Biomoneta wins FDA approval, Moonrider raises $6 million from pi Ventures, other VCs
Janaki Venkatraman, Santanu Datta and Arindam Ghatak, co-founders of Biomoneta. Image source: company.
(00:20) IVCA forum urges more domestic capital for deep tech
The Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association hosted its Domestic Institutional Investors & Exits Forum 2025 in New Delhi, spotlighting the role of local capital in deep tech and biotech. An MoU between IVCA and BIRAC aims to boost capacity building and investment awareness, as BIRAC’s Managing Director Dr. Jitendra Kumar urged institutional investors to back research-led startups moving from incubation to commercial scale.
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(00:53) Rama Devi Lanka joins NITI Aayog frontier tech hub
Rama Devi Lanka has joined NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub to drive state-level engagement on AI, blockchain, drones and other emerging technologies. The former Telangana state emerging tech director will work with state governments to scale pilots, shape policy frameworks and strengthen innovation ecosystems, aiming to align frontier tech deployments with inclusive governance and public-impact use cases nationwide.
(01:22) Biomoneta wins US FDA nod for Avata Rx
Biomoneta, a Bengaluru startup, has secured US FDA approval for Avata Rx, its ZeBox-powered air-decontamination device, becoming the first Indian company cleared in this category. The system targets airborne pathogens in high-risk clinical and biotech environments, backed by independent validations including an IISc study on SARS-CoV-2. The milestone strengthens its global market entry and validates investor Beyond Next Ventures’ deep-science thesis.
(02:00) Moonrider raises $6m for EV tractor rollout
Moonrider, an electric tractor startup in Bengaluru, has raised $6 million in a Series A round led by deep-tech fund pi Ventures, with Singularity AMC, Advantedge Founders and Micelio Fund participating. The capital will fund commercial rollout of its fully homologated, road-ready electric tractors, which the company says match diesel tractors on upfront price while sharply lowering operating costs to improve farm economics.
(02:32) SynaXG raises over $20m for AI-RAN platform
Singapore deep-tech startup SynaXG has raised over $20 million in its first funding round, led by January Capital, Vertex Ventures and Qualgro. The company builds AI-powered radio access network (AI-RAN) technology for wireless infrastructure. The capital will be used to scale product development and engineering, and deepen partnerships with telecom operators and enterprise customers deploying next-generation network solutions.
Niobium raises $23m to advance FHE silicon
(03:03) US-based Niobium has raised more than $23 million in an oversubscribed follow-on round to accelerate its second-generation fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) hardware platform. The funding will support the shift from prototype to production-ready ASICs, hardware–software co-design and customer pilots. Existing backers Fusion Fund and Morgan Creek joined new investors including Blockchange Ventures, ADVentures, Korea Development Bank and JobsOhio Ventures.
(03:37) Korean team links desalination with hydrogen production
Researchers at Seoul National University have built a modular water-purification system that simultaneously produces clean water and hydrogen using ion concentration polarization across a single cation-exchange membrane. The finger-sized device removes salts and contaminants while generating hydrogen, recovering about 8–10 percent of input energy. Its compact, scalable design targets use in disaster zones, remote sites, military deployments and even space missions.
