1. REPELLO

Country: Bengaluru, India / San Francisco, USA

News:

Raised $1.2M from Venture Highway, Pi Ventures, and others, with angels including Meta board member Charlie Songhurst.

Why It’s Interesting:

  • IIT Roorkee alumni lead India’s charge in AI-driven threat mitigation with global ambition.
  • Bengaluru-built tech runs millions of adversarial tests across text, image, and audio.

Potential:

  • Serving Fortune 500s while expanding into North America and the Middle East.
  • AI-powered cybersecurity detects threats like unsafe outputs and prompt leaks in real time.

2. AETHERO

Country: San Francisco, USA

News:

Raised $8.4M led by Kindred Ventures, with participation from Neo, Giant Step and others.

Why It’s Interesting:

  • Indian-origin Amit Pinnamaneni is transforming space tech with AI/ML-powered satellites.
  • Deimos uses edge computing and real-time learning for swarm ops, missile warnings, and more.

Potential:

  • Edge training and inference in space eliminates latency issues for satellite networks.
  • From traditional satellite systems to intelligent, adaptive space platforms.

3. PISTON

Country: Cupertino, USA / Lehi, USA

News:

Raised $6.1M led by Spark Capital, with participation from Pear VC and BOND, bringing total to $7.5M.

Why It’s Interesting:

  • Founded by Vikram Sekhon and Shivam Shah, now powering 120+ fleets across 800 stations.
  • Kolkata-based team fuels $20M+ annual volume with 50% monthly growth.

Potential:

  • Cardless payments slash fraud and cut fleet fuel costs by double digits.
  • Building world-class fintech from India—an innovation hub, not just a cost center.