Welcome to the latest edition of In Full Blume! This one’s special, we’re coming to you fresh off Blume Day 2026, our annual gathering of founders, operators, and friends of the ecosystem. As tradition goes, every Blume Day comes with a theme, and this year is no different. This year’s theme? Orbit Shift, a term borrowed from Quantum Physics. The core idea is that real breakthroughs aren’t gradual; they demand a specific burst of energy to jump to the next level. It’s a call to action for our portfolio companies and us: what is your Orbit Shift moment, and what energy is needed to get there? More on that below. Beyond Blume Day, our portfolio was busy. Aerem (Fund IV) raised $15M to scale India’s distributed solar infrastructure, and Mysa (Fund IV) closed a $3.4M round to build the financial OS for India’s mid-market. A lot more in this month’s newsletter. Let’s get into it. 👇 Blume Day 2026For the Orbits, They Are a-Shiftin’In his annual note from the mainstage, Karthik traces why the conditions for dramatic orbit shifts have never been stronger: from increasing founder ambition and proof points of real scale, to India’s unmatched digital infrastructure. He maps how our firm, which has now completed 15 years, has made its own orbit shifts (From a ₹100 Cr first fund to over $900M in AUM after our Fund V close), and why, in an ecosystem where companies are listing at $10 billion and eyeing $100 billion, India’s biggest leap is still ahead. And fittingly, the Blume Day tee this year tips its hat to musician and Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan’s rallying cry of the 60s: “The Times, They Are a-Changin’,” reimagined for startup land as “The Orbits, They Are a-Shiftin’.” Read Karthik’s full note to the founders here. In case you missed it, you can watch the full keynote from Blume Day 2026 here AI ForwardAt Blume Day, three Blume portco founders showed what AI looks like once it gets past the demo stage. Ananth Shroff, DPDzero (Fund IV) — Credit Collections: Loans are disbursed in seconds; collections still run on gut calls and manual follow-up. DPDzero is building the AI layer for the half nobody’s fixed. Watch the full session. Vinay Singhal, STAGE (Fund IV) — Entertainment: AI can now read a script’s pacing and emotional register before a single scene is shot, cutting months of work to an afternoon. Watch the full session. Tushar Vashisht, Healthify (Fund II) — Health & Obesity: GLP-1s fix the biology, AI fixes the behaviour. While separately, neither sticks, together, they might actually end obesity. Watch the full session. Celebrating Our ExitsEvery year at Blume Day, we take a moment to celebrate what matters most in venture, returning capital to the people who believed in us. Exits are more than milestones. They’re proof that our conviction was right. This year, at Blume Day 2026, we celebrated six companies across our portfolio: Watch the full celebration video here Fireside Chat with IPO-Bound CompaniesKarthik took the stage with Sameer Nigam, CEO and Co-founder of PhonePe, and Dhirendra Mahyavanshi, Co-founder and CEO of Turtlemint (Fund I vintage), to discuss how they are gearing up for their respective IPOs in the near future. Now, on to portfolio updates! Funding UpdatesPowering India’s Solar Future: Aerem Raises $15M (~₹136 Cr)Aerem (Fund IV) raised $15M in a round led by SMBC Asia Rising Fund. We participated in the round along with existing investors, including British International Investment, The University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC), Avaana Capital, Riverwalk Holdings, and SE Ventures (Schneider Electric). Founded in 2021 by Anand Jain and Vikesh Agrawal, Aerem is a full-stack distributed solar platform that combines project financing, a solar equipment marketplace, system design, procurement, and asset monitoring. The company works with 3,200+ verified installation partners across 150+ cities and has enabled over 1,200 MW of solar capacity and financed 2,000+ projects to date. The fresh capital will strengthen Aerem’s EPC and installer partner network, expand its pan-India footprint, and accelerate adoption among MSMEs and domestic households. Read the full coverage here. Finance on Autopilot: Mysa Raises $3.4M (~₹30.5 Cr)Mysa (Fund IV) raised $3.4M in a round co-led by Piper Serica and us, with participation from Ikemori Ventures, Raise Financial Services, QED Innovation Labs, and existing investors Antler, IIMA Ventures, and Neon Fund. Founded in 2023 by Arpita Kapoor, Mohit Rangaraju, and Ashutosh Panigrahi, Mysa is an AI-powered unified platform for business banking, expense management, and accounting automation. In under a year since launch, Mysa is already processing ₹1,500+ Cr in annualised transaction volume, powering payments to 40,000+ bank accounts, with integrations with 15+ banks, including Axis, ICICI, HDFC, YES Bank, and IDFC First. Read the full coverage here. New Launches & MilestonesYour Path to Zen Made Easier: Mave Health’s Headset Is HereMave Health (Fund V) launched a wearable headset that uses non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) to improve focus, sleep, and mood. The headset makes neuroscience-backed mental healthcare into an everyday routine with no side effects. Watch their full launch video here ⬇️ Sign up for the waitlist here. India’s Drivers, India’s Platform: Namma Yatri Powers Bharat Taxi Namma Yatri (Fund IV) announced its partnership with the central government as the technology, operations, and strategy partner powering Bharat Taxi, a cooperative-led mobility model. Built on open-source, zero-commission infrastructure, Bharat Taxi aims to retain ₹50,000+ Cr annually within local communities and build a federation of 1 Cr+ driver-owners across 1,000+ cities, towns, and villages. Read the full coverage here. From Galli Cricket to Global Gaming: LightFury Brings Shivaji Park to eCricketLightFury Games (Fund IV) released a tribute to Mumbai’s iconic Shivaji Park, the cradle of Indian cricket, as a fully playable ground in its upcoming AAA title, eCricket. The hyper-realistic recreation brings to life the ground where Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar first picked up a bat, and soon, millions of gamers will be able to step on it too. The game is set for release later in 2026. Watch the tribute video here ⬇️ India’s Eye in the Sky, Built on Indian Soil: Pixxel × IN-SPACePixxel (Fund III) formalised its agreement with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to build India’s first privately led national Earth Observation constellation. With an investment of over ₹1,200 Cr over the next five years, the constellation will provide imaging services for government users and global commercial markets across agriculture, climate, infrastructure, energy, and maritime. Read the full coverage here. ₹350 Cr+ and Counting: Classplus Closes Its Strongest YearClassplus (Fund III) closed 2025 with ₹350 Cr+ in revenue, making the entire year cash-flow positive for the first time. Additionally, creators on the platform acquired 2.5 Cr+ learners across all their apps in 2025. Your Health, on Autopilot: Ultrahuman Launches Ring PRO and Jade AIUltrahuman (Fund III) unveiled Ring PRO, its third-generation smart ring with up to 15 days of battery life built on a titanium unibody with a redesigned dual-core processor. Alongside it, Ultrahuman launched Jade, the world’s first real-time biointelligence AI that sends live signals and pushes you to action, from nudging you to sleep better to helping you recover better after your workouts. Check out Ring PRO here. Conversational Superintelligence: SquadStack AI × NVIDIASquadStack AI (Fund II) partnered with NVIDIA to launch Conversational Superintelligence™, built on India’s largest tagged contact centre dataset. The platform moves beyond fluency to judgment: they have created voice agents that adapt language, tone, and persuasion per user while making real-time decisions on intent, compliance, and next-best-action. Read the full coverage here. See you next month. Team Blume In Full Blume gives you a lowdown on what our portfolio companies and team members have been up to in the past month. You may want to check out Blume Fieldnotes, another newsletter from Blume’s stable, that curates the best reads and unmissable insights amassed by the team. Stay tuned. |
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Monday, 9 March 2026
In Full Blume | Orbit Shifts, Solar Stacks, and Space Pacts | January 2026
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