Infibeam sharpens payments, AI focus; India’s push for indigenous AI models

Hello,

On sale: A Welsh island with a 19th-century fort.

Situated three nautical miles off the coast of Pembrokeshire in west Wales, United Kingdom, the private island is home to a 19th-century fort. And it’s on sale for £3 million ($4 million), CNN reports.

Highlights of the property include a helipad, a covered rooftop bar with a games room, and a sea-view office.

The island could probably be the perfect retreat for some OpenAI employees, who are reportedly expected to receive bonuses worth millions. The payout is thanks to the demand for AI talent in the market.

Next up: a public service announcement.

Watch what you say in work meetings as AI is listening and taking notes. Some users have noticed offhand comments being added to the notes, including lunch plans and comments about clients, reports The Wall Street Journal. 

Lastly, YourStory is proud to support CXXO—an initiative by Kalaari Capital that aims to bridge the gender gap in entrepreneurship. 

Each year, CXXO publishes the State of Women Entrepreneurship in India report to spotlight the evolving landscape of women-led ventures. This year’s edition explores how early educational and career choices shape the founder journey. 

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In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Infibeam sharpens payments, AI focus
• India’s push for indigenous AI models
• Driving a digital banking revolution

Here’s your trivia for today: Which woman mathematician played a key role in calculating trajectories for NASA astronauts?

Fintech

Infibeam sharpens payments, AI focus

Infibeam Avenues Ltd reported a 12.3% decline in quarterly profit as higher expenses outpaced revenue growth. Profit after tax attributable to owners fell 12.3% year-on-year to Rs 61.25 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2025 (Q1 FY26) from Rs 69.85 crore a year earlier.

The company says it will now double down on payments and artificial intelligence (AI) through CCAvenue and its Phronetic.ai unit.

Strategic shift:

• The payments business generated Rs 1,226.48 crore in revenue in the quarter, up 74.0% from Rs 704.78 crore, with profit rising 49.0% to Rs 51.16 crore. CCAvenue continued to add over 2,000 merchants daily in Q1 FY26, with over 70% of TPV coming from MDR-based options and a low reliance on zero-MDR UPI.
• The company announced plans for what it calls a “first-of-its-kind” Global Agentic AI Marketplace in Mumbai, which will allow developers, enterprises, and individuals to build, buy, sell, and operate AI agents as functional digital co-workers.
• The fintech firm also said it will sell its ecommerce platform infrastructure business to its subsidiary Rediff.com India Ltd in a Rs 800.39 crore deal. Rediff will fold the platform into its RediffOne business suite—alongside its email, news and payments products.

Artificial Intelligence

India’s push for indigenous AI models

Traditional AI models, predominantly trained on English or major Indian languages like Hindi, often fail to capture the nuances of regional languages and local cultural contexts. Government-backed startups are positioned to bridge this gap, creating AI models that truly understand and serve India’s diverse population.

These homegrown solutions are positioning India as a leader in inclusive AI development, offering a blueprint for other diverse nations seeking to build technology that serves their unique populations, rather than adapting to Western-centric models.

Indigenous solutions:

• Bengaluru-based Sarvam AI is building large language models trained entirely on Indian data and languages. The AI firm has been chosen by the Indian government to develop a sovereign LLM as part of the IndiaAI Mission.
• Another Bengaluru-based startup, Gnani.AI, selected under the IndiaAI Mission to build voice LLM, is building voice-first agentic AI platforms. These platforms integrate speech recognition, natural language processing, and task automation to power AI agents.
• Ola Krutrim, founded by Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, is focused on building a complete AI computing stack for the Indian market.  The company has built foundational large language models, an AI cloud platform with powerful computing resources, and tools like AI Studio, its own AI-optimised silicon chips. 

Top Funding Deals of the Week

Startup: The Sleep Company

Amount: Rs 480 Cr

Round: Series D

Startup: Renee Cosmetics

Amount: $30M

Round: Series C

Startup: Fibe

Amount: Rs 225 Cr

Round: Non-convertible debentures

GCC

Driving a digital banking revolution

The India GCC for NatWest Group, the UK-focused bank with over 20 million customers, is playing a pivotal role in enabling the digitisation framework of the bank, corroborated by the fact that 97% of its new retail accounts were opened through digital channels.

In an e-mail interview, Dhiraj Anand, Head of Retail, Digital X and Retail Banking Operations India at NatWest Group India details the GCC’s journey, and how the centre is leveraging artificial intelligence to deliver newer offerings to the customers.

News & updates

• Recovery: Take-Two Interactive Software shares rose 3.5% on Friday as the Zynga owner's strong forecast signaled a rebound in the mobile gaming industry following a years-long post-pandemic slump.
• Sustained demand: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co reported a 26% growth spurt in July, adding to evidence of accelerating spending on artificial intelligence. The chipmaker for NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices Inc said that sales last month totaled NT$323.2 billion ($10.8 billion).
• Regulatory clearance: UK antitrust officials said they wouldn’t open an in-depth probe into Boeing’s deal to acquire fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, effectively clearing the transaction weeks after they launched the first phase of an investigation.

Which woman mathematician played a key role in calculating trajectories for NASA astronauts?

Answer: Katherine Johnson

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