HSBC’s Billion-Dollar Bet, WazirX’s Restructuring Plan, and Tara Gaming’s Ramayana Game

India just got a new kind of fuel for its startup engine - and it doesn’t demand equity. HSBC has rolled out a $1 billion “Innovation Banking” program in India, importing the Silicon Valley playbook of venture debt at institutional scale. That one line changes the hierarchy of capital here. Until now, non-dilutive debt was a niche run by specialist funds like Trifecta, Alteria, InnoVen and Stride. With a global bank stepping in - backed by 900+ specialists, standardized underwriting, and an appetite to lend from seed through pre-IPO - venture debt moves from side alley to main road.

The timing is ruthless and perfect. Equity has been scarce and expensive: Indian startup funding fell sharply through 2024-25; late-stage rounds thinned; down-rounds spread. In that world, founders hate selling cheap equity to buy runway. A $1B institutional supply of debt is exactly the counter-cyclical tool that can stabilize valuations, extend 3-9 months of runway, and let teams hit milestones before tapping equity again. It’s not just more liquidity; it’s bargaining power.

Let’s be real about what this money is and isn’t. These are structured term loans, typically 36-60 months, front-loaded with an interest-only window, secured against “all assets” - for tech startups that means your IP too - and paired with a warrant (usually ~0.5-2% equity upside for the lender). Rates sit roughly in the 9-18% band depending on risk. Non-dilutive today doesn’t mean free tomorrow; the true cost is interest plus the warrant you’ll feel at exit. The bet you’re making is simple: use the debt to unlock a valuation step-up that more than pays for the warrant. If you can’t, this instrument will punish you.

Winners are easy to predict. Recurring-revenue SaaS with clean cohorts and low churn. Fintechs with strong unit economics and short CAC payback. Deeptech with defensible IP and visible commercialization. Use cases that lenders love: inventory and working capital to smooth seasonality; capex to stand up capacity; tuck-in M&A to accelerate revenue; pre-IPO polish that swaps messy short-term burn for disciplined, bankable P&L.

And no, this doesn’t kill the venture debt funds - yet. It forces them to evolve. A $1B bank balance sheet becomes the price-setter for top-tier borrowers, squeezing spreads and warrant coverage at the high end. Specialist funds will respond by going earlier, going deeper in niches (ARR-based SaaS lines, healthcare-only books, revenue-share constructs), and winning on speed and tailoring. Expect domestic private banks to spin up “innovation desks” or partner with these funds rather than watch HSBC dominate the best credits alone. Competition should cut borrowing costs for the top 10-20% of startups and make terms (draw periods, covenants) founder-friendlier.

The regulator’s posture matters. RBI likes capital flowing through supervised banks more than opaque structures - it improves oversight, enforces provisioning discipline, and reduces systemic blind spots that grew around shadow credit. But there are two hot potatoes. First, IP as primary security will force clearer Indian standards on valuation, perfection of security interests, and enforcement. Second, warrants blur the line between “pure debt” and embedded equity; SEBI and RBI will want transparent reporting and caps so founders aren’t surprised by deferred dilution.

Global context helps frame what’s coming. In the US, venture debt is a normalized slice of the stack (often 10-15% of total startup financing). Europe’s catching up. India has lived in low single digits; HSBC’s entry accelerates us into double-digit penetration by 2028 if the economy holds and exits re-open. That doesn’t mean copy-paste SVB. SVB’s failure was concentration risk and a mismatched balance sheet, not a verdict on the model. A diversified universal bank with global risk systems can deliver the benefits without the fragility - if it respects the local nuance, which is relationship-driven underwriting and messy enforcement.

The risk story is as clear as the upside. Debt is a metronome - you must pay on time. Miss a plan, breach a covenant, trigger a MAC clause, and lenders can pull lines or force renegotiation on worse terms. In a funding winter, that can spiral fast. Don’t borrow against hope or vanity. Borrow against math you can hit: payback periods inside 12-18 months, visibility on gross margin expansion, sales efficiency improving quarter-on-quarter, and a realistic equity event or cash-flow breakeven inside the loan tenor.

We think this is good medicine for a market that binged on equity. It rewards operators who run tight ships and penalizes decks that confuse vibes for velocity.

Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

“Tera Dhyaan Kidhar Hai”: UPI App Curie Money Opens Access To All Users & Lxme Rolls Out UPI For Women

After creating ripples at the Global Fintech Fest 2025, Curie Money has flung open its UPI-cum-investment app to everyone, marking its official exit from beta.

Meanwhile, women-first fintech platform Lxme is rewriting the payments story with LxmePay, a UPI service designed exclusively for women. As both platforms go live, India’s fintech scene looks set for a more inclusive digital payments era.

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“Guess Who’s Back, Back Again”: Singapore HC Approves WazirX’s Restructuring Plan After $234 Mn Hack

More than a year after its $234 Mn hack, WazirX is finally turning the page. The Singapore High Court has approved the crypto exchange’s creditor-backed restructuring plan with a few tweaks, marking a major comeback moment for the troubled platform.

The ruling gives WazirX a fresh shot at rebuilding investor confidence and tightening its security armor.

Read more here

“Jai Bajrang Bali”: Amitabh Bachchan-led gaming studio is building Ramayana-inspired AAA game

Amitabh Bachchan-backed gaming studio, Tara Gaming, is diving deep into Indian mythology with a Ramayana-inspired AAA game, The Age of Bhaarat, in the works. Drawing inspiration from the global buzz around Black Myth: Wukong, the creators believe India’s epic tales hold untapped potential for immersive storytelling.

With Hollywood-scale ambition and desi mythos at its core, this could be India’s big leap into the global gaming spotlight.

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1. Proptech startup HouseEazy has raised ₹150 Cr ($16.9 Mn) in its Series B round led by Accel, with support from Chiratae Ventures and Antler. The fresh capital will help the platform expand operations beyond Delhi NCR and strengthen its home resale ecosystem.
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2. Drone tech startup Airbound has secured $8.6 Mn (₹76 Cr) in a seed round led by Lachy Groom, founder of Physical Intelligence. The funds will be used to scale its logistics drone manufacturing, with backing from investors linked to Tesla, Anduril, and Ather Energy.
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3. Edtech startup SpeakX has raised $16 Mn (₹142 Cr) in a pre-Series B round led by WestBridge Capital, with participation from Goodwater, Elevation, and prominent angels. The fresh funds will power its AI upgrades, team expansion, and rollout of English learning courses in multiple regional languages.
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4. Artha India Ventures has marked the first close of its ₹500 Cr Artha Venture Fund II at ₹250 Cr, securing commitments for half its target corpus. The fund plans to back 36 seed-stage startups across premium consumption, fintech infrastructure, applied AI, and deep tech sectors.
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5. Voice AI startup smallest.ai has raised $8 Mn in a seed round led by Sierra Ventures, with participation from 3one4 Capital and Better Capital. Founded in 2023, the startup is building enterprise-grade text-to-speech and voice AI agents that already manage over 1 Mn calls across major sectors.
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