Google, Accel team up to back Indian AI startups, SBI Ventures’ next climate tech fund

An AI generated image for illustrating an Indian startups co-working space.(00:20) Google, Accel to co-invest in Indian AI startupsGoogle and Accel will co-invest in at least 10 early-stage Indian AI startups through a new partnership between Google’s AI Futures Fund and Accel’s Atoms programme, with up to 2 million dollars available per company.The tie-up, based in Bengaluru, is Google’s first such funding collaboration and follows its $15 billion India data-centre commitment and broader push to tap the country’s nearly one billion internet users.Listen to the episodeSpotifyYouTube(00:54) India’s largest bank to launch next climate startup fundSBI Ventures, promoted by State Bank of India and headquartered in Mumbai, intends to raise Rs. 2,000 crore for its third climate-focused investment fund launching in January-March 2026. The fund will invest in early and growth-stage climate startups, particularly frontier climate technologies and AI-enabled innovations.SBI Ventures identified critical funding deficits in water security, climate-smart agriculture, and disaster-proof infrastructure, targeting an estimated $170 billion annual requirement.(01:34) Bio-based coastal concrete material nurtures marine lifeResearchers at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research in Yerseke tested Xiriton, a bio-based concrete alternative made from grass, shells, sand, lime, pozzolan, and seawater, for tidal restoration.After a year, blocks deployed on mudflats were densely colonised by oysters, mussels, and algae while withstanding strong currents, suggesting a durable, degradable, low-alkaline material for greener coastal protection.(02:10) German defence drone startup nears €200m raise Munich-based Quantum Systems is close to securing about €200 million in new funding at a roughly $3 billion valuation, just months after becoming a unicorn. The dual-use surveillance drone maker, founded in 2015, is riding Europe’s defence spending boom as governments seek homegrown aerial intelligence, with annual revenue reportedly growing triple digits on the back of contracts in Ukraine and other NATO markets.(02:42) Europe backs optical vortex photonics networkTampere University in Finland will lead HiPOVor, a €4.4 million EU-funded doctoral network to advance high‑power optical vortex beams and train 15 researchers in photonics.The Europe‑wide consortium of eight universities, the ELI‑NP laser facility in Romania, and nine industry partners aims to turn twisting light beams into core tools for precision manufacturing, particle acceleration, and high‑capacity communications from 2026.