This is a fully AI generated summary and audio briefing of news in the US and India tech and startup industries.

In tech news, India is moving to pre‑install the Sanchar Saathi app on every new smartphone, giving the government a real‑time registry of devices. The policy aims to curb piracy and cybercrime, but privacy groups warn about data collection without clear consent. In Andhra Pradesh, a women‑led farmer collective called Naidupeta BRDS has built a digital marketplace on ONDC, turning a 60‑lakh‑rupee turnover into a 750‑member enterprise that now sells 12 crops directly to consumers. Meanwhile, a government report shows Indian startups filed over 13,000 patent applications but only about 16 percent were granted, suggesting many filings are more about fundraising flair than solid IP. The OECD cautioned that an AI‑driven equity bubble could slow U.S. growth, a reminder that hype can mask fundamentals. On the regulatory front, the Securities and Exchange Board of India will replace the bulky abridged prospectus with a concise offer document summary to help retail investors, while Maharashtra added a record 116 startups to the tax‑exempt list under Startup India. Finally, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has blocked 87 illegal lending apps, tightening the net on unlicensed digital credit providers.

Switching to funding announcements, Paris‑based Gradium just closed a massive 70 million‑dollar seed round to commercialise hyper‑realistic AI voice agents. The Indian government’s Startup India AIF scheme has now disbursed roughly 3,107 crore dollars to venture funds, though it’s still shy of its commitment. StockGro secured 150 crore rupees in a Series B to expand its AI‑driven investment platform across the country. Chennai’s Modulus Housing raised 7.83 million dollars in Series A to scale its cloud‑manufacturing modular construction model, and home‑loan fintech Ambak closed a 69 crore rupee Series A, valuing the company at about 450 crore rupees. Fireside Ventures announced the close of its fourth fund with a 253 million‑dollar corpus to back early‑stage consumer brands, and GetReplies grabbed 1 million dollars to launch its agentic AI marketing suite.

In hires and departures, Apple’s long‑time AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down, remaining as an adviser for a few months. The company quickly filled the gap by appointing Amar Subramanya, a veteran from Google’s Gemini Assistant and Microsoft, to lead its AI efforts, signalling a fresh push in generative AI.

On the M&A front, Wakefit set its IPO price band at 185‑195 rupees per share, targeting a valuation near 6,400 crore dollars and promising early investors up to ten‑fold returns. Across the border, WeWork India cleared a legal hurdle and completed its IPO, reporting a profit after tax of 128.2 crore rupees in FY 25.

Finally, in crypto and Web3, illicit activity on major digital‑asset exchanges has fallen to just 0.02 percent of total volume, with Binance leading the drop. Bitcoin is currently at $92,170 and Ethereum at $3,029.22, underscoring a maturing market that’s becoming a safer playground for institutional players.