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SoftBank Team Up With GCL To Sponsor India’s Solar Venture

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SoftBank Team Up With GCL To Sponsor India Solar Venture,Startup Stories,2018 Latest Business News,Startup News India,SoftBank China GCL,Softbank plans to build photovoltaic project with GCL India,GCL partners with Adani for solar PV operations in India,SoftBank Latest News

SoftBank Group Corp has teamed up with the Chinese firm, GCL System Integration Technology Co Ltd., to invest $ 930 million in the field of solar energy in India. The venture aims at working on the photovoltaic technology used in solar panels. While GCL will provide the technology, SoftBank will assist in obtaining land and regulating approvals.

SoftBank said in 2015 that it would invest up to $ 20 billion along with Foxconn Technology Co Ltd., and Bharti Enterprises in solar projects in India, which has a goal of generating 100 gigawatts (GW) of power from solar by 2022. The new joint venture between GCL and SoftBank will eventually have a capacity of 4GW, with the implementation being carried out in 2GW installments.

The Japanese firm will hold 60% of the venture’s shares while GCl will hold the remaining 40%. Incidentally, SoftBank said it would invest in building the largest solar power project in Saudi Arabia. According to reports, this project is expected to cost around $ 200 billion and will have the capacity to produce around 200 GW by the year 2030.

Funding for this new venture will come from the SoftBank Vision Fund. The Fund consists of Apple Inc., Foxconn and a number of Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund among its brackets. As of last May, the Fund raised around $ 93 billion, thereby making it the largest private equity fund in the world. With the tech world booming, SoftBank has increased the number of investments it has been making.

In fact, it seems that with the passing of every week, the number of investments made by SoftBank has been increasing. Led by Recode 100 honoree, Masayoshi Son, the Japanese company has quite literally changed the startup landscape. While it is a hero to the startup world, it is quite the villain to the other venture capitalists. In fact, in the last year, SoftBank was involved in more than ten of the largest VC investments.

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Funding

Agritech Startup Gramik Raises INR 17 Crore to Expand Rural Commerce in India

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StartupStories
  • Gramik, a Lucknow-based agritech startup, has secured INR 17 crore in a bridge funding round ahead of its upcoming INR 56 crore Series A raise.
  • The funding round included investments via Optionally Convertible Debentures (OCDs) and Compulsorily Convertible Debentures (CCDs).
  • Key investors include Sammaan Global Ventures, Money Creeper Investment, and prominent angels such as Balram Yadav (MD & CEO, Godrej Agrovet), Gev Aryaton, Irfan Alam, Nikhil Bhagat, and Salvia Siddiqui.

Gramik’s Unique Peer Commerce Model

  • Founded in 2021 by Raj Yadav, Gramik empowers over 120 million small and marginal farmers in India through a technology-driven rural commerce platform.
  • The startup operates a dual-channel distribution network using Village-Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) and rural retailers to deliver high-quality agri-inputs to remote areas.
  • Gramik’s full-stack platform offers demand aggregation, logistics, embedded credit, and agronomy services, ensuring last-mile delivery and support for farmers.

Expansion Plans and Future Growth

  • Gramik currently operates in 12 districts, with 1,200+ active VLEs and 250+ rural retail partners, and plans to expand to 3,000 VLEs and reach 1 million+ farmers across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Jammu.
  • The new funds will be used to expand Gramik’s private-label products, enhance agronomy-led farmer engagement, and scale operations in key states.
  • With a strong focus on supply chain efficiency, technology, and farmer advisory services, Gramik aims to become a leader in India’s $50 billion agri-input and rural commerce market.
  • Backed by previous seed funding of over INR 25 crore, Gramik is set to drive innovation and inclusive growth for rural communities.

 

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Reliance Jio Platforms Puts $100 Billion IPO on Hold to Focus on Growth

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Reliance Jio Platforms, the digital and telecom powerhouse led by Mukesh Ambani, has decided to postpone its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO), shelving plans for a 2025 listing. The IPO, which analysts valued at over $100 billion and expected to be India’s largest-ever stock market debut, will not take place this year. The company has yet to appoint bankers for the process, signaling that preparations for the public offering have not started in earnest.

According to sources close to the matter, Jio Platforms wants to give its business more time to grow before going public. The company is focusing on boosting revenues, expanding its telecom subscriber base, and scaling up its digital services—including apps, connected devices, and AI solutions—so it can achieve a higher valuation when the IPO eventually happens. Nearly 80% of Jio Platforms’ $17.6 billion annual revenue currently comes from its telecom business, Reliance Jio Infocomm, but the company is investing heavily in new digital ventures and partnerships, such as its collaboration with Nvidia on AI infrastructure.

The news of the delay impacted the market, with shares of parent company Reliance Industries falling by up to 1.8% following the announcement. Despite a strong IPO environment in India, Jio’s move is seen as a strategic decision to ensure stronger business fundamentals and a higher valuation before entering the public markets. Major investors, including Google and Meta, are said to support the decision, viewing it as a step toward long-term value creation.

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Flick TV Secures $2.3M to Revolutionize India’s Micro-Drama Streaming Scene

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Flick TV StartupStories

Flick TV, India’s first mobile-focused OTT platform dedicated to micro-dramas, has secured $2.3 million in seed funding led by Stellaris Venture Partners, with participation from Gemba Capital and Titan Capital. Founded in early 2025 by Kushal Singhal, Pratik Anand, and Sanidhya Mittal, the platform aims to address the growing demand for high-quality, short-form storytelling tailored for mobile consumption. Unlike traditional user-generated short video platforms, Flick TV produces professionally shot, under-five-minute dramas across genres such as romance, thrillers, and slice-of-life—each crafted for vertical viewing to suit India’s rapidly expanding mobile internet audience.

The newly raised capital will be used to scale up content production, with plans to launch over 100 original titles, enhance the platform’s streaming technology, and expand offerings into four regional languages. Flick TV is also investing in generative AI and advanced workflows to streamline scripting and production, aiming to combine creative excellence with operational efficiency. The founders bring deep expertise from previous roles at ShareChat, EloElo, Meesho, and Pocket FM, positioning the company to bridge the gap between creator agility and cinematic storytelling in India’s nascent micro-drama ecosystem.

Industry observers see Flick TV as a frontrunner in India’s next entertainment wave, which is expected to be mobile-native, emotionally engaging, and built for short attention spans. With the micro-drama market projected to reach $5 billion in India over the next five years—mirroring the $7 billion success in China—Flick TV is poised to set new standards for premium, binge-worthy short-form content and redefine streaming for the modern Indian viewer.

 

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