Category technology

New Delhi, Feb 18: Brandworks Technologies, India’s fastest-growing design-driven, R&D-led electronics manufacturing powerhouse, today signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) at the India AI Summit 2026 to collaborate on strengthening India’s deeptech and AI hardware startup ecosystem. The collaboration aims to deepen innovation, co-create AI-led hardware solutions with early and growth-stage startups, and build scalable commercialization pathways in the Electronics and IT domain.

With active support & guidance of MeitY, Brandworks will curate and manage a network of manufacturing partners, compliance advisors and ecosystem collaborators to support product engineering, scale-up and commercialization. Specializing in research-driven, design-led product development, advanced R&D and high-precision manufacturing, the company brings deep execution capabilities to the partnership. Valid for two years, the MoU establishes a collaborative framework aimed at strengthening India’s startup ecosystem, particularly in Electronics and AI hardware, while promoting the creation of intellectual property and globally competitive products.

As part of this strategic engagement, Brandworks also announced the MSH – Brandworks Global AI Exchange Platform 2026, a structured cross-border AI OEM and ODM execution framework designed to enable global AI hardware IP to be localized, manufactured and scaled in India, while supporting India-built AI innovations in expanding to international markets. The platform establishes a 0–180 day commercialization pathway backed by ready manufacturing networks, ecosystem partners and policy alignment, reinforcing Brandworks’ vision of ‘Designed in India, Built in India, Built for the World’.

Following the signing, Brandworks launched a new portfolio of AI-powered hardware products – the AI Voice Recorder, AI Speaker, and the AI Glasses, marking expansion into intelligent AI-native devices integrated with its proprietary LLM-backed AI infrastructure, aimed at accelerating enterprise, institutional and public-sector AI adoption.

“India has the talent and the market to lead in AI hardware, and this partnership is a step towards institutionalizing that ambition. With our fully integrated AI stack and manufacturing capabilities, Brandworks is building the infrastructure required to design, engineer and scale intelligent devices at global standards. The products launched today represent our contribution and alignment with the vision of ‘Built in India, for the world’ vision.” said Ishwar Kumhar, CEO & Co-founder, Brandworks Technologies

At the centre of the new launch is Brandworks’ AI Voice Recorder, a wearable device offering multilingual AI transcription, automated summaries and up to 20 hours of recording. The company also introduced its AI Speaker; a multilingual voice interface integrated with its proprietary LLM engine for real-time processing across 50+ languages. Expanding into wearables, Brandworks unveiled its AI Glasses, a lightweight, voice-first device for enterprise use. All three products are powered by Brandworks’ fully integrated, in-house AI architecture spanning hardware, proprietary models and secure backend infrastructure.

At the India AI Summit, Brandworks showcased its fully integrated AI architecture, enabling device orchestration, subscription management and contextual AI processing across voice, text and visual inputs. Developed entirely in-house, the stack ensures flexible deployment and enhanced data control without reliance on third-party AI engines. Brandworks Technologies specializes in research-driven, design-led product development, advanced R&D, and high-precision manufacturing.

Through the strategic collaboration with MSH and the launch of its AI-native hardware portfolio, Brandworks reinforced its commitment to building globally competitive AI hardware platforms from India while contributing to a robust and innovation-led deeptech startup ecosystem.

New Delhi, Feb 17: The Government of Odisha will showcase its vision and preparedness in Artificial Intelligence at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 through a dedicated Odisha Pavilion at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from 16 – 20 February 2026.

The Odisha Pavilion will present the State’s “Odisha – From AI to Impact” approach, highlighting how Odisha is moving beyond pilots to real-world deployments across governance, healthcare, agriculture, education, disaster management and urban infrastructure, anchored by a structured implementation model and institutional capacity.

A key focus at the summit will be Odisha’s strategic collaboration with Sarvam, reflecting the State’s intent to build sovereign AI capabilities, enable population-scale Odia-language AI applications, and strengthen its position as an emerging AI hub with long-term ambitions in advanced AI infrastructure and compute.

The Pavilion will feature 10+ innovation startups and ecosystem entities, including a mix of applied AI startups, research organisations, technology partners and government-linked AI initiatives demonstrating Odisha’s expanding innovation pipeline and its approach to democratising access to AI technologies & resources.

The Government of Odisha will share a detailed announcement on 18 February 2026 during the Pavilion engagements, offering deeper visibility into showcased use-cases, ecosystem partnerships and future opportunities. Event: India AI Impact Summit 2026 Dates: 16-20 February 2026 Venue: Hall No. 5, First Floor, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi

STAMFORD, Feb 12: Gartner, Inc., a leading business and technology insights company, today warned that misconfigured AI in cyber-physical systems (CPS) could trigger shutdowns of national critical infrastructure in a G20 country by 2028.

CPS includes operational technology (OT), industrial control systems (ICS), industrial automation systems, IIoT devices, robots, drones, and other AI-powered systems interacting with the physical world. Gartner highlights that even well-intentioned engineers, flawed updates, or minor configuration errors can result in large-scale service disruptions, posing risks to public safety and economic stability.

“The next major infrastructure failure may not come from hackers or natural disasters, but from AI misconfigurations,” said Wam Voster, VP Analyst at Gartner. “Implementing secure ‘kill-switches’ or override modes, accessible only to authorized operators, is essential to safeguard critical systems.”

Gartner notes that misconfigured AI can autonomously misinterpret sensor data or trigger unsafe actions, potentially impacting key services such as power grids, manufacturing plants, and transport networks. With AI models increasingly opaque, human intervention remains essential.

Gartner recommends key measures for mitigating AI-related risks in critical infrastructure:

• Safe Override Modes: Secure human-accessible controls to retain ultimate authority over autonomous systems.

• Digital Twins: Test configuration changes in virtual replicas before deployment.

• Real-Time Monitoring: Continuous observation and rollback mechanisms for AI updates, supported by national AI incident response teams.

Gartner clients can explore these insights in Predicts 2026: Emergent Critical Risks of AI in CPS Security, and learn infrastructure modernization strategies via the complimentary Modern Infrastructure: Built for Tomorrow’s Business Demands roadmap.

Gartner continues to provide independent AI research and guidance for C-level executives, helping organizations safely leverage AI to achieve mission-critical priorities.

New Delhi, Feb 11: Portronics, a well-known name in consumer electronics and mobile accessories, has expanded its gaming portfolio with the launch of Vader X, a performance-driven wired gaming mouse designed to meet the demands of competitive and casual gamers alike. Combining precision tracking, customizable controls, and a striking RGB design, Vader X is engineered to deliver a responsive and immersive gaming experience.

At the heart of Vader X is a high-precision optical gaming sensor that delivers up to 7000 FPS, ensuring smooth tracking, accurate movement, and consistent responsiveness, even during intense gaming moments. Whether navigating fast-paced FPS battles or executing precise manoeuvres in strategy and MOBA games, the sensor is built to keep up with every action.

Vader X offers adjustable DPI levels up to 12,800, allowing gamers to fine-tune sensitivity based on their gameplay preferences. Lower DPI settings enable precise aiming, while higher DPI levels support swift movements and rapid screen navigation, giving players complete control over their in-game performance.

Designed for enhanced functionality, the mouse comes with seven programmable buttons that can be customised using dedicated software. This enables users to assign macros, shortcuts, and commands, helping them react faster and play smarter during competitive sessions. Adding to the overall gaming appeal is customizable RGB lighting, which brings a vibrant visual edge to gaming setups while enhancing immersion during long hours of play.

Comfort has been a key focus in the design of Vader X. Its ergonomic shape supports a natural grip, reducing hand strain and offering better control during extended gaming, streaming, or work sessions. The wired design ensures stable and uninterrupted performance, while the rugged 1.5-metre braided cable enhances durability for long-term use.

With universal plug-and-play compatibility, Vader X works seamlessly across laptops, desktops, and supported gaming systems, making it a versatile choice for gamers looking for reliable performance without complexity.

Feb 11: ElevenLabs, a global leader in AI-driven voice technology, today announced the launch of Expressive Mode for its Eleven Agents platform, bringing emotionally intelligent, real-time voice agents to enterprise customer interactions. The new mode enhances conversational AI with human-like timing, tone, and emotional awareness, enabling enterprises to create natural, context-sensitive voice experiences.

Expressive Mode integrates Eleven v3 Conversational, ElevenLabs’ most emotionally intelligent text-to-speech model optimized for live dialogue, with a new turn-taking system that ensures better-timed responses with fewer interruptions. This allows agents to pause, respond, or adjust tone just like human interlocutors, improving engagement and satisfaction in customer conversations.

A key feature of Expressive Mode is expanded multilingual support, covering over 70 global languages, including 11 Indian languages: Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati, Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu, and Assamese. This empowers Indian enterprises to serve diverse audiences while maintaining clarity, consistency, and emotional nuance.

By leveraging real-time emotional signals from Scribe v2 Realtime, ElevenLabs’ transcription system, Expressive Mode enables agents to interpret cues from how something is said—not just what is said—allowing for empathetic and context-aware interactions in high-stakes scenarios across sectors like support, mobility, finance, and retail.

Karthik Rajaram, GM and Country Head, India at ElevenLabs, commented:

“In customer-facing conversations, how something is said often matters as much as what is said. Expressive Mode marks a shift from scripted voice automation to emotionally intelligent conversations across multiple Indian languages. This enables Indian enterprises to design voice-first experiences that feel natural, responsive, and deeply aligned with how India communicates, helping brands build trust and consistency at scale.”

Expressive Mode allows businesses to deploy voice agents that respond naturally, stay on-brand, and adapt to real customer emotion, with the reliability, integrations, and monitoring needed for operations from pilot deployments to global rollouts.

ElevenLabs’ technology is already powering Indian companies like Meesho, Cars24, Apna, 99acres, TVS Motors, Mahindra, PocketFM, and others in delivering conversational AI experiences and multilingual customer engagement.

Gurugram, Feb 11: Care.fi, a healthcare-focused fintech building an AI-powered revenue cycle management infrastructure for hospitals, has raised $8 million in a Series A round. The funding includes $5 million in equity led by July Ventures, with participation from Peak XV Partners, Accion Ventures, and Sadev Ventures, and $3 million in debt financing from Trifecta and Vivriti.

India’s healthcare system is entering a decade of scale. In FY25 alone, general and health insurers settled over 32.6 million health insurance claims, with payouts exceeding ₹94,000 crore. Alongside this, more than 36.9 crore Ayushman Bharat cards have been issued, dramatically expanding access to cashless care. As coverage widens across government and private schemes, hospitals are grappling with rising claim volumes, tighter compliance requirements, and increasing expectations for faster, more predictable settlement cycles.

Care.fi is building infrastructure for this new reality. Its AI-driven platform helps hospitals manage documentation, coding, claims processing, and collections at scale, while its NBFC arm provides working capital solutions that enable predictable cash flows. Today, Care.fi’s systems are deployed across Ayushman Bharat and multiple large government and private insurance programs, supporting hospitals as operational complexity continues to rise.

The newly raised capital will be used to expand operations into additional Indian cities, accelerate international expansion across the United States and the Middle East, and further invest in product development for its AI-powered healthcare operating system.

“This capital allows us to go deeper on our core mission: making healthcare revenue operations seamless and invisible for hospitals,” said Vikrant Agrawal, Co-founder of Care.fi. “Doctors and care teams should not be spending time navigating paperwork, approvals, or delayed payments. We are building an AI-first healthcare operating system that takes care of revenue end-to-end, so hospitals can focus on patient outcomes, and patients can experience care with confidence and dignity.”

The fundraise follows a period of sustained growth for Care.fi, marked by over 10% year-on-year growth in assets under management and expansion of its team to 250+ employees, strengthening support for hospital partners amid rising claim volumes and faster turnaround expectations. Recently, Care.fi has also acquired Aldun to make hospital discharge faster and less stressful for patients and their families, reducing waiting time after the final bill from hours to just 10 minutes. Together, they aim to scale from 10,000 to nearly 1 lakh discharges per month, helping patients return home sooner and ensuring a smoother end to the hospital journey.

“Healthcare delivery in India is scaling faster than the financial rails that support it,” said Sidak Singh, Co-founder of Care.fi. “When millions of claims move through fragmented systems, even small inefficiencies compound into real stress for hospitals and patients. We’re building Care.fi to be the underlying revenue infrastructure for insurance-led healthcare—one that brings speed, clarity, and trust to every discharge and every settlement. This capital lets us scale that infrastructure responsibly, in India and beyond.”

“At July Ventures, we back scalable, category-defining digital platforms,” said a spokesperson from July Ventures. “Carefi’s tech-led RCM platform tackles one of healthcare’s hardest problems, i.e. hospital cash-flow. By compressing billing cycles, improving collections, and unlocking working capital for providers, Carefi is building a future-proof digital infrastructure coupled with finance. The team’s depth, clarity of vision, and consistent execution further reinforced our conviction in backing them at this stage.”

Mohit Bhatnagar, Managing Director at Peak XV Partners, said,

“Getting discharged, with Insurance, from a large Indian hospital can be tedious and lengthy. Care.fi’s instant discharge solution demonstrates how innovation and trust come together to create world-class customer experiences.”

Care.fi’s long-term ambition is to become a global, end-to-end healthcare revenue cycle management platform, built from India for the world. By unifying documentation, claims, collections, and financing into a single intelligent system, the company aims to redefine how hospitals manage revenue while improving transparency and comfort for patients across insurance programs.

Feb 11, New Delhi: Synopsys, Inc., the leader in silicon to systems design solutions, will exhibit at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi from February 16-20, 2026, showcasing engineering solutions that advance AI development and adoption through software-defined engineering.

As the first AI summit hosted in the Global South, The AI Impact Summit is a flagship platform bringing together government leaders, global CEOs, researchers, innovators, and industry experts to shape how artificial intelligence can drive inclusive growth, sustainable development, and strategic innovation across sectors.

Dr. Prith Banerjee, Senior Vice President of Innovation, Synopsys, will join a lineup of influential leaders speaking at the AI Impact Summit, including such as Sundar Pichai (CEO, Google & Alphabet), Jensen Huang (CEO, NVIDIA), Cristiano Amon (CEO, Qualcomm), Demis Hassabis (CEO, Google DeepMind), Shantanu Narayen (CEO, Adobe), Bill Gates (Chair, Gates Foundation), Alexandr Wang (Chief AI Officer, Meta), and Mukesh Ambani (Chairman & MD, Reliance Industries), among others.

Dr Banerjee’s talk will focus on “Use of AI/ML in Electronic Design Automation (EDA) and Engineering Simulation for Chips to Systems.”, exploring the transformative role of AI and machine learning across engineering workflows, including:

Re-engineering Engineering in the Age of AI, highlighting how AI-augmented design flows and simulation tools facilitate agile, resilient product development across industries.
The Rise of Digital Twins, focusing on how next-generation products evolve virtually first and how they also cut development risk and accelerate the time-to-value.
Innovating Complex Systems for Reduced Time to Market, empowering lower complexity, higher productivity, and a quicker path-to-market for semiconductor and systems innovation through multidomain workflows to enable tight software and hardware co-design.

Connect with Synopsys at AI Impact Summit

Watch Dr Banerjee’s talk on “Use of AI/ML in EDA & Engineering Simulation for Chips to Systems”: Senior Vice President of Innovation, Synopsys, will deliver a talk on the ‘Use of AI/ML in EDA & Engineering Simulation for Chips to Systems’ at the Summit.

Visit the booth: Synopsys will showcase AI-led simulation and digital engineering capabilities at a 400 sq. ft. interactive booth (3F.16) at hall 3 on the first floor in Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The booth will showcase AI-driven innovations spanning electronic design automation (EDA), IP, verification, and simulation. There will be a strong emphasis on real-world, cross-industry use cases across mobility, technology, manufacturing, and aerospace, showcasing how AI-led design and simulation are helping organizations address increasingly complex engineering challenges at scale.

Join us for a demo: The Synopsys booth will feature two dedicated demo stations:

AI-driven EDA and IP demo station: showcasing how Generative AI and agentic AI allow faster, smarter, and more autonomous design and verification workflows.

AI-powered simulation demo station: demonstrating how advanced AI techniques are augmenting accuracy, speed, and decision-making in complex engineering simulations across industries.

Jaipur / New Delhi, Feb 11: Polaris Smart Metering announced a major milestone in its AMISP & power distribution journey, having manufactured and deployed over 1 million smart meters across its markets under the Government of India’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The achievement underscores Polaris’ role as a key enabler of large-scale smart metering adoption and power sector digitization in the country.

The milestone was marked by the unveiling of the 1 millionth smart meter at Polaris’ state-of-the-art facility in Jaipur, in the presence of senior government officials and industry stakeholders. The facility represents the company’s commitment to indigenous manufacturing, technology excellence, and scalable execution aligned with national reform priorities.

Gracing the event, Chief Guest, Shri Ajitabh Sharma, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary (Energy) and Chairman, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (RVPN), highlighted the importance of smart metering in achieving RDSS objectives. “With the rapid growth of renewable energy and our planned expansion of battery energy storage, smart meters will play a central role in demand flexibility and grid management. Its true value lies in robust data management systems, integrated platforms and informed decision-making that strengthen grid visibility and operational efficiency,” he said.

Commenting on the milestone, Yashraj Khaitan, Founder and CEO, Polaris Smart Metering, said, “Crossing the 1 million smart meters mark is a defining moment for Polaris and a strong validation of our execution capabilities under RDSS. It reflects the trust placed in us by utilities and state governments, and the relentless efforts of our teams on the ground. Our AMI solutions enable two-way communication between utilities and consumers, laying the foundation for a smarter, more efficient and financially sustainable power distribution ecosystem in India.”

Rajeev Sharma, Chairman, Polaris Group said, “It is a moment of immense pride to witness Polaris Group achieving the milestone of our one-millionth smart meter. Smart Metering is backbone of a financially viable power sector. By reducing AT&C losses and enabling the seamless integration of renewable energy, we are securing a sustainable future for our DISCOMs. With continuous effort, Polaris will soon reach the milestone of manufacturing 2 million meters.”

The deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) at scale is playing a critical role in transforming power distribution by improving billing accuracy, reducing losses, strengthening utility operations, and providing consumers with greater transparency and control over their energy usage.

Polaris currently has a manufacturing capacity of 5 million meters, and is also expanding through Polaris NOVA, its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, which will increase its production capacity from the current 5 million to 10 million meters annually by mid-2026.

Polaris Smart Metering works closely with distribution companies across multiple states to support end-to-end smart meter rollouts, from manufacturing and deployment to system integration and data security. Its solutions are designed to be robust, interoperable, and scalable, supporting utilities in their long-term digital transformation journey.

The 1 million smart meters milestone reflects the accelerating momentum of India’s smart metering programme and reinforces Polaris Smart Metering’s commitment to partnering with the government and utilities in building a future-ready, consumer-centric power distribution network.

New Delhi: Feb 10:  Bio Asia, Asia’s largest annual global biotechnology and life sciences forum organized by the Government of Telangana, is proud to announce that the prestigious Genome Valley Excellence Award will be conferred upon Dr Bruce Levine, Barbara and Edward Netter Professor in Cancer Gene Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, for his outstanding contributions to cell and gene therapy, engineered T cells, and cancer immunotherapy.

Dr Bruce Levine’s research has redefined the frontiers of cell and gene therapy, translating bold scientific ideas into lifesaving clinical realities. His pioneering work has enabled the safe and effective genetic modification of human cells, laying the scientific foundation for a new generation of personalised, living medicines.

Through seminal discoveries and first-of-their-kind clinical studies, he has played a pivotal role in advancing engineered T-cell and CAR T-cell therapies, contributing directly to the emergence of the first FDA-approved gene therapies for cancer. These breakthroughs have not only changed treatment paradigms for previously incurable malignancies but have also established new standards for translational biomedical research.

Beyond individual discoveries, Dr Levine’s work exemplifies research excellence with a global impact, spanning fundamental science, clinical translation, scalable manufacturing, and real-world implementation. His prolific scientific output, influential patents, and role in creating successful biotechnology enterprises reflect a rare ability to bridge laboratory innovation with societal benefit.

Equally significant is his commitment to scientific leadership and mentorship, shaping generations of researchers and clinicians while advancing equitable access to cutting-edge therapies worldwide. His body of work stands as a testament to how rigorous, curiosity-driven research can deliver profound and lasting benefits to humanity.

According to Mr D. Sridhar Babu, Minister for Industries, IT and Legislative Affairs, said,

“We are proud to present the Genome Valley Excellence Award 2026 to Dr Bruce Levine, whose pioneering work in CAR T-cell therapy and gene editing has significantly advanced global cancer care. His innovations set new benchmarks in immunotherapy, and Telangana remains committed to recognising such contributions, shaping the future of medicine.”

Speaking on the announcement, Mr Sanjay Kumar, Special Chief Secretary, Department of Industries & Commerce, Government of Telangana, said,

“We are pleased to confer the prestigious Genome Valley Excellence Award 2026 on Dr Bruce Levine for his remarkable advancements in cell and gene therapy. Bio Asia continues to bring together the brightest minds in life sciences, and this award testifies to the global impact of his research.”

Mr Shakthi M. Nagappan, Director, Life Sciences and Pharma, Government of Telangana, added,

“The Genome Valley Excellence Award celebrates distinguished leaders in life sciences. Dr Levine’s work exemplifies innovation in cancer gene therapy, pushing biomedical boundaries on a global scale.”