
Mumbai Gains Majority of Maharashtra's $1.4B Funding
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
Tech companies across the state of Maharashtra raised a total of USD 1.4 billion during the first half of 2025, according to Tracxn's Maharashtra Tech H1 2025 Funding Report marking an 8 per cent increase from the USD 1.26 billion raised in H2 2024 and a 1 per cent rise from the USD 1.34 billion raised in H1 2024, signaling a stable and slightly improving funding environment for the region.
The growth has been propelled by robust early-stage activity and the continuation of large-ticket funding rounds, despite muted unicorn creation.
Seed Stage funding totaled USD 129 million, showing a 22 per cent increase over H2 2024 (USD 106 million) but a 38 per cent drop compared to H1 2024 (USD 209 million). Early-stage funding stood at USD 698 million, marking a 65 per cent rise over H2 2024 (USD 422 million) and a 76 per cent surge over H1 2024 (USD 397 million). Late-stage funding was USD 524 million, representing a 28 per cent decline from H2 2024 (USD 730 million) and a 29 per cent fall from H1 2024 (USD 738 million).
Retail Tech raised USD 463 million, up 109 per cent from H2 2024 (USD 222 million) and 29 per cent from H1 2024 (USD 360 million). Transportation and Logistics Tech saw a dramatic jump to USD 378 million, a 280 per cent increase from H2 2024 (USD 99.6 million) and 199 per cent from H1 2024 (USD 127 million). Enterprise Applications collected USD 321 million, down 6 per cent from H2 2024 (USD 340 million) and down 18 per cent from H1 2024 (USD 390 million).
H1 2025 witnessed two USD 100M+ funding rounds, consistent with H2 2024 and slightly lower than the three recorded in H1 2024. Major deals included -GreenLine, which secured USD 275 million in a Series A round and Infra.Market, which raised USD 222 million in a Series F round.
These large rounds were primarily in the Transportation & Logistics Tech and Real Estate and Construction Tech sectors. One new unicorn emerged in H1 2025, a contrast to zero unicorns in both H2 and H1 of 2024. Additionally, two tech companies, ArisInfra and ATC Group, went public during the period.
Mumbai continued to dominate, accounting for 64 per cent of all funding raised in Maharashtra, with Thane coming in a distant second. Overall, top investors included Blume Ventures, LetsVenture, and Venture Catalysts. Among individual firms, India-based Z47 led the highest number of deals (3 rounds). Venture Catalysts also added 3 new companies to its portfolio.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
AI Alone Won't Save You: Solve A Real Problem First
Digital generated image of abstract AI data chat icons flying over digital surface with codes We're living in the age of copy-paste intelligence. You can spin up an AI-powered landing page in 15 minutes, plug in a few GPT calls, and it'll even write its own press release. The tools are impressive. But most of what gets built doesn't stick. The real issue isn't a lack of AI, it's a lack of purpose. Many products skip the part where they answer: Why does this need to exist? Too many products today are beautifully packaged but hollow. A glossy AI wrapper with no meaningful problem underneath. Founders get caught up in the novelty and forget to ask the most important question: What are we really solving? Great products start at the breaking points. Where something is frustrating, slow, tedious, or emotionally draining. That's where the value is. AI should quietly support that, not be the entire pitch. Start With Problem, Not the Solution A lot of AI products today start with the technology. The model comes first. Then comes the scramble for a use case. That's backwards. The best ideas start with a real-world problem. Something that's annoying, inefficient, or consistently painful. That's where AI can make a real difference. Take something as specific (and surprisingly frustrating) as naming a company. It sounds simple, until you try. Founders spend hours searching for something that feels right - a name that fits the story, the tone, the ambition. But they often settle for whatever's available. Keyword-based search tools don't help much in finding great domain names. You enter a word, get back a bunch of literal matches. Some might be close. Most aren't. But that's not how people think. They search in feelings. In phrases. 'Something calming but confident.' 'A name that sounds smart but not cold.' That's not a search problem. It's a language problem. We built semantic search at not to showcase AI, but to bridge the gap between how people describe what they want and how results are typically delivered. One founder, for example, was building a modern parenting brand. She didn't search for 'baby' or 'mom.' She searched for something that felt timeless and trustworthy, something that could evolve with the brand. The name she picked wasn't obvious. But it clicked. Because it captured the feeling, not just the words. That's what AI should do. Not call attention to itself, but quietly help people get to a better answer. The Real Difference Is in the Decisions Everyone has access to the same tools. The same models, APIs, tutorials. That's not where the edge is. What really separates strong products from forgettable ones is the thinking behind them. The decisions about what to build, and what to leave out. It takes restraint to focus on solving one specific thing well. It takes clarity to ignore the hype and focus on something that's actually useful. The best builders aren't showing off the technology. They're paying attention to the person on the other side. The Best AI Products Don't Talk About AI Think about the tools you rely on every day. Notion. Figma. Superhuman. They all use AI but none of them lead with it. They just work better. Quietly. That's what progress looks like. You don't remember the tech. You remember how much smoother things felt. One of the clearest examples of this approach is Dharmesh Shah, co-founder of HubSpot. He's quietly building a suite of AI-powered tools that actually help you get work done. Agents that research companies, summarize complex inputs, and yes, even help find domain names. Not as a gimmick. But because those are tasks people genuinely want to spend less time on. It's not about being flashy. It's about being helpful. Better Questions to Ask If AI can make that feel lighter, faster, or simpler, you're onto something. If you're starting with 'what can we build with GPT-4,' you're probably building a demo, not a product. Final Thought: Solve Like a Human, Then Scale Like a Machine The companies that will stand out in this next wave won't be the ones shouting about AI. They'll be the ones quietly removing friction. Making things easier. Helping people move faster with less frustration. That's the work that lasts. Start with pain. Then let the AI fade into the background.


CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
I tested the Supernote Nomad and Rocketbook Core. Which digital notebook is best?
When I talk about digital notebooks with friends and family, two very different products have come up in conversation: the Supernote Nomad and the Rocketbook. The former is an E Ink notebook that gives you a ton of options, and the latter is a physical notebook that's designed for easy scanning with your phone. I wasn't as familiar with either as I wanted to be, though, as I've had more experience with the Kindle Scribe and the ReMarkable Paper Pro: pricier options that might be out of the question for some folks. The more I heard about these devices, the more I knew I had to call them in. While they're quite different, I'll explain below how each has its own merits, and how I could easily see one being the entry-point to wanting the other. This digital notebook is designed to be scanned with its app so you can keep your notes wherever you go. Rocketbook Core Notebook This digital notebook is designed to be scanned with its app so you can keep your notes wherever you go. Supernote Nomad This E Ink tablet is a great solution for those looking for a natural digital handwriting experience that syncs in the cloud. From $35 From $329 Includes Pilot FriXion Pen and cleaning cloth Pen and folio cost extra Letter (8.5 x 11-in.) or Executive (6 x 8.8-in.) 7.6 x 5.5 in. Paper E Ink 8 oz. 9.6 oz. I tested the $35 Rocketbook Core pack, which includes a physical notebook with pages that are easily scanned into an app and designed to be reused. Once you scan your pages in, you can do whatever you want with those files, including sending them to a variety of apps. This spiral-bound notebook is protected by a rigid plastic cover, which makes it more durable than the cardboard paper bound composition notebooks of the past. Plus, it's available in six colors, ranging from the simple black to bolder pink and teal designs. The Rocketbook also includes its pen and cleaning cloth (more on that below), and all you need after that is an iPhone or Android phone. You'll spend a lot more getting a Supernote Nomad, which starts at $329 without accessories and goes up to $500 when you add on the pen and vegan leather folio I've tested it with. But while the Supernote Nomad is pricier, I believe it's still worth it. If all of this sounds too expensive, we have some journaling supplies you should consider for a more analog take on writing. TL;DR: The Rocketbook's low price makes it an easy purchase, while the Supernote's hefty price requires much more consideration. I love writing with pens and pencils because it feels great. That's not exactly the case with the Rocketbook notebook and its Pilot FriXion pen, which feels slippery on the page. Also, the pen doesn't draw lines as consistently thick as I'd like to see, but it still gets the job done. The Supernote Nomad, on the other hand, has more options for your digitized ink than you might need, with multiple virtual pens and thicknesses. Most importantly, its pen and screen offer the appropriate amount of friction when I write on the screen, for that natural handwriting experience. This stands in stark contrast with using an Apple Pencil on an iPad, which can feel too slippery, even though you're writing on some of the best tablets. I still like the feeling of writing with the ReMarkable Paper Pro slightly better, but if that didn't exist, I would be switching to the Supernote Nomad in a heartbeat. Also, its screen's crisp resolution offers a 300 pixels-per-inch density that makes it easy to see what you're writing. TL;DR: The Rocketbook notebook isn't just a lot less expensive, it feels like it too. The big downside of the Rocketbook system is its slightly cumbersome process. After you make your notes in your notebook, you take out your phone, open the Rocketbook app and scan each page in. Fortunately, you won't run out of pages, as you can erase the ink from the included pen by rubbing it with a slightly-wet towel (such as the included microfiber cloth). This is a far cry from the Supernote Nomad, which has undo gestures built into its sides. There's just one other caveat to know about the Rocketbook way: the company advises you wait 10 to 15 seconds for your writing to 'bond' to the page before you move or close the page. And Rocketbook is right: you need to do that, because the included pen's ink easily smudges when I push it with my finger before that small, allotted window of time. TL;DR: The Rocketbook requires a little elbow grease once it's time to clean its erasable pages or when you run out of paper. After I figured out how to actually set up the Nomad's automatic syncing (swipe down from the top, tap Settings, tap Drive, tap Supernote Cloud and turn on Auto Sync), I got to experience how the Supernote system matches my beloved ReMarkable Paper Pro in terms of being the perfect notebook. Anything you do in the Supernote Nomad syncs over Wi-Fi via its cloud storage service, so you can check it on a phone, laptop or tablet later on. This ends the ordeal of searching for your notes when you left your notebook somewhere else, as you're not reliant on the barriers of space and time to have your hand-written ideas within reach. TL;DR: Supernote really feels like a super-powered notebook that does it all for you. Rocketbook may not have its own cloud storage, but it will work with the one you already pay for. Seasoned iPhone veterans may look at the Rocketbook system and wonder why they need it when the Notes app already allows for document scanning and sharing. Well, that's where the built-in optical character recognition comes into play, as you can turn on OCR so that you include a TXT file of the text of your PDF when you send it with the scan. I've tried it myself, and it works fine, and I could see it as a huge time-saver that lets you easily copy and paste all of your writing into a big text file, email or other project. On top of that, you can use the bubbles at the bottom of each Rocketbook page to automatically export your scans once you've made them. In the Rocketbook app, you simply assign services and apps such as Google Drive, Dropbox and Todoist to one of the 7 icons, which are also found on the bottom of every page. Unsurprisingly, especially at its price, the Supernote Nomad also connects to other services, including Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive. TL;DR: The Rocketbook integrates with your existing apps and cloud storage providers, and so does the Supernote. While the Nomad has more features than you might have time to dive in and figure out — the menus go very deep for those who want a very particular way to write — its coolest trick isn't software; it's the hardware. Not only does the Crystal model I tested embrace the retro clear tech aesthetic I love (remember those translucent Nintendo 64 controllers?), but it reveals the user-replaceable battery and SD memory card reader that you can access with a small screwdriver, so you never need to worry about the lifetime or storage capacity of your device once that built-in 32GB drive fills up. You can also do this to the non-clear Supernote Nomad. Anyone looking for sustainable tech might see this as a great reason to go with the Supernote Nomad over any E Ink tablet. Otherwise, the specs seem pretty standard for this kind of device, with 4GB of RAM, a USB-C port for charging and a no-name 1.8 GHz processor that's been fast enough in my testing. TL;DR: The Supernote Nomad looks cool and it's made to last. A lot of the time when we do a Battle of the Brands story, the products are so similar that it's a close fight. But this time is different. The Rocketbook Core is definitely the pick for those on a budget and looking to figure out if they really want to go all-in on hand-written digital notes without plunking down a lot of money for a nice iPad and Apple Pencil or digital E Ink tablet with pen. Those who want a finer experience that does all of the work for you should get the Supernote Nomad, as it's a great starter E Ink notebook. Both products, I believe, are worth their price of entry, though I can see how some might think the Apple Notes app's note-scanning trick is a solid alternative to the Supernote. The only problem is that you'd be using actual sheets of paper, while the Rocketbook lets you reuse that same notebook, cleaning its pages again and again. Before you know it, you might want a bigger, backlit screen and start looking at the ReMarkable Paper Pro, though its larger size does make it less portable. But since that starts at $629, the slightly-more-affordable Nomad is probably a better entry point for many aspiring digital handwriting enthusiasts. Either way, congratulations on jumping into the hand-written notetaking world. I swear we're a fun crowd. Some might think it's a stretch to call these products similar, but they do both provide a digital system for writing your own notes. The Supernote Nomad, though, collects all of your notes for you in its system, while the Rocketbook Core is less of an electronics device and more of a notebook with a scanning app that puts the organizational onus on the user. Just don't expect the Nomad to compete with a Kindle, as it doesn't have an ebook store like the best e-readers do. Which digital notebook costs more, the Supernote Nomad or Rocketbook Core? Which digital notebook costs more, the Supernote Nomad or Rocketbook Core? This one's super-simple. The $329 and up Supernote Nomad costs a lot more than the $35 Rocketbook Core. Which digital notebook is bigger, the Rocketbook Core or Supernote Nomad? Which digital notebook is bigger, the Rocketbook Core or Supernote Nomad? Both the Letter and Executive sizes of the Rocketbook Core are bigger than the Supernote Nomad. Are either the Supernote Nomad or the Rocketbook Core compatible with landscape notetaking? Are either the Supernote Nomad or the Rocketbook Core compatible with landscape notetaking? The Supernote Nomad allows for landscape orientation notetaking, but things with the Rocketbook Core are slightly more complicated. You can write in landscape all you want, but the PDFs you scan will be vertical. You'd need to edit them later to make them horizontal. CNN Underscored comprises a team of writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. Electronics writer Henry T. Casey has been testing gadgets for in-depth product reviews for more than a decade, and he's increasingly become a fan of the E Ink digital notebooks, carrying the ReMarkable Paper Pro to every work event he attends. He only wishes it had Find My support, because he somehow keeps leaving it behind.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
AI is driving mass layoffs in tech, but it's boosting salaries by $18,000 a year everywhere else, study says
You've read about it all over, including in Fortune Intelligence. Maybe you or friends have been impacted: artificial intelligence is already transforming work, not least hiring and firing. Nowhere is the impact more visible than in the labor market. The technology industry, the original epicenter of AI adoption, is now seeing many of its own workers displaced by the very innovations they helped create. Employers, racing to integrate AI into everything from cloud infrastructure to customer support, are trimming human headcount in software engineering, IT support, and administrative functions. The rise of AI-powered automation is accelerating layoffs in the tech sector, with impacted employees as high as 80,000 in one count. Microsoft alone is trimming 15,000 jobs while committing $80 billion to new AI investments. But labor market intelligence firm Lightcast is offering a ray of hope going forward. Job postings for non-tech roles that require AI skills are soaring in value. Lightcast's new 'Beyond the Buzz' report, based on analysis of over 1.3 billion job postings, shows that these postings offer 28% higher salaries—an average of nearly $18,000 more per year. The Lightcast research underscores the split in tech and non-tech hiring: job postings for AI skills in tech roles remain robust, but the proportion of AI jobs within IT and computer science has fallen, dropping from 61% in 2019 to just 49% in 2024. This signals an ongoing contraction of traditional tech roles as AI claims an ever-larger share of the work. AI demand explodes beyond tech Rather than stifling workforce prospects, Lightcast's research suggests that AI is dispersing opportunity across the broader economy. More than half of all jobs requesting AI skills in 2024 appeared outside the tech sector—a radical reversal from previous years, when AI was confined to Silicon Valley and computer science labs. Fields like marketing, HR, finance, education, manufacturing, and customer service are rapidly integrating AI tools, from generative AI platforms that craft marketing content to predictive analytics engines that optimize supply chains and recruitment. In fact, job postings mentioning generative AI skills outside IT and computer science have surged an astonishing 800% since 2022, catalyzed by the proliferation of tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and DALL-E. Marketing, design, education, and HR are some of the fastest growers in AI adoption—each adapting to new toolkits, workflows, and ways of creating value. Cole Napper, VP of research, innovation, and talent insights at Lightcast, told Fortune in an interview that he was struck by the lack of a discernible pattern for which industries were most affected by the explosion of AI skills present in job postings, noting that the arts come top of the list. AI skills are in demand For the workforce at large, AI proficiency is emerging as one of today's most lucrative skill investments. Possessing two or more AI skills sends paychecks even higher, with a 43% premium on advertised salaries. In 2024, more than 66,000 job postings specifically mentioned generative AI as a skill, a nearly fourfold increase from the prior year, according to the Lightcast's 2025 Artificial Intelligence Index Report. Large language modeling was the second most common AI skill, which showed up in 19,500 open job posts. Postings listing ChatGPT and prompt engineering as skills ranked third and fourth in frequency, respectively. Sectors such as customer/client support, sales, and manufacturing reported the largest pay bumps for AI-skilled workers, as companies race to automate routine functions and leverage AI for competitive advantage. Christina Inge, founder of Thoughtlight, an AI marketing service, told Fortune in a message AI isn't just automating busywork, it's also becoming a tool AI-fluent workers can leverage to increase their own value to a company—and to outperform their peers. Take, for example, someone in sales using AI to create more targeted conversations to close deals faster, Inge wrote. The same can be said for customer service workers. '[Customer service workers fluent in AI] know how to interpret AI outputs, write clear prompts, and troubleshoot when things go off script,' Inge said. 'That combination of human judgment and AI fluency is hard to find and well worth the extra pay.' In fields like marketing and science, even single AI skills can yield large returns, while more technical positions gravitate to specialists with advanced machine learning or generative AI expertise. Crucially, the most valued AI-enabled roles demand more than just technical wizardry. Employers prize a hybrid skillset: communication, leadership, problem-solving, research, and customer service are among the 10 most-requested skills in AI-focused postings, alongside technical foundations like machine learning and artificial intelligence. 'While generative AI excels at tasks like writing and coding, uniquely human abilities—such as communication, management, innovation, and complex problem-solving—are becoming even more valuable in the AI era,' the study says. Winners and losers The emerging repercussions are striking. Tech workers whose roles are readily automated face rising displacement—unless they can pivot quickly into emerging areas that meld business, technical, and people skills. Meanwhile, millions of workers outside of tech are poised to translate even basic AI literacy into new roles or wage gains. The competitive edge now lies with organizations and professionals agile enough to combine AI capabilities with human judgement, creativity, and business acumen. For companies, the risk is clear: treating AI as an isolated technical specialty is now a liability. Winning firms are investing to embed AI fluency enterprise-wide, upskilling their marketing teams, HR departments, and finance analysts to build a future-ready workforce. AI may be the source of turmoil in Silicon Valley boardrooms, but its economic dividends are flowing rapidly to workers—and companies—in every corner of the economy. For those able to adapt, AI skills are not a harbinger of job loss, but a passport to higher salaries and new career possibilities. Still, the research doesn't indicate exactly where in the income levels the higher postings are coming, so Napper said it's possible that we are seeing some compression, with higher-paid tech jobs being phased out and lower-paying positions being slightly better-paying. Napper said the trend of AI skills cropping up in job postings has exploded over the past few years, and he doesn't expect a slowdown anytime soon. Napper said there's a 'cost to complacency'—one that includes a significant salary cut. He added that the 28% premium, Lightcast plans to release follow-up research on what level of the income latter the trend is hitting the most. For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data