First startups, now VCs: AI is rewriting the traditional investment playbook

The fast-evolving and fast-growing AI-native startups are resetting the rules of venture capital, with funds tearing up old playbooks and putting AI at the centre of every evaluation. The CapTable breaks down the mechanics and the motive behind this major shift.

Bhuvana Kamath

First startups, now VCs: AI is rewriting the traditional investment playbook

Latest

Interview

Naveen Tewari’s boldest bet yet: How Glance AI is turning selfies into style statements

Sohini Mitter

E-commerce

Kirana startups are finding their mojo again, and not without reason

Pranav Balakrishnan

Policy

Data settles the debate: IIT Delhi leads in both unicorn numbers and startup jobs

Parvathi Benu

Artificial Intelligence

Google's mega Vizag investment comes with a regulatory wishlist

Pratap Vikram Singh

Interview

Naveen Tewari’s boldest bet yet: How Glance AI is turning selfies into style statements

By Sohini Mitter

E-commerce

Kirana startups are finding their mojo again, and not without reason

By Pranav Balakrishnan

Policy

Data settles the debate: IIT Delhi leads in both unicorn numbers and startup jobs

By Parvathi Benu

Artificial Intelligence

Google's mega Vizag investment comes with a regulatory wishlist

By Pratap Vikram Singh

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CapTable Conversations

Talks with top leaders shaping India's economy.

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Interview

Bricks, clicks, and quick commerce: Prashant Tandon breaks down Tata 1mg’s integrated healthcare playbook

Once just a medicine info app, Gurugram-based Tata 1mg is now quietly building India’s most complete outpatient health stack—blending diagnostics, cold-chain delivery, offline clinics, and corporate care into a unified platform backed by the Tata Group’s trust halo.

By Shivani Verma

Interview

Pocket FM’s AI disruption from audio to comics, through the CEO’s eyes

By Sohini Mitter

Venture Capital

Prosus’ Ashutosh Sharma on Swiggy’s IPO, Byju’s implosion, and Prosus’ gameplan in India

By Nikhil Patwardhan

Interview

[Part II] ‘Haven't bought into the idea that AI is a threat to humanity’: Ex-SoftBank Group President Alok Sama

By Sohini Mitter

Interview

[Part I] Ex-SoftBank Group CFO Alok Sama on Masa Son, startup IPOs, money trap, and more

By Sohini Mitter

Interview

Bricks, clicks, and quick commerce: Prashant Tandon breaks down Tata 1mg’s integrated healthcare playbook

Once just a medicine info app, Gurugram-based Tata 1mg is now quietly building India’s most complete outpatient health stack—blending diagnostics, cold-chain delivery, offline clinics, and corporate care into a unified platform backed by the Tata Group’s trust halo.

By Shivani Verma

Interview

Pocket FM’s AI disruption from audio to comics, through the CEO’s eyes

By Sohini Mitter

Venture Capital

Prosus’ Ashutosh Sharma on Swiggy’s IPO, Byju’s implosion, and Prosus’ gameplan in India

By Nikhil Patwardhan

Interview

[Part II] ‘Haven't bought into the idea that AI is a threat to humanity’: Ex-SoftBank Group President Alok Sama

By Sohini Mitter

Interview

[Part I] Ex-SoftBank Group CFO Alok Sama on Masa Son, startup IPOs, money trap, and more

By Sohini Mitter

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CT Capsule

Weekly key news & insights from The CapTable.

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Gaming

India’s Mobile Gaming Boom: All Play, No Pay?

Indians downloaded a staggering 8.45 billion mobile games in FY25, but generated in-app revenues of only $400 million. The country has more than half a billion gamers today, but monetisation remains a challenge. Homegrown game publishers are now looking overseas to extract more revenue per user.

By Sohini Mitter

E-commerce

Hiding in plain sight: Urban Company’s rising product revenues

Shivani Verma

Media Entertainment

How Razorpay turned startup founders into IPL stars on JioHotstar

Pranav Balakrishnan

Real Estate

Housing market cheers RBI’s rate cut, but how much are you actually saving?

Sohini Mitter

The Crux

When everything goes wrong at KiranaPro

Parvathi Benu

E-commerce

Startups

Track India's startups from seed to growth.

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Policy

Patent pending: Why Indian startups aren't racing to protect IP

While India celebrated a record year of patent approvals in 2023, a severe shortage of patent agents and examiners, coupled with lengthy processing times and weak enforcement, continues to hold back the country's intellectual property ambitions.

Parvathi Benu

Patent pending: Why Indian startups aren't racing to protect IP

Policy

Patent pending: Why Indian startups aren't racing to protect IP

While India celebrated a record year of patent approvals in 2023, a severe shortage of patent agents and examiners, coupled with lengthy processing times and weak enforcement, continues to hold back the country's intellectual property ambitions.

Parvathi Benu

Investments

The long wait for India's first $100-billion startup success

Nikhil Patwardhan

Investments

Size no bar: Why smaller startups are making a beeline for public markets

Nikhil Patwardhan

Investments

Alpha Wave pivots from backing tech titans to traditional firms

Nikhil Patwardhan

Internet

What budget can do for startups in a tough year

Aprajita Sharma

Investments

Org Charts

Spotlighting leaders shaping India's top tech firms.

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Mobility

Uber

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Cashfree Payments

The evolution of Indifi's digital lending DNA

Financial Services

Indifi Technologies

E-commerce

Shiprocket

SaaS

Chargebee

Mobility

BluSmart

Crypto

CoinDCX

How execs, entrepreneurs form Dream Sports’ top order

Gaming

Dream11

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Other Categories

E-commerce

Hiding in plain sight: Urban Company’s rising product revenues

Meesho built a logistics arm to break free of 3PLs—now it may be more cornered than ever

Milkbasket to Milkman: India’s dairy delivery disruption has come full circle

Flipkart to reverse flip, but will it have a happy homecoming?

Quick Commerce

This time it's serious: How kiranas are fighting back

Retail media shifts: How quick commerce is disrupting traditional digital advertising

For many D2C brands, Zepto is proving to be more mirage than promised land

Instant gratification, lasting damage: The environmental cost of quick commerce

Mobility

India’s e-challan dilemma: 75% of traffic fines remain unpaid despite digitisation

Did BluSmart and Gensol’s downfall begin in the boardroom?

The new cab wars: Uber, Rapido, Ola bet on segmentation for success

Rapido, Ola, and Uber aren’t just fighting for customers but customers’ loyalty

OTT

Can STAGE break the mould of hyperlocal OTT platforms in India?

Amazon MX Player wants to shake up India’s free OTT market, but can it challenge YouTube?

Disney+ Hotstar’s Coldplay fever: Is live music the next big frontier for Indian OTTs?

The age of free: Are we past the premium streaming era?

Fintech

CBDC corridors: How India can redefine global trade with fintech at the helm

Inside Walmart’s push for a $15bn PhonePe IPO

India’s finance apps boom: Payments, investing, crypto app downloads soar

After Razorpay and Cashfree, Paytm and PayU may cut Juspay ties. Is the payment orchestration era over?

Policy

India's rising innovation ranking masks critical R&D collaboration gap

With Rs 1,00,000 crore revenue lost to 80C, is the old tax regime on its way out?

Patent pending: Why Indian startups aren't racing to protect IP

RBI's tightrope walk: Balancing inflation, politics, and economic stability

Telecom

Jio, Airtel Corner Broadband Gains, Stranded ISPs Eye Platform Lifeline

How bitter rivals Jio and Airtel are teaming up against common threats

JioAds vs Big Tech: A David vs Goliath battle in adtech

Starlink's shadow: How Elon Musk’s Starlink united arch-rivals Airtel and Jio

SaaS

The next SaaS frontier: AI agents and the automation of human labour

Decoding Petpooja's unconventional rise in restaurant tech

How Chargebee changed its DNA to target enterprises

Do AI or DieTo AI or not: Indian SaaS startups' conundrum

EdTech

As the study abroad slowdown worsens, India’s edtech exporters are scrambling

Unacademy is down, Byju’s is out, so who’s winning India’s education race?

The curious case of Byju’s second rights issue

Byju’s gives up all office spaces in India amid worsening liquidity crisis

Stories

Explore

First startups, now VCs: AI is rewriting the traditional investment playbook

The fast-evolving and fast-growing AI-native startups are resetting the rules of venture capital, with funds tearing up old playbooks and putting AI at the centre of every evaluation. The CapTable breaks down the mechanics and the motive behind this major shift.

Latest

Naveen Tewari’s boldest bet yet: How Glance AI is turning selfies into style statements

Kirana startups are finding their mojo again, and not without reason

Data settles the debate: IIT Delhi leads in both unicorn numbers and startup jobs

Google's mega Vizag investment comes with a regulatory wishlist

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CapTable Conversations

Interview

Interview

Pocket FM’s AI disruption from audio to comics, through the CEO’s eyes

Venture Capital

Prosus’ Ashutosh Sharma on Swiggy’s IPO, Byju’s implosion, and Prosus’ gameplan in India

Interview

[Part II] ‘Haven't bought into the idea that AI is a threat to humanity’: Ex-SoftBank Group President Alok Sama

Interview

[Part I] Ex-SoftBank Group CFO Alok Sama on Masa Son, startup IPOs, money trap, and more

Interview

Interview

Pocket FM’s AI disruption from audio to comics, through the CEO’s eyes

Venture Capital

Prosus’ Ashutosh Sharma on Swiggy’s IPO, Byju’s implosion, and Prosus’ gameplan in India

Interview

[Part II] ‘Haven't bought into the idea that AI is a threat to humanity’: Ex-SoftBank Group President Alok Sama

Interview

[Part I] Ex-SoftBank Group CFO Alok Sama on Masa Son, startup IPOs, money trap, and more

CT Capsule

Gaming

Hiding in plain sight: Urban Company’s rising product revenues

How Razorpay turned startup founders into IPL stars on JioHotstar

Housing market cheers RBI’s rate cut, but how much are you actually saving?

When everything goes wrong at KiranaPro

Startups

Policy

Patent pending: Why Indian startups aren't racing to protect IP

While India celebrated a record year of patent approvals in 2023, a severe shortage of patent agents and examiners, coupled with lengthy processing times and weak enforcement, continues to hold back the country's intellectual property ambitions.

Policy

Patent pending: Why Indian startups aren't racing to protect IP

While India celebrated a record year of patent approvals in 2023, a severe shortage of patent agents and examiners, coupled with lengthy processing times and weak enforcement, continues to hold back the country's intellectual property ambitions.

The long wait for India's first $100-billion startup success

Size no bar: Why smaller startups are making a beeline for public markets

Alpha Wave pivots from backing tech titans to traditional firms

What budget can do for startups in a tough year

E-Commerce

E-Commerce

Flipkart’s tricky math of wooing budget shoppers

Hiding in plain sight: Urban Company’s rising product revenues

Meesho built a logistics arm to break free of 3PLs—now it may be more cornered than ever

FinTech

FinTech

Inside Walmart’s push for a $15bn PhonePe IPO

India’s finance apps boom: Payments, investing, crypto app downloads soar

After Razorpay and Cashfree, Paytm and PayU may cut Juspay ties. Is the payment orchestration era over?

Big Tech

Big Tech

Meta tightens grip on India’s internet infra as Big Tech looks to reduce dependence on telcos

India’s legal Davids taking on trillion-dollar tech firms

Google searches for answers after public policy headache

Org Charts

Other Categories

E-commerce

Quick Commerce

Mobility

OTT

Fintech

Policy

Telecom

SaaS

EdTech