NSRCEL Startups
NSRCEL Startup Founder Chirag Bhandari Wins ‘Most Impactful CSR Leader of the Year’
Ennoble Social Innovation, a venture from NSRCEL’s Impact Orbit, led by Chirag Bhandari, has been honoured as the Most Impactful CSR Leader of the Year at the 14th Indian CSR Summit & Awards 2025 in Chennai.
Ennoble works at the intersection of education, employability, and community development, designing scalable, outcome-driven interventions that connect corporates, academic institutions, and youth changemakers to foster long-term social impact.
Chirag’s recognition highlights Ennoble’s commitment to building strong learning ecosystems for underserved communities and addressing structural gaps in access, quality, and opportunity. This marks a meaningful milestone in demonstrating how mission-driven entrepreneurship can accelerate inclusive development and empower the next generation.
Trozo Raises Seed Round to Build Next-Generation Customer Engagement Platform
Trozo, a deep-tech engagement platform incubated at NSRCEL under the Mobility Startups Program, has raised its seed round led by StartFresh Ventures. The platform helps businesses move beyond transactions to build meaningful, long-term customer relationships.
Founded by IIM Bangalore alumnus Pavan Govindan along with Janardhan J V and Dilip Adiga, Trozo combines deep-tech proficiency, product innovation, and business strategy to help enterprises transform revenue events into relationship-building opportunities through intelligent engagement tools.
This fundraise marks a significant milestone in Trozo’s journey, enabling the startup to strengthen its technology stack and broaden its market footprint.
AquaAirX Showcases Amphibious Drone at Israel’s NeuSPHERE Deep-Tech Demo Day
AquaAirX Autonomous Systems, a member of NSRCEL’s Campus Founders Cohort 1, represented India at the first-ever NeuSPHERE Demo Day, hosted by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
The startup presented its innovative amphibious drone, designed to operate seamlessly in both aerial and underwater environments. With potential applications in environmental monitoring, defence, marine surveillance, and search-and-rescue operations, AquaAirX is pushing the boundaries of autonomous systems for multi-terrain operations.
Their participation at NeuSPHERE emphasises the growing global attention on India’s deep-tech innovations and underlines NSRCEL’s role in nurturing high-potential, research-driven startups.
NSRCEL Startup Phi Commerce Set to Raise ₹42.74 Crore for Global Payments Expansion
Phi Commerce, a startup supported by NSRCEL, is set to raise ₹42.74 crore (≈ US$5 million), with BEENEXT and Opus Technologies expected to lead the round.
Phi Commerce offers a unified omni-channel digital payments platform that serves both B2B and B2C businesses worldwide. Its solutions enable companies to manage secure, scalable payment flows across online and offline environments seamlessly.
The planned funding round reflects strong investor confidence in Phi Commerce’s technology and its capacity to influence the global payments landscape with robust, interoperable and enterprise-ready solutions.
Chara Technologies Secures ₹52 Crore Series A Funding to Accelerate Sustainable Mobility Innovation
Chara Technologies, a startup from the first cohort of NSRCEL’s Sustainable Mobility Incubation Program in partnership with Alstom, has raised ₹52 crores (≈ US$6 million) in a Series A round led by Arkam Ventures. The round also saw participation from Exfinity Venture Partners, Kalaari Capital, and IIMA Ventures.
Chara Technologies focuses on building next-generation motor technologies that support India’s transition to sustainable mobility. With this funding, the startup plans to establish a dedicated testing and validation facility in Bengaluru, strengthening its R&D capabilities. A portion of the investment will also support the launch of new product lines aimed at accelerating electrification across mobility segments.
The fundraise marks an important milestone in Chara’s growth journey, reflecting strong investor confidence in its deep-tech innovation and commitment to advancing cleaner, more efficient mobility solutions.
