Event Coverage
Pidilite Ventures hosts ‘Building Bonds 2024’, community building event
Mumbai: Pidilite Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pidilite Industries launched its community-building event in Bengaluru titled ‘Building Bonds 2024,’ with support from their partners, 100X.VC. The event gathered trailblazers from the venture capital, start up, and corporate realms, all sharing synergies with Pidilite’s core and adjacent businesses.
The platform featured over thirty industry experts across seven engaging sessions. The event garnered an overwhelming response, with over 300 participants attending the first edition of ‘Building Bonds 2024.’ The event focused on the following key areas that also form Pidilite Ventures’ core investment thesis:
Home care & maintenance: Businesses that simplify the process of caring for and maintaining people’s most cherished possession-their homes.
Contractor as a customer: Solutions and services that cater to contractors in the building and interior space.Home improvement & renovation: Products, solutions & services leading to an improved home; be it aesthetics or utility.
Arts & craft: New-age and differentiated solutions within the arts and crafts space.
Smart/Green building materials: Innovators involved in revolutionary building material that are both environmentally friendly and intelligent.
Pidilite Ventures director Sanket Parekh said, “At Pidilite Ventures, our mission is to invest in fast-growing and innovative companies that have synergies with Pidilite’s core and adjacent businesses. The construction and home improvement categories are usually not associated with tech innovation, and with ‘Building Bonds 2024’ we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the innovators working in this space and bring more attention to their work. We look forward to seeing the next generation of entrepreneurs creating sustainable innovations, and adding value to their growth journeys, through our experience and expertise.”
100X.VC founder & CFO Yagnesh Sanghrajka said, “100X.VC strongly believes that innovation thrives with collaboration and is focused on discovering category-defining businesses for Pidilite Ventures. ‘Building Bonds 2024’ has set the stage for the road ahead, and we are very excited about the new possibilities. The platform witnessed some of the best minds from across industries engaging in vibrant discussions, uncovering trends, sharing investment-worthy insights, and exploring innovative sectoral opportunities.”
Visionaries like, Karan Virwani (CEO, WeWork), Anand Lunia (founding partner, IndiaQuotient)| Arindam Paul (founding member & CBO, Atomberg Technologies), Bhavna Suresh (founder & CEO, 10Club), Ramakant Sharma (founder & COO, Livspace), Tanuj Choudhry (founder & COO, HomeLane), Siddharth Pai (founder, 3one4 Capital), Parag Dhol (general partner, Athera Ventures) Srikanth Iyer (founder & CEO, Homelane), Rajkamal Agarwal (head- L&T Innovation Fund) and Sagar Gandhi (head of strategy and business excellence at Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Pvt Ltd), and many more shared valuable insights.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
