The Sweet Change Raises ₹70 Lakhs in Funding Led By IAN Angel Fund

IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, has led a ₹70 lakhs early-stage funding round in The Sweet Change, India's cleanest natural sweetener brand, along with participation from Udaan Angel Partners.

The company plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen product development, expand its presence across e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms, grow brand awareness, and build a larger team as it scales operations across India.

Founded in 2024 by Manvi Agnihotri (Co-founder & CEO) and Sheen Hitashi (Co-founder & CBO), The Sweet Change was born out of a problem, observed at both a personal and professional level, that the co-founder Ms. Agnihotri witnessed closely during her years as a clinical nutritionist. Over the last 12 years, she has worked with more than 11,000+ patients dealing with diabetes, PCOS, insulin resistance, obesity, and lifestyle-related health conditions. One common challenge she repeatedly saw was the struggle to reduce sugar consumption without giving up taste.

The investment by IAN Angel Fund was driven by the growing demand for healthier food choices and the increasing awareness around metabolic health in India. The fund saw strong potential in the company’s clean-label positioning, differentiated product approach, and the founders’ deep understanding of consumer pain points.

The fund also viewed them as an emerging player in a category that is expected to see long-term growth as Indian consumers are increasingly moving towards preventive healthcare, fitness-focused lifestyles, and better nutritional choices. The company’s early customer adoption, repeat purchase trends, and capital-efficient growth further strengthened investor confidence.

Today, the company offers products made with natural ingredients, while avoiding artificial sweeteners. Its products are positioned as zero calorie, zero-sugar, zero-glycemic alternatives designed for health-conscious consumers as well as people managing medical and lifestyle conditions.

Manvi Agnihotri, Co-founder & CEO, The Sweet Change, said –

India deserves a sweetener it can trust. For 12 years, I watched people fail to quit sugar, not because they lacked discipline, but because the market failed them. This investment let us fix that - and put a clean, honest sweetener in every Indian kitchen that struggled to avoid sugar.

The Sweet Change has demonstrated strong early traction within a short span of launch. In just over a year, the brand has crossed ₹1.5 crore in revenue and fulfilled 12,000+ orders across India through its website alone. Built with a capital-efficient D2C model, the company is now gearing up to scale further through marketplaces and quick-commerce expansion.

For the Co-founder Sheen Hitaishi, the focus has been on building a brand that makes healthier choices simpler and more approachable for consumers.

While several sugar substitutes existed in the market, many contained artificial ingredients, had an unpleasant bitter aftertaste, or failed to build long-term consumer trust. This gap led to the creation of The Sweet Change, a brand focused on offering cleaner, more transparent, and better-tasting sugar alternatives for Indian consumers.

The company plans to continue expanding its omnichannel presence across D2C, marketplaces, and quick commerce, while also exploring opportunities in cafés, hospitality, and institutional partnerships over time.

About The Sweet Change

Founded by a clinical nutritionist after working with 11,000+ patients struggling with diabetes, PCOS, insulin resistance, and other lifestyle disorders, The Sweet Change was built on a powerful belief: people should never have to choose between health and sweetness.

The Sweet Change is building India’s next-generation clean sweetener brand creating natural alternatives that deliver the taste and experience of sugar, without the spike, guilt, or compromise. With a strong focus on clean ingredients, trust, and everyday usability, the brand is making healthier sweetness simple, enjoyable, and accessible for modern Indian consumers.Vision is to lead India’s shift away from refined sugar and build the country’s most trusted clean-sweetness brand for the next generation.

Mission

To bring healthier sweetness into 600 million Indian homes by creating products that make reducing sugar effortless, sustainable, and joyful - without compromising on taste.

About IAN Angel Fund

IAN Angel Fund, the evergreen fund of IAN Group, is a SEBI-registered Category I AIF and part of India’s leading early-stage investment platform, which pioneered angel investing in the country. Today, IAN invests through its Angel Fund and venture capital funds, backed by a network of ~500 investors, including iconic entrepreneurs and industry leaders from India and overseas. The platform enables founders to raise capital from ₹50 lakh to ₹50 crore as they scale, while offering investors a diversified early- stage portfolio across both emerging and growth-stage startups.

About IAN Group

IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage investments, comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and a series of SEBI-registered venture capital funds, including the US$100 million IAN Alpha Fund. IAN supports entrepreneurs with capital, mentoring by experienced founders, and access to global markets. Forbes has recognised IAN as one of the most iconic business and economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, alongside institutions such as LIC, NASSCOM, the RBI, and Naukri.com.

ICICI Lombard & IIM Kozhikode Ignite Innovation with Season 4 Case‑Study Challenge on Account Aggregator Framework

• Receives 1,900+ Registrations from 35+ premier institutes of the country

ICICI Lombard, one of India's leading private general insurer, has concluded the Season 4 edition of its flagship business case-study competition, IL IGNITING MINDS, in collaboration with IIM Kozhikode – one of India's premier management institutes. Designed to give young innovators a real-world platform to solve meaningful industry challenges, the initiative received 1,900+ student registrations from 35+ unique premier institutes across India.

The theme for this year's challenge, "Leveraging the Account Aggregator (AA) Framework to Transform Insurance", invited students from IIMs and IITs to explore how the AA framework can reshape key insurance functions — Underwriting, Distribution, and Claims — across Health, Home, Motor, and SME Insurance verticals.

Launched under the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Account Aggregator framework enables individuals and businesses to securely and seamlessly share their financial data through a consent-based mechanism. While insurance is inherently a data-driven industry, insurers often face challenges in accessing accurate, timely, and comprehensive information during critical processes such as underwriting, distribution, and claims. Much of this relevant data — including income details, credit history, transaction patterns, and business performance — remains fragmented across multiple financial institutions. By enabling insurers, as Financial Information Users, to access customer-permitted data from Financial Information Providers through secure and consent-driven data sharing, the AA ecosystem holds significant potential to transform how insurance products are designed, distributed, and serviced.

Through this competition, ICICI Lombard sought to foster innovation, bridge the gap between academia and industry, discover strategic opportunities, and identify high-potential talent who can contribute to shaping the future of insurance in India. For participants, the competition offered a platform to apply analytical thinking, creativity, and business acumen to real-world challenges, gain exposure to the evolving insurance ecosystem, and collaborate with industry leaders driving digital transformation.

Building on past editions conducted with institutes such as IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, NMIMS, and IIT Bombay (E-Cell), the IIM Kozhikode edition marks yet another significant step in expanding the competition's reach across India's top campuses.

Ms. Sheena Kapoor – Head Marketing, Corporate Communications & CSR, ICICI Lombard, said, “Season 4 of IL Igniting Minds reaffirmed our belief that the future of insurance will be shaped by a powerful blend of technology, trust, and human insight. With over 1,900+ student registrations from 35+ premier institutions, including leading IIMs and IITs, we witnessed young minds engaging deeply with this year’s case study topic — ‘Leveraging the Account Aggregator Framework to Transform Insurance.’

What stood out was their ability to look beyond efficiency and focus on making insurance more accessible, intuitive, and relevant to people’s everyday financial lives. Their ideas reflected not just innovation, but also empathy and responsibility — qualities that will define the next chapter of the industry. For us, IL Igniting Minds is more than a competition; it is a window into the thinking and leadership of the next generation.”

IL Igniting Minds business case-study competition, Season 4 was conducted at ICICI Lombard Head Office, where the finalist teams had an opportunity to showcase their ideas to the senior management of the company.

ICICI Bank and Visa launch first USD-denominated debit card for NRI customers of GIFT City IBU

• Zero markup on USD transactions done on PoS and e-commerce with global acceptance
• Access to Visa Infinite privileges with advanced security controls

ICICI Bank, in partnership with Visa, announced the launch of India’s first USD-denominated debit card from its IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) at GIFT City, the emerging global financial and IT services hub in Gujarat. This milestone reinforces the Bank’s commitment to offer innovative global banking solutions for Non-Resident Indian (NRI) customers.

This first-of-its-kind debit card is linked to ICICI Bank’s USD Global Savings Account offered through the Bank’s IBU. Built on Visa’s premium Infinite platform, the card enables seamless global transactions and provides liquidity by allowing NRIs to access their USD savings in the bank account for usage worldwide at ATMs, PoS and e-commerce platforms. The launch marks a significant step in expanding secure, seamless, and premium offshore payment solutions for NRIs.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Vipul Agarwal, Head – Cards and Payment Solutions at ICICI Bank said: “ICICI Bank has consistently focused on creating innovative banking solutions that caters to the evolving global financial needs of NRIs. As global mobility increases, NRIs often face currency conversion costs and fragmented international banking experiences. This USD‑denominated debit card represents an important step in providing customers with seamless access to their USD savings. Our collaboration with Visa enables us to combine global acceptance with premium security and service standards, while further strengthening GIFT City’s position as a leading international financial hub.”

Mr. Rishi Chhabra, Country Manager for India at Visa, added: “Visa is proud to partner with ICICI Bank to launch the first USD‑denominated debit card issued from GIFT City’s IFSC, built on our premium Visa Infinite platform. As cross‑border financial needs continue to grow, this solution enables Non‑Resident Indians to access and spend their US Dollar savings globally with greater convenience, transparency, and control. By leveraging ICICI Bank’s wide reach and Visa’s global network, we are supporting India’s vision of building world‑class financial infrastructure and expanding globally connected payment experiences from GIFT City.”

Key benefits of the debit card:

• Global usage:
• Zero markup on USD transactions at PoS and e-commerce worldwide. 
• Acceptable across domestic and international ATMs, PoS terminals and e-commerce platforms. 
• Multi-currency usability for seamless purchases across the globe. 
• Security and control:
• EMV chip-enabled technology compliant with regulatory standards. 
• Ability to enable/disable ATM, PoS, e-commerce and contactless usage through GIFT City Net Banking. 
• Option to set daily transaction limits for enhanced flexibility. 
• Exclusive privileges: Access to Visa Infinite privileges including exclusive offers from participating global brands and curated travel and lifestyle benefits

New and existing USD Global Savings Account holders with ICICI Bank are eligible for this debit card.

To know more about the card, please visit https://www.giftcity.icici.bank.in/faqs?ITM=nli_nriBanking_na_footer_2_CMS_customerServices_faqs_NLI

ICICI Bank’s IFSC International Banking Unit (IBU) at GIFT City offers various products for NRI customers including Global Savings Accounts in multiple currencies, fixed deposits, loan against deposits (LAD) and investments.

For more information on ICICI Bank’s offerings at GIFT City, please visit www.giftcity.icici.bank.in or contact your Relationship Manager.

Lighthouse Canton Unveils ₹1,200 Cr LC Luminere Credit Fund to Power India’s Next Private Credit Growth Wave

• Third private credit fund in India which shall focus on making structured credit investments in mid to large corporates. 
• Positions for India’s next phase of private credit growth with a disciplined, risk-first strategy. 
• Seeks to capitalize on structural demand for private credit amid evolving lending landscape in India
• Fund has warehoused its first investment with a robust near-term pipeline across industrials, conglomerates, and consumer companies
• Aims to deliver high teen returns through senior secured lending to high-quality companies

Lighthouse Canton, a global investment institution with over USD 5 billion in assets under management, including several pan Asia credit and hybrid funds, today announced the launch of a SEBI registered LC Luminere Credit Fund, a Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) focused on capitalizing India’s fast-growing private credit market. The fund is targeting a corpus of INR 1,200 crore (USD 130 million), including a greenshoe option, with a tenure of six years (average deal tenure of around three years). The fund shall make structured credit investments in mid-to-large companies and aims to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns, with stable periodic cash yield.

India’s private credit market has witnessed significant growth, driven by a structural credit supply gap, regulatory constraints on traditional lenders, and increasing demand for non-dilutive capital among mid-sized enterprises and their promoters. The fund is designed to address this through senior secured structured credit strategies that combine predictable income with equity-like returns. LC Luminere Credit Fund strategy is centered on senior secured lending to real-economy companies, supported by robust collateral. The fund will deploy capital across growth, acquisition, sponsor-backed, refinancing, and cross-border opportunities, among others.

The fund brings significant experience in emerging market credit investing, alongside institutional governance and global perspectives that strengthen Lighthouse Canton’s alternatives platform. LC Luminere Credit Fund will invest in high-quality companies with strong governance, leadership, and proven operating histories.

Sanket Sinha, Managing Director & CEO, Global Asset Management

Commenting on the fund launch, Sanket Sinha, Managing Director & CEO, Global Asset Management, Lighthouse Canton, said, “India is entering a pivotal phase of private credit expansion, supported by strong macro fundamentals and a widening gap between credit demand and supply. LC Luminere Credit Fund is designed to deliver consistent, risk-adjusted returns by focusing on fundamentally strong businesses and disciplined credit underwriting. We believe this is the right fund at the right time, built for India's credit cycle and backed by the institutional depth to deliver.”

Pranob Gupta, Managing Director, Business Head - India Alternatives (Credit & Hybrid Strategies), Lighthouse Canton

Speaking on the fund deployment strategy, Pranob Gupta, Managing Director and Business Head – India Alternatives, Lighthouse Canton, said, "Our strategy is rooted in capital preservation, strong structuring, and deep sponsor diligence. We aim to provide investors access to institutional-grade private credit opportunities while offering borrowers flexible, non-dilutive capital solutions. With a highly selective investment approach, we aim to deploy capital in a limited number of high-conviction opportunities."

The fund is led by a dedicated investment team with strong track record of successfully deploying over USD 2 billion in special situations and structured debt investing across top tier financial institutions.

Lighthouse Canton's private credit strategies are backed by an extensive origination network, with access to over 500 issuer relationships and 1,000+ promoter families, enabling a strong pipeline of proprietary deal flow. With the investment institution's pan-Asia alternatives platform and capabilities, the fund has already warehoused its first investments and has a robust pipeline across sectors like industrials, conglomerates, and consumer companies.

About Lighthouse Canton

Lighthouse Canton is a global investment institution with wealth and asset management capabilities. We employ over 220 experienced professionals across our offices in Singapore, Dubai, India, and London, and currently oversee over US$ 5 bn worth of assets under management (as of 31st October 2025). Lighthouse Canton creates value through innovative investment solutions for accredited private clients, institutional investors, and an ecosystem of founders and entrepreneurs globally.

Lighthouse Canton’s Asset Management business comprises strong internal product capabilities in hedge funds, private equity, traditional fundamental analysis, investing through multiple strategies in real estate private equity, private credit, venture capital, growth debt, public equities, and global macros.

Its Wealth Management business caters to accredited investors including corporates, ultra-high net worth individuals, families and family offices, founders, and entrepreneurs, to help with their personal and business investments, estates, and philanthropic needs, providing them with tailored investment advisory, portfolio management, treasury, business, and family office solutions.

Its advisory and capital solutions business serves families and family-owned enterprises and early to late-stage corporates with strategic and M&A advisory, restructuring and refinancing, and strategic capital solutions. The business provides tailored financing solutions across the capital structure with varying degrees of complexity along with bespoke lending solutions designed to address sophisticated capital needs.

Lighthouse Canton Pte Ltd is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”). Lighthouse Canton Capital (DIFC) Pte Ltd is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”). LC Capital India Pte Ltd is regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”). Lighthouse Canton UK Limited is regulated by Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”).

For more information visit www.lighthouse-canton.com

Cisco Open-Sources Foundry Security Spec: Agentic AI Framework for Verifiable Cybersecurity

Cisco has open-sourced its Foundry Security Spec, a blueprint for AI-powered cybersecurity evaluation that helps organizations move from noisy, unverifiable alerts to structured, auditable security findings.

This initiative is designed to counter machine-speed vulnerabilities introduced by frontier AI models and empower defenders globally.  

What Is the Foundry Security Spec?

• Open-source specification for building agentic security evaluation systems.
• Model-agnostic and stack-neutral → works with any large language model (LLM) or infrastructure.
• Published as two artifacts:
  • Spec.md → defines 8 core agent roles, 5 extension roles, ~130 functional requirements.
  • Constitution.md → 11 inviolable principles tied to real-world failures Cisco encountered.

Why It Matters

• Traditional “find and patch” cycles can’t keep pace with attackers exploiting vulnerabilities at machine speed.
• Frontier LLMs often produce hallucinated findings and unbounded outputs.
• Foundry’s solution: Wraps AI models in orchestration, roles, and guardrails → ensures bounded, prioritized, verifiable findings with clear “done” signals.

How Defenders Can Use It

• Integration with GitHub’s spec-kit → enables spec-driven workflows.
• Pairing with Project CodeGuard → creates a detection-to-prevention flywheel:
  • Foundry’s exploratory agents detect novel vulnerabilities.
  • CodeGuard rules generalize these into reusable protections.
  • Future scans catch entire bug classes upfront, preventing issues at the keystroke.

Key Features at a Glance

Feature	Benefit
Agent roles	Structured orchestration for detection, validation, reporting
Constitution principles	Guardrails based on real-world failures
Auditable provenance	Traceable chain from detection to publication
Coverage signals	Clear thresholds for completion
Model-agnostic design	Works across Anthropic’s Mythos, OpenAI GPT-5.5-Cyber, and future LLMs

Global Impact

• Collaborative defense: Cisco emphasizes cybersecurity as a “team sport.”
• Standardization trend: Aligns with initiatives like OpenAI’s Daybreak, signaling shared benchmarks in AI security.
• Community-driven: Available on GitHub, inviting contributions from developers and security teams worldwide.

Risks & Considerations

• Not a turnkey scanner → requires adaptation to each organization’s environment.
• Human oversight essential → AI agents must remain under governance of skilled professionals.
• Implementation responsibility lies with adopters; Cisco provides the blueprint, not a managed service.

Next Steps

• Explore the GitHub repository to adapt Foundry for your environment.
• Pair with Project CodeGuard for continuous detection-prevention cycles.
• Follow Cisco’s AI security initiatives to stay aligned with evolving standards.