India's Toy Boom, Flutter’s Layoffs, AdvantEdge’s Maiden Fund

For decades, India treated toys like a cottage industry - small clusters, low innovation, and almost no global ambition. China owned the market with 70-75% dominance, while India barely touched 0.3% of global exports. But in the last four years, something has shifted. Toy factories are moving from Shenzhen to Noida. Global retailers are sampling Indian suppliers. And Indian startups are building toy-tech products that look nothing like the “plastic India” of the past.

The move began with geopolitics. COVID wrecked China-centric supply chains, shipping costs spiked, and US retailers started looking for alternatives. Vietnam and Indonesia benefitted, but India quietly slipped into the shortlist. The government pushed hard - import duty on toys increased from 20% to 60%, BIS certification became mandatory, and toy clusters emerged in Noida, Koppal, and Coimbatore. Suddenly, India became a realistic option for global sourcing.

Between FY15 and FY24, exports jumped over 250% to ₹1,600+ crore. Still tiny versus China’s scale, but enough to get the attention of Walmart, Target, IKEA, and Hamleys. And importantly, India’s exports are moving beyond soft toys and plastic animals into STEM toys, AR toys, electronic toys, and IoT-enabled products.

This is where startups like Mirana, PlayShifu, and Smartivity change the script. A decade ago, India building high-end smart toys was unthinkable. Today, these startups are building full-stack ecosystems - design, electronics, content, apps, firmware, assembly, packaging, everything. They’re not outsourcing the hard parts to China anymore.

Mirana, for example, started by building electronic toys with global quality but Indian cost structures. Revenue grew from ₹24 crore to ₹104 crore between FY21 and FY24. It is now building a massive 2.3 lakh sq. ft. factory in Noida with SMT lines, molding, assembly, and testing - the kind of vertical integration India lacked. If the country wants to be a toy-export hub, this is the model it needs.

PlayShifu took a different route, becoming the global face of Indian toy-tech. Its AR-based learning toys sell in 35+ countries, backed by $30 million in funding. Smartivity’s STEM toys now reach 20 countries and have become acquisition targets. These brands have proven that Indian toys can have real IP, global packaging standards, and premium price points. Something the traditional toy sector never achieved.

But challenges remain. India is still young in quality consistency, safety compliance, and precision electronics - areas China perfected over decades. Smart toys add complexity: firmware bugs, child-safety rules, app-store restrictions, sensors, batteries, environmental testing. One design flaw can wipe out an entire batch.

Indian consumers also hesitate on premium toys. A ₹3,000 AR toy is not an easy sell in most households. Exports require 6-9 month cycles, which means founders need capital discipline in a hardware-heavy business that punishes speed. Many toy-tech startups will eventually learn the truth that every hardware founder learns - building is exciting; scaling is brutal.

Still, the opportunity is real. China’s dominance is weakening. Vietnam and Indonesia will compete, but India has a chance to leapfrog by building not just factories, but innovation-led toy companies. If Mirana can own manufacturing and PlayShifu can own IP, India can build a capability advantage rather than a labor-cost advantage.

That’s the real transformation. India isn’t rising in toys because it’s cheaper - it’s rising because its startups are producing high-quality, export-ready, tech-heavy toys at global standards. After decades of being an afterthought in a China-controlled industry, India finally has a seat at the table.

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.

“Apna Apna Dekh Lo”: Junglee Games Parent Flutter Sheds 350 Jobs In Post-RMG Ban Recast

Flutter’s decision to cut 350 jobs lands like a heavy silence across an industry already reeling from the real money gaming ban. Those who remain are being absorbed into the Hyderabad GCC or reassigned to support a free to play model that feels like a reluctant new chapter.

Junglee Games had already withdrawn its rummy operations after the Act came into force, marking a somber turning point for a once booming segment.

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“Waah Kya Scene Hai”: AdvantEdge’s Maiden Fund Reaps 11X Returns, Buoyed By Rapido Partial Exit

AdvantEdge’s first fund just turned into a quiet little legend, clocking an 11.5X MOIC and sending back over three times the paid in capital to its LPs. Rapido was the real comet in the portfolio, delivering a stunning 111X return and a sixty seven percent IRR that feels almost mythic in today’s market.

Launched in 2015 with a modest $11 Mn vision, the fund’s early bets on Chalo, Baaz, and Zingbus now read like the opening notes of a well played symphony.

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“Udta Hi Phiroon”: PM Modi To Unveil Skyroot’s First Orbital Rocket, Vikram-I

PM Modi is set to unveil Skyroot’s Vikram I, a moment that signals how far a young startup has carried its quiet, determined dream of spaceflight.

He’ll also inaugurate a sprawling two lakh square foot facility built to design, assemble, and test launch vehicles with the calm confidence of producing one orbital rocket a month. Skyroot, founded in 2018 and already South Asia’s first private player to reach space, now stands at the edge of its first true orbital leap.

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1. Fintech startup axiTrust has raised ₹23.5 Cr in seed funding from investors including General Catalyst and Atrium Angels. It’s building digital rails to help surety bonds flow smoothly across India’s banking, insurance, and procurement networks.

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2. Toy tech startup Mirana has raised ₹57.5 Cr to build a high tech manufacturing hub for its AI infused robots and AR powered cars. With global brands drifting away from China, the team hopes to turn this moment into a wider international foothold.

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3. EV maker 3ev has raised ₹120 Cr in a Series A round led by Mahanagar Gas Limited to bolster its manufacturing muscle. With revenue and sales nearly doubling in FY25, the startup now looks ready to scale its fleet with far greater ambition.

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4. Arctus Aerospace has raised $2.6 Mn to advance its high altitude UAVs built for long endurance Earth observation missions. Backed by names from Version One Ventures to Balaji Srinivasan, the startup is now pushing toward aircraft that can quietly watch the planet from 45,000 feet for a full day.

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5. Neo Group has secured $25 Mn in its third fundraise of the year, led by Crystal Investment Advisors with a hefty ₹193 crore contribution. The Mumbai based wealth and asset manager now looks set to deepen its momentum after an already busy fundraising streak.

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6. immunitoAI has raised $6.1 Mn to push its AI driven antibody therapeutics, with major backing from Ashish Kacholia, pi Ventures, and Anicut. The startup now aims to design disease specific antibodies entirely from scratch, stepping past the old dependence on animal or human sources.

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