Anthropic has released Claude Opus 4.6, an upgrade to its flagship AI model with improved coding skills and the ability to sustain agentic tasks. The San Francisco-based AI startup said the new model can plan more carefully and sustain agentic tasks—wherein the AI operates autonomously to achieve a goal—for longer periods than its predecessor Opus…
It sounded like a joke. It turned out to be a masterclass in problem-solving. A customer once wrote to General Motors, specifically its Pontiac division, with a complaint so strange that executives initially assumed it was fake. His new car, he said, refused to start only after buying vanilla ice cream. Every other flavour worked…
Education services provider Veranda Learning Solutions reported a surge in third-quarter profit on Friday, as a sharp rise in student enrollments and a strategic focus on cost optimisation under its “Veranda 2.0” restructuring plan bolstered the bottom line. This strategic pivot marks a transition from the company’s “Veranda 1.0″ phase, which was characterised by rapid…
In Khurja, located in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahar district, pottery is more than a decorative product. Ceramic wares made here find place in homes, hotels, galleries, and export showrooms, supporting a long chain of livelihoods—from clay preparation and moulding to painting, glazing, and firing. Recognising this deep-rooted ecosystem, ceramic products have been identified as Bulandshahar’s district…
Venture capital funding into Indian startups rose marginally in the first week of February, and it was largely due to two reasonably sized transactions, but fund inflow continues to remain restricted, revealing the challenges for the ecosystem. The total VC funding for the week stood at $191 million across 20 transactions. In contrast, the previous…
Bindi-making in Ballia rarely looks like an industry from the outside. It happens in homes and small workspaces, where sheets are cut into tiny shapes, pasted carefully onto cards, and finished with stones, beads, pins, or thread. The result is a product that moves through weddings, temple visits, local markets, and exhibition stalls, while quietly…
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras Research Park (IITMRP) and venture capital firm Unicorn India Ventures launched a 6 billion rupee ($66.3 million) fund on Friday, aiming to back early-stage deep technology startups in sectors critical to India’s strategic interests. The fund, titled ‘IIT Madras Unicorn Frontier Fund I’, will focus on intellectual property-led startups…
India’s fintech ecosystem is entering a transformative phase driven by artificial intelligence (AI), with the potential to redefine financial inclusion, trust, and efficiency, a senior official from the Ministry of Finance said. Addressing the AI-in-Fintech Bharat Conclave in Bengaluru on Friday, Nagaraju M, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Union Ministry of Finance, said AI…
While startup ecosystems in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi continue to grow, a parallel movement has emerged in Tier II and III cities, where thousands of first-generation business owners are building digital-first ventures with national ambitions. Unlike their metro counterparts, businesses in towns like Indore, Siliguri, Coimbatore, or Bhagalpur have historically struggled with fragmented logistics networks,…
India’s biggest payments battle was never about payments alone. It was about distribution, habit, and regulation. The rivalry between PhonePe and Google Pay has shaped how hundreds of millions of Indians transact daily. Together, the two control more than 80% of India’s UPI transactions, creating one of the most intense platform duopolies in the country’s…
