Latest news with #Equal
Hans India
25-06-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Consent-Based Data Sharing Platform Equal Named to WEF's 2025 Technology Pioneers List
Equal, one of India's leading secure data sharing platforms, has been named by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its 2025 list of Technology Pioneers, a global cohort of 100 companies driving transformation across industries. Founded in 2022 by Keshav Reddy and Rajeev Ranjan, Equal is one of just 100 companies worldwide and 10 from India selected by WEF from thousands of applicants. Equal joins an elite league of past WEF Pioneer alumni, including Google, Spotify and Airbnb. The company provides infrastructure for KYC, fraud prevention, and financial data sharing across sectors such as lending, insurance, and employment. Equal holds a strategic stake in OneMoney, India's largest RBI-licensed Account Aggregator. Equal processed over 101 million transactions in March 2025 and is currently operating at an annual run rate of over 1 billion transactions, up from 75,000 in FY2024. It serves 250+ clients including some of India's largest financial institutions, connects with 50+ ID repositories, and operates with a 97% KYC success rate. 'We are honoured to be recognised by the World Economic Forum,' said Keshav Reddy, Founder, Equal. 'This acknowledgment reinforces our belief that consent-based, secure data sharing is foundational to India's digital future. Over the last year, we've seen how access to verified data can meaningfully transform lives, from helping a gig worker get credit for the first time to enabling faster health insurance claims for families in need. As we look ahead, we're focused on building robust, AI-led infrastructure that makes personal data truly work for every Indian, responsibly, transparently, and at scale.' The company is backed by Prosus Ventures, DST Global, Blume Ventures, and Indian entrepreneurs including Nikhil Kamath, Binny Bansal, Kunal Shah, and Karan Adani. Its Advisory Board is chaired by Justice B.N. Srikrishna, former Supreme Court Judge and author of India's data protection framework. India has made a strong showing this year, with 10 startups making it to the WEF list, a testament to the country's growing influence in the global innovation landscape. Apart from Equal, other Indian startups featured in the 2025 cohort include Agnikul Cosmos, CynLr, Dezy, Digantara, Exponent Energy, Freight Tiger, GalaxEye, SolarSquare, and The ePlane Co. As a WEF Technology Pioneer, Equal and its peers will contribute to global discussions on digital trust, data privacy, and financial inclusion. The company has been invited to the WEF's Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China (June 24–26, 2025).
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Business Standard
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Data sharing platform Equal named among WEF's top 100 global tech pioneers
Equal, a leading data sharing platform, has been named by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its 2025 list of Technology Pioneers, a global cohort of 100 companies driving transformation across industries. Founded in 2022 by Keshav Reddy and Rajeev Ranjan, Equal is one of just 100 companies worldwide and 10 from India selected by WEF from thousands of applicants. Equal joins an elite league of past WEF Pioneer alumni, including Google, Spotify and Airbnb. The company provides infrastructure for KYC, fraud prevention, and financial data sharing across sectors such as lending, insurance and employment. Equal holds a strategic stake in OneMoney, India's largest RBI-licensed account aggregator. Equal processed over 101 million transactions in March 2025 and is currently operating at an annual run rate of over 1 billion transactions, up from 75,000 in FY2024. It serves over 250 clients, including some of India's largest financial institutions, connects with more than 50 ID repositories, and operates with a 97 per cent KYC (know your customer) success rate. 'This acknowledgment reinforces our belief that consent-based, secure data sharing is foundational to India's digital future,' said Keshav Reddy, founder, Equal. 'Over the last year, we've seen how access to verified data can meaningfully transform lives, from helping a gig worker get credit for the first time to enabling faster health insurance claims for families in need. As we look ahead, we're focused on building robust, AI-led infrastructure that makes personal data truly work for every Indian, responsibly, transparently and at scale.' The company is backed by Prosus Ventures, DST Global, Blume Ventures and Indian entrepreneurs including Nikhil Kamath, Binny Bansal, Kunal Shah and Karan Adani. Its advisory board is chaired by Justice B N Srikrishna, former Supreme Court judge and author of India's data protection framework. India has made a strong showing this year, with 10 startups making it to the WEF list—a testament to the country's growing influence in the global innovation landscape. Apart from Equal, other Indian startups featured in the 2025 cohort include Agnikul Cosmos, CynLr, Dezy, Digantara, Exponent Energy, Freight Tiger, GalaxEye, SolarSquare and The ePlane Co. As a WEF Technology Pioneer, Equal and its peers will contribute to global discussions on digital trust, data privacy and financial inclusion. The company has been invited to the WEF's Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China (June 24–26, 2025).
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Business Standard
24-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Agnikul, GalaxEye, ePlane Co among 10 Indian startups on WEF list
Ten Indian startups working on cutting-edge technologies— from artificial intelligence to space tech — have made it to the World Economic Forum's prestigious list of top 100 emerging companies for 2025. The annual list by WEF tech pioneers highlights the most promising global innovators shaping the future across sectors. The Indian startups featured in the list include Equal, GalaxEye, Agnikul, CynLr, Dezy, Digantara, Exponent Energy, Freight Tiger, SolarSquare, and The ePlane Co. 'At SolarSquare, our mission is to build India's most trusted residential solar brand. Our full-stack integrated approach is designed to make rooftop solar reliable and hassle-free,' Shreya Mishra, co-founder at SolarSquare, said. The company has already solarised almost 30,000 homes through their platform and by the end of 2025, it aims to double the count to nearly 60,000. Notably, four portfolio companies— Agnikul, ePlane, CynLr, and GalaxEye — of deep-tech investor Speciale Invest made it to the list. Vishesh Rajaram, the managing partner of the venture capital firm, said, 'This global recognition affirms not only their audacious visions across space launch, flying taxis, robotic vision, and multi-sensor satellite intelligence, but also marks a pivotal moment for India's rise as a deep tech leader.' Suyash Singh, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of space-tech startup GalaxEye said, 'To be named along with other deep-tech pioneers from India and around the world is a proud moment for us. This recognition is a validation of our global vision of enhancing earth observation capabilities and providing actionable geospatial data to critical sectors around the world.' At present, the company is using its Series A funding of $10 million for the launch of its first satellite 'Mission Drishti,' which it targets to launch by the end of this year. Equal Identity is a platform enabling secure, real-time, consent-based data sharing for over 80 million people across financial services, insurance, healthcare, employment, and housing. In March 2025 alone, the company processed more than 101 million transactions and is likely to cross one billion annual transaction run rate in FY26, up from just 75,000 paid transactions in FY24. 'The trajectory highlights both the institutional demand for verified data and the trust in our privacy-first approach. As we look ahead, we're focused on strengthening this infrastructure further with deeper integrations, AI-led verification, and governance models that ensure personal data can be used responsibly to unlock access and opportunity,' said Keshav Reddy, the company's founder, adding that Equal's selection as a tech pioneer is a reflection of its scale, depth, and urgency of the infrastructure. Interestingly, last year, the same number of startups were part of the list. These included companies such as Amperehour, Cropin, Entri, HealthPlix, International Battery Company, Niramai, NxtWave, Pixxel, Sarvam AI, and String Bio.
The Sun
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Making international waves
KUCHING- born singer Claudia Tan strives to make each year count for her career. Since rising to fame during the pandemic, the 27-year-old songstress has continued to find success in many of her artistic endeavours. Her musical career has been nothing short of impressive. Within five years, Tan released her debut album Love Again, gained over 226,000 listeners on Spotify and performed at various notable music festivals. She even appeared on a billboard in Times Square upon being made Spotify's ambassador for its Equal global music programme in 2023. Tan found similar reception as a romantic author, with her book Perfect Addiction being turned into a Prime Video movie, featuring actors Ross Butler, Kiana Madeira and Matthew Noszka as its leads. Adding to this list of achievements is her recent participation in Irish whiskey brand Jameson's global music programme. Tan became the first Malaysian artiste selected for the music programme Distilled Sounds. Along with nine others, she received mentorship and collaborated with Grammy-winning artiste Anderson Paak on new music. In celebration of this milestone, Tan opens up to theSun about the experience and valuable insights she gained from the collaboration. Has working with a global brand always been on your bucket list? It is because as an artiste in Malaysia, you are exposed to a certain kind of scene. So, it was jarring in a good way when I went overseas and was exposed to all these genres. Genres such as African jazz are ones that we might not have heard in Asia. So, it was cool to see how they make music and be a part of that process too. What does this partnership mean to you as an artiste? It encourages me to push my boundaries of what I can do with the genres I do. It also pushes me to remember that I cannot be put in a box. I have seen all these artistes that refused to be part of that box and I want to be more like them. Were you in any way anxious about the collaboration beforehand? Making music has always been a personal thing. The process involves me being alone or with my producer. So, getting out of that comfort zone and making music with others can be a daunting experience. But honestly, everyone was there for the music. It was very natural. Everyone was there to vibe and have fun. That is the most raw way to make music. It was great. How do you think your musical style and past work helped shape the collaboration? Yes, I brought a distinct sound when I collaborated with my partner Kaiit. She was doing a soul and R&B sound and I was trying to see how that could merge with my pop sensibilities. The track we ended up making was a beautiful blend of both. Catchy and also soulful and deep and meaningful. Speaking of which, what was it like working with Paak? Talking to him itself was surreal. I could not believe he was literally in front of me. I was trying to keep my cool but I was very nervous. I am sure he could tell I was nervous. But it did not matter to me. He is great and has such a personality. It was just nice to be around his presence. He also gives good advice. I remember asking him for advice on how to stand apart from other artiste, seeing how many artistes that post on Spotify every day. And he reminded me to forget all that and focus on being good at performing live. The rest of the success will follow. I never thought of it that way because as new artiste, we focus and worry about various things. But we forget sometimes music is really just about having fun with your band mates. We have to be good at that first before we make music. What are some valuable insights you have gained through this collaboration? To be more open to ideas. Sometimes, I get stuck and think my idea is the best. But when we are collaborating with other artistes, their vision and ideas are also going to be good. We need to be open to that during the process. I am also trying to be better at performing live. That was something I knew when I came home that I needed to work on. So, I have been working with my producer on how to make our live sets more engaging and fun. Were there any musical takeaways from this journey – particularly from working alongside Paak – that you will carry onto your next album? For the new album, we are exploring more R&B because of all the genres that I was exposed to. Also, a lot of jazz and a bit more soul. I am trying to bring depth into my music.
The Sun
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Malaysian singer Claudia Tan shares working with Grammy winner Anderson Paak
KUCHING- born singer Claudia Tan strives to make each year count for her career. Since rising to fame during the pandemic, the 27-year-old songstress has continued to find success in many of her artistic endeavours. Her musical career has been nothing short of impressive. Within five years, Tan released her debut album Love Again, gained over 226,000 listeners on Spotify and performed at various notable music festivals. She even appeared on a billboard in Times Square upon being made Spotify's ambassador for its Equal global music programme in 2023. Tan found similar reception as a romantic author, with her book Perfect Addiction being turned into a Prime Video movie, featuring actors Ross Butler, Kiana Madeira and Matthew Noszka as its leads. Adding to this list of achievements is her recent participation in Irish whiskey brand Jameson's global music programme. Tan became the first Malaysian artiste selected for the music programme Distilled Sounds. Along with nine others, she received mentorship and collaborated with Grammy-winning artiste Anderson Paak on new music. In celebration of this milestone, Tan opens up to theSun about the experience and valuable insights she gained from the collaboration. Has working with a global brand always been on your bucket list? It is because as an artiste in Malaysia, you are exposed to a certain kind of scene. So, it was jarring in a good way when I went overseas and was exposed to all these genres. Genres such as African jazz are ones that we might not have heard in Asia. So, it was cool to see how they make music and be a part of that process too. What does this partnership mean to you as an artiste? It encourages me to push my boundaries of what I can do with the genres I do. It also pushes me to remember that I cannot be put in a box. I have seen all these artistes that refused to be part of that box and I want to be more like them. Were you in any way anxious about the collaboration beforehand? Making music has always been a personal thing. The process involves me being alone or with my producer. So, getting out of that comfort zone and making music with others can be a daunting experience. But honestly, everyone was there for the music. It was very natural. Everyone was there to vibe and have fun. That is the most raw way to make music. It was great. How do you think your musical style and past work helped shape the collaboration? Yes, I brought a distinct sound when I collaborated with my partner Kaiit. She was doing a soul and R&B sound and I was trying to see how that could merge with my pop sensibilities. The track we ended up making was a beautiful blend of both. Catchy and also soulful and deep and meaningful. Speaking of which, what was it like working with Paak? Talking to him itself was surreal. I could not believe he was literally in front of me. I was trying to keep my cool but I was very nervous. I am sure he could tell I was nervous. But it did not matter to me. He is great and has such a personality. It was just nice to be around his presence. He also gives good advice. I remember asking him for advice on how to stand apart from other artiste, seeing how many artistes that post on Spotify every day. And he reminded me to forget all that and focus on being good at performing live. The rest of the success will follow. I never thought of it that way because as new artiste, we focus and worry about various things. But we forget sometimes music is really just about having fun with your band mates. We have to be good at that first before we make music. What are some valuable insights you have gained through this collaboration? To be more open to ideas. Sometimes, I get stuck and think my idea is the best. But when we are collaborating with other artistes, their vision and ideas are also going to be good. We need to be open to that during the process. I am also trying to be better at performing live. That was something I knew when I came home that I needed to work on. So, I have been working with my producer on how to make our live sets more engaging and fun. Were there any musical takeaways from this journey – particularly from working alongside Paak – that you will carry onto your next album? For the new album, we are exploring more R&B because of all the genres that I was exposed to. Also, a lot of jazz and a bit more soul. I am trying to bring depth into my music.
