Drivers of ride-hailing platforms like Ola, Uber, Rapido and Porter are planning to go on a nationwide strike on Saturday (February 7) to protest against alleged irregular wages and lapses in enforcement of regulations. The ‘All India Breakdown’ will see ride-hailing services disrupted for at least six hours, affecting cabs, autos and bike taxis across the country, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), which has called the strike, said. The Union said that despite the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines being passed in 2025, “platforms continue to fix fares arbitrarily”. In a letter addressed to Union road and transport minister Nitin Gadkari earlier this week, the TGPWU alleged that in the absence of government regulated fare-structures, ride aggregating platforms are unilaterally fixing fares. This is leading to “severe income insecurity, exploitation and unsustainable working conditions for millions of transport workers”, it said. The Union has demanded that state and central governments fix minimum base fares in consultation with driver and workers unions on the basis of the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2025. However, it has demanded that clause 17.3 of the guidelines, which permits aggregators to charge a minimum of 50% lower than the base fare, be removed. Additionally,…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

For over three decades, sports goods trader S.P. Gupta of Etawah district has run a business shaped by routine travel, steady learning, and a close understanding of local demand. His work centres on the sale and servicing of sports equipment, including rackets, bats and carrom boards, as well as supplies for institutional and government buyers. The shop also undertakes racket stringing, a specialised service that has grown steadily in recent years.Gupta says he began this work in his early years and has stayed with it ever since, without shifting to any other occupation. In the early phase, his business operated on a very small scale. Stock was sourced from outside towns, carried by bus, and sold locally. The work involved frequent travel and long days, but it allowed him to understand pricing, quality, and the needs of players in and around Etawah.Starting small and staying localWhen Gupta began, organised sports retail was limited in the district. He recalls making regular trips to Meerut to procure goods and returning by bus, with equipment packed carefully for resale. Over time, the effort helped him build trust among customers and schools, many of whom returned repeatedly for repairs and replacements.Today, the business operates…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Material Depot, a home interiors materials platform, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Accel and Stellaris Venture Partners. The round also saw participation from Whiteboard Capital, DeVC, Soma Capital, MyAsiaVC, and several angel investors, including Ramakant Sharma of Livspace, Ankit Nagori of Curefoods, Shashvat Nakrani of Bharatpe, Abhiroop Jayanthi of Carlyle India, Niraj Singh of Spinny, Saurabh Jain of Livspace India, Abhishek Goyal of Tracxn, and Vineet Khanna of Supertails.The company plans to deploy the capital toward strengthening its technology infrastructure, particularly across supply chain management, inventory planning, and in-store assisted selling systems. Funds will also support expansion of its product catalogue and offline footprint.Founded in 2022 by Manish Reddy and Sarthak Agrawal, Material Depot operates a curated platform designed to simplify how urban homeowners discover and purchase interior materials. The company uses a structured sourcing and logistics model to improve access to a wider range of products. Its experience centres are built to provide clearer visibility into pricing, delivery timelines, and product comparisons, helping customers make informed decisions in a single location.Also ReadVaraha raises $20M in first tranche of Series B funding led by WestBridge CapitalReddy said the home renovation process in India…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

India’s healthcare industry is entering a new phase of consolidation, this time around focused, single-specialty providers rather than sprawling hospital chains.Organised single-specialty healthcare platforms, from dialysis and fertility clinics to oncology, dental and eyecare networks, are on track to nearly triple in size to more than $12 billion by 2030, according to a new roadmap report by Bessemer Venture Partners. The segment, currently valued at about $4.4 billion, is expected to grow at a 22% compound annual rate, more than twice the pace of the broader healthcare provider market.The forecast shows a structural shift underway in India’s $54-billion healthcare services market, where capital is increasingly flowing toward narrowly focused care models built for scale, efficiency and repeatable outcomes, rather than capital-heavy, multi-specialty hospitals.A parallel system takes shapeMulti-specialty hospitals remain indispensable for complex, multidisciplinary treatments. But alongside them, a parallel ecosystem of specialised care providers has been quietly expanding, catering to high-volume procedures that follow standardised clinical pathways.These businesses are designed around narrow therapeutic areas, dialysis, fertility, cancer care, dental and chronic disease management, allowing them to standardise protocols, train staff efficiently and replicate clinics across cities with far less capital than traditional hospitals.Bessemer describes these as “specialty-native” platforms: purpose-built networks…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

From artificial intelligence reshaping retail investing and global tech giants doubling down on AI infrastructure, to founders spotting cultural trends early and startups raising fresh capital across deeptech, food, and sustainability, today’s roundup captures key shifts shaping business and innovation. Featured StoriesThis startup is bringing the benefits of AI to retail stock market investorsFor years, making money in the stock market using artificial intelligence (AI) has largely been an area dominated by the well-funded investment houses. A Mumbai-based startup wants to break that monopoly by bringing AI-driven investing to retail investors.As financial institutions increasingly look at deep computing power to identify stocks to invest in, InvestorAi believes the benefits of AI can be made available to ordinary retail investors with a clear focus on outcomes rather than just glorifying this technology.Founded in 2018 by Bruce Keith, Akshaya Bhargava, and Sarthak Behura, InvestorAi has built an AI platform that selects stocks on behalf of retail investors and offers them access to a level of market intelligence that is out of reach.Read more here.Amazon expands Amit Agarwal’s role to lead global selling partner servicesAmazon has expanded the responsibilities of long-time executive Amit Agarwal, placing him in charge of the company’s Worldwide Selling…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

India is one of the largest telecom markets in the world, with more than 1.2 billion mobile subscribers. Data prices are among the lowest globally, usage continues to rise, and 5G adoption is accelerating rapidly.Yet structurally, the market has narrowed to just two serious players. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel together control over 80% of mobile revenue, a share projected to rise to around 85% by FY28. Other operators, including Vodafone Idea, now operate at the margins.This outcome was not designed by policy. It emerged from years of capital intensity, price wars, and technology transitions that only two companies could survive!Scale Vs profitabilityOn the surface, Jio looks dominant. It has around 470 million mobile subscribers and continues to add users faster than Airtel, which has roughly 390 million. However, subscriber count is only half the story. Airtel consistently earns more per user. Its ARPU sits in the Rs 250–256 range, compared to Jio’s Rs 210–215. This difference reflects two distinct strategies. Jio optimises for reach and volume. Airtel focuses on value and profitability. Both approaches work, but they create very different economics How Jio reshaped the marketJio entered telecom late, but that late entry proved decisive. Without legacy 2G or…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Logistics company BlackBuck maintained its profitability streak in the third quarter of FY26 (Q3 FY26), posting a consolidated net profit of ₹31.7 Cr as against a loss of ₹48 Cr in the year-ago period. On a sequential basis, this marked a near 9% increase from ₹29.2 Cr. Operating revenue surged 50% YoY and 14% QoQ to ₹171.8 Cr. Including other income of ₹16.5 Cr, the company’s total income during the quarter under review stood at ₹188.3 Cr. Truck operator services raked in the highest revenue at ₹168.7 Cr (up 50% YoY). Lending business’ revenue recorded a more than 2X YoY jump to ₹3.3 Cr. In terms of profitability contribution, truck operator services, which is BlackBuck’s core business segment, posted a profit of ₹50 Cr, up 56% YoY. The lending vertical raked in a profit of ₹8.1 Lakh during the quarter as against ₹98.5 Lakh in the year-ago period. Important to mention that the company incurred a one-time share-based payment expense of ₹69.4 Cr in the year-ago quarter. BlackBuck’s EBITDA surged 49% YoY to ₹44.8 Cr during the quarter under review. Meanwhile, expenses for the quarter rose 52% YoY to ₹142 Cr. The company also incurred an exceptional item cost of…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

For nearly two decades, India’s startup story has centred around three cities — Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai — which have concentrated most of the country’s capital, talent, and ambition. Together, they attracted the bulk of venture funding and became default launchpads for founders. In fact, according to Inc42’s Annual Indian Startup Trends Report 2025, Delhi leads the Indian ecosystem in producing the most listed technology startups. But, realities are changing now. Funding activity in the Mumbai & Delhi NCR regions slowed, with investments either falling or staying flat. Not just this, regions like Hyderabad, Pune and Jaipur are being seen as the upcoming startup hubs. According to Inc42’s investor survey, 2025, 45% of investors identified Hyderabad as the next major epicentre of India’s startup revolution, followed by Pune (20%) and Jaipur (10%). Further, more than 56% investors see tier II-III purchasing power as the next consumer growth engine. The Playbook For The New Startup Hubs Over the past few years, policy nudges, state-led startup missions, and infrastructure investments have started pushing entrepreneurial activity beyond the traditional metro cities. From Coimbatore and Indore to Jaipur and Kochi, tier II and III cities are no longer just talent back-offices. Lower operating…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

Massive layoffs have taken place at the Washington Post, a news organisation with a rich history and considerable influence in the US. As part of a massive reorganisation that has abolished entire divisions, the newspaper fired about a third of its employees on 4 February. And as a result of this change, a number of overseas bureaus were closed.Many people, including unions representing journalists and other media veterans, as well as political figures and those fighting for press freedom, have spoken out against these layoffs. One of the most substantial reductions in the Post’s almost 150-year history, the layoffs impacted hundreds of staff across editorial and business operations.Reasons for the LayoffsThe layoffs brought to light the increasing political, financial, and technological challenges that legacy media organisations are facing. Digital disruption, shifting consumer behaviour, and the decline of print reading were additional key factors in the layoffs. Ishaan Tharoor, a prominent foreign affairs writer for the Post and the son of Congress lawmaker Shashi Tharoor, was one of the people let go. Ishaan Tharoor appeared to have posted a photo of a newsroom on X, complete with a sign that stated, “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”He tagged the photo with the words…  ​Read MoreStartupTalky- Business News, Insights and Stories

D2C nutrition brand Good Monk has raised ₹33 Cr (about $3.6 Mn) in its pre-Series A funding round at a valuation of ₹175 Cr (about $19.5 Mn). The round was led by RPSG Capital Ventures, with participation from Sharrp Ventures, Hyperscale Ventures, and the families of cofounders. The D2C brand, which offers nutritional mixes that claim to offer preventive healthcare benefits, will use the funds toward research and development for new products and deepening distribution in tier II & III markets through increased brand awareness.  Good Monk was founded in 2022 by husband and wife duo Amarpreet Singh Anand and Sahiba Kaur. The Bengaluru-based brand claims to have seen 25X growth in the last 18 months.  Good Monk offers a range of dietary supplements focussed on gut health, immunity and weight loss, along with drink mixes and plant-based protein powders. It aims to become a daily part of home-cooked food by fortifying existing diets through its mixes that add a layer of nutrition without changing the taste of the dishes. It is now exploring new formats through which nutrition can be introduced to everyday diets.  “Preventive health is a growing category and as people become more aware of its importance,…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media