Welcome to the Backstage with Millionaires weekly Indian startup news show, hosted by Caleb Friesen. This week, Maya Research launches Veena, an open-source TTS model tailored for Indian voices, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla boards the ISS via Axiom Space as they partner with Skyroot Aerospace, Tesla begins constructing its first India showroom in Mumbai, Ola Electric’s stock crashes 72% amid market share loss and customer complaints, four Indian deep-tech startups shine at WEF 2025, and Indian startups raise $174 million.
0:00 Maya Research Veena TTS AI Model
2:11 Axiom Space Partners With Skyroot Aerospace
4:07 Tesla Showroom in Mumbai, India
5:37 Ola Electric Stock Price Falls 72%
7:30 WEF Features 10 Indian Startups
8:53 Quick News Segment
10:54 Indian Startup Funding News
Maya Research Veena TTS AI Model
Maya Research has launched Veena, its first open-source neural text-to-speech model designed for Indian speech patterns and bilingual conversations. Veena supports Hindi and English, including code-mixed inputs, and features 10 Indian voices built on a Llama transformer architecture. It also includes a feature called “Collab AI” to help users generate scripts and convert them into speech. Dheemanth, co-founder of Maya Research, says the goal is to offer an ElevenLabs-type experience for Indian voices—something currently lacking in India. While other players like Sarvam have built realistic voices, Maya Research aims to create emotionally rich voices that can whisper, narrate, and empathize. Four of Veena's voices have been open-sourced to support Indian indie developers.
Axiom Space Partners With Skyroot Aerospace
Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla made history as the first Indian astronaut to reach the ISS via Axiom Space’s Ax-4 mission. This milestone ends a 41-year gap since Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 flight and strengthens India's ambitions for the Gaganyaan mission in 2027. Shubhanshu Shukla conducted seven experiments, including plant growth in microgravity. On the same day, Axiom Space announced a partnership with Skyroot Aerospace, India's top private launch provider. Skyroot Aerospace is finalizing tests on its Vikram-1 rocket, and this partnership will give Skyroot Aerospace valuable insights into orbital integration and commercial operations.
Tesla Showroom in Mumbai, India
Tesla has begun construction on its first showroom in India at Mumbai’s Maker Maxity, BKC, near Apple’s first Indian store. Tesla also secured a service center in Kurla West and has offices in Pune and Bengaluru. However, Tesla’s India head Prashanth Menon has resigned after nine years.
Ola Electric Stock Price Falls 72%
Ola Electric’s stock dropped from ₹157 to ₹43, a 72% crash. Ola Electric’s market share has plunged from 49% to 23%, with Bajaj’s Chetak leading at 29%. Quarterly sales fell from over 1 lakh units to 51,000, and revenue crashed 62%. Ola Electric faced over 11,000 customer complaints since 2023 due to faulty scooters and poor service. Losses have reached ₹870 crores in Q4 FY25. Despite setbacks, Ola Electric is pushing forward with new Gen-3 scooters and the Roadster motorcycle line, although launches are delayed.
Wef Features 10 Indian Startups
Ten Indian startups were named Tech Pioneers by the World Economic Forum 2025. Notables include CynLr (Bengaluru), building robots with intuitive vision; Agnikul (Chennai), offering customizable, 3D-printed rocket engines; The ePlane Company, working on urban flying taxis; and Digantara, tracking space debris to prevent collisions. These startups reflect India’s growing global presence in robotics, space tech, and urban mobility.
Quick News Segment
Vibemotion, founded by Adithya, offers AI-powered motion graphics video editing—type your prompt and get a 4K video with over 100 templates. Aayush Verma's Ship Squad connects product builders with influencers to solve discovery problems. Masonry, by Unacademy co-founder Hemesh Singh, lets users command Gmail, Google Calendar, and Sheets via natural language, automating daily admin tasks with simple voice/text prompts.
Indian Startup Funding News
Indian startups raised $174 million this week. GIVA, a Bengaluru-based jewellery brand, led with a $61.5 million Series C round. Fabheads (Chennai) raised $10 million to scale 3D-printed carbon-fibre parts. Utopia Therapeutics (Hyderabad) raised $1.5 million to develop a vaccine targeting obesity and fatty liver disease. Gurugram-based Armory secured $1.5 million for drone detection tech using AI and radar. Sthyr Energy (Chennai) raised $1 million for safer batteries aimed at solar and wind energy storage.
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