The Tech Panda examines the forces shaping ecosystem behaviour and investment sentiment in India.
This month, Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) announced 16 exits from 2025 with 41% IRR amid an ongoing liquidity crunch. Secret Alchemist, the Samantha Ruth Prabhu co-founded aromatherapy and clean fragrance brand, leads IPV’s exit slate with a standout 192% IRR and 4.56x MoM, followed by Aerem (60% IRR, 3.92x MoM), Qubehealth (49% IRR, 5.49x MoM), and Kazam (34% IRR, 4.21x MoM) among top performers. Exits span partial and full transactions, including strategic acquisitions of GeoiQ and AFK Gaming via sale to strategic buyers, alongside institutional co-exits with leading VC funds, demonstrating strong and broad-based buyer confidence in IPV-backed startups. 26 IPV startups recorded follow-on rounds in FY2026, delivering a blended IRR of 84.22% and 3.33x MoM across transactions.
“Our focus has always been on identifying and supporting businesses with the potential to scale and deliver strong returns,” said Vinay Bansal, Founder & CEO of IPV. IPV-backed startups are being acquired by category leaders like Amazon, Lenskart, and Nodwin Gaming, and global MNCs, validating the quality and strategic value of IPV’s portfolio at exit. Generating exits is not a one-time event for us; it is a repeatable process built on disciplined investing, active portfolio stewardship, and a strong network. The 16 exits this fiscal year reflect the compounding effect of years of consistent effort.”
Lifestyle: Investment in Future of AI-Powered Commerce & the Creator Economy with Tech Startups from South Asia Pacific, Middle East & North Africa
L’Oréal is officially calling for the next generation of tech pioneers in India to co-create the future of beauty. Applications are now open for the 2026 Big Bang Beauty Tech Innovation Program across the SAPMENA region. Entering its third year, the biggest beauty tech open innovation competition has become the industry’s launchpad for scale: seven startups from previous cohorts have progressed to commercial pilots with one of L’Oréal’s 40 brands.
Winners secure a fully funded commercial pilot with one of L’Oréal’s 40 international brands, potential scale across 35 SAPMENA markets and year-long mentorship from L’Oréal senior leaders and programme partners. Entering its third year, the programme has seven startup winners to date from Australia, India, Singapore and UAE. 2026 innovation themes tap into greater potential for AI-powered commerce, creator and affiliate ecosystems, and circularity solutions.
Vismay Sharma, President of L’Oréal SAPMENA Zone, commented: “SAPMENA is fast becoming a global epicentre for tech innovation. Millions of young, digitally native consumers are fuelling a rapid rise in digital commerce and redefining brand interaction. We believe this region is an important incubator for the future of beauty – a Silicon Valley for Beauty Tech. As AI, the creator economy, and circularity reshape our industry, we are committed to discovering and nurturing the pioneers who will co-lead this transformation.”
Private Equity: Global Investment Firm Announces Final Close of Asia Fund VI, Raising $10.5 Billion in Total Capital
Bain Capital announced the final close of Bain Capital Asia Fund VI (“Asia Fund VI”), raising $10.5 billion in total capital, including approximately $9.1 billion of external commitments, exceeding its original target of $7 billion. In keeping with the firm’s heritage across all its funds, Bain Capital partners, employees, and related entities committed the balance of capital and collectively are the single largest investor in the fund. The fundraise underscores strong investor confidence in Bain Capital’s Asia private equity platform as the firm marks 20 years of investing in the region.
“Bain Capital’s private equity business has always been built around helping companies realize their full potential through operational improvement, strategic change, and close partnership with management teams,” said Yuji Sugimoto, Partner and Head of Asia Private Equity. “Over the past 20 years, we have built those capabilities into our Asia platform in a way that combines local insight with the broader strengths of Bain Capital, and that has enabled us to deliver strong outcomes for our investors and partner companies across market cycles. We continue to see significant opportunity across the region, and we are investing in our people, our technology, and the broader capabilities of the platform so we can keep scaling in a disciplined way and delivering over the long term.”
Drones: Proposed INR80 Cr Drone City Project to be Inaugurated on May 16, 2026 at Sisai in Haryana
AVPL International to inaugurate Phase-1 of its proposed INR80 crore Drone City Haryana project on May 16 at Village Sisai, Hansi, marking a significant step towards building an integrated drone manufacturing, skilling, and innovation hub in India. The project has received incentive support worth INR58.51 crore under the Haryana Enterprise and Employment Policy-2020.
The Haryana Government has granted INR58.51 crore support to one of India’s largest integrated drone ecosystems. The project is expected to create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for 800+ youth across Haryana. The “500 Drone Udhami” scheme for SC youth by Haryana SC Finance & Development Corporation was also launched. The ecosystem will support drone manufacturing, AI, robotics, skilling, and future-tech startups under one roof.
Dr. Preet Sandhu, Founder and Managing Director, AVPL International, said, “Drone City Haryana is a dream come true project for us. We envisioned this as an integrated ecosystem focused on drone manufacturing, innovation, skilling and entrepreneurship. Through this initiative, we aim to bring together manufacturers, startups, technology innovators, training institutions and service providers under one platform focused on future technologies. We sincerely thank the Government of Haryana and the Industries Department for their continuous support and encouragement in helping us develop this ecosystem. The initiative aims to contribute towards strengthening India’s indigenous drone and aerospace ecosystem while creating meaningful employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth.”
Mobile Tech: Invite for Startups to Co-Create the Future of Mobile Innovation
Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore (SRI-B) and Samsung R&D Institute, Noida (SRI-N), has announced the launch of the 2026 edition of Samsung Mobile Advance (SMA), Samsung’s flagship global startup incubation and partnership programme focused on advancing next-generation mobile technologies. The announcement includes a new edition of Samsung Mobile Advance programme, enabling startups with up to $50,000 for innovative solutions, with zero-equity and to startups to scale across Samsung’s global ecosystem.
“SMA reflects our deep commitment to open innovation, bringing together startup ingenuity and Samsung’s global R&D strength to co-create the future of mobile experiences. We aim to build long-term partnerships that not only accelerate innovation but also translate bold ideas into impactful solutions at global scale,” said Mohan Rao Goli, Managing Director and CVP, Samsung R&D Institute India, Bangalore.
Business Development: Serial entrepreneurs and Digital First Industry Leaders Launch Company to Design Revenue Systems for the AI Era
As rising customer acquisition costs and AI-led shifts in discovery continue to challenge traditional marketing models, a group of industry veterans has come together to launch Wibe Algo, a company focused on designing unified growth systems for businesses. Backed by a cross-functional leadership team, the pre-seed startup aims to address fragmented marketing and rising acquisition costs through a systems-led, AI-enabled growth approach.
“We are seeing a clear shift in how growth needs to be approached,” said Rajasree Chatterjee, CEO and Co-founder, Wibe Algo. “The focus is moving from running campaigns to building systems that are structured, measurable, and directly aligned to revenue. That requires a fundamentally different way of thinking about marketing, technology, and execution.”
