MAM
Chance to demonstrate proven global tools in India: Havas’s new digital head Nitin Karkara
MUMBAI: Havas Media Group India has appointed Nitin Karkara as head – Digital, to promote and drive growth for the 360 degree digital offering of Havas Media in India for existing and new clients.
Havas Media Group India and south Asia CEO Anita Nayyar said, “Nitin has the rare mix of leading from the front, both from the client and agency side. We’ve had tremendous organic digital expansion. Although, digital cum mobile has been a core part of every new business win, Havas Media today is a firmly established fully integrated media company providing both online and offline solutions. Collaboration is the cornerstone of our unified operating model, allowing us to deliver 100 per cent accountability and ideas that flourish without boundaries.”
Havas Media Group India MD Mohit Joshi added, “Our Digital at the core and Meaningful Connections Planning philosophy has always impressed clients. Nitin will only add more value and strengthen our philosophy by nailing the clients’ challenges in the context of Digital & Mobile Marketing.”
Karkara said, “Havas Media Group is one of the pioneers in bringing their integrated media and creative offerings with specialized proprietary global tools for developing strategy, planning, media buying, analytics, and reporting. This is a huge opportunity for me to demonstrate these proven global specialized tools and frameworks in the Indian market and create value for existing and new clients. This will also help us further integrate client businesses and successfully partner with them in their overall marketing stories.”
Having graduated from University of British Columbia, Canada, Nitin brings to the agency, an experience of 16+ years in business development, brand strategy, product marketing, mobile and e-commerce. Nitin previously was the G.M. and Head of Digital (HHP Division), Cheil Worldwide and prior Digital Marketing Lead – India & South West Asia, The Coca-Cola Company. He started his career with Samsung and since then has been associated with companies like Sapient India, Microsoft in Wunderman, IBM, ITC Hotels, Manipal Education and Vodafone in OgilvyOne, Fritolays, GSK, Readers Digest and Tetrapak in ISHIR Digital.
Brands
SatLeo Labs raises $5.5m seed funding led by Unicorn India Ventures
Fresh capital to power thermal satellite mission and AI data platform
MUMBAI: SatLeo Labs has raised $2.2 million in a fresh seed round led by Unicorn India Ventures, taking its total funding to $5.5 million as it steps up efforts to scale its space-based thermal intelligence platform.
The funding round also saw participation from existing backers including Merak Ventures, Java Capital, IIMA-CIIE and deep-tech investor Manish Gandhi.
The capital will be used to accelerate SatLeo’s flagship thermal satellite mission and further develop its AI-powered platform designed to deliver high-resolution thermal and visible data from low Earth orbit. The company aims to turn this data into actionable insights for sectors ranging from climate monitoring to urban planning.
Over the past year, SatLeo has scaled rapidly, growing its team from 8 to 30 specialists across satellite engineering, thermal sensing and AI-led geospatial analytics. It has also achieved a key milestone with the development of its first experimental payload, TAPAS-1, which reached near flight-ready status within six months and is now positioned for launch.
On the ground, the startup has begun translating its technology into real-world use cases. Pilot projects in cities such as Ahmedabad and Tumakuru have focused on monitoring urban heat islands and air pollution, impacting over 400,000 citizens. At the same time, its commercial pipeline has expanded sharply, with letters of intent rising from around $15 million to over $42 million within a year.
SatLeo Labs co-founder and CEO Shravan Bhati said, “Sustainability has become imperative amid accelerating climate change and rapid urbanisation. This fundraise represents a critical milestone as we move into the execution phase of our next mission.”
He added that the company is focused on scaling its satellite constellation and enhancing payload performance to deliver thermal intelligence at a global level.
Backing the startup, Unicorn India Ventures managing partner Bhaskar Majumdar said, “Space is an arena where the next wave of technological innovation will emerge. SatLeo’s ability to combine thermal and visible satellite data into real-time insights positions it strongly for long-term growth.”
Looking ahead, SatLeo plans to focus on launch readiness, expanding commercial deployments and scaling its technology stack over the next 12 months.
As demand for climate and environmental intelligence grows, SatLeo’s latest fundraise signals rising investor confidence in space-tech solutions that bring data from orbit down to everyday decision-making.
