From how KumaonKhand, a social enterprise building a hemp-based ecosystem in Uttarakhand, began as a college project and became a full-time venture in 202, to how PhysicsWallah and Lenskart's doubled their profit in the second quarter of FY27, here are the latest developments across sectors.

KumaonKhand, a social enterprise building a hemp-based ecosystem in Uttarakhand, began as a college project and became a full-time venture in 2021 with his mother, Sangeeta and Anuj Sharma, the founder and CEO of Alsisar Impact, a social impact incubator and investment firm.

A problem-mapping exercise through an environmental and social lens pointed toward hemp as a solution.

Specialty chemicals startup altM has raised $10.3 million in a Series A funding round, with Rainmatter by Zerodha and Mela Ventures joining as new investors. Existing backers Omnivore, Theia Ventures, Aureolis Ventures and Spectrum Impact also participated in the round, along with strategic angel investors.

The Bengaluru-based company said it will use the funds to expand its manufacturing capacity, strengthen research and development, support customer qualification programmes, and grow its engineering and commercial teams. The investment will help altM transition from pilot-scale production to commercial manufacturing.

Bengaluru-based Venomics AI, a biotechnology startup spun out of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has raised $2.7 million in a pre-seed funding round co-led by Speciale Invest and South Park Commons, with participation from Operators Studio. Co-founded by Kartik Sunagar and Vinay Prabhu, the company uses artificial intelligence, venom biology and laboratory screening to identify venom-derived molecules with therapeutic potential.

Source link