Pepper has secured $50 million in funding to enhance digital tools for food distributor operations, signaling its expansion in the industry. The investment aims to improve efficiency and innovation in food supply chain management through advanced technology.

India is hosting a major AI Impact Summit with global tech leaders and investors, announcing a $1.1 billion state-backed VC fund for AI and manufacturing startups, alongside significant investments in Indian AI companies. The event highlights India’s growing role in the AI ecosystem and its efforts to attract international collaboration and funding.

Grotto AI secured a $10 million seed round led by ICONIQ to develop AI tools that help leasing teams improve conversion rates and minimize housing vacancy losses. The funding highlights growing interest in AI-driven solutions for real estate efficiency.

Peak XV has raised $1.3 billion to focus on AI and cross-border investments in India and Asia, amid growing global VC competition. The firm, now managing over $10 billion, plans to invest heavily in India’s AI sector, aligning with events like the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 offers early bird pricing ending February 27, featuring networking with tech leaders, startup showcases, and insights into AI and innovation. The event promises access to 10,000 attendees, 200+ sessions, and opportunities for partnerships and funding.

Nvidia is expanding its presence in India’s AI startup ecosystem through early-stage partnerships, aiming to engage founders before their companies are formally established to build long-term relationships and capture market growth. The company is collaborating with firms like Activate and AI Grants India, leveraging its technical expertise to support emerging AI startups in a rapidly growing developer market.

Reload, a startup founded by Newton Asare and Kiran Das, has launched Epic, an AI workforce management platform that enables organizations to coordinate and oversee AI agents across teams and departments. The company recently secured $2.275 million in funding, highlighting its focus on treating AI agents as collaborative teammates requiring structured management.

Google has released Gemini Pro 3.1, a new large language model (LLM) that outperforms its predecessor in independent benchmarks and real-world tasks, highlighting rapid advancements in AI capabilities. The model’s performance underscores intensifying competition among tech giants in developing powerful LLMs for agentic work.

Startup CEOs argue AI won’t replace human roles but will augment them, emphasizing human decision-making remains critical even as AI automates tasks. Examples like using navigation apps highlight humans as the ultimate decision-makers, not just followers of AI instructions.

Toy Story 5 introduces an AI tablet called Lilypad as a sinister antagonist, highlighting concerns about technology’s impact on children. The trailer depicts the tablet’s manipulative influence, mirroring real-world debates about AI ethics and privacy. The film uses the AI threat to explore broader societal anxieties about emerging technologies.

AI is transforming indie filmmaking by enabling faster and cheaper production but risks replacing human collaborators, as illustrated by a story where a filmmaker faces an AI-generated challenge. The article highlights both the opportunities and ethical dilemmas of AI in creative industries.

OpenAI reports that 18-24-year-olds make up nearly 50% of ChatGPT usage in India, with significant adoption for work and coding tasks. Indians use OpenAI’s Codex three times more than the global median, highlighting strong demand for AI tools in the region.