Chennai-based deep-tech startup Tan90 Thermal Solutions has raised INR 20 crore (about $2.3 million) in Series A funding, led by NABVENTURES, with participation from Blue Ashva Capital, Capital-A, and 3i Partners. The fresh capital will help Tan90 expand its energy-efficient cooling solutions across India and into Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Founded in 2019 by IIT alumni Soumalya Mukherjee, Rajnikant Rai, and Shiv Sharma, Tan90 develops innovative phase change materials (PCMs) that enable precise, sustainable cooling for sectors like food logistics, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. Their technology covers temperatures from –50°C to +80°C, offering up to 40% energy savings and a significant reduction in carbon emissions.

Tan90’s Cooling-as-a-Service platform currently operates in eight Indian cities, serving clients like Swiggy Instamart and Kisaan Konnect, with plans to expand further. Recognized by organizations such as the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and UNIDO, Tan90 aims to make scalable, sustainable cooling infrastructure accessible to enterprises worldwide.

PayU India, owned by Prosus, has received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator, a year after getting in-principle approval in April 2024. This authorization allows PayU to onboard new merchants and offer digital payment solutions, joining other major players like Razorpay, CCAvenue, and BillDesk.

The RBI’s nod comes as PayU prepares for its planned IPO in the second half of 2025, following a delay from its original 2024 timeline due to market conditions. The company, which serves over 450,000 merchants, reported $319 million in revenue from its core payments and credit business in the first half of FY25.

PayU stated that the approval will help it build a resilient, compliant, and innovation-driven institution, supporting merchants of all sizes and advancing the Digital India vision. The company has also strengthened its risk management and expanded its presence in real-time payments through a strategic stake in Mindgate Solutions.

Sarvam AI, the Bengaluru-based GenAI startup selected by the Indian government to develop the country’s first sovereign large language model (LLM), has launched Bulbul V2-a speech AI model supporting 11 Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi, and Odia.

Bulbul V2 stands out for its natural, regionally authentic accents, delivering speech that sounds genuinely Indian rather than robotic or rehearsed. The model offers ultra-fast performance with a P90 latency of just 0.398 seconds, significantly faster than global competitors like ElevenLabs, and is priced at ₹15 per 10,000 characters-five times cheaper than leading alternatives. Brands can also customize voices to create unique audio identities.

This launch reinforces Sarvam’s mission to make AI accessible and inclusive for India’s diverse population. Alongside Bulbul V2, Sarvam is building India’s first sovereign LLM under the IndiaAI Mission, focusing on secure, scalable, and multilingual AI solutions developed entirely within the country using local talent and infrastructure