Bengaluru powers India’s innovation engine; Dream11 pivots to sports entertainment
Elsewhere, Spotify said its annual year-in-review feature, Wrapped 2025, was its biggest ever, which saw over 200 million engaged users within the first 24 hours—19% more than last year’s Wrapped, which took 62 hours to reach the same number of users.
Hello,
SoftBank is about to pare over two-thirds stake in its very first India bet—InMobi.
The Japanese investor is reportedly selling upwards of 20% stake in InMobi for around $250 million, valuing the company at around a billion dollars, sources told YourStory. Post the deal, SoftBank’s stake in InMobi would fall below 10%, down from the current 33-35%.
In other news, SaaS company Kovai.co said its knowledge management platform, Document360, crossed $10 million in annual recurring revenue. Now, it plans to grow the product to $25 million ARR by 2028, driven by increasing interest in AI-led knowledge management.
In fact, this is Kovai.co’s second product to reach the $10 million ARR milestone, following BizTalk360—placing the company among a small group of bootstrapped firms that have built two commercially successful software products without external funding.
ICYMI: The top 10 celebrity-backed ventures of 2025.
Elsewhere, Spotify said its annual year-in-review feature, Wrapped 2025, was its biggest ever, which saw over 200 million engaged users within the first 24 hours—19% more than last year’s Wrapped, which took 62 hours to reach the same number of users.
Lastly, Pantone is back with its colour of the year. Drum rolls, please!
The 2026 Pantone colour is “Cloud Dancer”—which, surprise, surprise, is a natural white colour!
It described the shade as “a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity.”
We hope 2026 is serene too!
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Bengaluru remains the tech engine of India
- Dream11 pivots to sports entertainment
- Making Indian cities work for women
Here’s your trivia for today: Who developed the world's first colour e-book reader?
Technology
Bengaluru remains the tech engine of India
Despite its traffic and infrastructure challenges, Bengaluru remains the leading destination for technology innovation not only in India but also globally. It is now becoming the hub for artificial intelligence development.
The reasons are many. Bengaluru scores high marks across all segments of the technology industry, such as IT services, startups, GCCs, and semiconductors, according to Bengaluru Innovation Report 2025, presented jointly by the Karnataka government, Startup Karnataka, K-Tech, 3one4 Capital, and Karnataka Digital Economy Mission.
Key takeaways:
- The report says that Bengaluru ranks fifth among the top 59 AI cities globally. It leads in the share of AI funding of startups and tops in the AI hiring intent in the country.
- Bengaluru attracts talent from across the country. It is already home to 2.4 million software engineers. Startups expand this number by a further 150,000-200,000. The city also has 350,000 professionals in the semiconductor space.
- The city has received $38 billion in venture capital funding between 2020 and 2024.
Esports
Dream11 pivots to sports entertainment
Dream11 is pivoting from real-money gaming to a second-screen sports entertainment platform after the government ban on real-money gaming.
A second-screen experience refers to the use of an additional device, such as a smartphone or tablet, to enhance engagement with the content viewed on a primary screen, like a television or computer.
Game on:
- Dream11's sports entertainment app, which will be launched in phases, will feature creator-led match watch-alongs, bite-sized sports moments, real-time communication between fans and creators, as well as free-to-play fantasy sports.
- Like with other creator platforms, the majority of the firm’s revenue will go to the creators who can stream live reactions and engage with the user community.
- The platform will feature a spot scorecard, live commentary, and live scores, all integrated into the creator’s feed.
Social Impact
Making Indian cities work for women
Across urban India, women tend to make shorter, more frequent trips, relying largely on walking, cycling, and public transport. Yet, as mobility expert Shreya Gadepalli, long-time urban transport reformer and Founding Director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) India Programme, points out, the systems meant to carry women safely through cities are built on a fundamentally male template.
Everything from how streets are designed to who gets access to a vehicle, she says, “is skewed toward men.” Gadepalli is fighting to change this.
News & updates
- WhatsApp AI: Meta has been hit with an EU antitrust investigation over its use of AI features in WhatsApp, as the European bloc continues to ramp up challenges to US big tech giants. The probe will examine whether Meta’s new policy on allowing AI providers’ access to WhatsApp may breach EU competition rules.
- Richie Rich: The super-rich are inheriting record levels of wealth as they pass down billions of dollars to their children, grandchildren and spouses, research by a Swiss bank favoured by billionaires shows. Globally, there are 9,919 billionaires this year, up from 2,682 in 2024, UBS found.
- Budget cuts: Mark Zuckerberg is expected to cut resources for building the so-called metaverse, an effort he once framed as the future of Meta and the reason for changing its name from Facebook Inc. Executives are considering potential budget cuts as high as 30% for the metaverse group next year.
Who developed the world's first colour e-book reader?
Answer: Fujitsu. It was called FLEPia, which went on sale in Japan in 2009.
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