Freehand Raises $75M to Scale AI Teams Managing Supply Chain Spend for Fortune 500 Companies

• Freehand's AI Agents autonomously manage supply-chain spend for Meta, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Dunkin', Pfizer and Cardinal Health

Freehand, whose AI agents manage supply-chain spend for Fortune 500 enterprises, today announced $75 million in funding co-led by Battery Ventures and NewRoad Capital Partners, with participation from former U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker’s venture capital PSP Growth, Nexus Venture Partners and others.

American companies spend more than $20 trillion a year on the raw materials, logistics, data centers and services that power the U.S. economy, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. For decades, supply chain spend has been managed on legacy software and armies of outsourced labor. Freehand replaces this machinery with autonomous AI Teams that make decisions and take action to negotiate rates, enforce contracts, manage suppliers, process payments, and reconcile data within enterprise systems.

This financing round follows Freehand’s recent emergence from stealth with global deployments at Meta, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Dunkin' and Cardinal Health, as tariffs, taxes and immigration policies put increasing strain on the outsourcing model that has historically run global supply chains. Across early deployments, customers have recovered 5-10% of spend in complex categories, completed workflows 5–7x faster, and reduced procure-to-pay cycles by more than 70%. As a result, organizations are redeploying their employees to higher-value work while reducing traditional outsourcing and BPO contracts.

Freehand solves one problem exceptionally well: replacing the outsourced labor and legacy software used to audit and pay invoices across the supply chain. Its AI agents run the entire workflow - reading contracts, negotiating with suppliers, identifying leakage, processing payments and closing the loop with procurement - replacing outsourced teams and legacy tools that cost organizations tens of millions a year.

"Freehand marks one of the first full-scale agentic deployments at Unilever and is an early anchor in the shift from software that assists to software that runs our supply chain," said Matt Algar, Global VP of Supply Chain at Unilever.

"Enterprises spend $16 billion a year on supply chain software and another $348 billion hiring people to do what this software cannot," said Nitin Jayakrishnan, co-founder and CEO of Freehand. "We built Freehand to close that gap – with AI Agents that decide, act and take accountability for outcomes. This is the beginning of true autonomy in the enterprise." Nitin previously built Pando, an enterprise SaaS platform for logistics."

"The very nature of work is changing, with AI," said Abhijeet Manohar, co-founder of Freehand. "Shifting from building software for the user to building software that is the user meant we could drive far deeper transformation for our customers. The difference between an agent that acts and a chatbot that suggests is context."

Freehand's central IP is its Category Context Graph, which captures every decision, transaction and exception across a spend category. By unifying the unstructured data buried in documents and communication channels with the structured data in enterprise systems, it gives the agents the situational knowledge of a tenured supply-chain expert, along with an audit trail explaining every decision. Every AI agent Freehand deploys is built on and continuously enriches the graph, creating a compounding intelligence effect where each decision improves the accuracy, context autonomy of the next.

Abhishek Sharma, Partner, Nexus Venture Partners, said, “As an early investor, we’ve had a front-row seat to Nitin and Abhi’s evolution from freight software to AI Teams that run complex procurement, finance, and operations workflows for Fortune 500 companies. Freehand represents a fundamental shift, from software that assists people to autonomous teams that own outcomes, and is poised to reshape hundreds of billions of dollars in software and labor spend.”

"In Freehand we found an applied-AI company with a vertical wedge and tremendous customer love, proven at some of the world's largest companies where early signs of expansion were playing out," said Dharmesh Thakker, General Partner at Battery Ventures, who is joining Freehand's board. "Unlike co-pilots that simply answer questions, Freehand's Agents have enterprise context, make decisions, and take actions – this agency unlocks millions in savings for enterprises."

"What stood out to us about Freehand wasn't just the technology, but the measurable business outcomes customers were achieving," said Gregoire Lehmann, partner at NewRoad Capital Partners. "Freehand is delivering immediate ROI by helping enterprises reduce overpayments and operating costs, improve audit accuracy, and automate highly manual supply chain finance workflows. We believe the company is well positioned to become the category leader in AI-native supply chain spend management, and we're excited to leverage NewRoad's deep network of enterprises to help expand the company's enterprise footprint."

“America’s industrial competitiveness relies on how effectively our largest companies operate," said Penny Pritzker, Founder and Chairman of PSP Partners & PSP Growth. "Freehand is one of a few companies converting frontier AI into measurable productivity gains across enterprise supply chains, with rigor, scale and accountability.”

About Freehand

Freehand builds autonomous AI agents that run supply-chain spend for the world's largest enterprises — taking on procurement, supplier management, invoice and payment operations across complex categories such as logistics, direct materials and MRO. Built on Freehand's Category Context Graph, the agents reason across structured and unstructured data, understand contracts and policies, and execute decisions directly in collaboration tools and enterprise systems, delivering measurable savings and fully auditable outcomes without adding headcount or outsourcing contracts. Headquartered in San Francisco, Freehand is backed by Battery Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, NewRoad Capital Partners and others. Learn more at https://www.freehand.ai.

India Expands Nuclear Power: 10 Reactors Under Construction, 8,000 MW Capacity in Pipeline

India is accelerating its nuclear energy expansion with 10 reactors under construction totaling 8,000 MW, backed by the landmark SHANTI Act (2025) and a long-term mission to achieve 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047. This positions India as a global leader in clean, reliable, and advanced nuclear technologies.

Moreover, the Government has already announced measures for enabling R&D in SMRs (Small Modular Reactors) and new advanced technologies. Towards the expansion of Fast Breeder Reactors, Government of India has approved the pre-project activities of 2 x 500 MW FBR 1 & 2 at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu.

Current Nuclear Projects (2026)

• Three reactors (2,100 MW) began commercial operations in 2023–24.
• Ten reactors (8,000 MW) are under construction across five states:

State	Location	Project	Capacity (MW)
Gujarat	Kakrapar	KAPP-3 & 4	2 × 700
Rajasthan	Rawatbhata	RAPP-7 & 8	2 × 700
Tamil Nadu	Kudankulam	KKNPP-3 & 4	2 × 1000
	Kudankulam	KKNPP-5 & 6	2 × 1000
	Kalpakkam	PFBR-1	1 × 500
Karnataka	Kaiga	Kaiga-5 & 6	2 × 700
Haryana	Gorakhpur	GHAVP-1 & 2	2 × 700

Policy & Legislative Framework

• SHANTI Act 2025: Modernizes India’s nuclear laws, allows limited private participation, and strengthens regulation via statutory recognition of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
• Nuclear Energy Mission (2025–26): Allocated ₹20,000 crore for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), aiming for at least five indigenous SMRs operational by 2033.

Technological Milestones

• Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam achieved first criticality in April 2026, marking India’s entry into Stage 2 of its Three-Stage Nuclear Programme.
• Stage 1: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs).
• Stage 2: Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs).
• Stage 3: Thorium-based reactors leveraging India’s vast thorium reserves.

Global Significance

• India is now only the second country after Russia to operate a commercial fast breeder reactor.
• Nuclear power contributes ~3% of India’s electricity mix, with installed capacity at 8.78 GW (2025). Planned expansion will raise this to 22.38 GW by 2031–32.
• By 2047, India targets 100 GW nuclear capacity, aligning with its net-zero emissions goal by 2070.

Engagement & Innovation

• Private sector participation: Enabled under SHANTI Act, fostering collaboration with industries and research institutions.
• SMRs for diverse applications: Including hydrogen generation, repurposing fossil-fuel plants, and powering remote regions.
• Human resource development: Training programs at BARC and fellowship schemes ensure a skilled workforce for nuclear innovation.

Conclusion

India’s nuclear journey reflects a dual strategy: scaling large reactors for base-load power while pioneering SMRs and thorium-based technologies for sustainable growth. With 10 reactors under construction, PFBR operational milestones, and the SHANTI Act opening doors to wider participation, India is positioning itself as a global leader in clean nuclear energy.

Cochin Shipyard Launches 7th Anti-submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft for Indian Navy

Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) today marked another significant milestone in its shipbuilding journey with the launch of the seventh Anti-Submarine Warfare vessel ‘Machilipatnam’, in a series of eight being constructed for the Indian Navy.

The ship was launched by Smt Goolrukh Anand and the ceremony was graced by Vice Admiral Atul Anand, PVSM, AVSM, VSM as the Chief Guest. Shri Jose VJ, Chairman and Managing Director, Cochin Shipyard Limited, Dr. Harikrishnan S, Dir (Ops) and Shri Rajesh Gopalakrishnan, Dir (Tech), CSL, Rear Admiral Deepak Singhal, VSM, CSO (Trg), HQSNC, Dr. C Pandi Selva Durai, IOFS, CVO, CSL, Senior officials of Southern Naval Command and IHQ MoD(N), Cmde Anup Menon, WPS (Kochi) and representatives of the Classification Society were present.

Cochin Shipyard Launches 7th Anti-submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft for Indian Navy

The launch of the seventh vessel underscores the steady progress of the prestigious project and reflects the close collaboration between Cochin Shipyard Limited and the Indian Navy in strengthening the nation's maritime capabilities. The ship is being built with a strong focus on quality, safety, and timely execution, reaffirming CSL's commitment to supporting the Government of India's vision of self-reliance in defence manufacturing and enhancing indigenous naval shipbuilding capabilities.

The ASW SWC ships are designed to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO) and Mine Laying Operations including subsurface surveillance. The Yard BY 529 has been named after old port city ‘Machilipatnam’ along India’s east coast located in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.

The vessel is 78.0 m long, 11.36 m wide with a draught of about 2.7 m. The displacement is about 900 tons, with a maximum speed of 25 knots and endurance of 1800 nautical miles. The ships are designed to fit indigenously developed and built state-of-the-art Hull Mounted Sonar and Low Frequency Variable Depth Sonar for underwater surveillance in line with Government policy of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’

JSW One Platforms Taps Bankers for $400M IPO

JSW One Platforms has appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, ICICI Securities, and SBI Capital Markets as advisors for its planned $350–400 million IPO, targeted for 2027, reported Mint on Wednesday. The offering will include both a fresh issue of shares and an offer for sale by existing shareholders.

JSW One Platforms is the JSW Group’s digital B2B commerce venture, founded in 2018 and headquartered in Mumbai. It operates as a marketplace and distribution platform for MSMEs in manufacturing and construction, combining materials procurement, logistics, and embedded finance.

IPO Details

• Advisors: Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets
• Size: $350–400 million (approx. ₹2,900–3,300 crore)
• Structure: Combination of fresh issue and offer for sale (OFS)
• Timeline: Listing expected in 2027
• Parent Context: Follows JSW Steel’s approval of a ₹811 crore stake sale in JSW One Platforms

Company Snapshot

• Business Model: Full-stack B2B marketplace for MSMEs in manufacturing and construction
• Ownership: JSW Group entities hold 78.76%, rest owned by funds and angel investors
• Financials: Net profit of ₹90 crore in FY26
• Growth: Became a unicorn in 2025 after raising ₹340 crore; later raised ₹575 crore in October 2025
• Expansion: Funds used to strengthen JSW One Finance Ltd, expand steel/cement supply chains, logistics, and MSME credit access. 

Financials & Growth

JSW One Platforms has shown rapid financial growth in recent years. In FY25, the company reported revenues of around ₹3,976–3,983 crore, marking a sharp 180% year-on-year increase. Its gross merchandise value (GMV) stood at ₹12,567 crore, reflecting strong traction in its B2B marketplace operations. By FY26, the company achieved a net profit of ₹90 crore, though this remains a relatively small contribution to JSW Steel’s consolidated earnings.

On the funding side, JSW One became a unicorn in May 2025 after raising ₹340 crore, followed by another ₹575 crore round in October 2025, which pushed its valuation to about $1.02 billion. The capital has been directed toward expanding JSW One Finance Ltd, strengthening supply chains in steel and cement, and enhancing logistics and credit access for MSMEs.

Market Context

• Sector Trend: B2B commerce firms like Moglix, OfBusiness, Zetwerk also eyeing IPOs
• Investor Interest: Bessemer Venture Partners projects $200 billion opportunity by 2030 in India’s B2B marketplaces
• Strategic Positioning: Aligns with JSW Group’s broader strategy of unlocking value through subsidiary listings

Risks & Considerations

• Market Volatility: IPO success depends on equity market sentiment in 2027
• Minor Contribution: JSW One’s profit contribution to JSW Steel remains small (0.35% of consolidated net profit)
• Execution Risks: Regulatory approvals and pricing decisions could delay or alter the offering

 Strategic Implications

• Liquidity Event: Enables JSW Steel to monetize its investment
• Capital Allocation: IPO proceeds expected to fund expansion in steel, cement, logistics, and fintech
• Group Strategy: Reinforces JSW Group’s push into digital B2B commerce alongside traditional steel operations

IPO Snapshot Table

Aspect	Details
Advisors	Kotak Mahindra Capital, JM Financial, ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets
IPO Size	$350–400 million (₹2,900–3,300 crore)
Structure	Fresh issue + Offer for Sale
Timeline	2027
Ownership	JSW Group 78.76%, rest funds/angels
FY26 Profit	₹90 crore

Lighthouse Canton Launches ‘Global Indian’ to Unite NRI Wealth Across Borders

Strengthens GIFT City Investment Capabilities

Lighthouse Canton, a global investment institution headquartered in Singapore, today announced the launch of Global Indian, a dedicated wealth management platform serving non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas investors whose financial affairs span multiple jurisdictions. The platform is the first expression of a broader ambition: to build the definitive cross-border wealth institution for globally mobile communities, wherever in the world they live.

The Indian diaspora, estimated at approximately 35 million individuals, is the largest in the world. According to Reserve Bank of India data, remittances to India reached a record USD 135 billion in FY2024-25, while NRI deposits exceeded USD 164 billion as of March 2025.

Despite the scale of this capital, the wealth of most NRI families remains structurally fragmented: banking relationships are maintained in the country of residence, custody arrangements span multiple geographies, and India-focused investments are frequently managed by a separate set of advisors. These arrangements seldom operate as a unified portfolio, and the burden of coordination falls on the family itself.

Global Indian has been established to address this fragmentation. The platform provides consolidated multi-jurisdictional reporting, cross-border wealth structuring, and a single advisory relationship encompassing both international and India-domiciled holdings, together with management of the attendant tax and regulatory requirements.

"NRI families frequently hold substantial wealth that is diminished in practice by fragmentation, as no single institution is accountable for the complete picture," said Sumegh Bhatia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer – India and Global Indian, Lighthouse Canton, who leads the business. "Global Indian has been designed so that a family resident in Dubai or London, with assets in Mumbai and Singapore, engages with one team, one consolidated view of its wealth, and one coherent set of decisions."

The platform serves both directions of the India capital corridor. NRIs and international investors are provided access to Indian markets through the organisation's regulated entities in India and at GIFT City IFSC, operating under IFSCA regulation. Indian resident investors are offered global diversification through the Liberalised Remittance Scheme and GIFT City frameworks. In conjunction with the launch, Lighthouse Canton has introduced a Systematic Global Equities Fund domiciled in GIFT City, offering Indian investors a tax-efficient, regulated avenue to participate in global equity markets.

“We understood this problem early because we come from the community we serve," said Shilpi Chowdhary, Group CEO, Lighthouse Canton. "India's diaspora represents one of the most significant and consistently underserved wealth management opportunities in the world; a community whose financial lives span multiple geographies but has rarely been served as one integrated picture.

"Over the past decade, we have structurally built the infrastructure to change that, a regulated platform across five jurisdictions, a presence across India's key cities, and Keenai, our proprietary wealth technology platform purpose-built to consolidate and manage cross-border wealth.

"Global Indian is the first expression of that capability; and our ambition extends beyond it. We are building Lighthouse Canton to be the institution that globally mobile communities turn to first, wherever significant wealth meets significant complexity. Our commitment to the Global Indian community is to make their experience seamless, connected and frictionless, and to be the number one institution in this space."

Abhay Laijawala, Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer – India, Lighthouse Canton, added, “India’s transformation is unlocking powerful investment opportunities beyond the benchmark indices. Across defence, AI infrastructure, formalisation and financial inclusion, a new generation of mid-cap companies has the potential to outperform the larger market over the next three years. For globally mobile Indians who combine on-the-ground familiarity with India's evolving market and global thematic awareness, that combination is the alpha edge. Global Indian closes that gap, enabling this community to participate in India's structural growth while maintaining global diversification.”

Global Indian integrates Lighthouse Canton's regulated entities in India and GIFT City with its international platform across Singapore, Dubai and the United Kingdom. The offering is supported by Keenai, the institution's proprietary wealth technology platform, which provides portfolio analytics, lifecycle management, consolidated multi-market reporting, and access to a digital investment marketplace.

Alongside Sumegh, Global Indian is led by Sunil Garg and Abhay Laijawala (Global and India Chief Investment Officers), Sanket Sinha (MD and CEO, Global Asset Management), Prashant Tandon (MD and CEO-UAE), and Gurjeet Sohi (MD and Head Wealth Management, India). This leadership structure brings together investment expertise, regional operating capability, and wealth platform specialisation to deliver integrated advisory to the global Indian community.

About Lighthouse Canton

Lighthouse Canton is a global investment institution with wealth and asset management capabilities. The organisation employs experienced professionals across its offices in Singapore, Dubai, India, and London, and currently oversee over US$ 6 bn worth of assets under management (as of 31st March 2026). 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”). It is also registered in GIFT City IFSC, operating under IFSCA regulation. 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

Global Indian - www.lighthouse-canton.com/global-indian