Startup TravClan raises $5 million from Flipkart and other investors

The corporate artificial intelligence (AI) company RapidCanvas announced on Friday that it has raised $29 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Vertex Ventures SEA & India. Hitachi Ventures also participated in the round, along with existing investors including Accel, Peak XV Partners, Valley Capital Partners, and Titanium Ventures.

This funding increases the total amount raised by the company to $52.5 million. RapidCanvas plans to use these funds to expand its go-to-market teams, as well as to grow its network of private equity and consulting service partners. Furthermore, the company intends to scale up its field AI engineering team in India, the United States, and Brazil.

According to RapidCanvas itself, this round followed an eightfold growth in annual recurring revenue over the last six quarters, as enterprises increasingly demand tangible results from custom AI in production processes. The company reported that over 40 percent of its clients are already using multiple AI use cases in their operations.

RapidCanvas combines its AI platform with field AI engineers to provide tailored AI solutions. In this process, engineers study each client's business processes, develop and create custom AI applications, and remain responsible for achieving the results of these applications after implementation.

The platform includes three products: Enterprise Context Engine allows an enterprise to record how a business process functions, starting from requirements and accumulated knowledge to data schemas and decision history, while the context remains the property of the enterprise. Visual Development Canvas enables AI engineers to quickly create custom AI solutions that comply with industry standards. And Operational Harness manages and monitors AI solutions after they are deployed in the working environment.

According to the company, by 2026 alone, over 75 enterprises in the manufacturing, financial services, retail, business services, and infrastructure sectors will have made 1.4 million AI-driven decisions using applications built on RapidCanvas. RapidCanvas serves enterprises with revenues between $100 million and $10 billion that have AI budgets and mandates from top management.

Rahul Pangam, co-founder and CEO of RapidCanvas, stated: 'AI can be a great equalizer, but so far the most significant successes have gone to companies on the Fortune 100 list. We want to provide equal opportunities to every company.' He added that 'Vibe coding simplified getting started with AI, but reliable and secure deployment of AI into production remains the biggest challenge. Our growth over the last six quarters proves that AI in the corporate sector is moving beyond pilot projects and into real operation.'

Piyush Harbanda, General Partner at Vertex Ventures SEA & India, noted: 'Most enterprises are still looking for a real return on their AI spending. RapidCanvas delivers this return by combining an AI platform that is enhanced with every deployment and engineers who work on the ground and are responsible for the final outcome. The proof is that clients continue to expand the use of new features and scenarios.'

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has launched the largest fundraising campaign in its history, aiming to collect $1 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 8300 crore rupees. This mega-campaign is intended to significantly strengthen research infrastructure, provide students and faculty with a global platform, and accelerate innovation in deep technologies.

The campaign, titled 'Greater Than Us,' was officially launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Indian Mandapam in New Delhi. Before the official start of the campaign, a total donation of 4155 crore rupees had already been announced from prominent figures and alumni from various parts of the world.

The institute has set a goal to fully reach the $1 billion mark by March 2029. During the inauguration ceremony, Rajnath Singh recalled the rich history of the IIT institutions, emphasizing that modern buildings and laboratories are the result of the labor and self-sacrifice of earlier generations.

The Defence Minister stated that creating great institutions requires decades of persistent effort. He noted that the initial workers operated under extremely limited resources, but their intentions were aimed at building a nation. Today's main task is not just to preserve this legacy but to elevate it to new heights.

Rajnath Singh also stressed that this campaign will serve as a powerful tool to connect scientific discoveries and technological modernity with the direct development of the country.

As part of this large-scale project, IIT Kanpur has partnered with renowned alumnus and industrialist Rahul Gautam. Rahul Gautam has pledged a significant contribution of 180 crore rupees to establish the 'Gautam School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship' (G-SINE) on the campus in Noida.

This new educational center will begin full operations in July 2027 and will offer a flagship MBA program focused on technology and entrepreneurship. The primary focus will be on preparing young professionals for roles as future global business leaders in fields such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, digital medicine, biotechnology, drones, and advanced manufacturing.

The entire plan is based on three key areas. The first is Foundation, which includes establishing a 'Central Research Facility' worth 524 crore rupees and a 'Supercomputing Hub' valued at 200 crore rupees, as well as constructing modern hostels and housing for faculty.

The second area is Talent, where 3000 crore rupees is planned to be raised. These funds will be directed towards scholarships for talented students, generous grants, hiring leading professors both domestically and internationally, and supporting startups.

The third area is Frontier, which initially had a target of 1000 crore rupees, but funding of 1556 crore rupees has already been secured. These funds will be used for the most critical future projects, including research in AI, quantum technologies, semiconductors, and new drug development.

NuSynth Technologies, a joint platform focused on research and development for innovations in complex chemistry, has successfully raised ₹36.5 crore (equivalent to approximately $4 million) in seed funding. This round was co-led by the funds Avaana Capital and Shastra VC.

The capital raised will be used to develop NuSynth's R&D and technological capabilities, build an initial portfolio of patented processes, scale up capacity, and strengthen the company's team.

Despite significant growth in chemical manufacturing, India continues to rely on complex multi-step synthetic routes for many critical molecules. This leads to increased costs for raw materials and energy, dependence on imported intermediates and hazardous reagents, and creates difficulties in commercial scaling. This situation opens opportunities for deepening domestic R&D and building indigenous innovation capabilities in chemical processes.

NuSynth addresses this problem by redesigning chemical processes from scratch, rather than making minor adjustments. The company re-evaluates starting materials, reaction pathways, and process economics to develop synthetic routes that improve cost efficiency, product yield, cycle time, safety, sustainability, and scalability.

Experimental data feeds into NuSynth's artificial intelligence mechanism, forming its own knowledge base. This accelerates the selection of future molecules, experimentation, and commercial scaling, thereby shortening traditional R&D cycles.

Starting with high-yield sectors such as pharmaceuticals and electronic chemicals, the company is gradually expanding its process innovation capabilities across numerous chemistry-related sectors.

According to Poorvank Purohit, Co-founder and CEO of NuSynth Technologies, 'We believe the next chapter will be defined by our ability to innovate in the underlying chemistry itself. Our goal is to create patented processes in India that can provide superior economics and sustainability while serving global market customers.'

The founders of NuSynth bring expertise in scientific research and development, commercialization, and business building. Poorvank Purohit, former CFO and CEO of Solara Active Pharma Sciences, brings industry experience and connections with global clients. Dr. Ramesh A R, a postdoctoral researcher at NIH, Washington, and an IISc graduate, provides scientific and research expertise.

Abhishek Deo and Dipak Bajaj possess commercial and operational experience from Zetwerk, Mstack, Ola, JPMorgan, BlackBuck, and SUN Mobility. Their team has led numerous projects from idea to scale, including companies that have achieved unicorn and public market status.

Shruti Srivastava, Partner at Avaana Capital, noted: 'We believe NuSynth's approach will improve the economics, resource efficiency, and sustainability of chemical manufacturing in critical sectors, while simultaneously creating globally competitive technology platforms from India.'

Avijeet Alaghati, Managing Partner at Shastra VC, emphasized that the NuSynth founders have assembled a rare combination of scientific depth, industry experience, and execution capability. He added: 'We believe this combination, along with the data and AI mechanism, strongly positions NuSynth to create a differentiated process innovation platform from India for global markets.'