Kamalesh Jayaraman

Weaver Services raises $170 million from Lightspeed, Premji Invest and Gaja Capital Housing finance platform Weaver Services has raised $170 million (around Rs 1,450 crore) in a round led by Lightspeed and Premji Invest with participation from Gaja Capital, as it looks to tap into the growing demand for the affordable housing segment with a focus on self-employed individuals. Moneycontrol was first to report about Lightspeed and Premji Invest leading Weaver Services' large-ticket fundraise, exceeding $140 million, on July 28. The investment will accelerate Weaver's asset acquisition, fund technology development, and expand reach across tier-2 and tier-3 cities where the affordable housing gap, as per the company, is the most acute. The company, which has already acquired Capital India Housing Finance for Rs 267 crore, will acquire more companies as it looks to scale its loan book and capture a larger share of the market. “We aim to make housing finance more accessible to the people of India by leveraging technology and placing customers at the centre of our focus thereby bringing in a new paradigm in the space,” said Satrajit Bhattacharya, Founder and Vice Chairman of Weaver Services.Satrajit Bhattacharya Bhattacharya is an industry veteran with three decades of experience at HDFC Ltd. As part of his relationship with the bank, its former chief Keki Mistry also has invested some money in the company, Moneycontrol had reported earlier. by Tushar Goenka https://lnkd.in/g-X4d644

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Natasha Malpani Unveils Rs 200 Cr Boundless Ventures to Support AI Startups Former Kae Capital partner Natasha Malpani founded Boundless Ventures, an early-stage fund worth Rs 200 crore that supports Indian AI-native startups. Finance Outlook India READ MORE: https://lnkd.in/gTK4FxKD

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Agilitas x Virat Kohli partnership is one of the masterstroke deals I have seen in recent times. Virat invests 40 CR in Agilitas for a 1.94% stake, putting Agilitas’s valuation around 2000 CR. 📈 In turn, Agilitas acquires one8world, making Virat a co-founder and shareholder. They now get two very important growth levers: ⬇️ 1. A powerful manufacturing (via Mochiko Shoes - a 600 CR+ footwear brand that Agilitas acquired in 2008 ), 2. India’s biggest athlete — exclusively aligned. Easily becomes a 4000 CR revenue brand in the next 5 years. Footwear + retail scale requires capital — but this partnership compresses customer acquisition, product cycles, and brand-building like few others. Even Virat said in his podcast with Abhishek Ganguly, the co-founder of Agilitas that, “I didn’t want a brand deal… I wanted to build something that outlives me.” And Abhishek said something even beautiful - “An ambition to build from India but be globally relevant.” This isn’t marketing. This is legacy building with shared skin in the game. And that is how startups work - shared ambition with one goal (to make the company big) and food (read stake) in the table for everyone! A company that can be built in the long term with culture, capital, and conviction aligned. This might be the first time in India, where an athlete joins hands with a sport company to re-imagine and build the sport ecosystem of India - truly revolutionalising the game with a clear vision. 🙌

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Who controls the rails of digital access? 🇮🇳 ​Critical insights on why India needs a localized, open app ecosystem to sustain its massive digital growth. ​A great read on the work we are doing at Indus Appstore. Priya Narasimhan breaks down the problem and articulates our commitment to broadening the app economy through openness and choice. ​Read the full article below 👇 ​#IndusAppstore #AppStoreForIndia #DigitalSovereignty

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OneCard rewrote the rules of the credit card category in India: no hidden fees, full control, metal meets mobile. #AnuragSinha, Vibhav Hathi, and Rupesh Kumar didn’t just build a great fintech product. They built trust at scale. We backed them before the first OneCard card shipped. Now, they’re leading a quiet revolution. Love the #BackTheBold campaign by Razorpay bringing together Indian’s boldest founders. Harshil Mathur, Shashank Kumar, Rajat Agarwal, Vikram Vaidyanathan, Tarun Davda.

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🚀 Infra.Market raises $90M in Series G funding Investors: Nikhil Kamath's family office (NKSquared), Silverline Homes, Tiger Global, Accel, Evolvence India, Nexus Ventures 📍 Thane, Maharashtra, India Focus: Construction Technology, E-commerce, Retail Technology #startup #funding #constructiontechnology #ecommerce

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Eggoz Raises $20 Mn Series C Led By Gaja Capital; Claims to hit its EBITDA Breakeven In Q4 FY25, Revenue Up 76% YoY To INR 130 Cr FY25 https://lnkd.in/gd9j68rp Abhishek Negi Aditya Singh #Eggoz #funding #D2Cbrands #Agritech #EBITDAbreakeven #Revenuegrowth #Indianstartups #consumerbrands #GajaCapital

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There's a lot to learn for founders in this note and IDfy journey. But I think there's a learning here for folks in VC firms as well - please don't tell founders that they are wasting their life with the company they are building(even if you mean well).

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1.4B people, ~50M credit cards-see the gap? 🇮🇳 Google just stepped into it with Flex by Google Pay. 💳🚀 This launch isn't just another fintech product. It's Google recognizing what we in the AI and automation space know well - massive user bases need smart, accessible solutions. What makes Flex interesting: • Digital-first issuance through Google Pay • Built on RuPay network and UPI ecosystem • Transparent pricing with upfront fees • Rewards system with virtual "Stars" The timing is strategic. Co-branded cards already capture 12-15% of India's market and are projected to hit 25% by 2028. But here's what excites me as an AI engineer - Google's approach shows how technology platforms can solve real financial inclusion problems. They're leveraging their 530M+ user base to bridge the credit gap. This reminds me of the AI projects I work on. The best solutions often come from understanding user behavior deeply, then building accessible tools that meet them where they are. For fintech innovators, watch how Google integrates AI-driven features. Their new merchant tools already include AI ad creation - expect more intelligent automation in the payments flow. The lesson? Sometimes the biggest opportunities hide in plain sight. A 1.4B person market with 50M credit cards isn't a saturated market - it's an untapped goldmine waiting for the right approach. What's your take on Google's fintech expansion? Will this reshape India's digital payments landscape? #Fintech #DigitalPayments #AI 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲꞉ https://lnkd.in/gHprxziW

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Yup, engagement leads to monetization. Every time, every where. And conversely as Govind posits, lack of engagement means loss of revenue in the future. I know it is fashionable to talk only about revenue and profits in bad markets (and growth at all costs in good markets) but neither is really the right choice. As a founder / operator, it is "always" better to focus on leading metrics (such as engagement), lagging metrics (such as revenues) are obviously easy to see and compare but are 1.> much less actionable 2.> delay your decision making.

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