Wippi, a children's technology startup building conversational, screen-free products for young children, today announced that it has raised $1.2 million in seed funding. The round was led by 12 Flags, with participation from Warmup Ventures, Ventana Ventures and Ruvento Ventures.

The funding will accelerate product innovation, strengthen Wippi's proprietary voice AI capabilities, expand its engineering and AI teams, scale manufacturing in India and grow its direct-to-consumer business. The company also plans to expand its portfolio of characters, languages and original content while reaching more than 15,000 families over the next twelve months.

Founded by Rishabh Singhi and Siddhartha Jain, Wippi was born from a simple observation: while children are spending more time on screens than ever before, parents are actively searching for healthier alternatives. The founders saw an opportunity to create a new category of smart, audio-first playmates that combine conversational AI with storytelling and interactive play, reimagining how young children learn, imagine and grow without adding another screen to their lives.
 

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Jenika Ventures, the real estate advisory company, has recently announced the opening of its new office in Kolkata, thus achieving an important milestone in its expansion strategy for the Eastern part of the country. The company's objective in opening an office in Kolkata is to bring the benefits of structured, transparent, and dependable real estate consulting services to the residents of one of the most vibrant and consistently evolving real estate markets in the country.

Kolkata, known for its rich cultural heritage and infrastructure development, is gradually emerging as an important hub for real estate development. With the aim of utilizing these opportunities in the best possible way, the company plans to open its new office in Kolkata.

Commenting on the expansion move, Mr. Abhishek Raj, Promoter, Jenika Ventures, said, "Kolkata is an attractive market in terms of its legacy as well as growth opportunities. Our entry into the Kolkata market is in line with our vision of providing transparent, credible, and value-driven real estate consulting services across India. We are committed to empowering our customers with the knowledge required to make informed decisions while strengthening our presence across Eastern India and delivering a more localized, customer-centric advisory experience."
 

Akshat Siddhant, Lead quant analyst, Mudrex

Oil remains volatile, briefly rising above $83 a barrel before slipping below $82 as markets weigh conflicting signals on the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump has hardened demands for Iranian war reparations, while reports suggest Iran-Oman talks on reopening the strait have reached an advanced stage. Tehran, however, says the route will remain closed until its conditions are met. On the other hand, US crude inventories unexpectedly rose by 9.1 million barrels last week, the largest increase since February. Gold and silver are also easing on profit-taking, with gold near $4,370 and silver around $65 ahead of today's CPI report. Markets now see the September Fed decision as a coin flip. Key levels to watch are $83 for oil and $4,400 for gold.

Bodycraft Clinic, a pan-India destination for dermatology, aesthetic medicine and wellness, has introduced Elyara Peptide Hair Booster, a peptide-based injectable treatment, as part of its expanding portfolio of regenerative, non-surgical hair restoration solutions. The addition reflects the growing demand for physician-led treatments that support hair health through science-backed regenerative approaches and complement personalised hair restoration plans.

The introduction reinforces Bodycraft Clinic's commitment to bringing advanced, evidence-based dermatological innovations to their patients. In line with this commitment, Elyara Peptide Hair Booster is the latest addition to Hair Lab, the clinic's protocol for holistic hair restoration built on root-cause diagnosis and stacked solutioning. Since its launch this past week, the treatment has drawn a strong early response, with a notable number of customers already signing up for packages.

Gaurav Udani, Founder, Thincredblu Securities 

Nifty is expected to open flat to marginally positive around 24,480, up nearly 10 points, indicating a cautious start.

After the recent volatility, the index is likely to consolidate before making its next directional move. 24,400-24,500 remains the immediate support zone, while 24,700-24,800 continues to be the key resistance range.

A decisive breakout above 24,800 could bring fresh buying and open the possibility of further upside, while a break below 24,300 may lead to profit booking and increased selling pressure.

For now, the broader bias remains positive, and traders can continue to look for buy-on-dips opportunities as long as Nifty holds above the key support zone.

Pathway, an AI lab building Post-Transformer architecture and models, today published benchmark results for BDH-CQ, a 150-million-parameter reasoning model. BDH-CQ scored 29.5% pass@2 on the public ARC-AGI-1 evaluation set at a computed inference cost of $0.0007 per task.

BDH-CQ runs approximately 11 times as cheaply per task as GPT 5.6 Luna (Low), even after OpenAI's 80% price cut on July 30. Luna scores 34.2% against BDH-CQ's 29.5%, representing a modest accuracy gain at approximately 11 times the cost.

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Riya Sehgal, Research Analyst, Delta Exchange

Crypto markets remain cautious ahead of the U.S. CPI release, with Bitcoin hovering near $64,000 as macro uncertainty continues to dominate sentiment. Higher crude oil prices, elevated Treasury yields and uncertainty around the Federal Reserve's next move are keeping risk appetite subdued, while recent ETF demand has also become less consistent after strong inflows last week.

Technically, Bitcoin is attempting to stabilise after testing the $63,200 area, but the short-term structure remains weak while price stays below the $64,180-$64,300 EMA cluster. A sustained move above $64,300 could open the way toward $64,800-$65,200, while a break below $63,200 may expose the $62,400-$63,000 demand zone.

Ethereum has shown a stronger reaction from support near $1,850, but still needs to reclaim the $1,895-$1,920 region to confirm improving momentum. A move above $1,920 could bring $1,930-$1,940 back into focus, while losing $1,850 would increase the risk of a deeper pullback toward $1,835.

Broader sentiment remains defensive, with altcoins showing selective resilience rather than a broad-based rotation. The next major directional trigger is likely to be the CPI print and its impact on the dollar, Treasury yields and overall liquidity conditions.

Rajesh Palviya, Head of Research, Axis Direct

The Nifty 50 closed Tuesday at 24,471.70, down 112.10 points, or 0.46%, as a sharp rise in crude prices weighed on sentiment and dragged the index below the crucial 24,500 mark. FMCG, metals and realty led the decline, while pharma and IT provided some support. Market breadth remained weak, with the rupee also slipping to around Rs 95.44. Global cues were equally cautious, with the S&P 500 falling 0.32%, the Dow 0.34% and the Nasdaq 0.60%, amid pressure on Alphabet and rising US-Iran tensions around the Strait of Hormuz ahead of the US inflation data.

Asian markets have opened on a cautious note, while Brent crude remains elevated near $89 a barrel after briefly touching $90. For India, crude remains the key variable as sustained high prices could pressure the import bill, inflation and corporate margins. Gold holding above $4,400 an ounce further reflects persistent risk aversion. GIFT Nifty at 24,550 indicates a mildly positive-to-flat opening, but does not signal strong buying conviction.

Technically, the Nifty's undertone remains subdued below 24,650. Immediate support is placed at 24,400, followed by 24,250-24,200. A sustained recovery in crude could, however, trigger renewed buying and push the index towards 24,800.

Nischal Shetty, Founder, WazirX

"24-hour liquidations in crypto fell 17.19% to $160.35 million, suggesting reduction in leveraged stress.  The markets remain cautious, with total market capitalization broadly flat at $2.19 trillion and the Fear & Greed Index stands at 37 (Fear).

Asian equities are showing a risk-off tilt, with the Hang Seng down 1.10%, Shanghai 0.82%, Sensex 0.49%, Singapore 0.26%, and Nikkei 0.11%. South Korea is the notable exception, with the KOSPI surging 2.43%, supported by semiconductor strength.

US equities ended modestly lower, with the Nasdaq falling 0.60%, while the Dow and S&P 500 declined 0.34% and 0.32%, respectively, as technology weakness and caution ahead of US inflation data weighed on risk appetite. 

For crypto, this translates to a near-term headwind, suggesting reduced appetite for risk on assets. Weak tech equities and higher oil prices could put pressure on Bitcoin and altcoins. 

The US Consumer Price Index is due to be published today. Headline CPI is expected at just 0.1%, with core inflation at 0.2%, as per industry reports. A softer inflation gives the Federal Reserve room to push the next rate decision into October. A 0.3% - 0.4% core reading raises the probability of a September hike and tightened financial conditions.

A softer CPI would also support risk assets and create a favorable setup for Bitcoin to reclaim resistance, with altcoins potentially benefiting from improving liquidity expectations. So the immediate themes to watch out for are rates and liquidity. 

With Bitcoin near $63,800, price remains below an important resistance cluster. A sustained move above $64,000-$64,500 would strengthen the short-term structure, while rejection from this area would leave downside pressure intact. A break below $63,400 would bring the $62,400-$63,000 support region into focus. The broader market has recently struggled to clear resistance around $65,000. According to analysts, a sustained move/retest above $64,000-$64,500 would strengthen the case for considering longs, while rejection from that zone keeps short setups relevant.
Ethereum at $1,884 remains between near-term support and resistance. Holding $1,850-$1,870 would preserve the current structure, while acceptance above $1,900-$1,925 would indicate improving momentum. A loss of $1,850 would shift attention toward $1,815-$1,845. 

Among altcoins, Celer Network is trading around $0.001978, down 2.12% over 24 hours, with volume also falling 14.31%. The $0.00195-$0.00197 region remains the first area to watch for price stabilization. A sustained break above $0.00205-$0.00210 would represent a stronger recovery signal."

BTC has slipped back toward $63,500, trading down around 0.6% on the day and holding within the broad $62,000-$66,000 range that has contained it through much of the summer. After failing to sustain last week's push above $65,000, prices have drifted lower as traders position defensively ahead of the U.S. July CPI print due at 8:30 a.m. ET today - the session's dominant catalyst. Market conditions remain unusually subdued: trading volumes have fallen to their lowest in roughly three years and implied volatility has collapsed, with steady spot-ETF inflows being offset by OTC selling from miners and Strategy (MSTR), leaving price pinned. A cooler-than-expected inflation reading could revive rate-cut hopes and open room back toward the $65,000 resistance shelf, while a hotter number would likely strengthen the dollar and pressure crypto lower. ETH is trading near $1,870, softer alongside BTC and capped well below the psychologically important $2,000 level. Immediate support sits at $63,700-$64,000, and a decisive break below could expose $62,000 and then the $60,000 psychological floor. On the upside, reclaiming $65,000-$65,500 is the key hurdle, with $66,000 and $68,000 the next targets if a soft CPI sparks momentum. For ETH, resistance sits at $1,925-$1,930 then $2,000, with support at $1,850-$1,875 and $1,800 below.

Prateek Gupta, Head of Business, Mudrex

Bitcoin has slipped to around $63,600 after failing four times to sustain moves above $65,000, with sellers stepping in after an intraday high near $65,300. Investor interest is shifting toward gold, with gold ETFs attracting $637 million in a single day last week compared with $244 million flowing into Bitcoin ETFs. With inflation expected near 3.4%, and September rate-hike odds at 44-50%, down from nearly 80% in late July, a potential recovery is likely. Bitcoin needs $65,000 to regain momentum, while $62,500 remains key support.

The Thesis
Metals and infrastructure dominate today's positioning, backed by India's unrelenting capex cycle against a Brent near $88 - elevated but not yet threatening steel margins. Demand-side strength is outweighing crude-driven cost pressure; a Strait of Hormuz resolution would be a material asymmetric tailwind for the basket.

Where We're Concentrated
Today's basket is steel-heavy - two major steel producers together represent a concentrated bet on domestic capex-driven steel demand. Infrastructure anchors the vertical through engineering and roads exposure, creating a self-reinforcing capex cycle. Consumption and auto components provide diversification. What breaks this thesis: a Brent spike above $90 or FII selling aggressively into crude-sensitive industrials.

Conviction Picks
Highest Conviction
JSW Steel
Infrastructure-linked steel demand stays firm; a Brent pullback on Hormuz progress would ease margin pressure materially.
Motherson International
Global OEM recovery lifts component volumes; INR near ₹95 reduces forex drag on Motherson's overseas operations.
Devyani International
Urban discretionary spend intact despite rate uncertainty; QSR expansion sustains same-store revenue growth trajectory.
Larsen & Toubro
India's capex cycle is the structural anchor; deepening order book in roads and data centres makes L&T a core hold.
Tata Steel
Spot steel firming on domestic demand; Brent relief from Hormuz progress would materially expand Tata Steel margins.
One Thing to Watch
Brent at $88 - Hormuz is the swing. A US-Iran breakthrough reopening the Strait would compress crude toward $82, materially widening steel margins and reinforcing the capex thesis; above $92, the cost-spiral scenario takes hold.

Vikram Subburaj, CEO, Giottus.com

Bitcoin traded near $63,700-$63,800 on Wednesday morning and was broadly flat, as investors avoided large positions ahead of the July US inflation report. Immediate support lies around $63,000-$63,200, followed by $62,500. Resistance is visible near $64,400-$64,500, with the $65,000-$66,000 region remaining the stronger ceiling for the current recovery.

On-chain and market-structure indicators have improved without confirming a broader expansion.Spot taker buying has accelerated, and participation in perpetual futures has strengthened. Meanwhile, funding rates and open interest remain moderate. Options traders are also paying less for downside protection. However, overall exchange turnover and network activity remain subdued. This suggests that the recovery is still transitional rather than conviction-led.

Institutional demand improved significantly during the first week of August. US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $865.3 million across five consecutive sessions from August 3-7. That streak reversed with a $144.6 million outflow on August 10. August 11 showed a further preliminary $42.4 million withdrawal, with BlackRock's IBIT figure yet to be reported. Completed flows from August 3 through August 10 nevertheless remain positive by about $720.7 million.

Large-cap altcoins were mostly positive. Ethereum gained 0.3% to $1,884, while BNB led with a 3% rise to $618. XRP advanced 0.8% to $1.02, Solana gained 0.6% to $76.46, and TRON rose 1.1% to $0.334. The stronger BNB move contrasts with relatively modest gains elsewhere, indicating selective rather than broad altcoin participation.

The July US CPI release later today is the key macro catalyst. Economists expect headline inflation of 3.4% and core inflation of 2.5%. Fed futures currently imply a 52% probability of no change in September versus 48% for a quarter-point hike. Brent crude near $89.60 remains an additional inflation risk.

Our advice: Investors should avoid chasing short-term moves before the inflation release. Staggered accumulation, limited leverage and disciplined position sizing remain preferable until Bitcoin clears $64,500-$66,000 with sustained ETF and spot demand.

At the close on Tuesday, the total market cap of all BSE Sensex companies stood at Rs 4,92,72,595.