Fintech Brief — March 26, 2026

Today’s Top Stories

1. RBI Likely Intervened to Support Rupee Amid NDF Pressures

The Reserve Bank of India likely intervened in the foreign exchange market on Wednesday to support the rupee, as heavy dollar demand linked to maturing non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) offset relief from falling oil prices. The South Asian currency held above its record low of 93.98 per dollar, closing at 93.96, down 0.1% on the day.

Traders indicated that intervention via state-run banks helped the rupee weather the pressure. While Indian shares and government bonds firmed as oil prices fell below $100 per barrel, the rupee remained under pressure due to elevated dollar demand at the daily reference rate used to settle contracts. This marks the second consecutive day of currency stress as markets navigate the aftermath of Middle East tensions and their impact on energy imports.

2. Indian AI Startup Deccan AI Raises $25M in Series A

Deccan AI, a startup providing post-training services to AI laboratories, has raised $25 million in its first major funding round. The all-equity Series A was led by A91 Partners, with participation from Susquehanna International Group and Prosus Ventures.

Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with a large Hyderabad operations team and over one million contributors, Deccan AI provides data generation, evaluation, and reinforcement learning services to labs and enterprises including Google DeepMind and Snowflake. The company was founded in October 2024 and represents India’s growing role in the global AI training services market, where companies like Scale AI, Surge AI, Turing, and Mercor compete to provide data labeling and evaluation services.

3. Harvey Valued at $11 Billion in New Funding Round

Legal AI startup Harvey confirmed Wednesday it closed a $200 million funding round at an $11 billion valuation, making it the latest AI startup to cross the $10 billion mark. The round was co-led by returning investors Singapore’s GIC and Sequoia.

Founded in 2022, Harvey offers AI tools for legal and professional services that streamline contract analysis, compliance, due diligence, and litigation. The company has now raised more than $1 billion in total, with its valuation jumping over 3.5x in a year—from $3 billion in February 2025, to $5 billion in June 2025, to $8 billion in December 2025, and now $11 billion. Harvey plans to use the fresh capital to expand its AI agents, which can independently complete tasks on users’ behalf.

4. IPL Franchise Acquisition Signals Big-Ticket Consumer Opportunities

A consortium comprising Aditya Birla Group, Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures, and Blackstone announced it would acquire IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru for $1.78 billion from United Spirits. The deal highlights the growing convergence of traditional corporates with sports entertainment and digital platforms, reflecting broader trends in consumer engagement and brand ecosystems in India.

Note: Regulatory updates from RBI and SEBI were limited in the last 24 hours. The market focus remains on currency stability and the broader funding environment for Indian startups.