LPG Triggers Gig Workers’ Exodus, NeuroPixel Shuts Down & More

LPG Crisis Hits Gig Economy Hard

Six years after the COVID lockdown, a new crisis is pushing India’s migrants back onto the road. The conflict in West Asia has triggered an LPG crunch, which is hitting the country’s kitchens, factories and gig workforce. So, are we looking at a migrant worker exodus?

Ground Reality: The blockage of ship movement through the Strait of Hormuz has sent the prices of a 1 kg LPG cylinder, which once cost ₹100, to nearly ₹400 in the grey market. This jump is forcing low-wage earners, who rely on frequent refills, to question the math of living in the city. In blue-collar hubs, hundreds of migrant families are packing up to move back to villages.

Delivery Ops Under Strain: This LPG crisis has already triggered a domino effect, which is hitting the app economy and manufacturing hard. Here’s how:

• App-based auto drivers are fighting fuel hikes and reduced trips, making them question the viability of gig work. 
• As small eateries shut down due to unviable operating costs and a drop in orders, delivery executives are seeing an impact on their daily earnings. 
• D2C brands are also feeling the heat on the production side, as major textile and chemical hubs are reporting a 30% to 35% drop in workforce capacity due to migrant employees returning home.

What’s The Plan B? To combat rising absenteeism, startups are getting creative. Brands like Libas are considering renting electric induction cooktops to their factory workers or helping them bear the costs of inflated LPG. Industry experts also see gig platforms attempting to cross-utilise workers, moving delivery workers to less strained ecommerce logistics, to provide some income stability.

As the conflict stretches on, a dark cloud hangs over India’s economic engine. So, can startup subsidies stabilise the cost of living or are we looking at yet another urban migration six years after the pandemic? Let’s find out… 

From The Editor’s Desk

The Vulnerability In Vibe Coding

• Vibe coding has no doubt lowered the barrier to shipping software. But security experts point out that a large share of vibe-coded systems remain vulnerable as they are built without safety features such as manual review and dependency verification.
• Threats like prompt injection gets sharper when autonomous coding agents are involved, since these AI agents can install dependencies with little or no human oversight. This can create a world where hallucinated packages can silently enter production.
• India’s exposure is especially high because it has some of the fastest AI adoption rates. As such, experts are calling for AI coding platforms to implement guardrails and reeducate developers to mitigate these compounding effects. 

NeuroPixel.AI Shuts Down

• The ecommerce-focused GenAI startup has wound up its operations due to intense competition from big tech giants. It now plans to explore monetising its technology stack, but will shutter its B2C operations.
• Founded in 2020, NeuroPixel.AI’s AI tools helped ecommerce marketplaces enable fashion cataloguing and virtual try-ons. With companies like Myntra, Fabindia and Decathlon as its clients, it raised nearly $1.2 Mn over its lifetime. 
• NeuroPixel.AI’s closure comes amid a broader wave of shutdowns among GenAI startups in India. Alle shut shop in January this year, while subtl.ai, CodeParrot and Astra also wound up operations last year. 

Garuda Aerospace Files DRHP 

• The drone tech startup has filed its DRHP with the SEBI via the confidential route. The company’s board last month approved a proposal to raise up to ₹750 Cr via a fresh issue of shares and an undisclosed OFS component.
• Founded in 2015, Garuda manufactures 30 types of drones, while also offering drone-as-a-service solutions. It claims to have so far trained 1 Lakh drone pilots, and served more than 100 government agencies. 
• The startup has raised $37.1 Mn to date and was last pegged at $250 Mn during its Series B fundraise last year. On the financial front, Garuda reported a net profit of ₹11 Cr in H1 FY26 on an operating revenue of ₹41.2 Cr. 

Dhan Mulls Infinyte Club Acquisition

• The stock broking platform is in talks to acquire the Bengaluru-based startup in a cash and equity deal worth $10 Mn. With the acquisition, Dhan aims to enter the wealthtech segment.
• Founded in 2023, Infinyte Club enables startup employees and founders to redeploy their wealth (especially ESOPs) into other high-growth investment opportunities. It last raised $3.6 Mn in seed funding from Elevation Capital in 2024. 
• Meanwhile, Dhan, founded in 2021, plans to acquire a few more companies to expand its presence in the fintech segment. This comes more than a year after the fintech unicorn acquired new-age media startup Filter Coffee to foray into the content space.

Aquapulse Bags ₹25 Cr 

• The aquaculture-focused agritech startup has raised about $2.7 Mn in its ongoing Series A round led by state-backed NABVENTURES to set up an in-house processing facility, expand its farmer network to 15,000 farmers and invest in AI.
• Founded in 2022, Aquapulse’s app-based monitoring tools help shrimp and fish farmers run their operations more efficiently. It also connects farmers directly with buyers, provides digital expert advisory and manages logistics and compliance processes. 
• Aquapulse is eyeing a piece of the homegrown seafood exports markets, which has risen from ₹43,720.98 Cr in FY21 to ₹62,408.45 Cr in FY25.

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

Making Enterprises Ready For Quantum-Era Threats

Cyber threats are escalating fast but the bigger threat is quantum computing, which could eventually break the encryption that protects today’s digital systems. AllSecureX is trying to solve this problem with AI to prepare enterprises for a quantum-safe future.

Built For Future Threats: Founded in 2025, AllSecureX operates an AI-led platform that helps enterprises identify vulnerable encryption, measure exposure and understand the financial impact of such cyber risks. It helps companies detect cryptographic weaknesses before attackers, or quantum machines, can exploit it. 

The Quantum Layer: Its flagship product is a hyper-automated post-quantum cryptography platform, which scans applications to discover cryptographic dependencies and flags systems exposed to quantum threats. It then deploys protective layers without forcing hardware replacements or massive code rewrites. 

Quantifying Compliance: By translating cyber exposure into financial terms, the startup gives CISOs a clearer way to prioritise investment. AllSecureX targets high-security industries such as financial services, healthcare, FMCG, retail, and critical infrastructure, where data sensitivity and regulatory scrutiny are both high.

The startup operates in the global post-quantum cryptography market, which is projected to become a $1.9 Bn opportunity by 2030. So, can AllSecureX secure enterprises from future quantum risks?

Infographic Of The Day

While overall funding slowed in Q1 2026, women-led startups raised $350 Mn, up 75% YoY. Here is how the numbers stack up…

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