New Delhi, Oct. 17 -- Deeptech firm AI Planet, co-living startup HooLiv, and a material-science company DashamLabs have raised fresh capital, according to statements by respective companies.

AI Planet

AI Planet, a deeptech firm specialising in generative AI and agentic AI platforms, has entered into a joint venture with InfoDrive Analytics, a Vardaan Global company, to establish a regional AI and digital transformation hub in the United Arab Emirates.

The partnership, announced at GITEX Global in Dubai, has raised $3 million (around Rs 26.4 crore) in investment from InfoDrive Analytics and marks AI Planet's first official expansion into the Middle East beyond its existing operations in Belgium, Luxembourg, and India.

The newly formed venture aims to accelerate AI adoption among governments and enterprises across the region by developing agentic AI solutions for industries such as finance, manufacturing, healthcare, telecom, and education.

The investment will be directed toward expanding market presence, customer acquisition, setting up operations in Dubai, and hiring regional talent. Through this collaboration, AI Planet seeks to position its enterprise-grade GenAI platform as a key enabler of large-scale digital transformation in the Middle East.

HooLiv

HooLiv has secured Rs 24 crore ($2.7 million) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Negen Capital. The startup operates a platform that offers co-living and student housing and was founded by Chinmoy Mishra, Rasmi Mishra, Gaurav Vij and Abhishek Verma.

The fresh capital will be used to push growth in non-metro cities via additional bed acquisitions, ramped-up brand-building efforts, and enhancements to its own property-management platform.

The founders believe the student-housing industry in India is entering a defining phase, with consolidation, the rise of PropCo/OpCo models, and closer partnerships with universities.

Before this, HooLiv had raised funding from Kotle-Patil Developers.

DashamLabs

DashamLabs, a materials science startup developing advanced silica aerogel insulation materials, has raised undisclosed seed funding led by Speciale Invest, with participation from IIMA Ventures.

The company plans to commercialise its scalable silica aerogel insulation technology. It says that technology caters to the industrial, mobility, and infrastructure sectors. With this funding, it also plans to expand its R&D and production capacity, build pilot systems, and collaborate with partners across oil and gas, EVs, defence, and construction to validate and scale its aerogel products.

Founded by Ankit Jhanwar, Apoorv Balwani, and Devakar Dhingra, DashamLabs focuses on creating flexible silica aerogel sheets that combine ultra-low thermal conductivity with high-temperature stability, hydrophobicity, and fire resistance.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.