From how KumaonKhand, a social enterprise building a hemp-based ecosystem in Uttarakhand, began as a college project and became a full-time venture in 202, to how PhysicsWallah and Lenskart's doubled their profit in the second quarter of FY27, here are the latest developments across sectors. Featured Stories How KumaonKhand is building a hemp ecosystem in Uttarakhand KumaonKhand, a social enterprise building a hemp-based ecosystem in Uttarakhand, began as a college project and became a full-time venture in 2021 with his mother, Sangeeta and Anuj Sharma, the founder and CEO of Alsisar Impact, a social impact incubator and investment firm. A problem-mapping exercise through an environmental and social lens pointed toward hemp as a solution. Read more Latest News altM raises $10.3M in Series A funding Specialty chemicals startup altM has raised $10.3 million in a Series A funding round, with Rainmatter by Zerodha and Mela Ventures joining as new investors. Existing backers Omnivore, Theia Ventures, Aureolis Ventures and Spectrum Impact also participated in the round, along with strategic angel investors. The Bengaluru-based company said it will use the funds to expand its manufacturing capacity, strengthen research and development, support customer qualification programmes, and grow its engineering and commercial teams. The investment will help altM transition from pilot-scale production to commercial manufacturing. Read more Funding News Venomics AI raises $2.7M pre-seed round led by Speciale Invest, South Park Commons Bengaluru-based Venomics AI, a biotechnology startup spun out of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has raised $2.7 million in a pre-seed funding round co-led by Speciale Invest and South Park Commons, with participation from Operators Studio. Co-founded by Kartik Sunagar and Vinay Prabhu, the company uses artificial intelligence, venom biology and laboratory screening to identify venom-derived molecules with therapeutic potential. The funding will be used to expand its Venom Atlas molecular dataset, strengthen AI and experimental screening capabilities, hire across research and computational science, and validate promising molecules. The startup aims to build a drug discovery platform for global markets. Other News Zoho launches restaurant POS platform in India Zoho has launched a point-of-sale (POS) platform for restaurants in India, with Kolkata-based sweet shop Asha Sweets becoming its first customer. The product is being offered free of charge to restaurants with annual billing of up to Rs 12 lakh, as part of Zoho’s push to bring smaller food businesses onto digital platforms. In a post on X, Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu said Asha Sweets began using Zoho POS for Restaurants during the festive rush. Zoho’s team visited the outlet to observe how the platform was being used during one of its busiest periods. Read more Prodigi Connect partners with Indonesia's Lokanima to develop AI-powered animation for Fun Cican Dubai-headquartered AI video production company Prodigi Connect has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Lokanima, a creative venture of Indonesia's Singhasari Special Economic Zone, to develop animated content based on Indonesian children's entertainment property Fun Cican. The partnership will combine Prodigi Connect's AI-native production capabilities and India-based operations with Lokanima's intellectual property access, local creative direction and Indonesian production talent. Prodigi Connect has already produced an approximately one-minute animation sequence as an initial demonstration. The collaboration aims to reduce the cost and time associated with conventional animation production while expanding the company's presence in international character-based intellectual property development. 75% of Gen Z and Millennials more likely to travel across generations, finds Airbnb survey Airbnb's 2026 intergenerational travel survey found that 75% of Gen Z and Millennial respondents are more likely to travel with family members across generations. The findings highlight a growing preference for holidays centred on shared experiences, with 55% citing creating memories and 51% strengthening family bonds as key motivations. Airbnb reported a more than 55% year-on-year increase in domestic searches for stays by groups of five or more travelling with children or infants. The survey also found that 63% of respondents prioritise relaxing together at their accommodation over sightseeing. Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad, The Nilgiris and Pondicherry feature among popular domestic destinations. This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.