Arctus Aerospace has raised $2.6 million in a pre-seed round led by Version One Ventures, South Park Commons, gradCapital and several notable angels. The company is building large unmanned aircraft capable of flying at 45,000 feet for 24 hours. Arctus aims to offer low-cost, high-altitude Earth intelligence, addressing gaps left by expensive satellites and defence-grade HALE systems.

ONYA, a Bengaluru startup offering IGI-certified lab-grown diamond jewellery in BIS Hallmarked gold, has raised ₹5.5 crore in pre-seed funding led by Zeropearl VC. The capital will support offline expansion and new product lines. The round also saw participation from founders of MyGate, UrbanVault’s Amal Mishra and Crescendo Industries’ Alkendra Pratap Singh.

Online searches for Costco recalls spiked after a November notice resurfaced warning of possible plastic contamination in two refrigerated items, the Caesar Salad and the Chicken Sandwich with Caesar Salad. The products were labeled for sale between October 17 and November 9. The renewed panic follows an earlier recall of a private-label wine for potential bottle shattering.

The rivalry between Google and Nvidia is intensifying as competition in AI chips accelerates, influencing global markets, trade dynamics and investor sentiment. As tech giants explore new chip partnerships and concerns grow over valuation risks and potential AI bubbles, the impact is felt across emerging markets, including India, where automation and geopolitical shifts pose economic challenges.

Zscaler shares fell nearly 8% after hours despite beating Q1 expectations, as investors grew cautious following the stock's 60% YTD rally. ARR rose 26% to $3.2 billion, driven by Zero Trust and AI security demand. The company also adopted a lower 21% adjusted tax rate under the new One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but sentiment still turned mixed.

Mirana Toys, founded by Devansh Sharma and Ravi Yadav, has raised ₹57.5 crore in a Series A round led by Arkam Ventures with Accel, Info Edge and Riverwalk Holdings. The funding will expand its tech-driven toy lineup and build a new manufacturing facility, boosting exports and strengthening India’s fast-growing toy-tech sector.

LightSpeed Photonics has raised $6.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by pi Ventures, with participation from 500 Global, Indian Accelerator, 8X Ventures, Java Capital and Bay Area angels. Founded in 2021 by Rohin Y and Ramana Pamidighantam, the deep-tech startup builds optical interconnect technology to enable faster, energy-efficient data transfer for AI and HPC systems.

Kala Bio jumped 22% after hours after securing emergency financing that prevents its lender from seizing assets following a default linked to the collapse of its KPI-012 Phase 2 eye disease trial. The two-stage preferred stock deal provides up to $6 million, restructures debts, and brings in turnaround-focused leadership to stabilize operations.

Nutanix shares plunged over 16% after hours after the company posted mixed results and issued a weaker-than-expected outlook, attributing the shortfall to revenue shifting into future periods. Despite the drop, retail traders remained optimistic, citing strong bookings and accelerating ARR. If losses hold, Nutanix could fall below $50 for the first time since August 2024.

CleanSpark shares fell 2.3% after hours after its Q4 revenue of $223.7 million missing expectations of $227.1 million. The miner posted a $900,000 loss, compared with a large profit last quarter driven by Bitcoin valuation gains. The company continued expanding operations, and its CFO said onboarding the first offtake customer is a matter of when, not if.