Page 4 - Start- Ups

GobbleCube raises $3.5 million to expand AI tools for consumer brands

InfoEdge Ventures leads Pre-Series A round as GobbleCube targets growth in hyperlocal commerce with AI-driven solutions for top consumer brands

Beauty unicorn Good Glamm Group struggles to pay staff amid cash crunch

The Mumbai-based company has delayed employee salaries while seeking new funding, as three board directors from major VCs recently departed

Training, secure supply chains key to success of circular startups: Report

Good training and mentoring, helpful government policies and keeping supply chain data secure are among key factors that help "circular startups" succeed, according to a report by Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow. Circular startups are businesses that are designed from the start to reduce waste, reuse materials, and make efficient use of natural resources, rather than the traditional "take-make-dispose" model. The research published in the Business Strategy and Environment journal offers insights into the key factors that help such startups succeed. According to Suresh Jakhar, Professor, Operations and Supply Chain Management, with rising global temperature and fast-depleting natural resources, this study offers insights into circular models that have become critically important. Projections show that global usage of natural resources is expected to double by 2050, posing serious environmental and economic risks. "The Circular Economy (CE) and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) ha

Five minute dash: Quick commerce cos tap spatial tech to cut delivery times

It has now caught the fancy of burgeoning quick commerce (qcom) firms - firms that compete to deliver goods ordered online within minutes across cities and towns

Agnikul, GalaxEye, ePlane Co among 10 Indian startups on WEF list

Indian startups in AI, space tech, energy and data analytics make it to WEF's 2025 top 100 list, affirming India's rising presence in deep-tech innovation

Evera Cabs secures $4 mn from Mufin Green Finance to speed up EV expansion

Homegrown EV cab firm Evera secures funding from Mufin Green Finance to double airport reach, scale operations with BluSmart fleet acquisition and new growth targets

Logistics startup Delhivery boosts capacity with Gateway Hub expansion

Logistics firm Delhivery expands its Chandigarh hub to increase storage capacity by 30 per cent and add green and automated systems to serve northern India more efficiently

Reloy FY25 revenue rises 60% to ₹28.5 crore on strong referral sales growth

HDFC Capital-backed proptech startup Reloy, which helps builders generate referral sales, has posted a 60 per cent growth in revenue to Rs 28.5 crore in the previous fiscal year on high demand for housing properties. The company posted a gross revenue of Rs 17.8 crore in the 2023-24 financial year. "We managed to grow 50 per cent in our core referral sales business," Reloy Founder and CEO Akhil Saraf told PTI. He noted that the company has cracked the code on referral sales and replicating this across all clients. Saraf said the company is working with almost all leading real estate developers across major states. Founded in 2015, Reloy specialises in real estate loyalty and referrals. It is a B2B2C homeowner and broker management platform that helps builders manage their customers and brokers more efficiently. Reloy has so far raised Rs 13 crore from various investors, including HDFC Capital, which owns around 10 per cent stake in the startup. The tech solutions offered by the

'Much-needed relief': Startups on Sebi reforms relaxing ESOP norms

The ease in norms from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) comes at a time when multiple Indian startups such as PhonePe, Zepto, Pine Labs

Digital competition Bill: Online cos tell Parl panel to protect innovation

The Parliamentary Panel is looking into the role of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in an evolving economy, particularly the digital landscape

Recur Club eyes early, mid-stage firms for Rs 2,000 crore FY26 bet

Recur Club plans to invest Rs 2 crore on average in early and mid-stage startups, aiming to fund 1,000 firms in FY26 through its debt marketplace platform and network of 50+ lenders

India needs entrepreneurship 2.0 with risk-taking, visionary founders

India, in fact, was a major exporter to West Asia, where two large empires - the Safavid and the Ottoman - provided a lucrative marketing area

CloudSEK sees 5-fold jump in valuation in $19 million fundraise round

Cybersecurity firm CloudSEK has raised USD 19 million in a fresh funding round from a clutch of investors at a five-fold increase in valuation to around USD 118 million (about Rs 1,000 crore) compared to its previous funding round, a top company official said. CloudSEK Co-Founder and CEO Rahul Sasi told PTI that the company has raised fund after a period of three years, mainly to set up its operations in the United States. "We have raised USD 19 million from some of the strategic investors after a period of about three years. In three years, our revenue has grown five times, and so has our valuation. We have raised funds at a valuation of around Rs 1,000 crore mainly to set up our US operations," Sasi said. The round saw participation from a mix of India and US-based investors, such as MassMutual Ventures, Inflexor Ventures, Prana Ventures, Tenacity Ventures, and select strategic investors, including Commvault. Meeran Family (founders of Eastern Group), StartupXSeed, Neon Fund and

Byju Raveendran eyes return via AI model, says students will be compensated

BYJU'S CEO Byju Raveendran apologises for past service disruptions, pledges compensation to affected students, and outlines vision for AI-powered BYJU'S 3.0

AI infrastructure startup Flam raises $14 million in Series A round

Flam will use the capital to scale its GenAI product suite, expand across North America, Europe and the Middle East, and deepen mixed reality infrastructure in Asia

Pre-IPO startups seek Sebi nod for flexibility on Esops to founders

Startups with diluted founder stakes seek Sebi's nod to issue Esops post-listing as they look to retain leadership alignment and reward long-term value creation

Proptech startup Alt DRX raises $2.7 million from investors to expand biz

Alt DRX, a tokenised digital real estate marketplace, has raised USD 2.7 million (around Rs 23 crore) to expand its business. In a statement on Monday, the company said it has "closed its Pre-Series A funding round, raising Rs 23 crore (USD 2.7 million)". The round witnessed participation from investors -- Qatar Development Bank, Times of India Brand Capital, Hindustan Media Ventures, Zee Group, WeFounder Circle Angel Fund, nX Capital -- besides angel investors such as Harsha Bhogle (Golden Voice of Cricket), Parthasarathy (Founder of Mindtree), and Richard Rekhy (former CEO of KPMG India). Alt DRX aims to make residential real estate accessible to people by democratising this asset class by enabling people to buy and sell tokenised residential properties one square feet at a time, powered by algorithmic daily pricing, instant settlements, and blockchain-powered transparency. Anand Narayanan, one of the founders of Alt DRX, said the fund will be utilised for purchase of residential

Uttarakhand to strengthen startups, sets up venture fund of Rs 200 crore

CM Dhami said that a venture fund of Rs 200 crore has been set up to boost entrepreneurship in the state

GreenGrahi raises ₹32 cr in a seed funding round led by Avaana Capital

The company also plans to expand its team and enter global markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, and the European Union

Nabard buys 10% stake in 24x7 Moneyworks to boost rural credit digitisation

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has acquired a 10 per cent stake in agri fintech startup 24x7 Moneyworks Consulting Pvt Ltd. This marks Nabard's first-ever investment in a bootstrapped startup, reinforcing its commitment to digital transformation in rural India, the apex rural credit institution said in a statement. 24x7 Moneyworks Consulting Pvt. Ltd's flagship platform, eKisanCredit (eKCC), is a fully digital loan origination system designed for Cooperative Banks, PACS and RRBs, it said. The eKCC platform integrates seamlessly with land records, Aadhaar, eKYC, core banking systems and ePACS, enabling end-to-end automation of the rural credit lifecycle, it said. Over the past two and half years, Nabard has piloted eKCC across various banks and the system is now ready for nation-wide roll-out, it said. "eKCC has demonstrated the potential to improve access, transparency, and efficiency in dispensing agricultural credit This strategic collaboration