Stellar lineup at TechSparks 2026; How Jagriti is helping women build digital businesses

Dear Reader,

Xi Jinping is set to return to India after nearly seven years for the BRICS summit. 

As the Chinese President holds talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit, they face a classic conundrum: how to pull apart politically while growing closer economically. 

However, there are enough reasons for the two countries to stop geopolitical distrust from derailing trade, investment and technology. While India depends heavily on Chinese industrial inputs, Beijing also increasingly values access to one of Asia’s fastest-growing consumer and manufacturing markets. Neither can afford to lose the other.

In big news from the tech world, Apple finally bites into the foldable phone market. 

The company has unveiled its first foldable handset, iPhone Duo, taking on the likes of Samsung, Google and Huawei. With Duo, Apple wants to show what’s possible when hardware and software are engineered together to give intuitive experiences to consumers. The foldable format is designed to expand multitasking, media consumption and mobile productivity. The iPhone Duo is priced from Rs 2,99,900 across storage capacities of 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB. 

In other news, billionaire Gautam Adani’s airport company is set to rank among the world’s most valuable airport operators after its $1 billion fundraise. 

Adani Airports Holdings secured the capital in fresh equity from global and domestic investors, including Temasek, BlackRock-managed funds, Alpha Wave Global, and Premji Invest. With this, its implied post-money equity value comes to about $19 billion, ranking the Indian airport operator third globally, behind Spain’s Aena and Airports of Thailand. 

Meanwhile, Google is taking its climate-tech push to India’s rooftops. Its Solar API can now generate solar-potential insights for 300 million rooftops across the country, allowing installers to assess homes without physical site visits. Google has also signed a long-term agreement with ReNew Power for a 150MW solar project in Rajasthan.  

In today’s newsletter:

• Stellar lineup at TechSparks 2026
• How Jagriti is helping women build digital businesses

Here’s your trivia for today: What children’s game takes its name from the Swahili word for ‘build’? (Scroll down for the answer)

TechSparks 2026

Sridhar Vembu, Mukund Jha, Chandrika Deb join the lineup

Technology is changing how businesses are built, how cities function, and how people interact with the digital economy. As AI and new technologies reshape industries, businesses and policymakers are rethinking how India builds and scales for the next phase of growth.

TechSparks 2026, YourStory’s flagship startup-tech summit, will discuss all this and more, as it returns to Bengaluru from October 13 to 15 with the theme ‘The New Tech Order’.

Key takeaways: 

• Priyank Kharge, Minister for Home Affairs and Information Technology, Government of Karnataka, will join conversations around technology, innovation and the role of policy in supporting new businesses and digital infrastructure. Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister for Greater Bengaluru Development, Government of Karnataka, will bring the focus to Bengaluru and the role of infrastructure, urban development, and technology in the city’s future.
• The speakers at TechSparks 2026 include founders, investors, technology leaders, and voices from culture and academia, bringing  different perspectives on how India’s technology and startup ecosystem is changing.
• Sridhar Vembu, Chief Scientist and Co-founder of Zoho Corp, joins the lineup with his experience of building a global technology company while taking a different approach to growth. Other speakers include Ambarish Kenghe, Group CEO of Angel One; Mukund Jha, Founder and CEO of Emergent; and Chandrika Deb, Country Manager at Canva India. 

<Funding Alert>

Startup: Swish 

Amount: $24M 

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Piston 

Amount: $15M 

Round: Series A

Startup: Theater 

Amount: Rs 75 Cr 

Round: Series A

Social impact

How Jagriti is helping women build digital businesses

Through incubation, mentorship, market access and ecosystem building, Jagriti Sewa Sansthan’s Women’s Centre of Excellence is helping women in eastern Uttar Pradesh build sustainable businesses.

Key takeaways: 

• Jagriti Sewa Sansthan is a grassroots organisation that set out to turn women’s time and potential into opportunity. Jagriti, which means ‘awakening’, is an apt name for an organisation built around helping women discover their own agency, skills and economic potential.
• The organisation has built a model around a 7M framework: Mobilisation, Mentorship, Market Connect, Money, Miscellaneous Services, Mahol (an enabling environment) and Mitra (a support network).
• Alongside vocational training and incubation, Jagriti has also developed centres of excellence across seven areas: Digital, Women, Bioregional, Agro, Handicrafts, Healthcare and Rural Urbanisation. 

News & updates

• Boost for AI studies: An Indian-origin couple has donated $20 million to their alma mater, University of North Texas, to bolster studies in artificial intelligence and advanced analytics at the institute and create new opportunities for students and faculty. Their donation underscores immigrants’ contributions to building the ‘American dream’. 
• More from Apple: Alongside its flagship iPhone Duo foldable phone, Apple has also unveiled iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max smartphones. It has also expanded its wearable lineup with AirPods 5, Watch Series 12, and Watch Ultra 4. Meanwhile, within hours of unveiling its new models, Apple raised prices on ‌its existing iPhone lineup in India by as much as 41%. 
• EV facility: Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ultraviolette is setting up a manufacturing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu with an installed capacity of 2.5 lakh vehicles per annum. The project is expected to create 2,000 jobs. The unit named BIGGA (Big Global Ambition) Factory will provide the capacity and infrastructure to support Ultraviolette’s next phase of growth in India and international markets.

What children’s game takes its name from the Swahili word for ‘build’?

Answer: Jenga

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