India’s tech pulse: Ecosystem harkat & the shifting investment temperament

The Tech Panda examines the forces shaping ecosystem behavior and investment sentiment in India.

JioBlackRock Asset Management launches JioBlackRock Sector Rotation Fund, powered by Systematic Active Equities (SAE)

Jio BlackRock Asset Management Private Limited (JioBlackRock Asset Management / The AMC a 50:50 joint venture between Jio Financial Services Limited (“JFSL”) [BSE, NSE: JIOFIN] and BlackRock Inc. [NYSE:BLK], launched its latest equity offering: the JioBlackRock Sector Rotation Fund, powered by BlackRock’s Systematic Active Equities (SAE) approach.

Rishi Kohli, Chief Investment Officer, JioBlackRock Asset Management said, “Over the last decade, sector leadership has kept changing, often in ways that are hard to anticipate. With constant shifts in consumption, technological disruption, geo-politics as well as global supply chains, The JioBlackRock Sector Rotation Fund will allow investors to participate in these changes by dynamically changing sector weightages in the portfolio as leadership moves from one sector to another.”

IPV Offers Free Angel Investor Accreditation in Line with SEBI Regulations

Early-stage angel investing platform Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) launched a structured initiative to assist investors get accredited free of cost following SEBI’s guidelines. Individuals who take IPV’s membership are being facilitated through the accreditation process at no additional cost.

Vinay Bansal, Founder, IPV said,“The introduction of investor accreditation by SEBI is a major regulatory development for the early-stage investment ecosystem. This might bring in certain new considerations for investors and startups alike, but essentially, with one of the largest angel investing platforms in the country, we see it as our responsibility to support the intent of the regulation and help move our investor community through this transition smoothly.”

SMFG India Credit Marks ~25% Business Contribution from Digital Business as Company Deepens Its Technology-Led Transformation Journey

SMFG India Credit (SMICC), an Indian NBFC, launched a significant acceleration of its digital transformation strategy, with nearly 25% of its overall business driven by its digital ecosystem, translating into an Asset Under Management (AUM) of ~Rs 15,000 crore as of September 2025. This reflects a robust 45% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in SMICC’s digital business over the past 2 years, underscoring the company’s strategic focus on building a scalable, future-ready lending franchise.

Swaminathan Subramanian, Chief Operating Officer, SMFG India Credit, said, “Our digital business, now contributing nearly a quarter of our overall business, is a testament to the impact of our accelerated technology investments. This growth is further strengthened by the company’s use of robust scorecards and automated decisioning models, API-based interactions across partner ecosystems, real-time customer communications, and advanced reconciliation capabilities. Together, these capabilities have significantly accelerated loan processing and disbursals, thereby increasing SMFG India Credit’s overall digital business contribution. By leveraging robust partner ecosystems and strengthening our digital core, our aim is to be more agile, secure, and efficient, while creating long-term enterprise value.”

io.net Launches Dedicated India Grants to Accelerate AI Innovation

io.net, a decentralised network for AI compute, announced a major expansion into India. Since its launch in June 2024, io.net’s network, with access to tens of thousands of GPUs, has supported over $20 million in compute leases, bringing low-cost and universal access to AI innovators and researchers. The company announced a grant program especially for the India market.

Gaurav Sharma, CEO, io.net, says: “India has the talent, the ambition and the urgency to shape the next era of AI. What it lacks is an affordable, scalable compute. Our expansion bridges that gap, giving every Indian builder the freedom to train and deploy models at world-leading scale. Sectors such as healthcare, which rely on rapid model development for diagnostics and public health tools, stand to benefit immediately. Decentralised compute is the great equaliser – it levels the field for startups and ensures India can compete on its own terms.”