From fresh funding rounds to green mobility partnerships and thought-provoking conversations, here are stories spotlighting pathbreaking ideas, people, and companies shaping India’s startup and innovation landscape.
Featured Stories
How Cashfree Payment’s Remote MCP is redefining payment integration for India’s SMEs
Many small businesses and digital-first brands find integrating payments into their operation a complex, code-heavy, and slow process. The work of reading API docs, wiring backends, and standing up dashboards often delays go-to-market and inflates costs—an overhead large enterprises can easily absorb.
Naturally, this technical barrier has created a deep divide, where merchants, such as food vendors and local service providers, get excluded from the digital payments revolution.
This is where Cashfree Payment’s Remote MCP comes in. The Bengaluru firm has built an AI-native payments engine, enabling merchants to initiate and manage payments directly through conversational interfaces, such as WhatsApp, without any coding or complex integrations.
Read more here.
Captain Fresh files confidential IPO papers
Bengaluru-based seafood supply chain startup Captain Fresh is preparing for the public markets with a plan to raise Rs 1,700 crore (about $200 million) through a fresh issue of shares, according to regulatory filings.
The Tiger Global-backed firm has reclassified itself as a public limited company under the name Infifresh Foods Ltd, and has filed confidential papers with India’s markets regulator as it gears up for an initial public offering (IPO).
The IPO is expected to include both a fresh issue and an offer-for-sale, bringing the total size of the offering to about $350 million–400 million, people familiar with the matter said. Captain Fresh’s board cleared a special resolution earlier this month approving the fresh issue, the filings show.
Read more here.
Automated success: How Grexa is driving up revenue for MSMEs with AI
The COVID-19 pandemic upended the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector, with around 67% companies temporarily closing for three months, as per government estimates. Amidst this, many companies decided to adopt digital technologies to survive, and 68% of them saw positive results.
A few years later, Testbook CEO and Co-founder Ashutosh Kumar, along with Testbook’s founding team, launched SaaS startup Grexa to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) grow using GenAI.
“Presently, every company has become digitised. In a city like Bengaluru, for example, if there are 1,000 searches happening for a service, 80-90% of those discoveries are going to the bigger brands. Only 10% are going to smaller businesses,” Kumar tells YourStory.
Read more here.
Beyond Barriers: Sasmita Panda on building a career in tech and leading with purpose
In 1998, on her first assignment with French multinational Alstom Transport, Sasmita Panda tested software for India’s first metro rail project in Kolkata. Trained in Paris on Ada 95, one of the first object-oriented programming languages for mission-critical systems, Panda wrote programmes that still run successfully in the trains and the central control system.
“It was an amazing journey. Imagine being a fresher, just two years into your career, getting to build mission-critical systems and test them on real trains at night. That experience is still very close to my heart,” Panda tells HerStory.
More than two decades later, and after illustrious stints in multinational companies like Polaris, Hexaware, and Cognizant, Panda now leads Consulting Tech Strategy and serves as Transformation Architecture Leader at EY Global Delivery Services.
Read more here.
Funding News
Beyond Appliances raises $4M to expand smart kitchen tech biz
Bengaluru-based Beyond Appliances has raised $4 million in Series A funding led by Fireside Ventures, with participation from Dharana Capital. The company will use the funds to double its manufacturing capacity by adding two new facilities over the next year, supporting its rapid growth and strengthening its R&D-driven product pipeline.
Founded in 2024 by Eshwar K Vikas and Rakesh Patil, Beyond is known for its smart chimneys, hobs, and cooktops that blend advanced IoT features, energy efficiency, and sleek design.
The brand has doubled revenues since its seed round in November 2024 and is now expanding retail presence across major Indian cities. With strong repeat rates and consistent growth, Beyond aims to reach INR 400 crore ARR in three years.
House of Biryan raises Rs 32 Cr backed by MS Dhoni, Bestvantage Investments
Food-tech platform House of Biryan has secured Rs 32 crore in a growth round backed by marquee investors, including cricket icon MS Dhoni, strategic investor Bestvantage Investments and other participation from Mohit Goyal (ex-CVC Capital), Abhineet Singh (Al Siraj Holdings), and seasoned industry veterans from SoftBank, Kedara, and APAX.
Founded by chefs Mohammed Bhol and Mikhail Shahani, who bring over 25 years of Michelin-starred culinary expertise, HoB plans to use the newly raised capital to accelerate expansion into Tier-1 cities in India.
“With the support of our marquee investors, we are building the Chipotle of Biryan, delivering personalised bowls of biryan across the world. This round fuels our ambition to scale from 22 kitchens today to 120–150 outlets over the next three years, targeting revenues of ₹450–550 crore,” said Mohammed Bhol and Mikhail Shahani, Co-founders of HoB.
DOBRA secures Rs 1.5 Cr seed funding led by D2C Insider Super Angels Fund
Indian food-and-beverage brand DOBRA has raised Rs 1.5 crore in a seed round, led by the D2C Insider Super Angels Fund.
The investment will accelerate DOBRA’s expansion across Offline Channels of Modern Retail, and Food Services, as well as Digital Channels of Quick Commerce, and Direct-to-Consumer (D2C), as the brand looks to capture the growing demand for premium, experience-led FMCG products.
“D2C Super Angels bring more than just capital” said Rahul Johar, Co-founder of Oxbow Brands, which launched DOBRA. “They bring the kind of battle-tested insight you only get from building category-defining consumer brands in India. For us, this isn’t just funding, it’s an endorsement from people who truly understand what it takes to scale consumer brands in India.”
Other News
Over 95% of WazirX users approve restructuring plan in revote
Over 95% of WazirX users who voted have once again supported the company’s restructuring plan. In the revote, 149,559 eligible creditors holding over $206 million in approved claims participated, with 95.7% by count and 94.6% by value voting in favour. The plan ensures that recoveries will be distributed through Zanmai India, a Financial Intelligence Unit–registered entity, offering speed, compliance, and transparency.
The vote was independently verified by Alvarez & Marsal to ensure fairness. The next step is for Singapore’s Court to approve the plan. If sanctioned, WazirX will restart operations and begin its first distributions within 10 business days.
Swiggy and Bounce partner to boost EV adoption for delivery partners
Swiggy has teamed up with Bounce to make electric scooters more accessible and affordable for its delivery partners in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru. In the first phase, Bounce will roll out EVs over the next three months, available via the Bounce Daily app and Swiggy’s Delivery Partner app at special rates. Bounce will also manage deployment, maintenance, and support, ensuring smooth operations.
Swiggy aims for a 100% electric fleet by 2030 and already works with 50+ EV partners nationwide. The partnership includes the “Swiggy Bounce Raja” campaign, rewarding top-performing delivery partners with free electric scooters to encourage adoption.
Astrophel Aerospace signs MoU with IN-SPACe
Astrophel Aerospace, a Pune-based space tech startup, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the Department of Space’s nodal body enabling startup participation in India’s space sector.
The MoU will enable Astrophel Aerospace to gain access to ISRO facilities for technical reviews, subsystem testing, and certifications of critical cryogenic components such as turbopumps and semi-cryogenic engine development. It also creates a Joint Project Implementation Plan (JPIP) framework, allowing Astrophel to collaborate with ISRO experts for design validation and test campaigns.
“Our collaboration with IN-SPACe brings us a step closer to realising flexible and affordable launch access across India,” said Suyash Bafna, Co-founder, Astrophel Aerospace. “We are building a modular propulsion platform focused on reusability and indigenous supply chains across cryogenic components and missile-grade guidance systems,” added Immanuel Louis, Co-founder, Astrophel Aerospace.
Chartered Speed and EKA Mobility launch 1,135 e-buses under PM e-Bus Sewa scheme
Chartered Speed, a player in passenger bus mobility services has partnered with automotive & technology company EKA Mobility to deploy 1,135 electric buses under the Government of India’s Pradhan Mantri e-Bus Sewa Scheme. The companies have secured the Letter of Confirmation of Quantity (LOCQ) for 235 buses, following the earlier confirmation of 900 buses across India, taking the total to 1,135 buses.
Full deployment is expected to serve over 3.6 lakh passengers daily and generate over 2500 jobs, contributing significantly to green mobility and local economic development.
“Chartered Speed’s vision is to transform everyday travel through clean, efficient and inclusive public transport,” said Sanyam Gandhi, Whole-Time Director, Chartered Speed. “This allocation under the PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme, along with our partnership with EKA Mobility, is a significant step in that direction.”
Shiprocket launches RevProtect to safeguard MSME revenues from RTO losses
Shiprocket has introduced RevProtect, a revenue assurance solution designed to protect small and mid-sized eCommerce sellers from unpredictable losses due to Return-to-Origin (RTO) and shipping delays. Sellers can recover up to 50% of the order value for RTOs, with automatic protection and no shipping charges on delayed deliveries.
The solution also comes with free features like Delivery Boost and Notify to improve performance.
With RTO rates in India averaging 16% and rising in Tier 2 and 3 cities, the impact on MSMEs with thin margins can be severe. RevProtect will offer sellers a predictable income stream, reduce risks, and enable them to focus on growth while ensuring greater confidence in managing customer experience.
Rapido partners with AWPO to create jobs for army veterans
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Rapido has signed an MoU with the Army Welfare Placement Organisation (AWPO), the Indian Army’s placement arm, to provide structured employment opportunities for veterans.
Through the partnership, Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs), Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), and Other Ranks (ORs) will be hired as Driver Supply Leads, responsible for identifying, counselling, and onboarding local youth from rural and semi-urban regions. The initiative will begin with a 60-day pilot involving 10–15 veterans before expanding to 100+ locations within six months.
This collaboration recognises veterans as valuable contributors to India’s economy, leveraging their leadership, discipline, and community influence. It also strengthens Rapido’s regional driver supply network while creating long-term, stable career opportunities for ex-servicemen in their native districts.
ShareChat appoints Neha Markanda as Chief Business Officer
ShareChat said it has appointed Neha Markanda as its Chief Business Officer for the ShareChat and Moj platforms. In her new role, Neha will spearhead the company’s revenue strategy, accelerate business growth, and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders across the country.
Neha joins ShareChat from Google India, where she served as head of industry and ecommerce, leading strategy across multiple verticals and delivering consistent market growth. She also spearheaded Google India’s health strategy and was instrumental in driving business transformation and AI solutioning across both retail and health tech sectors.
Vodafone Idea partners with IBM for AI solutions
Vi (Vodafone Idea) has announced a collaboration with IBM to help streamline operations, improve service reliability, enhance the customer experience, and accelerate the seamless delivery of digital initiatives, using artificial intelligence (AI) and the implementation of a unified DevOps execution model fuelled by automation.
The newly established AI Innovation Hub is designed to continuously modernise Vi’s IT and business processes. The hub aims to bring together experts from Vi and IBM Consulting to co-create AI solutions, automation tools, and digital accelerators powered by IBM’s AI capabilities. The AI Innovation Hub will work closely with the unified DevOps team to find avenues of infusing AI into the development and operations function of Vi.
Hexaware launches agentic academy in partnership with upGrad
Hexaware Technologies has launched Agentic Academy in partnership with upGrad Enterprise, the corporate skilling division of upGrad, to prepare its workforce for the next evolution in enterprise AI—agentic systems. Building on two years of investment in generative AI skilling, during which 95% of employees have received training in GenAI fundamentals and advanced concepts through ongoing programs, the initiative now focuses on developing specialised expertise in Agentic AI.
The program pedagogy and custom training content have been co-designed with upGrad Enterprise, leveraging its expertise in instructional design, subject matter expert networks, and outcome-focused learning models. This approach ensures the training fits Hexaware’s context, aligning with workforce, customer, and business priorities.
Saarthi Finance selects Nucleus Software’s product
Saarathi Finance has selected Nucleus Software’s FinnOne Neo, a digital lending platform, to drive its technology-first approach to loan origination, management, and collections. This is expected to accelerate Saarathi’s goal to bridge the MSME credit gap in India through a cloud-ready, API-driven lending stack that offers agility, security, intelligence, and speed while conforming to the lending guidelines as mandated.
The company will leverage Nucleus Software’s end-to-end lending suite, comprising Customer Acquisition System, Loan Management System, Collections, and Mobility solutions, to manage its Loan Against Property businesses.
Skillz Inc opens new office in Bengaluru
Skillz Inc., a US-based gaming platform, has officially opened its new Bengaluru office, its second corporate headquarters. The Bengaluru hub will lead new product development, engineering, and advanced data analysis. The company also has Skillz Developer Accelerator, a $75 million initiative launched to support emerging mobile game developers and studios building innovative, skill-based titles.
By next year, approximately 50% of Skillz’s product, engineering, and analytics teams will be based in Bengaluru.
GTT Data Solutions posts Rs 25.44 crore revenue in Q1
GTT Data Solutions recorded a revenue of Rs 25.44 crore for the first quarter of FY26, which was a 507% quarter-on-quarter growth. However, the company reported a loss of Rs 3.86 crore during this period.
GTT Data Solutions MD Pankaj Samani said, “In Q1, we made meaningful progress across our growth pillars. With revenue at Rs 25.44 crore and momentum building across sectors, we are well-positioned to scale rapidly over the next few quarters. Over the next 12–18 months, we will double down on strategic acquisitions and global partnerships to accelerate our international expansion and margin growth.”
(The copy will be updated with the latest news throughout the day)
Edited by Jyoti Narayan
