What’s Shaping India’s New Economy: Clean Mobility, Early Stage Funds, and AI

☕🗞️ Good morning! Welcome to The Brief

As we write this, Southeast Asia is seeing a spike in Covid-19 cases, and infections are beginning to surface in parts of India — particularly in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Gujarat. As of May 19, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare reported 257 active cases. The situation is being closely monitored by authorities and safety protocols are in place. Please stay safe.

Before we dive in, a quick introduction to who we are.

Lightbox is a Mumbai-born venture capital firm focused on technology-led consumer businesses. Over the past decade we’ve employed a concentrated portfolio construction and deep operational engagement to enable our portfolio companies and limited partners to navigate this market.

India is moving steadily towards becoming a $10 trillion economy, driven by rising consumption and digital adoption. We believe we are uniquely positioned to offer a front-row seat to the most important shifts in the country’s consumer markets. If you’re a global capital allocator, family office, UHNI, or strategic investor looking to participate in the India opportunity—this newsletter is for you.

In this edition:
We unpack India’s high-potential but slow-momentum sustainable mobility opportunity and why it’s worth another look from investors. We also round up the most interesting consumer deals of the week and share a quick look at how we’re working with our portfolio companies.

Let’s get into it.

📡 Signals

♻️🚗 Is Sustainable Mobility the Next Big Bet?

As India works toward its climate targets — net zero by 2070 and a 50% emissions cut by 2030 — the government is reportedly considering a new ‘sustainable transport’ mission under the National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC). The mission would directly address the growing public health challenge posed by vehicular emissions, especially in urban centres.

Sustainable mobility is no longer a nice-to-have — it’s an urgent priority. But despite a clear need and strong intent, progress has been slower than expected. Electric vehicle (EV) adoption and innovation continue to face significant headwinds, the biggest of which is access to capital.

Private investment into the EV sector declined 37% in 2024 to $536 million, according to Venture Intelligence. This followed a period of policy uncertainty and slower-than-expected demand. After growing 50% between 2022 and 2023, EV sales grew just 24.5% last year to 1.9 million units.

That’s why the government’s proposed mission could be a gamechanger — not just in terms of public incentives, but in helping catalyse more private and strategic capital.

In a signal of renewed investor confidence, Euler Motors raised Rs 638 crore ($75M) this week from Hero MotoCorp and British International Investment. For Hero MotoCorp, the investment marks a strategic expansion into electric three- and four-wheelers, building on its earlier bet on Ather Energy—now a listed company.

Will Euler’s latest funding round and Ather’s muted though successful outing in the public markets spur more investors into the EV arena? Too soon to tell – but sustainable mobility remains a long-term theme in the India portfolios of several investors including Tiger Global, Blume Ventures, 3one4 Capital, Peak XV, SoftBank, Z47, and Temasek Holdings. While the initial momentum, evident in 2019 and 2020 has somewhat waned,  the current lull is widely viewed as temporary. What’s more encouraging is the increased participation of strategic investors like Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Bosch, who are building a presence across the EV value chain — from OEMs and battery tech to ride-hailing platforms.

Watch Lightbox’s Sandeep Murthy break down:

• Why sustainable mobility and EVs continue to be a core pillar of PE/VC investment theses in India.

• How strategic and institutional investors are playing complementary roles.

• How we think about sustainable mobility and Cityflo’s EV push.

🚀 New Funds on the Block

The PE/VC industry is already sitting on a fair bit of dry powder, partly on account of a cautious investment approach over the past couple of years. Firms focused on this market, including first-time fund managers, though continue to launch new funds and raised fresh commitments from global and local investors. This week saw a number of new funds enter the market, underscoring the continued attractiveness of the Indian startup market.

360 ONE Asset, the investment arm of 360 ONE WAM, rolled out a ₹500 crore ($60 million) fund to back category-defining startups at the seed and Series A stages. The sector-agnostic fund has already made four investments in hybrid-casual gaming, consumer packaged goods, SaaS, and space-tech. Led by Abhishek Nag, the fund aims to bridge the funding gap between micro-VCs and large global players, offering long-term capital and structured exit strategies. Future bets will likely target consumer tech, fintech infrastructure, and precision manufacturing.

Early-stage investment firm 24VC has launched its debut India-focused fund with a base corpus of ₹200 crore ($24 million) and a green shoe option of ₹50 crore ($6 million). The fund will invest in about 30 startups over the next three years. Founded by former 100X VC fund managers Yagnesh Sanghrajka and Shashank Randev, its sweet spot is enterprise tech and deep tech.

Aarthi Ramamurthy has announced the launch of Schema Ventures with a $20 million early-stage fund focused on industrial software, workflow intelligence, and developer tools. Backed by notable names such as Gokul Rajaram, Elad Gil, Marc Andreessen and Michael Seibel (Y Combinator), the fund will look to support ambitious founders building infrastructure for the next generation of businesses.

📰 Deals

Capital Boost for Indian Folklore; AI-Powered Startups in Focus

Mythik raises $15M to bring Indian mythology to the world

Founded by former Housing.com CEO Jason Kothari, global entertainment company Mythik has secured $15 million in seed funding to reimagine Eastern mythology for a global audience. The round saw participation from Visceral Capital, Bitkraft, VC Grid, Sakal Media, Shah Rukh Khan’s family office, Polygon, RedBird Capital, the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and Courtside Ventures. Mythik aims to build a new IP universe inspired by Indian folklore, positioning itself at the intersection of storytelling, culture, and gaming.

Data Sutram gets $9M to power AI-led fraud prevention

Data Sutram, which helps financial institutions enhance regulatory compliance and reduce fraud risk, has raised $9 million in a mix of primary and secondary capital.
The round was led by B Capital and Lightspeed, with funds earmarked for expanding the team, enhancing product capabilities, and accelerating development of its AI-powered platform. The startup plans to expand into crypto, real-time payments, gaming, quick commerce, and insurance.

Zoca raises $6M to help local businesses scale with AI

AI-first marketing platform Zoca has raised $6 million in a round led by Accel, with participation from GTMFund, Elevation Capital, and Better Capital. Founded in 2024 by IIT Kharagpur grads Ashish Verma and Robin Chauhan, Zoca provides AI agents that help hyperlocal businesses—salons, spas, florists, and more—manage the full growth funnel, from SEO to lead conversion and re-engagement. Since inception, Zoca has worked with over 1,000 businesses, generating $10 million+ in revenue and 120,000+ appointments. The new funding will support US expansion and build out its AI agent ecosystem.

CureBay clinches $21M Series B to scale rural healthcare

Bhubaneswar-based healthtech platform CureBay has raised $21 million in Series B funding, led by Bertelsmann India Investments with participation from Elevar Equity and British International Investment. Founded in 2021 by Priyadarshi Mohapatra, CureBay currently runs 150 eClinics across Odisha and Chhattisgarh, offering rural patients access to doctors, diagnostics, pharmacies, and surgical referrals.The new funding will support expansion into Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, alongside investments in workflow automation and predictive care tools.

CloudSEK raises $19M to pre-empt cyber attacks

Bengaluru-based cybersecurity startup CloudSEK has raised $19 million across Series A2 and B1 rounds. Investors include MassMutual Ventures, Inflexor Ventures, Prana Ventures, Tenacity Ventures, and strategic partners like Commvault, alongside returning backers StartupXSeed, Neon Fund, and Exfinity Ventures.Founded in 2015 by cybersecurity researcher Rahul Sasi, CloudSEK helps companies detect Initial Attack Vectors (IAVs)—early indicators of cyber breaches—before they escalate. The funds will be used to strengthen its threat prediction platform and expand globally.

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