MobiKwik Returns to Profit, Pixxel Addresses Ownership Concerns and More Startup Updates

India’s startup ecosystem saw several important developments this week, spanning fintech, spacetech, artificial intelligence, digital payments and defence technology.

MobiKwik returned to quarterly profitability, reporting its highest-ever net profit in Q2 FY27. Meanwhile, Pixxel’s founder addressed questions about the company’s Indian ownership following the launch of its US subsidiary. The week also brought a leadership change at Fireside Ventures, strong financial results from ESDS, record UPI transaction volumes and a new acquisition in the physical AI space.

Here is a closer look at the key developments.

### MobiKwik Swings Back to Profit in Q2 FY27

Fintech company MobiKwik reported a consolidated net profit of ₹11.8 Cr in Q2 FY27, compared with a net loss of ₹28.6 Cr in the same quarter last year.

Operating revenue increased 9.4% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹295.7 Cr, while total expenses declined 1.8% to ₹290.9 Cr. The company also reported EBITDA of ₹22.7 Cr, reversing an EBITDA loss of ₹6.4 Cr in the year-ago period.

MobiKwik said the quarter marked its highest-ever quarterly net profit and its fourth consecutive profitable quarter.

**Lending business drives growth**

The company's financial services business emerged as a key growth driver. Revenue from this segment, which includes its ZIP EMI credit offering, rose 41.8% YoY to ₹86.9 Cr.

Loan disbursals increased 34.1% to ₹1,082.6 Cr during the quarter. MobiKwik also expanded its network of major lending partners from six to 11.

Improved credit quality helped bring down lending-related expenses by 16.4% to ₹29.8 Cr. As a result, the segment's gross profit more than doubled to ₹57.1 Cr.

**Payments volume rises, but revenue remains flat**

MobiKwik's payments business delivered a mixed performance. Gross merchandise value (GMV), including transactions processed through its payment gateway Zaakpay, grew 35% YoY to ₹59,677 Cr.

However, payments revenue remained almost unchanged at ₹208.8 Cr, compared with ₹208.9 Cr a year earlier. The company attributed this to a shift towards transaction categories that generate lower revenue relative to their value.

Its payments take rate declined to 0.35% from 0.47% in the year-ago quarter.

Lower payment processing costs helped improve the segment's gross profit, even as employee expenses and other fixed costs increased.

Going forward, MobiKwik expects greater use of AI across lending, engineering, customer experience and risk management to improve efficiency and operating leverage.

### Pixxel Founder Defends Company's Indian Ownership After US Expansion

Bengaluru-based spacetech startup Pixxel has faced questions about its ownership and corporate structure following the launch of its US subsidiary, Pixxel Federal.

Founder and CEO Awais Ahmed has rejected concerns that the move compromises the company's Indian identity or control. He said Pixxel remains headquartered, owned, managed and controlled in India.

Ahmed clarified that the company's primary Indian entity was incorporated in 2018, before its international entities were established. He also said the Indian company is not a subsidiary of a US-based entity and continues to handle its Indian government, space and defence programmes.

Pixxel Federal has been created to pursue contracts with US government agencies across civilian, defence and intelligence segments. According to Ahmed, the US subsidiary's leadership will have authority over its own operations but will not control Pixxel's Indian business or domestic government programmes.

**What about the shareholding structure?**

Ahmed said Indian investors, including the founders, collectively hold the largest share in the company, followed by investors from Singapore, the UK and the US.

He also maintained that no international investor has unilateral control over Pixxel beyond customary investor protections.

The clarification came after fellow spacetech startup GalaxEye highlighted its decision to operate through a single Indian entity, prompting a wider discussion about how Indian deeptech companies structure their international operations.

Pixxel has raised around $195 Mn so far and is also looking to pursue opportunities in the US while continuing to build its Indian business.

### Fireside Ventures Cofounder Vinay Singh to Step Down

Vinay Singh, cofounder and partner at Fireside Ventures, is stepping down from the consumer-focused venture capital firm after nearly a decade.

The firm confirmed that Singh would transition out of the organisation but has not yet announced a successor.

Singh said he plans to explore agentic commerce and understand how AI-driven systems could reshape the future of consumption.

An alumnus of IIM Bangalore, Singh has nearly two decades of professional experience. Before cofounding Fireside Ventures, he worked at companies such as Hindustan Unilever and Bankbazaar. He also cofounded car-servicing platform Stepni, which was later acquired by Quikr.

Singh established Fireside Ventures in 2017 alongside Kanwaljit Singh, Kannan Sitaram and Dipanjan Basu.

Over the years, the firm has built a portfolio of more than 65 startups and manages over $650 Mn in assets across four funds. Its fourth fund closed at approximately $253 Mn in December 2025.

Singh's next move reflects the growing interest in agentic commerce, where AI agents could increasingly influence how consumers discover, evaluate and purchase products.

### ESDS Reports 41% Profit Growth in Q2 FY27

Enterprise cloud and AI company ESDS Software Solution reported a 40.7% YoY increase in consolidated net profit to ₹31.1 Cr in Q2 FY27, compared with ₹22.1 Cr in the corresponding quarter last year.

Operating revenue grew 48% to ₹138.3 Cr. EBITDA increased 18.3% to ₹57.8 Cr, although the EBITDA margin narrowed to 41.8% from 52% a year earlier.

The company said it spent ₹2.34 Cr on IPO-related marketing and advertising during the quarter. Excluding this expense, its EBITDA would have been ₹60.1 Cr.

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) contributed 50.5% of revenue, followed by managed services at 31.2% and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) at 18.3%. Existing customers accounted for 86.7% of total revenue.

**A major AI infrastructure deal**

ESDS also announced a $1.25 Bn AI cloud infrastructure agreement with an Australia-based neocloud provider.

The five-year deal covers a cluster of 8,208 NVIDIA B300 GPUs, with an option to extend the agreement by another two years.

The company plans to strengthen its AI infrastructure capabilities through investments in AI factories, large-scale GPU clusters and its SWARAJ Cloud platform.

The agreement could become an important growth opportunity as demand for computing capacity to train and run AI models increases.

### UPI Transactions Hit a Record 25.47 Bn in October

India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) recorded its highest-ever monthly transaction volume in October, processing 25.47 Bn transactions.

According to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), transaction volume increased 5.8% month-on-month from 24.07 Bn in September. The total value of transactions rose 7.4% to ₹31.53 Lakh Cr.

On a year-on-year basis, transaction volume grew 23%, while transaction value increased 16%.

October was the first month in which UPI crossed both the 25 Bn transaction mark and ₹30 Lakh Cr in transaction value.

Average daily transaction volume reached 822 Mn, compared with 802 Mn in September. Average daily transaction value also crossed ₹1 Lakh Cr for the first time, reaching ₹1,01,707 Cr.

The festive season contributed to the increase in digital payment activity.

**Merchant charges remain on the horizon**

The record numbers come ahead of the proposed introduction of merchant discount rate (MDR) charges on select UPI transactions.

NPCI had deferred the rollout, originally scheduled for October 15, until after Diwali. A revised implementation date is yet to be announced.

Under the proposed framework, eligible person-to-merchant transactions above ₹2,000 will attract a 0.4% charge, subject to a cap of ₹300 for transactions of ₹75,000 and above. Person-to-person payments will continue to remain outside the MDR framework.

### Provision Labs Acquires Hardware Startup Basilisk Industries

Provision Labs, the physical AI venture founded by Pronto cofounder Anjali Sardana, has acquired Mumbai-based hardware startup Basilisk Industries for an undisclosed amount.

Basilisk founder Shourya Watwani will join Provision Labs and lead its hardware efforts. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Provision's capabilities in perception technology and hardware development.

Founded in 2023, Basilisk worked on technologies that help machines understand and interpret their surroundings.

Its work includes a 3D hand-tracking model and a lightweight tactile glove designed to capture touch-related data. The team has also worked on redesigning Provision's perception hardware.

**Building infrastructure for physical AI**

Provision Labs is focused on collecting data to train and test physical AI systems. Unlike conventional AI applications that operate primarily in digital environments, physical AI is designed to help machines and robots perform tasks in the real world.

The company plans to source training data from professionals across different industries and geographies.

It is also expanding its research and engineering teams across San Francisco, Toronto and Bengaluru, with hiring focused on computer vision, perception, tactile data, environment reconstruction and hardware.

The acquisition gives Provision additional technical expertise as it builds the infrastructure needed to develop and test physical AI systems.

### Indrajaal Looks to Expand Beyond Counter-Drone Technology

Hyderabad-based defence-tech startup Indrajaal is looking to build a broader technology platform for managing autonomous airspace, moving beyond its core counter-drone business.

Founded in 2020 by Kiran Raju, the startup develops systems designed to detect, track and neutralise hostile drones. Its technology combines proprietary hardware, computer vision and machine learning to protect military installations and critical infrastructure.

The company emerged from concerns about the growing accessibility of drones and the risks they pose to sensitive facilities and national security.

Indrajaal has raised around $5.5 Mn in external funding from investors including India Accelerator and Finvolve.

Its systems are reportedly deployed at installations associated with the Indian Army, Indian Navy and agencies under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

**From counter-drone systems to autonomous airspace management**

As drone usage expands beyond defence into commercial applications, Indrajaal believes that managing autonomous airspace could become an important layer of future infrastructure.

The company is therefore looking to expand into areas such as critical infrastructure protection and urban airspace management.

It reported revenue of ₹100 Cr in FY26 and is targeting more than ₹300 Cr in FY27.

To support its expansion, Indrajaal plans to raise ₹420 Cr through a Series A round. The funds are expected to support manufacturing, research and development, and expansion into international markets, including the Middle East and Europe.

The company is also working towards building an autonomous airspace ecosystem that could eventually support aerial transportation.

### What These Developments Mean for India's Startup Ecosystem

This week's developments highlight how India's technology ecosystem is expanding across several industries.

MobiKwik's return to profitability shows the importance of improving unit economics and controlling costs, even as transaction volumes grow. Pixxel's response to questions about its US subsidiary highlights the complexities Indian deeptech companies face when expanding internationally.

At the same time, ESDS's AI infrastructure deal and Provision Labs' acquisition point to growing investment in the hardware and computing capabilities needed to support the next generation of AI systems.

Record UPI activity reflects the continued adoption of digital payments, while Indrajaal's expansion plans underline the growing role of Indian startups in defence and autonomous technology.

Together, these developments show that India's startup growth story is no longer limited to consumer internet and software. It is increasingly being shaped by financial technology, space research, AI infrastructure, robotics and advanced defence systems.