits and audience specific communication drive better commercial results.

Business consultants support firms with specialised expertise across process audits, market expansion, pricing, fundraising preparation and operational efficiency. In unpredictable markets, they offer structured evaluation, objective analyses and best-practice benchmarks. This helps leadership teams avoid costly missteps and act decisively when conditions shift quickly.

Students in India are turning to low capital digital ideas such as tutoring platforms, micro agencies, content based services, peer to peer marketplaces and hyperlocal apps. These models require minimal funding, leverage campus networks and allow rapid experimentation. They help students learn market basics while balancing coursework and testing real world entrepreneurial skills.

Indian brands using advanced ad intelligence tools reportedly reduce Customer Acquisition Cost by about 30 percent. Granular targeting, performance based creative selection and adaptive budgets help avoid wasted spend. These tools identify profitable audience clusters, refine campaign timing and strengthen conversion funnels, which supports sustainable growth in competitive categories.

AI startup Anthropic has hired law firm Wilson Sonsini to prepare for an IPO, Financial Times reported. The public offering could occur as early as 2026, as Anthropic prepares to beat rival OpenAI in the race to get listed in the US market. Notably, Anthropic is negotiating a private funding round that will take firm's valuation to $350 million.

Prescriptive ad-intelligence systems, such as Intellsys AdGPT, simplify choices by turning complex data into ranked creative and budget actions. They analyse spend, audience patterns and performance signals to identify the most impactful moves. Marketers adopting prescriptive insights respond faster to market volatility and reduce reliance on broad dashboards.

Food delivery platform Swiggy is planning to raise $1.1 billion (nearly ₹10,000 crore) through a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) next week, Bloomberg reported. For this, the startup has reportedly shortlisted three banks, i.e the Indian units of Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Kotak Mahindra Capital. Notably, Swiggy had launched an IPO to raise around ₹11,300 crore last year.

Wipro has finalised its $375 million acquisition of Harman’s Digital Transformation Solutions (DTS) business. Over 5,600 DTS employees globally will now join Wipro. The deal expands Wipro’s capabilities in AI-powered engineering, embedded software, device engineering and digital transformation, positioning it to deliver advanced next-gen products and services at global scale.

Global nonprofit Beyond Type 1 co-founded by Nick Jonas and backed by Priyanka Chopra Jonas has expanded to India with its first campaign, #TheBeyondType. The initiative aims to raise awareness about Type 1 diabetes, fight stigma, support grassroots groups working across regions. Through real stories of people thriving with diabetes, it hopes to change how the world sees the condition.

Emil Barr, an entrepreneur from US worth $25 million (₹224.7 crore), has said he doesn't regret giving up sleep, friends and college parties while starting his first company. "I believe advocating for extreme work-life balance is a recipe for mediocrity," the 22-year-old added. Barr, currently CEO of Flashpass, stated he typically works "100-hour weeks" and has now optimised his life.

Home and furnishings startup Wakefit has announced a price band of ₹185-195 per share for its upcoming IPO worth around ₹1,288.89 crore. The IPO, opening on December 8, will include a fresh issue worth ₹377 crore and an offer-for-sale of 4.6 crore shares. The company has reserved 75% of the IPO for qualified institutional bidders.

Eternal Founder, Deepinder Goyal's wearable device firm, Temple, is in advanced talks to raise $50 million (around ₹450 crore), reports stated. The funding round involves Steadview Capital, Vy Capital, Info Edge, and Peak XV Partners. The funding will value Temple at around $125-130 million (about ₹1,100-1,200 crore). Goyal said Temple will remain "a small, cute company", unlike Eternal.

Swiggy is reportedly set to raise ₹10,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) in the second week of December. This comes as its shares have fallen by more than 30% so far this year, amid a price war that is driving aggressive discounting. The company's shares were, however, trading 2.7% higher at ₹399 apiece on Tuesday.

Meesho's anchor book faced investor withdrawals after a significant allocation to SBI Funds Management, prompting other large funds to exit in protest, reports stated. Despite this, IPO lineup includes global investors like GIC and BlackRock. Among those who withdrew were Capital Group, Aberdeen Group, ICICI Prudential Asset Management, Nippon India Life Asset Management, and others.