Senior Business Editor, Peepals Business
Arjun Mehta
Arjun Mehta is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration. About the team · Editorial policy
62 recent articles on Peepals Business
SFC Environmental IPO opens October 27 at Rs 313-330 a share
Wastewater treatment firm SFC Environmental Technologies opens its Rs 667.53 crore IPO on October 27, 2026 at Rs 313-330 a share; most of it is an offer for sale.
M.K. Sons Fine Jewels sets Rs 153-162 band for Rs 275 crore IPO
Jewellery retailer M.K. Sons Fine Jewels will open its Rs 275.4 crore IPO on October 28, 2026 at Rs 153-162 a share to fund showrooms and cut debt.
Firstwork raises $15 million for AI agents that onboard frontline workers
Y Combinator-backed Firstwork, founded by Vardhan Kapoor and Shubham Choudhary, raised $15 million in a Series A led by Earlybird to grow in the US and Europe.
Wheat prices hit 14-week low on Black Sea peace hopes; down 21% from peak
US wheat futures fell to a 14-week low this week, about 21% below a September high, as hopes of a Black Sea truce raised expectations of more Russian and Ukrainian exports.
Pine Labs, WEBXPAY let Sri Lankan merchants accept UPI and Indian cards
Pine Labs and Sri Lanka's WEBXPAY launched a tie-up on 22 October 2026 letting Sri Lankan merchants accept UPI, Indian cards, net banking and EMI from Indian customers.
NSE IPO debut: Fusion CX lists at Rs 305, 5.5% above issue price
Customer-experience firm Fusion CX listed on 22 October 2026 at Rs 305 on NSE and Rs 292 on BSE, above its Rs 289 IPO price, after a Rs 702 crore issue.
PHP2Shell: Amazon says attacks began four days before PHP shipped fixes
PHP released fixes for the PHP2Shell flaws on 21 October 2026; Amazon says it saw an exploitation attempt on 17 October and now sees broad attempts from several attackers.
Bihar paddy procurement at Rs 2,441 MSP to start November 1
Bihar will buy paddy at the Rs 2,441 MSP from November 1, 2026 in north Bihar and November 15 in south Bihar through PACS and Vyapar Mandals.
Nirva raises $25 million for AI pendant that hears only its wearer
AI wearable start-up Nirva raised $25 million on October 22, 2026, taking total funding to $33 million, to launch a $249 pendant that records only its wearer.
Warhound raises $200 million to gene-edit and clone military dogs
US start-up Warhound, conceived by Ben Lamm and Palmer Luckey, launched on October 22, 2026 with $200 million to breed gene-edited military working dogs.
Punjab farmers buy 21,019 stubble machines; Super Seeders make up 14,274
Punjab farmers have bought 21,019 subsidised crop residue machines this season, 14,274 of them Super Seeders, the state said on October 21, 2026.
Daytona, a sandbox for AI agents, becomes unicorn with $60 million round
Daytona, which rents secure sandboxes to AI agents, raised a $60 million Series B led by FirstMark Growth at a $1 billion valuation, it said on October 20, 2026.
Walmart lets AI shopping agents in with Agent Gateway as Amazon holds out
Walmart launched Agent Gateway on October 21, 2026, letting AI assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini shop for customers, unlike Amazon.
Mahindra Finance's rural loan payouts grow 22%; September-quarter earnings Rs 882 crore
Mahindra Finance's July-September 2026 profit rose 55% to Rs 882 crore as disbursements grew 22% and credit costs fell, results on October 21 showed.
SAP quarterly revenue tops €10 billion as cloud backlog jumps 28%
SAP's revenue passed €10 billion in a quarter for the first time, rising 12% to €10.3 billion in July-September 2026, as its cloud backlog grew 28% to €24.1 billion.
Klarna launches Consumer FX for fee-free shopping in foreign currencies
Klarna launched Consumer FX on October 21, 2026, letting shoppers buy from its merchants abroad and pay in their own currency with no exchange fee.
Vectorial raises $3 million to test products on AI-simulated customers
AI start-up Vectorial raised a $3 million seed round led by Smilegate and SenseAI Ventures on October 20, 2026 for software that simulates customer behaviour.
AI code-testing start-up Blacksmith raises $66 million, becomes a unicorn
Blacksmith raised $66 million in a Sequoia-led Series C at a $1 billion valuation, reported October 21, 2026, nearly doubling its value since August.
HD Fire Protect share price: stock lists at 23.6% premium, then slips
HD Fire Protect shares listed at Rs 335 on NSE on October 21, 2026, a 23.62% premium to the Rs 271 IPO price, before slipping to about Rs 303-307 in morning trade.
Ticketmaster hires ex-Amazon executive Jim Freeman as CTO for AI-first push
Ticketmaster named former Amazon Prime Video executive Jim Freeman chief technology officer on October 19, 2026, with a mandate to make every part of the company AI-first.
Terafab: TSMC wants to run Musk's Texas fab as Intel stays only named partner
Musk's Terafab chip project in Texas has Intel as its only named partner; TSMC confirmed talks on October 15, 2026, but says it must run any fab.
BLS Polymers IPO opens October 27 at Rs 142-150 to fund Goa expansion
Goa-based BLS Polymers' Rs 255 crore IPO opens October 27, 2026, at Rs 142-150 a share; wire and cable compounds bring about 81% of its revenue.
Agrivoltaics: PM-KUSUM's next phase to back solar-plus-crop farms, ministers say
As the AgriVoltaics World Conference opened in Delhi on October 21, 2026, ministers said PM-KUSUM's next phase will have a dedicated agrivoltaics component.
Upcoming IPO: EAAA India Alternatives sets Rs 1,585-1,665 price band
EAAA India Alternatives, an Edelweiss Group fund manager, fixed a Rs 1,585-1,665 price band for its Rs 1,200 crore IPO opening October 26, 2026.
Flipkart widens 'Eat-in by Minutes' food delivery pilot, eyes October launch
Flipkart has widened its 'Eat-in by Minutes' food delivery pilot to over 8,000 Bengaluru employees and is reported to be targeting a public launch by end-October 2026.
MSCARO 2026: New audit rules for multi-state cooperatives, starting with the largest
The Ministry of Cooperation issued MSCARO 2026 on October 14, a CARO-style audit reporting order for multi-state cooperatives, first for societies above Rs 1,000 crore.
India auto tech start-ups raise $1.3 billion in 2026 so far: Tracxn
Indian auto tech start-ups raised $1.3 billion in 97 rounds from January 1 to October 15, 2026, against $2.1 billion in 2025, Tracxn said on October 19.
OXG Space raises Rs 17 crore to test satellite computing in orbit
Bengaluru spacetech start-up OXG Space raised about Rs 17 crore led by Aum Ventures for a 12-month in-orbit test of satellite computing and links.
Salesforce to buy Braze for $5.66 billion in cash
Salesforce agreed on 20 October 2026 to buy customer engagement platform Braze for $47.50 a share in cash, valuing it at about $5.66 billion.
Wildfire home insurer Stand becomes unicorn with $70 million Series C
San Francisco home insurer Stand raised $70 million at a $1 billion valuation on October 15, 2026, to price each house by how well it can survive disasters.
doubleAI raises $200 million from Lightspeed, Bessemer to cut compute costs
doubleAI, the AI start-up led by Amnon Shashua, raised a $200 million Series A on October 19, 2026, with Nvidia and Dell joining; reports value it above $1 billion.
Karnataka drought 'extremely serious': Rs 46,324 crore crop loss, aid still awaited
Karnataka's Deputy CM G. Parameshwara said on October 19, 2026 the drought is extremely serious; the state puts crop losses at Rs 46,324.5 crore and awaits central funds.
Pakistan cane farmers seek PKR 700 per 40 kg, threaten November protests
Pakistani cane farmers demand PKR 700 per 40 kg and crushing by November 1, 2026, threatening protests; no official price set yet.
Jio Platforms raises Rs 8,110 crore from 212 anchor investors before IPO
Jio Platforms raised Rs 8,109.85 crore from 212 anchor investors on October 19, 2026, as bids topped Rs 2.5 lakh crore; the IPO opens October 21.
AI assistant start-up Town raises $108 million at $1 billion valuation
San Francisco start-up Town raised a $108 million Series B at a $1 billion valuation on October 19, 2026, four months after launching AI assistants for work teams.
Infosys widens Truist deal to run US bank's Hyderabad tech centre
Infosys and Truist said on October 19, 2026 that they will expand Truist's Hyderabad capability centre, with over 1,000 staff to be onboarded this month.
Zetwerk IPO closes 3.06 times subscribed on late institutional bids
Zetwerk's Rs 5,012 crore IPO closed 3.06 times subscribed on October 19, 2026, led by QIBs at 4.73 times; retail bids filled 0.72 times.
Tamil Nadu to lend farmers up to Rs 5 lakh for farm businesses via cooperative banks
Tamil Nadu will lend farmers up to Rs 5 lakh each for farm-related businesses through cooperative banks, with a Rs 5,000 crore 2026-27 target, announced October 16.
Burma Burma IPO: parent Hunger Pangs files for Rs 150 crore issue to open 27 outlets
Burma Burma's parent Hunger Pangs has filed IPO papers with SEBI for a Rs 150 crore fresh issue plus an OFS, made public on October 17, 2026, to fund 27 new restaurants.
The Pant Project raises Rs 109 crore led by Mirae Asset to grow to 150 stores
Menswear brand The Pant Project raised Rs 109 crore in a Series B led by Mirae Asset on October 19, 2026, to expand from 25 to over 150 stores.
Sahajanand Medical Technologies IPO closes today after 0.83x bids in two days
Stent maker Sahajanand Medical Technologies' Rs 475 crore IPO, priced Rs 327-344, closes on October 19, 2026 after being about 0.83 times subscribed by day two.
Zetwerk IPO enters final day at 0.31 times subscription; issue closes 5 pm today
Zetwerk's Rs 5,012 crore IPO, subscribed about 0.31 times after two days, closes at 5 pm on October 19, 2026; allotment is due October 21 and listing October 23.
Indian start-up funding nearly doubles this week as AI and e-commerce lead, trackers show
Indian start-ups raised about $236 million to $303 million in the week of 12 to 17 October 2026, up from about $123 million a week earlier, with AI deals leading.
Someshwar sugar mill poll: Sunetra Pawar's panel wins all 21 seats in Baramati
Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar's panel won all 21 seats in the Someshwar cooperative sugar factory election near Baramati, where 84.25% of 27,625 members voted.
Paras Healthcare IPO: Rs 1,450 crore issue opens Oct 21 at Rs 660-693 a share
Hospital chain Paras Healthcare will open its Rs 1,450 crore IPO on October 21, 2026, at Rs 660-693 a share, the same day as the Jio Platforms issue.
Indian family offices raise AI start-up bets 50% to $760 million in 2026
Family offices and angels have put about $760 million into Indian AI companies in 2026, up nearly 50%, Tracxn data cited on October 15-16, 2026 show.
SEBI clears Cult.fit IPO: Rs 950 crore fresh issue, Bansal and Hrithik to sell shares
SEBI issued final observations on Cult.fit's IPO on October 12, 2026; the issue has a Rs 950 crore fresh issue and a 17.86 crore-share offer for sale.
India's steel demand to grow 7.9% in 2026 as world demand stalls: worldsteel
worldsteel's October 2026 outlook expects India's steel demand to rise 7.9% to 172.4 million tonnes in 2026 and 8% in 2027, while global demand stays flat.
Small home appliances to be a Rs 20,000 crore market by FY30; air fryers grow fastest
India's small home appliances market will grow from Rs 13,800 crore in FY25 to about Rs 20,000 crore by FY30, with air fryers growing 22.5% a year, Redseer said on October 15, 2026.
Verizon and Ericsson make outdoor 6G call in 7 GHz band from a live network site
Verizon and Ericsson said on October 15, 2026, they made the first outdoor 6G field call, using the 7 GHz band from a commercial site in California.
Jio Platforms IPO priced at Rs 1,065-1,119; grey market premium near Rs 220
Jio Platforms fixed its Rs 30,213 crore IPO price band at Rs 1,065-1,119; the issue opens October 21 and its grey market premium is about Rs 200-225.
Haryana suspends Indian Potash Limited's fertiliser sales over Sirsa DAP shortage
Haryana suspended Indian Potash Limited's non-subsidised fertiliser sales, saying its DAP rakes skipped Sirsa, where farmers queue for rabi sowing.
Abby Care raises $82 million to pay family members as trained home caregivers
US start-up Abby Care raised an $82 million Series C led by Transformation Capital on October 15, 2026, to train and pay family members as caregivers.
UP sells sugar at Rs 52 a kg in Lucknow from cooperative mills to ease festive prices
After a review on October 14, 2026, UP is selling sugar at Rs 52 a kg from the cooperative mills' centre in Lucknow, and may extend the scheme to other cities.
Prem Watsa plans IDBI-led financial group with Digit, IIFL after $5.6 billion deal
Fairfax's Prem Watsa plans to combine IDBI Bank, Digit Insurance and IIFL Capital into one group, saying on October 16, 2026 that India's boom will last a decade.
Delhi Industrial Policy 2026 targets GCCs, data centres and women-led firms
The Delhi Cabinet approved a 10-year Industrial Policy 2026 on 14 October, backing IT, GCCs and data centres, with Rs 1,000 crore for the Udyamshree scheme.
Ramp raises $1.85 billion at $60 billion valuation as AI finance tools drive growth
US finance software start-up Ramp said on October 15, 2026 it raised $1.85 billion at a $60 billion valuation, with annualised revenue above $2 billion.
Honda to unveil India-made electric SUV on December 2, first of four new SUVs
Honda will unveil its first India-built electric SUV, based on the 0 Alpha, on December 2, 2026, reports said on October 15, as the first of four planned SUVs.
Madras HC stays order for 200 lakh ration palm oil packets ahead of Diwali
The Madras High Court on October 15, 2026 stayed until November 2 an order for 200 lakh ration palm oil packets for Diwali after a supplier's challenge.
CoreWeave shares fall 15% as bond yields near 15%, stoking AI debt fears
CoreWeave shares fell about 15% to $65.78 on October 14, 2026 as its bond yields neared 15% and it announced new share and note sales.
Mahindra XUV 3XO CNG launched at Rs 9.99 lakh, its first factory-fitted CNG SUV
Mahindra launched the XUV 3XO CNG at Rs 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom), its first factory-fitted CNG SUV, with a turbo engine and 24.7 km/kg certified mileage; bookings open October 20.
Fusion CX IPO day 2: Rs 702 crore issue closes October 16, lists October 22
Fusion CX's Rs 702 crore IPO, priced at Rs 275-289, entered day two on 15 October 2026 after a Rs 315.90 crore anchor round; it closes on 16 October.