Listen to today’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silk-logic-small-business-daily/id1841930957
Small Business Daily Podcast — December 22, 2025
Today’s podcast episode was created from the following stories:
DOST ensures rail track workers go home safely
An IISc spinout’s DOST platform is delivering real-time train approach alerts and block status to trackside crews via smartphones, already protecting 700 workers across 160 km in four Indian Railways zones. Launched in February, the cloud-based system logs incidents and synchronizes alerts to cut reliance on manual radio calls—and aims to scale to 17 zones and 7,000 stations within three years. It targets a pressing need: 361 worker fatalities in five years.
Shield AI took its drones from the ‘Batcave’ to the battlefield. Now the $5.6 billion defense-tech startup’s new CEO says it’s at an inflection point
Shield AI’s V-BAT drones and Hivemind autonomy cleared Ukraine’s harsh jamming tests and won international orders, helping the startup reach a $5.6 billion valuation. New CEO Gary Steele is targeting 70–100% annual growth to $1 billion in revenue by 2028, doubling down on licensing Hivemind across partner aircraft while developing the long-range X-BAT autonomous jet. The company is scaling manufacturing and applying safety lessons as it courts major defense primes and expands abroad.
Agtech startups as innovation catalysts
India’s 7,000‑plus agritech startups are turning farming into a data‑driven enterprise, from AI advisories to soil mapping and digital marketplaces. Early results—like Telangana’s chilli farmers boosting yields 21% while cutting inputs—show promise, but scaling demands public‑private data infrastructure (AgriStack) and renewed funding after a 2025 pullback. The call to action: deeper collaboration and patient capital to take precision ag to the last mile.
Defence, aerospace firms have designs on niche engineers from IITs, competing with big tech
India’s defense and aerospace leaders—from Skyroot to L&T and GKN—are competing head‑to‑head with Big Tech and HFT firms on IIT campuses to hire niche engineers. Privatization, rearmament, and space ambitions are fueling demand for skills in embedded systems, AI/ML, avionics, and model‑based engineering, with structured campus drives and hundreds of offers. For graduates, billion‑dollar programs and rapid prototyping are creating world‑class hardware careers at home.
Wema Bank empowers innovators at Hackaholics finale
Wema Bank crowned Chao and VOC AI as winners of Hackaholics 6.0, awarding multimillion‑naira prizes amid a surge to 11,000+ applications. The bank positions Hackaholics as a nationwide innovation pipeline backing youth and women in STEM, with $300,000 disbursed since 2019 and focused funding for women‑led teams. For founders, the program offers capital, visibility, and ongoing institutional support.
Israel’s famed VC Jon Medved, diagnosed with ALS, backed the tech that will improve his life
OurCrowd founder Jon Medved has been diagnosed with ALS and stepped back from daily duties—while turning to avatar and voice AI from startups he backed to preserve his voice and presence. The piece underscores Israel’s resilient startup scene—OurCrowd counts 500 portfolio companies and 74 exits—even amid conflict. Medved says he’ll continue contributing to the ecosystem as healthtech tools increasingly shape his own quality of life.
