eNews
Climate-conscious marketing startup bags $2m to fix advertising’s waste problem
MUMBAI: Nearly two-fifths of the $1 trillion sloshed around global advertising each year vanishes into the ether—wasted on botched targeting, feeble creative and sheer duplication. Climaty AI reckons it can plug the leak.
The Dubai-based startup, which bills itself as the world’s first “CliMarTech” company, has secured $2m in early-stage funding led by Turbostart to build what it calls an agentic AI ecosystem—self-learning marketing infrastructure that optimises campaigns in real time whilst measuring their carbon footprint.
Founded by Neel Pandya, former chief executive of AI startup Pixis (which he helped scale to $225m in funding), Climaty AI deploys four AI-powered agents—Campaign Builder, Creator, Optimizer and Analytics—to automate the grunt work and free media planners to focus on strategy rather than spreadsheets.
The funding will bankroll expansion across Asia-Pacific, EMEA, Britain and north America, where demand for sustainable marketing is climbing. Climaty AI has already run pilots with Opella and tested its platform across edtech, consumer healthcare, automotive and consumer goods sectors.
“Marketing platforms of the future will combine performance with accountability. Climaty AI is shaping this new standard with CliMarTech and agentic AI,” said Bengaluru-based venture and accelerator fund Turbostart founder Ganesh Raju.
Pandya, who spent two decades at L’Oréal, Vodafone and GroupM before diving into AI, argued that the most successful brands will treat accountability as a performance driver rather than a cost centre. “Agentic AI and sustainability are at the core of everything we do,” he said.
The pitch: smarter campaigns, measurable results, and a smaller carbon footprint—performance and responsibility in one package. Whether agencies and brands buy it remains to be seen, but with $370 billion going up in smoke annually, there’s certainly room for improvement.
eNews
Swiggy sees record orders during India vs New Zealand T20 final
Chicken biryani tops match-day menu as fans order 7,500 times per minute at peak.
MUMBAI: India’s T20 final didn’t just break stumps, it broke Swiggy’s delivery records, proving cricket fans celebrate victories with plates, not just flags. Swiggy, India’s leading on-demand convenience platform, reported a sharp spike in food orders during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final between India and New Zealand. On 8 March 2026, overall orders rose 23.2 per cent year-on-year compared with the same date in 2025, driven by fans turning living rooms into mini stadiums complete with match-day feasts.
Key highlights from the evening:
- Orders during peak match hours (7–10 pm) were 2.1 times higher than pre-match levels.
- The highest order rate hit 7,500 orders per minute at 19:45.
- Chicken biryani reigned supreme as the most-ordered dish, followed by masala dosa, chicken fried rice, garlic breadsticks and paneer butter masala.
While metros such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad led volumes, the cricketing fever spread nationwide. Among emerging cities, Thiruvananthapuram, Surat and Rajkot recorded the strongest order growth. Smaller markets including Shillong, Agartala and Port Blair also showed significant appetite, underlining the expanding footprint of quick-commerce food delivery across India.
The surge reflects a growing trend of pairing major sporting events with doorstep delivery, turning big matches into shared, convenient celebrations. In a night where every boundary mattered, Swiggy proved the real MVP might just be the delivery partner who kept the snacks and the vibes flowing without missing a single wicket.
