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With Generative AI acceleration, 70 per cent of startup founders are intending to embed Artificial Intelligence in their solutions, finds NASSCOM. (File Image: DC) Chennai: Notwithstanding the funding winter, over 60 per cent of tech startups reported an increase in profitability in 2023.

Resilience was the defining narrative of the Indian startup economy in 2023, but the slew of corporate malfeasance incidents definitely dimmed the shine of our achievements. Although India now comfortably ranks in the upper echelons of the global startup ecosystem, if the domestic ecosystem isn’t able to deliver on its promise of long-lasting resilience, its foundation will crumble, swiftly and catastrophically.

As artificial intelligence (AI) is Advancing and a substantial spike can be witnessed in data security breaches, venture capital (VC) investors are significantly scaling their investments in Indian cybersecurity startups. Over the last two years, these startups have witnessed a remarkable 63 per cent surge in fund inflows, amassing a total of $130.7 million, according to data from Tracxn.

Humane, the startup behind the new AI Pin, has fired 10 employees, which is 4% of its workforce. CEO Bethany Bongiorono says that the cuts are part of some changes to best prepare us for continued growth. Twitch, the popular game streaming platform, has also announced plans to lay off about 35% of its staff, which is about 500 roles.

AI startups will continue getting larger shares of the seed money, but investors are more likely to also exit them if they continue yielding low capital and looming threat of regulation in various parts of the world. This is an obscure problem to navigate the gold rush tech trends as it may be too early to bet on AI products beyond Gen AI and too late if they align well with target market demographics and policies.

While the Indian AI startup ecosystem is at a nascent stage right now, venture capitalists are sure it is poised for growth in several areas, which could even have a global impact A new generation of Indian AI first or AI native startups could be catering to the world in the coming years

Norwegian robotics startup 1X Technologies, backed by OpenAI, has raised $ 100 million, or about Rs 830 crore, in its Series B funding round led by EQT Ventures. As part of the round, 1X also provided a significant secondary facility, with existing investor Sandwater increasing its stake with the third largest contribution in the round.

A two-day Agri startup conclave, organised by department of agricultural economics, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, BHU started on Saturday. The conclave is being held in collaboration with Baroda UP Gramin Bank, IGNOU, Varanasi regional centre branch at Shatabdi Krishi auditorium, BHU, Varanasi. Banaras Hindu University (File)

According to PitchBook, US investors infused around USD 170.6 billion into startups in 2023, dip of around 30 per cent from the USD 242.2 billion recorded in 2022, as the venture capital funding market continues to grapple with valuation resets amid rising interest rates.