Singapore-headquartered angel investment platform ThinKuvate has announced the first close of its India fund at INR 250 million. The investment comes within four months of the formal launch of the ThinKuvate India Fund — I.

The firm has made investments in four startups – Rosh.ai, Zippee, Pantherun, and NymbleUp.

Rosh.ai was founded in 2021 by Roshy John and Rajaram Moorthy. It specialises in autonomous vehicle technology, providing solutions for the automotive, seaport, and mining industries. The company has raised $1 million in Pre-Series A led by EV2 Ventures, with participation from Caret Capital and ThinKuvate.

Zippee was founded by Madhav Kasturia in 2021 and offers same-day delivery for more than 100 (D2C) brands. Zippee is scaling its operations in metro cities and expanding its brand partnership.

Founded in 2019 by Srinivas Shekar, Pantherun is a cybersecurity company specialising in advanced data protection solutions. The company has raised a bridge round led by QuickHeal Family Office and SIDBI Ventures, with participation from 8X, PiperSerica, and ThinKuvate.

NymbleUp.ai was founded in 2019 by Yogesh Bhatt & Manish Thakur. It has secured pre-series A  led by Chandigarh Angels, IVY Cap, and ThinKuvate. It provides AI-driven predictive workforce management solutions for QSRs and retail chains; forecasting demand across all sales channels at 15-minute intervals. 

ThinKuvate plans to invest in early-stage startups from seed to Series A, focusing on companies leveraging technology at the forefront.

Ghanshyam Ahuja, Managing Partner, ThinKuvate said, “We have been investing in Indian startups and saw the potential growth opportunities. That led us to launch an India-focused fund, we have reached the first milestone in little over 100 days. This validates our thesis on the next-gen innovations taking place in India, which have a global appeal.”

ThinKuvate continues to raise its target corpus, the fund plans to invest in 30 – 40 startups with an average investment size of INR 15 million to INR 40 million. The fund has also attracted top tier general partners globally, to manage the deal flow, due diligence, and overall portfolio management. More than 50 percent of investors in the fund are NRIs from various countries, top of them being Singapore, Australia, the USA, the UK, and Indonesia.

Mayank Jain, CEO, ThinKuvate, says, “We have built capabilities within our team to provide support and help to startups scale faster. The profile of limited partners, who are working professionals with senior roles in large corporates, would be a huge differentiator for the companies we back. Our vast network will not only bring in quality capital but provide access to the founders to accelerate their growth journey post funding from ThinKuvate. As we continue to raise the target corpus, we have already built a healthy deal flow and we are confident that with this fund, we will be able to build a strong portfolio and generate stellar returns for our investors.”

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Marquardt, a supplier of mechatronic systems, has launched a concept vehicle, ‘The Centum’, to demonstrate the integration of functional controls into automotive surfaces. The project involved a collaboration with E Ink and Covestro to develop a door interior panel that embeds a responsive display within synthetic materials.

The project aimed to maintain the tactile properties of polyurethane (PU)-coated textiles while enabling a colour-changing display to remain invisible until activated. This supports industry trends toward backlit surfaces and integrated control elements.

The display technology uses E Ink, which provides a low-energy, durable electronic paper display designed for automotive environments. For coating, Covestro has developed a transparent film using INSQIN waterborne PU technology. The coating uses Impranil DLC-F, a waterborne polyurethane dispersion used in automotive topcoats.

The resulting material retains the texture of standard automotive textiles while allowing the underlying display colors to remain visible through the coating.

Felix Hake, Head of Innovation, Marquardt, said, “With The Centum, we wanted to demonstrate how intelligent functions can be integrated into interior surfaces without compromising design or quality. Working with E Ink and Covestro allowed us to create a material solution that combines a premium tactile experience with responsive visual effects.”

Dr Torsten Pohl, Global Head of Textile Coatings, Covestro, added, “This project highlights the versatility of INSQIN PU technology and Impranil DLC-F. By developing a transparent, automotive-grade PU coated synthetic compatible with E Ink displays, we were able to support Marquardt in integrating dynamic functionality into familiar surface materials.”

Pete Valianatos, Senior Director, E Ink, said, “Our e-paper display technology is designed to deliver dynamic visual experiences with low power consumption, while maintaining the robustness required for demanding applications. Collaborating with Marquardt and Covestro has enabled us to demonstrate how E Ink displays can be integrated behind coated interior surfaces, allowing automotive designers to introduce adaptive colour features without changing the established look and feel of premium materials.

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Yazaki Innovations Inc (YII), the technology subsidiary of Yazaki Corporation, has announced the appointment of Manish Mehta as its new CEO and President.

Mehta has been a long-time associate of Yazaki Corporation and has spent over two and half decades with the organisation. He had joined the company as an Engineer Manager in 2001, and grew to the ranks of Vice-President Corporate Planning and Strategy in 2021.

He joined the company’s board of directors in 2023, and is now responsible for leading YII, which focusses on the integration of the parent company’s global product portfolio, manufacturing assets and product development with an approach to innovation.

The subsidiary is tasked with developing technologies across several industrial and transport segments. Its remit includes the engineering and development of solutions for the following areas:

• Mobility: Electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and Electric Vertical Take-off & Landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
• Industrial & Infrastructure: Aerospace, construction and agriculture equipment and PreFab Home Wiring.
• Specialised Engineering: Off-road and specialty vehicles, alongside advanced manufacturing processes.

The organisation aims to combine Yazaki Corporation’s business assets with a methodology designed to address trending technologies in these sectors.

"I am pleased to announce my new role as CEO & President of Yazaki Innovations Inc (YII). Yazaki Innovations is the disruptive technology subsidiary of Yazaki Corporation, integrating the best attributes and strengths of the company’s global product portfolio, product development, manufacturing, and business assets with a quick, agile approach to innovation. This is an exciting opportunity, and I look forward to collaborating with internal and external partners to contribute to the future growth of Yazaki," said Mehta.

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TSUYO Manufacturing Pvt Ltd has appointed Naveen Kumar Amar as Senior Vice President of Finance, effective 1 April 2026. Recognised as a global finance power leader, Amar brings over 20 years of expertise in financial strategy, corporate governance and operational efficiency within capital-intensive industries. His arrival marks a strategic move as the company accelerates growth in the EV powertrain sector.

Before joining TSUYO, Amar was CFO at SpiceXpress, where he led financial restructuring, cost optimisation and drove digitisation projects. He also managed international and domestic fundraising across equity and debt. At TSUYO, he will oversee financial planning, capital allocation, and governance as the company scales manufacturing and deepens EV powertrain investments.

The company recently secured Single Window Clearance from Karnataka Government for a proposed 20-acre EV Powertrain Campus in the Dharwad–Hubli region, a hub for design, testing and production. Last month, TSUYO launched next generation electric motor technologies for India’s light commercial vehicle market, emphasising modular design, deep engineering and Make in India innovation.

The leadership team welcomed Amar, stating his appointment strengthens alignment of capital strategy with long term objectives. TSUYO is also investing in advanced manufacturing infrastructure and localisation of key EV components to reduce import reliance and bolster the domestic EV ecosystem.

Amar said, “I am excited to join Tsuyo at a crucial moment in its growth journey, as the company scales its manufacturing capabilities and strengthens its position in India’s evolving electric mobility ecosystem. With experience across diverse, capital-intensive sectors, I see immense opportunity in building a financially disciplined, execution-focused organisation that can sustain high growth over the long term. The company’s focus on the convergence of deep technology, localisation and large-scale manufacturing presents a unique platform for creating enduring value. I look forward to partnering with the leadership team to enable Tsuyo’s ambition of becoming a globally acclaimed EV powertrain company."

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German automotive luxury brand Audi has launched the new RS 5, featuring a high-performance plug-in hybrid system and a rear transaxle equipped with electromechanical torque vectoring. Marketed as quattro with Dynamic Torque Control, this system manages transverse torque distribution between the rear wheels within 15 milliseconds.

The system enables torque shifts between the rear wheels regardless of the power applied. Unlike mechanical equivalents, it operates during throttle application, off-throttle states and under braking.

It features a High-Voltage Actuator that uses a water-cooled permanent-magnet 400-volt electric motor providing 8 kW and 40 Nm of output. Overdrive Gears components use actuator torque to transfer differences of up to 2,000 Nm to the driveshafts.

The differential consists of a conventional unit with a low lock percentage that distributes applied torque to the left and right shafts.

The technology is designed to reduce understeer and oversteer by directing torque to the wheel with the most grip. If the vehicle begins to oversteer in a bend, the system increases torque at the inside wheel to provide stability. Conversely, it reduces torque at the inner wheel to prevent understeer, redirecting power to the outer wheel for traction.

Control is centralised via the HCP1 (High-Performance Computing Platform), which harmonises driver inputs with environmental data. This platform interprets steering intentions to provide unfiltered transfer to the wheels.

• Electromechanical torque vectoring at the rear axle works in conjunction with front-axle supports:
• Electronic Differential Lock: Enhances front-axle traction via the brakes.
• Brake Torque Vectoring: Provides additional front-end assistance.
• Adaptive Shock Absorbers: The twin-valve units are calibrated with the rear transaxle to improve throttle response and corner entry.

The system allows for customisable driving characteristics through various drive select modes, ranging from a balanced setup to a rear-biased configuration. Audi states the ‘fixed coupling’ of this electromechanical solution ensures torque distribution remains independent of drive torque, a distinction from clutch-based torque splitters.

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