Скачать или смотреть Indian Startup News 268 - Indian Drone Startup Makes HISTORY with AMAZING Achievement

Welcome to the Backstage with Millionaires weekly Indian startup news show, hosted by Caleb Friesen. This week, Kalam Labs flies a drone higher than Mount Everest, Zoho acquires Asimov Robotics and launches a deep-tech studio, SatSure and Dhruva Space join forces for satellite-powered insights, the Indian government approves a ₹1 lakh crore deeptech fund, new aggregator rules officially legalize bike taxis, and Indian startups raise $280 million in funding.

0:00 Kalam Labs Drone Goes Higher Than Mount Everest
2:15 Zoho Acquires Asimov Robotics
3:15 SatSure Partners With Dhruva Space
4:20 India’s Rs. 1 Lakh Crore Deeptech Fund
5:33 India's New Motor Vehicle Rules
6:52 Quick News Segment
7:20 What Did You Build?
8:39 Indian Startup Funding News

Kalam Labs Drone Goes Higher Than Mount Everest

Kalam Labs, a four-year-old drone startup from Lucknow, achieved a record-breaking altitude of 9,797 metres with their unmanned aerial vehicle — higher than Mount Everest. The UAV, developed by Kalam Labs co-founders Ahmad Faraaz, Sashakt Tripathi, and Harshit Awasthi, has a wingspan under two metres and weighs less than four kilograms. Their goal is to reach 30,000 metres. Designed for the Indian armed forces, the drone operates autonomously using AI-based navigation and previously achieved a guided return flight at 800 km/h, landing within a metre of its target. Kalam Labs is setting new benchmarks in India's drone sector.

Zoho Acquires Asimov Robotics

Zoho has acquired Kochi-based Asimov Robotics, a startup known for humanoid robots and industrial automation systems. On the same day, Zoho opened its new R&D campus in Kottarakkara, Kerala. Co-founder and CEO Shailesh Davey stated Zoho’s mission is to drive innovation from rural India in AI and robotics. Zoho has also partnered with the Kerala Startup Mission to launch a deep-tech product studio, offering mentorship and support.

SatSure Partners With Dhruva Space

SatSure and Dhruva Space have teamed up to offer full-stack earth observation solutions. SatSure, based in Bengaluru, and Dhruva Space, based in Hyderabad, aim to support defence and government missions, and industries like agriculture, energy, and aviation. Dhruva Space will handle satellite manufacturing and operations. SatSure’s subsidiary, KaleidEO, will process the satellite data using AI to deliver actionable insights to clients. The SatSure and Dhruva Space partnership brings India closer to accessible, high-quality satellite intelligence.

India’s Rs. 1 Lakh Crore Deeptech Fund

The Indian government has approved a ₹1 lakh crore research and innovation fund to support deeptech startups in sectors such as AI, clean energy, defence tech, and semiconductors. Deeptech ventures often face funding challenges due to long development cycles. This new fund offers long-term loans at very low or zero interest and includes a deeptech fund of funds to support high-risk, high-reward innovation.

India's New Motor Vehicle Rules

The Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2025 bring new regulations for companies like Ola, Uber, and Rapido. Surge pricing is now capped at twice the base fare, and drivers must receive at least 80% of the fare if they own the vehicle, or 60% if the aggregator owns it. Bike taxis are officially recognised for the first time, allowing states to permit non-transport motorcycles for ride-sharing.

Quick News Segment

Swiggy has shut down its B2B service, Minis.
Shadowfax has filed a confidential DRHP and plans to raise ₹2,000–₹2,500 crore via IPO.
Curefoods has filed its DRHP to raise ₹800 crore through an IPO.

What Did You Build?

Three community-built projects stood out this week:
Vishesh launched OpticalSatelliteTools.Space, an interactive platform for learning about satellite imaging and Earth observation.
Piyush created Hypelister.com, a no-code waitlist builder for startups.
Abhishek built Acme Bot, an AI SEO agent and diagram generator that boosts traffic and enhances post engagement.

Indian Startup Funding News

Indian startups raised $280 million this week, up from $179 million last week.
Jumbotail, a B2B grocery marketplace for kirana stores, raised $120 million in Series D, becoming a unicorn.
Zango AI raised $4.8 million in seed funding for its AI compliance agents helping banks manage regulatory risk.
Maieutic Semiconductors raised $4.15 million in seed funding for its AI-driven analog chip design tool.
Loopworm, a biotech startup converting waste into high-protein products using insects, raised $3.25 million in a pre-Series A round.
CIMware raised $2.3 million in pre-Series A to revolutionize data centers with an all-in-one computing box.

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