From Lithuania to the world: Hostinger’s evolution; How LinkedIn India is driving global products

Hello,

India has its first hydrogen-powered train. 

Operating on the Jind-Sonipat route in Haryana, the train is powered by ​a ⁠1,200-kilowatt hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system. With this, India steps into a new era of fuel technology, joining a select group of countries—including Germany, Japan, China and the US—with trains running on clean fuel. 

Moving on, generative AI is transforming the creative industry in a big way. 

Around 300 Netflix titles used GenAI this year, the company said in its earnings report. They include American Revolution-focused docuseries The American Experiment, Brazilian soccer miniseries Brasil 70: A Saga do Tri, and Indian sports thriller series Glory. Netflix said the technology has permeated every level of the production process: from concept and pre-visualisation to post-production and release. 

In other news, Chinese air-conditioners are cooling Europe, which is reeling under an immense heatwave. More and more Europeans are turning to air-conditioning this summer as they realise splashing water on the face won’t do anymore. 

With just one match to go in the FIFA World Cup, there’s only one question on everyone’s mind: Who will emerge the winner—Spain or Argentina? Meanwhile, here’s a look at the other big winners and losers at this year’s World Cup, which has seen more countries, more matches, and more money. 

Lastly, all eyes are on Skyroot Aerospace, which is set to launch Vikram-1, India’s first private orbital rocket, on July 18 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• From Lithuania to the world: Hostinger’s evolution 
• How LinkedIn India is driving global products 

Here’s your trivia for today: Which EV maker, once considered a rival to Tesla, filed for bankruptcy in 2024?

Interview 

From Lithuania to the world: Hostinger’s evolution 

Hostinger CMO Kristina Strimaite believes artificial intelligence will not take away jobs, but it will leave behind those who refuse to engage with it. “I don’t believe that AI is going to replace people, but it’s going to replace people who are not curious and who are not using it in one way or another," she said in a wide-ranging conversation with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory and The Bharat Project.

Founded in Kaunas in 2004, Hostinger began as a web hosting provider and has since evolved into a platform for building and managing online businesses, with AI website builder and business tools at its core.

Growth story

• The interview traces how a company from Lithuania, a country rarely mentioned among global startup hubs, built a web platform that now serves customers in more than 150 countries without raising venture capital. “We are global because we had no other choice. Our market is very small, so we could either be a small local company or go global,” she said.
• The company closed 2025 with revenue of 275.4 million euros, up 51% from the previous year, its fourth straight year of growth above the 50% mark. India is its largest market by active users, ahead of Brazil, Indonesia and the United States.
• Her advice to founders: solve a real problem, refuse to be limited by a small home market, and hand operational work to AI so that time flows to customers and product.

Top Deals of the Week

Startup: udaan

Amount: $160M

Round: Equity & debt

Startup: Emergent 

Amount: $130M 

Round: Series C 

Startup: Neo Group 

Amount: Rs 350 Cr

Round: Undisclosed

Technology 

How LinkedIn India is driving global products 

Over the past 15 years, LinkedIn, the global professional networking site, has transformed its R&D centre in Bengaluru from a development hub into a destination where true engineering is happening, driving the company’s global products.

In an e-mail interview with EnterpriseStory, Malai Lakshmanan, Head of India Engineering at LinkedIn, discusses the evolution of the Bengaluru centre, how AI is transforming product development, the company's focus on nurturing AI talent, and the intrapreneurial culture that combines startup-like ownership with the scale of a global platform. 

End-to-end ownership 

• Today, LinkedIn’s teams in India own end-to-end product development for businesses such as LinkedIn Sales Solutions, build the AI, data and infrastructure platforms powering millions of users globally, and are playing a central role in building LinkedIn’s next wave of innovation.
• "Bengaluru is not just our largest R&D hub outside Silicon Valley, it’s a place where we build for the world, and increasingly, where we decide what to build next,” says Lakshmanan. 
• “Looking ahead, a key focus will be on bringing our platforms closer together using AI and data, whether that’s helping recruiters move faster through deeper ATS (Applicant Tracking System) integrations that embed LinkedIn intelligence directly into their hiring workflows, or enabling better outcomes for marketers and sales teams through more intelligent, connected experiences.”

News & updates

• Category III AIF: Investment platform Aurrevia has launched its Category III alternative investment fund (AIF), backed by a $10 million anchor commitment from the Kothari Family Office through Aarii Ventures, as the firm looks to tap growing investor interest in India's alternative investment market.
• Tech race: Apple overtook Nvidia on Friday to become the world’s most valuable company, reshuffling the top ​ranks of tech heavyweights as investors reassess the outlook for artificial intelligence, Reuters reported.
• New AI model: Chinese startup Moonshot AI has unveiled a new model Kimi K3. The company says the model closes the gap with leading US offerings and surpasses OpenAI and Anthropic’s most capable systems on some benchmarks. 

Which EV maker, once considered a rival to Tesla, filed for bankruptcy in 2024?

Answer: Fisker

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