Green Frontier Capital’s maiden fund; How Megha Sarayan built Modge

Hello,

Is there a day that goes by without talking of AI? 

With AI in the spotlight, it is important to use it responsibly. The Karnataka government has formed a committee to ensure this. 

The Committee on Responsible Artificial Intelligence held its first meeting in Bengaluru on Thursday. Chaired by Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder of Infosys, the committee will develop a policy framework to guide the ethical, safe, and transparent deployment of AI across government systems and public services.

For today’s students, AI is an essential tool, not a luxury or a novelty. 

To help students prepare for competitive exams, Pearson India and Infinity Learn have built an AI-driven test-prep series. The product combines mock tests with a digital mentor named AINA, a voice-first AI that provides step-by-step problem-solving and instant doubt clarification. 

Elsewhere, London, San Francisco and Beijing are among 19 cities in the world that have achieved significant reductions in air pollution. An analysis has found these cities have reduced levels of two ‘airway-aggravating’ pollutants—fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide—by over 20% since 2010. Cycle lanes, electric cars, and restrictions on polluting vehicles have helped drive this change. 

ICYMI: Wired headphones and earbuds are making a comeback as people seek better sound quality. Some find the old-fashioned wired plugs more practical, while others find them comforting. 

Lastly, as the countdown to the Oscars begins, here are some predictions from BBC’s film critics. What are yours?

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Green Frontier Capital’s maiden fund
• How Megha Sarayan built Modge

Here’s your trivia for today: What postal code has Canada Post assigned to Santa Claus?

Climate-tech

Green Frontier Capital’s maiden fund

Green Frontier Capital is one of the few VC firms that are exclusively focused on India’s climate-tech landscape. However, a diminishing pipeline of high-quality investment opportunities in the segment has pushed the firm to downsize its maiden India fund. 

The firm’s Managing Partner Sandiip Bhammer says the decision to downsize had nothing to do with the demand for the fund but it was due to the limited number of high-quality investment opportunities in India and the overall macroeconomic conditions. “We’d rather raise a smaller fund and generate strong returns than chase every company that comes along and end up delivering subpar performance,” he says. 

Key takeaways:

• Green Frontier Capital has about 12 months to close its maiden India fund. Its target is $75 million–$100 million. It has already completed its first close, raising 20-25% of the total fund. 
• Despite the cooldown in the climate-tech space, the firm is excited about areas such as waste management, sustainable consumer brands, and asset-light software/platform businesses that help climate-focused companies scale. 
• The VC firm has backed a range of companies including battery swapping operator Battery Smart, EV-financing firm Revfin, and EV manufacturer Euler Motors. It has also invested in agri-tech startups KisanKonnect and Nutrifresh, biodegradable footwear brand Chupps, and organic beauty brand RAS Luxury Oils.

Entrepreneur

How Megha Sarayan built Modge

Kolkata-based Modge, coined from ‘mood’ and ‘indulge’, is a dessert brand by Megha Sarayan, which positions itself as a “mood-based craving” solution. Sarayan elaborates, “Whenever you are driven by a particular craving because of the mood you are in, we cater to that mood. Midnight cravings, pregnancy cravings, stress-buster cravings. PMS cravings: we indulge that mood.” 

Modge offers products such as ‘Me Time’ and ‘Glow Up’ to cater to different moods. The brand currently has 70 SKUs, of which 30 are beverages, and the rest fall into the bakery and dessert categories.

Building a brand: 

• The brand’s pricing sits in the mass-premium segment: cakes start at Rs 600, a slice of cheesecake at Rs 150, and brownies at Rs 50 each. Its bestsellers include Date Walnut Cake and various cheesecakes. All menu items are vegetarian. 
• Sarayan pitched Modge on Shark India Season 5 and won Rs 1 crore in funding at 9% equity from Anupam Mittal, one of the Sharks. “I was not feeling well that day. I thought I did not give my best. But when it (the episode) was aired, it came out really very well, better than I expected. We are expecting the fund to come in two to three months,” she says.
• The entrepreneur’s two-year roadmap is ambitious. She is looking to deepen the brand’s presence in Kolkata and Hyderabad, and expand into Tier II cities in eastern and southern India. 

News & updates

• Autonomous AI: Perplexity has released always-on AI systems for individual and enterprise use. ‘Personal Computer’ and ‘Computer for Enterprise’ are designed to act as autonomous digital proxies that perform complex tasks on behalf of a person or a company, from start to finish. 
• Oil prices: As the crisis in West Asia continues, oil prices soared above $100 a barrel, while stock markets fell on Thursday. This is despite the International Energy Agency saying it will release a record 400 million barrels of oil in an attempt to curb the economic impact of the conflict. 
• Leadership move: Conversational AI platform Gupshup has named Ravi Dugar as its CFO. The appointment comes as the firm prepares for wider enterprise adoption and product-led scaling. Dugar has held senior roles at Bharti Airtel and Livguard Energy Technologies. Most recently, he served as the CFO of Awfis. 

What postal code has Canada Post assigned to Santa Claus?

Answer: H0H 0H0

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