Dear Reader,
The high-stakes game for India’s satellite internet is on.
Reliance Industries has officially responded to Elon Musk’s sharp critiques of India’s satellite communications landscape. Breaking its silence, the conglomerate welcomed incoming competition, saying that a competitive market ultimately serves customers best, provided every player abides by Indian law. Setting "the facts on record," Reliance directly addressed Musk's push for open competition.
Meanwhile AI company RapidCanvas has raised $29 million in Series B funding led by Vertex Ventures SEA & India. The round also saw participation from Hitachi Ventures and existing investors, including Accel, Peak XV Partners, Valley Capital Partners and Titanium Ventures.
It plans to use the capital to grow its go-to-market teams and expand its network of private equity and advisory partners, who bring managed AI execution to their portfolio companies and clients. It will also expand its field AI engineering team across India, the US and Brazil.
ICYMI: The grand finale of TechSparks featured Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor at IIT Madras and Chairman of IIIT Hyderabad and the ITEL Foundation, Food Pharmer Revant Himatsingka and more.
Lastly, Tesla has unveiled its next-generation Roadster in Texas, showcasing SpaceX-developed thrusters that reportedly enable the electric sports car to hover and maneuver in mid-air. Presenting the vehicle at a SpaceX facility, CEO Elon Musk teased the crowd with a preview of its wild capabilities: “You're going to see some crazy stuff tonight.”
However, it is unlikely that we will see flying cars anytime soon. Here’s why.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- India’s massive AI opportunity
- Women entrepreneurs in this year’s Mann Ki Baat
Here’s your trivia for today: What consumer tech brand takes its name from the Swedish words for "electric" and "light" after a landmark merger in 1919? (Scroll down for the answer)
TechSparks
India’s massive AI opportunity
At TechSparks 2026, industry leaders Ashutosh Sharma from Prosus and Keshav Reddy from Equal AI discussed India’s rapidly growing AI landscape during a session hosted by Shradha Sharma. They emphasised that while current discussions focus on a $100 billion opportunity, AI could eventually add up to $1 trillion to India's GDP by 2035.
Unlike previous digital revolutions (internet and smartphones) that democratised access, AI is democratising intelligence itself, raising overall productivity across sectors.
Key takeaways:
- To capitalise on this shift, Indian startups must leverage local nuances to solve large, unaddressed domestic problems in areas like healthcare, education, and consumer services (such as spam call management).
- Ashutosh Sharma, Head of Investments and M&A, India, Prosus, said local understanding would be a key differentiator for Indian startups competing with international companies.
- Success lies in targeting specific, widespread local pain points. As an example, Reddy spoke about Equal AI scaling to millions of users by addressing India's severe spam call issue.
Inspiration
Women entrepreneurs in this year’s Mann Ki Baat
Across India, women are transforming local skills and natural resources into thriving ventures—spanning floriculture, solar energy, and sustainable fish farming.
Featured on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat in 2026, their success stories underscore a powerful playbook for rural economic growth: combining hands-on training and institutional backing with reliable credit and direct market connections allows women entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses.
Key takeaways:
- Sujata Bhuyan, a homemaker from Odisha’s Sambalpur district, ventured into fish farming to supplement her family’s income. Her annual fish production has increased to 25-30 metric tonnes, earning her an annual income of Rs 7–10 lakh, according to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
- Payal Munjpara, from Surendranagar district in Gujarat, has become a solar entrepreneur. As a solar technician, Munjpara works on rooftop solar installations across neighbouring districts, earning a livelihood through her skills.
- Babita Sharma, a street vendor from Nandgram in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, turned a small roadside stall selling religious offerings into a growing business with support from the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme.
News & updates
- Onboarding: Real estate classifieds Magicbricks has appointed Mayank Jain as chief executive officer (CEO), effective October 1. In a statement on Friday, Magicbricks, one of the leading property platforms, said Jain has joined from CarDekho, where he served for over five years as CEO of Auto Classifieds.
- In the red: Maestroedge Solutions, which runs home services platform Snabbit, has posted a net loss of Rs 167.75 crore for 2025-26, nearly 30 times lower than the previous year, as spending on service providers, marketing and staff rose with the expansion of its business.
What consumer tech brand takes its name from the Swedish words for "electric" and "light" after a landmark merger in 1919?
Answer: Electrolux
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