Amazon AI For Sellers, Weekly Funding Rebounds & More

Amazon’s AI Gameplan For Sellers

After consumers, Amazon is now moving AI to the seller side. The ecommerce major is rolling out a 24/7 AI assistant for its 1.7 Mn Indian merchants to streamline catalogue creation, inventory planning and ads. So, can Amazon reshape how millions of businesses sell online?

AI-First Seller Tools: Called Seller Assistant, the chatbot uses Amazon Bedrock, Nova foundation models and Anthropic Claude to help merchants navigate onboarding, listings, and routine marketplace tasks. On the inventory side, machine learning models provide restocking recommendations, while simultaneously tapping into AI to improve campaign performance

Amazon further claims that the tool can:

• Generate product titles, descriptions and attributes
• Re-fill up to 70% of listing fields from an image or URL
• Assist with image enhancement 

Prime Day Test Case: The timing is important. Amazon is rolling out these tools ahead of Prime Day later this month, making the event a live stress test for adoption and performance. The company claims that sellers, using these tools, have already seen operational effort fall by nearly 70%, while listing errors are down about 10%. 

AI War In Ecommerce: The rollout comes as ecommerce platforms increasingly use generative AI to manage seller workflows, not just shopper experiences. Flipkart, Snapdeal and Meesho are all pushing voice AI and AI-led seller tools in areas like discovery, catalogue management and marketing.

The Amazon Angle: However, for Amazon, the ambition is bigger than efficiency. It wants AI to strengthen its flywheel by helping sellers grow faster, operate more smoothly and ultimately offer better prices to customers. The ecommerce major claims that its long-term goal is to impact 15 Mn businesses by 2030. 

Having already rolled out AI tools in over 20 cities and trained 5,000 merchants, how is Amazon leveraging to streamline its seller operations? Let’s find out… 

From The Editor’s Desk

Anthropic Blocks Access To Mythos 5

• Anthropic has suspended access to its new LLMs after the US government directed the AI juggernaut to block access to Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5 for all foreign nationals, including non-US employees working at the company.
• The order has forced Anthropic to disable the models globally for all its customers, highlighting how rapidly advancing AI systems are being viewed not merely as software products but as technologies with potential national security implications.
• Meanwhile, the US government directive has reignited a long-running debate over India’s dependence on foreign AI platforms and the need for a more effective national AI strategy. 

Weekly Startup Funding Rebounds

• Indian startups cumulatively managed to raise $242.6 Mn across 25 deals last week, up nearly 30% from $187.4 Mn bagged in the preceding week. GPS Renewables and Equal AI took home the biggest cheques at $66 Mn and $30 Mn, respectively. 
• Cleantech emerged as the most funded startup sector last week, bagging $87.5 Mn across two deals. Advanced hardware & technology saw the highest number of deals materialise at five this week, raising a total of $42.3 Mn. 
• Seed stage funding skyrocketed to $22.3 Mn compared to $3.1 Mn in the preceding week. Meanwhile, Peak XV Partners and Finvolve emerged as the most active investors last week, backing three startups each. 

Zumutor Biologics Bags $7.3 Mn

• The biotech startup has raised about ₹70 Cr in its Series B round led by existing backers Accel, Bharat Innovation Fund to complete its ongoing US FDA Phase 1 clinical study of its drug ZM008.
• Founded in 2013, Zumutor develops immunotherapy drugs that activate the body’s natural immune cells to attack tumours and improve cancer treatment outcomes. It began human trials for its drug ZM008 in 2024, and last raised $6.2 Mn in in 2021. 
• Buoyed by regulatory push, including the recent ₹10,000 Cr Biopharma SHAKTI scheme, the homegrown India’s bioeconomy is projected to become a $300 Bn market opportunity by 2030. 

Mixed Week For Startup Stocks

• Of the 57 startup stocks under Inc42’s coverage, 31 gained in a range of 0.05% to 24% last week. The remaining fell in the range of 0.30% to 15%. While EaseMyTrip and CarTrade gained the most, Yudiz and ideaForge emerged as the biggest losers.
• The market capitalisation of the 57 new-age tech companies stood at $129.58 Bn at the end of last week as against $131.94 Bn a week ago
• Developments pertaining to the US-Iran war continued to drive market sentiment, but steps announced by the RBI to strengthen the Indian rupee, improving macroeconomic conditions and lower Brent crude prices provided further comfort to investors. 

Ather To Raise ₹2,500 Cr 

• The listed EV maker’s board has approved a proposal to raise up to ₹2,500 Cr. While ₹1,500 Cr would be raised via a QIP, the remaining ₹1,000 Cr would be secured through a preferential issue, rights issue, equity shares or foreign currency convertible bonds.
• This comes days after Ather informed the bourses that its board would consider a proposal to raise fresh funds. If the plans materialise, this will be Ather’s first fundraise post its listing last year. 
• The development comes as Ather looks to ramp up investments in manufacturing, product development and distribution amid intensifying competition in the electric two-wheeler (E2W) space. 

Inc42 Markets

Inc42 Startup Spotlight

How DAZZL Is Bringing Salons Home In Minutes

For many urban consumers, salon visits often face long waiting times. Even at-home service platforms require advance bookings, limiting true convenience. DAZZL is rethinking this experience by turning beauty services into something as instant as food delivery.

Salon On Fingertips: Founded in 2025, DAZZL is a hyperlocal beauty services platform offering salon, grooming and massage services at home within 15 minutes. DAZZL works with trained and verified professionals who arrive fully equipped with tools and products. This ensures a salon-like experience in the comfort of the customer’s home.

Built For Urban Indians: The platform primarily targets working professionals, young consumers, and families who value speed and flexibility. Early traction has come from premium residential communities in Bengaluru, where demand for quick, reliable services is high.

The Convenience Economy: Operating within India’s growing on-demand home services market, projected to reach $1 Bn by 2030, the startup is positioning itself at the intersection of convenience and personal care. As consumer expectations move from scheduled to instant, can DAZZL make on-demand grooming a daily convenience?

Infographic Of The Day

Delhi has officially overtaken Bengaluru in the D2C race. Consumer brands based out of the national capital have raised $3.5 Bn across 434 deals in the past decade. So, is Delhi NCR becoming the default launchpad for India’s D2C giants?

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