Innovations Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: India’s top engineering and management institutes are no longer content with merely incubating startups. Increasingly, they also want to participate in the upside created by companies emerging from their own ecosystems.Institutions including Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, IIT Madras and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru are setting up venture funds to invest in campus-linked deeptech startups, as rising investor interest in sectors such as semiconductors, defence and spacetech pushes universities to play a larger role in the businesses they help build.But why are they doing this now? How are these funds structured? And what kind of startups are they backing? Mint explains.So far, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras have launched venture funds, while IISc Bengaluru is in the process of setting up one.The funds are being structured through affiliated entities, incubators and alumni-backed networks because IITs and IISc operate as Section 8 entities, or non-profit organisations.IIT Madras, through its research park, has partnered with venture firm Unicorn India Ventures to launch the IITM Unicorn Frontier Fund, a ₹600 crore vehicle with a ₹400 crore green-shoe option.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Back in 2024, among the many international brands announcing their launches in India, global makeup giant Laura Mercier entered India through an omnichannel presence, including a store in Mumbai. Cut to 2026, the brand is re looking at its India strategy, relaunching in India with a different partner, Luxasia India. Ginny Wright, CEO, Orveon Global, whose portfolio also includes bareMinerals and BUXOM cosmetics, discusses their relaunch.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Roche Pharma India has launched Tecentriq SC (atezolizumab), the country’s first subcutaneous, or under-the-skin, immunotherapy for lung cancer, the company said on Thursday. This breakthrough formulation marks a significant shift in oncology care, reducing treatment administration time from several hours of conventional intravenous (IV) infusion to just seven minutes.Approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) around two months ago for adjuvant and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Tecentriq SC is now available across India with more than 100 patients already on immunotherapy.The launch comes at a time when India grapples with a rising cancer burden.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.WASHINGTON—On a recent call with the heads of the biggest artificial-intelligence companies, Vice President JD Vance was alarmed.New AI models such as Anthropic’s Mythos, which are capable of finding software vulnerabilities on their own, threatened to disrupt small-town banks, hospitals and water plants by starting cyberattacks that local governments weren’t equipped to handle, Vance said.“We all need to work together on this,” Vance told chief executive officers including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Dario Amodei of Anthropic, Elon Musk of SpaceX, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet’s Google and Satya Nadella of Microsoft, according to people familiar with the matter.The April call, which followed a White House briefing that played a role in sparking Vance’s concern over the latest AI model capabilities, set in motion a chaotic administration response to Mythos that threatens to increase government oversight of AI and overhaul the administration’s tech agenda. The concern expressed by Vance, paired with other moves by the White House to get involved in the rollout of AI models, marks a shift from previous language about winning the AI race against China and removing barriers to deploying models.The White House is weighing an executive order that could create a formal oversight process for the most-advanced models.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.US-based FMC Corporation, a global agricultural sciences company, on Thursday said it has signed an agreement to sell its India commercial business to IPO-bound Crystal Crop Protection Ltd, a crop solutions company in New Delhi, for about $252 million.“FMC’s innovative portfolio, blockbuster brands and future pipeline give us an opportunity to provide Indian farmers access to innovative products,” Crystal’s chairman and managing director, Ankur Aggarwal, said in a statement. He added that the deal is aimed at accelerating innovation across both chemical and biological domains of crop protection.FMC will continue to receive all cash generated from the ongoing operation of the India business until closing, primarily through monetization of working capital.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Emcure Pharmaceuticals plans to expand its biosimilars pipeline to ride a slew of patent expiries as well as favourable tailwinds on global demand, the company’s top executive told Mint in an interview.“We have identified biosimilars as a growth driver. In the next three to five years, a lot of our R&D spend as well as portfolio contribution would be skewed towards biosimilars as well as some of the larger peptides and the ADC (antibody drug conjugates) program,” managing director and chief executive Satish Mehta said.Pune-headquartered Emcure is largely a generics drug manufacturer, but is ramping up focus on specialty products like complex injectables, biologics and antibody drug conjugates.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Any doubts that China has become the heartland of the global car industry are quickly dispelled by a visit to the country’s main motor show. Beijing’s noisy and crowded event this year was twice as large as in 2024 (it moves to Shanghai on alternate years) with around 180 new cars on display. The show, which concluded on May 3rd, demonstrated once again that foreign carmakers are lagging behind their Chinese rivals in the race to the industry’s future.Yet the show also illustrated the extent to which foreign carmakers are looking to remake themselves in the image of their ascendant Chinese competitors.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Many years ago, in 1971, Peter Kilby wrote that understanding entrepreneurship is like hunting a ‘heffalump,’ a fictional elephant-like creature from Winnie-the-Pooh.Many claim to have captured it, but their descriptions do not match and no two agree on what it looks like. After centuries of research, we are still arguing about what an entrepreneur really is.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Dinshaw’s Dairy Pvt Ltd, founded in 1932, is trying to look and think younger. The 94-year-old Nagpur-based ice cream maker is recasting its identity to appeal to a new generation of consumers, while making investments to expand its footprint beyond Maharashtra into markets across India, Zervin Rana, director at the company, told Mint in an interview.The push comes months after a comprehensive rebranding exercise that refreshed the company’s logo and positioning.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.IIM Ahmedabad's venture platform IIMA Ventures has averaged six to eight exits from its startup portfolio every yearsince the financial year 2012-13 (FY13)—a pace of returns that outstrips even some of India's leading venture capital funds.IIMA Ventures exited Pune-based Unbox Robotics earlier this year when the warehouse automation startup raised $28 million in its Series B round led by ICICI Venture. It was among the first institutional backers of the company, writing an $80,000 ( ₹75 lakh) cheque when it raised a $500,000 seed round back in 2020.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The government’s push on entrepreneurship through the Atal Innovation Mission promised to transform Indian colleges into innovation hubs. A decade on, that ambition remains largely unrealized.Since2016, the Centre has established Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) in 60 institutions across the country under the initiative, spearheaded by think tank Niti Aayog.Of these, 38 have incubated 3,067 startups.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The old pharma order anchored around cutting-edge advances in the West has quietly disappeared. What we have now is a bipolar industry centred on the US and China—with implications for patients and policymakers worldwide. China has closed the gap on the number of research studies being conducted and in certain cases even moved ahead of the West on developing new treatments.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In a world marked by persistent turbulence, the character of globalization is undergoing a decisive shift. Supply chains, once celebrated as instruments of efficiency, are now being used as tools of strategic leverage. Energy markets are volatile, shipping routes face disruptions and critical technologies are being subject to export controls.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. has become the first homegrown information technology (IT) services company to grant its board complete oversight of artificial intelligence, underlining the technology's importance amid an uncertain demand environment.As part of its AI guidelines, the company's board of directors will monitor the use of AI tools and their financial impact on the company.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Quick commerce is evolving beyond a distribution channel into a testing ground for product innovation, enabling brands—from new-age to legacy players, across categories from milk to makeup—to launch, refine and scale offerings.The appeal lies in the cost advantage over traditional rollouts, particularly for smaller brands that can test in small batches, track repeat purchases and tweak products in real time.“Rather than spending ₹10 crore on a big-bang launch, brands can test with ₹20-30 lakh and see what works,” said Sashi Kumar of organic dairy enterprise Akshayakalpa Organic.The Bengaluru-based firm launched its high-protein milk exclusively on Swiggy to validate demand. “The expectation was not volumes, but whether consumers come back and buy again,” Kumar said, adding that the channel removes hurdles like listing fees and in-store promotions, while offering sharper targeting and faster feedback.Strong repeat rates helped Akshayakalpa, whose quick-commerce business is growing about 40% year-on-year, to scale the product offline.Beyond staples, the model is also gaining traction in seasonal and impulse-driven categories.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Vikram Sarabhai, when pressed on why a poor country should spend on space research, offered an elegant rebuttal. He said that we are not in competition with economically advanced nations. We are endeavouring to apply the most advanced technologies to the real problems of humankind.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.On warm evenings in Delhi, bartenders are swapping vodka and gin for jamun (java plum), kaccha aam (raw mango) and chilli mango, signalling India's palate is expanding beyond plain white spirits.This shift is beginning to reshape how alcohol producers such as Diageo Plc, Allied Blenders and Distillers Ltd, Radico Khaitan Ltd and NV Group approach their white spirits portfolios, as the country now stands as the fourth-largest flavoured spirits market globally by value, according to industry estimates.Driven by younger consumers, at-home drinking and cocktail culture, India is catching on to a global trend in which flavoured spirits account for a significant share of consumption, but with a twist: it is instead drawing from local kitchens, street snacks and seasonal fruits rather than traditional profiles such as citrus or berry.Kunal Madan, chief marketing officer of Radico Khaitan, which makes Magic Moments vodka, told Mint that its flavoured spirits portfolio is driving 60% of vodka volume growth. Magic Moments also reported around 18% volume growth in the third quarter and sales of ₹1,050 crore for the nine months ended 31 December, driven by flavour-led innovations.In September 2025, it launched Magic Moments vodka in the ‘Jamun SpicyMint’ flavour.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Technological revolutions have a familiar rhythm. First comes excitement, then investment, and then an awkward phase of reality refusing to cooperate with the narrative. Artificial intelligence (AI) has now entered that third phase.Over the past year, large technology firms have cut thousands of jobs while increasing investment in AI.

Mumbai: In an effort to improve policyholder experience and penetration of health insurance in the country, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has constituted a sub-committee of the Insurance Advisory Committee. The insurance regulator notified the establishment of the committee and its members on 2 April, and then its role and scope, as well as the issues it will address.

Mint.Co-founder Mohal Lalbhai confirmed the fundraise, saying the company is in discussions with existing and new investors to support market expansion this financial year, but declined to comment on valuation. “We are currently in the process of raising around $50 million from existing and new investors as we look to grow our market presence over this financial year,” he said.The round is being led by existing investors, including Capital 2B, and Japan Airlines' JAL Innovation Fund, one of the two people quoted above said on the condition of anonymity.

Mint India Investment Summit held last week.Manufacturing firms, in particular, are increasing R&D spending, but say the absence of validation, at home and abroad, is becoming a key roadblock.“R&D is growing leaps and bounds…but not in the commercial space,” said Pradeep Kumar Kheruka, executive chairman of Borosil Renewables Ltd, at the panel discussion.Kheruka cited Borosil’s attempt to manufacture solar glass without antimony, a toxic chemical, as an example of innovation facing resistance. “We made glass without antimony…We proved that antimony is leaching out from glass, it should be banned and yet the question is how come nobody else has done it?” he said.Despite scientific evidence, the absence of global precedent has slowed domestic adoption.