Future Tech
Global memory chip shortages are raising smartphone and laptop prices — but Ashwini Vaishnaw says India has the answer. With data centre investments set to cross $200 billion and new chip plants coming online, can India become a semiconductor producer instead of just a consumer?,
Revathy Pandian
Author
India's total exports surged nearly 15% in April–May 2026‑27, defying the West Asia war and elevated energy prices. With the Strait of Hormuz set to reopen, exporters are breathing easier — but the lesson of the past six months is that global trade can turn on a dime
AI has quietly become load‑bearing infrastructure in Hollywood — denoising, de‑aging, virtual production, and dubbing. But in India, with no unions and minimal regulation, the AI film revolution is moving fastest: 40% lower VFX costs, landmark de‑aging, and a deepfake legal crisis that has Bollywood stars suing Google. Inside the $28 billion future of cinema
India’s IPO market has been quiet in H1 2026 — but July could bring Zepto’s quick‑commerce debut and the long‑awaited NSE mega listing. Plus: a complete step‑by‑step guide to applying for any IPO, from PAN to UPI mandate to allotment.,
Amazon Prime Air now operates in 50 US cities, completing over 1 million deliveries in the past month using MK30 drones.
SpaceX went public in the largest tech IPO in history, briefly pushing Elon Musk’s net worth past one trillion dollars. Shares surged 19% on day one, reshaping the space economy forever.
KPMG's 2026 report on India's startup ecosystem reveals that deep tech accounts for 12% of India's startup base with 3,600+ companies raising over $2.6 billion. AI, robotics, biotech, and quantum computing are the sectors building India's most defensible businesses.
In February 2026, IIT-Madras launched a ₹600 crore deep tech venture capital fund with Unicorn India Ventures — designed to back IP‑led startups in semiconductors, quantum computing, robotics, spacetech and defencetech. Weeks later, Celesta Capital announced plans for a ₹2,000 crore India‑focused deep tech fund. Chiratae Ventures committed $10 million for five deep tech startups through its Sonic DeepTech program. Under the National Quantum Mission, the government is actively supporting quantum startups in computing, communication, sensing and materials. The patient capital is flowing. The revolution is deep.
Stripe and PayPal do not co‑invest. The two global payments titans have spent two decades competing for merchants, consumers and mindshare. They rarely appear on the same term sheet. In February 2026, they did. Bengaluru‑based Xflow announced a $16.6 million Series A round led by General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors Square Peg, Stripe, Lightspeed, Moore Capital — and PayPal Ventures joining as a new investor. The all‑equity round valued the startup at $85 million post‑investment, bringing its total funding to more than $32 million. With this, Xflow became the first Indian fintech backed by both Stripe and PayPal Ventures — the world's two largest payments infrastructure platforms. Why did two bitter rivals write cheques to the same startup? Because cross‑border B2B payments are a $59 trillion global market that remains stuck in the era of fax machines and manual bank transfers. And India, with its booming exports, SaaS economy and global capability centres (GCCs), is ground zero for fixing it.