Brands
These five Indian startups are at forefront of innovation
Mumbai: India’s thriving startup ecosystem has gained the trust of investors, customers and employees alike. Entrepreneurs from various parts of the country have come up with innovative solutions and profitable businesses that are no less than a Silicon Valley company. Let’s take a look at give such Indian startups which are at the forefront of innovation:
1. Paytm
Paytm has been at the forefront of UPI and payments innovation in the country. It was among the first to introduce QR codes for UPI payments, way back in 2015. In a country dependent on either cash transactions or expensive debit or credit card transactions, the QR codes made it easy to receive payments from customers seamlessly and instantly and at minimal cost. Since then, the company has branched out into becoming a full fledged fintech company. Paytm was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma in 2011.
Paytm was also the company to introduce the SoundBox. This made it easy for a merchant to keep track of UPI payments, as the SoundBox would announce the payments that they received. Recently, the company has also come up with two different kinds of sound boxes – one that plays music, and another that can be carried around in the pocket.
The company also has a widely used online payment gateway. It is also in the business of providing merchant loans, and enabling merchants to have their businesses discovered through its app.
2. Wahter
Wahter, the brainchild of founders Amitt and Kashiish A Nenwani, is set to transform the packaged water industry in India. With its innovative idea of providing clean, premium-quality drinking water at an unbelievably low price of just Rs 1 per bottle, Wahter is not only addressing the need for clean water but is also making a powerful statement about fairness and accessibility.
Additionally, the company is providing brands with an impactful advertising medium for the first time in the country – brands can actually advertise themselves on the labels of Wahter bottles. This way, they are not only visible to a larger audience but can measure the reach and impact of their message through Wahter’s proprietary tech.
Wahter’s MRP is just Rs 1 for a 250mL bottle, and Rs 2 for a 500mL bottle, which makes it very economical for all categories of consumers. Demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, Wahter uses fully recyclable bottles. Wahter will be available everywhere — from a paan shop, all the way to flights. The problem of clean accessible drinking water is very old, but Wahter will solve this once and for all.
3. Blusmart
BluSmart is a ride-sharing company that operates a fleet of about 5500 electric vehicles in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. Unlike competitors, Ola or Uber, which are aggregator platforms, BluSmart, owns its own fleet of cars and employs drivers on a contract basis. This reduces the problem of cancellations and ensures uniform service. The company was started by Anmol Singh Jaggi, Punit K Goyal and Puneet Singh Jaggi in 2019.
The company is looking to capitalise on the government’s clean energy push and rising concerns around air pollution. BluSmart has so far received around $133 million in debt and equity funding from various investors.
The company plans to scale this to 8000 cabs by next year. The company also owns and operates over 4000 charging stations in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. It plans to open these up for commercialisation in 2024, meaning other EV owners and fleet operators can use these for charging their vehicles.
Tech-enabled transit retail network Yatrikart raises $450 K in the seed round of funding | Startup Story
4. Yatrikart
Yatrikart is a tech-enabled company that focuses on retailing-on-the-go. The company has around 40 branded roadside retail shops and carts on long-distance trains. It ties up with hawkers and vendors and provides them with inventory, training and a vending license. In exchange, the hawkers — who are called “captains” by the company — get to keep a 20 per cent commission on the products, while 20 per cent is retained by Yatrikart.
The company has raised Rs 450,000 in seed funding so far. Founded by Gaurav Rana and Shivangee Sharma, Yatrikart is a tech-enabled transit retail chain, enabling micro-entrepreneurship by empowering hawkers and retailers who sell to those traveling by road or train. These hawkers and retailers get the advantage of not being harassed by the police for illegal vending and gain respectability. The company has partnered with brands such as Dove, Colgate, Colorbar, Pepsi, PeeSafe, Unilever and ITC. In addition, the startup offers channel partnerships to help small businesses get higher profit margins and foster growth.
5. Zoho
Zoho is an Indian multinational software-as-a-service company that was started by Sridhar Vembu in 1996. Zoho is popular for its product Zoho Office Suite, and serves over 100mn customers worldwide.
Recently, Zoho made news when it revealed that it is in the process of developing its own large language model (LLM), although this will be smaller than existing ones like GPT by OpenAI and Gemini by Google. While Zoho recently integrated several generative AI tools including ChatGPT into its products, its long-term intent is to develop its own LLM based on 7 million to 20 million parameters. For context, GPT 4 has 1.76 trillion parameters. The project is being supervised by Vembu, who is also the CEO of the company. The company also intends to have its own GPU (graphics processing infrastructure) to save on long-term costs.
Zoho’s focus is on getting talent from rural India, and focusing on building innovation ecosystems in rural India. Vembu himself operates out of the company’s office in Tenkasi, a village in Tamil Nadu.
Brands
Jubilant Foodworks to end Dunkin’ franchise in India
Pizza chain operator will not renew agreement when it expires at end of 2026.
MUMBAI: When the doughnuts stop turning and the coffee goes cold, even a global giant like Dunkin’ can find the Indian market a tough brew to crack. Jubilant Foodworks has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with Dunkin’ when the pact expires on 31 December 2026, according to a Reuters report. The operator, best known for running Domino’s outlets in India, said it would evaluate options for its existing Dunkin’ stores, including a potential sale or transfer of franchise rights, in consultation with the US-based brand.
The decision follows years of underperformance in a market where local tastes and intense competition have made it difficult for international coffee-and-doughnut formats to gain traction. Jubilant, which has increasingly focused on its core pizza business and newer bets like Popeyes, indicated that the exit would not materially affect its financial or operational position.
Dunkin’ accounted for just 0.61 per cent of Jubilant’s revenue in the fiscal year ending 2025 and recorded a loss of approximately Rs 191 million, according to a regulatory filing. The company operated 27 outlets as of December 2025, having shuttered seven stores over the preceding year.
The retreat comes even as Jubilant’s broader business shows signs of momentum. The company reported a 65 per cent rise in quarterly profit for the October to December period, reaching Rs 70.9 crore, up from Rs 42.91 crore a year earlier.
For Jubilant, the exit reflects a sharpening strategic focus. For Dunkin’, it marks another setback in a market that has proven resistant to imported café concepts without significant localisation.
In the cut-throat world of Indian quick-service restaurants, sometimes the sweetest deals are the ones you quietly walk away from leaving more room for the brands that truly rise to the occasion.
