Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (January 24, 2025)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Friday, January 24, 2025.
From budget expectations from the investor community to luxury skincare brands exploring new segments in the market, Yourstory brings today’s headlines that highlight the latest developments across sectors
Here’s a roundup of the key stories today.
Featured Stories
Budget 2025: Agritech sector calls for focus on infrastructure and sustainability
The agriculture sector in India is grappling with several issues that are deeply intertwined with both economic and environmental concerns. These include post-harvest losses, inadequate infrastructure, climate change, and limited access to modern technology.
Experts and leaders from the agriculture sector are urging for targeted investments to address these issues. They are also calling for improvements in rural infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses, improve credit accessibility, and foster innovation through agritech solutions.
The role of agritech innovations is seen as particularly crucial. These technologies can offer solutions to enhance productivity, reduce resource wastage, and foster sustainable farming methods.
Industry status, green tourism, and input tax credit: Hospitality sector’s wish-list for Budget 2025
Hospitality in India extends beyond providing a roof to sleep under for a certain sum of money. It starts from the time one arrives at the doorstep and extends way beyond, after one has checked out of a hotel or paid the bill at a restaurant.
That India is taking tourism and hospitality seriously was seen in the 2024 interim Budget, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Rs 2,449,62 crore to the tourism sector—an increase of 44.7% from FY2023.
The hospitality market in India, which was pegged at $29.3 billion in 2024, is projected to grow to $47.83 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 5%.
An industry status will encourage more investments and development in the sector, says Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO of online travel company MakeMyTrip.
Luxury skincare: How this founder is building a premium gifting brand selling body serum candles
For Priyanshi Jogani, the hunt for a perfect birthday gift for her friend led to something unexpected—an idea for a luxury startup.
Curiosity from an Instagram ad, and the unavailability of the product in India drove Jogani to found Bengaluru-based Mevyl Luxury.
Born in a traditional business family, Jogani always wanted to become an entrepreneur and found her calling in luxury body care.
Operating on D2C and B2B models with corporate gifting, the company primarily targets women between 18 and 65. The products are, however, gender-neutral.
Funding News
Beer maker Medusa Beverages bags Rs 56 Cr in Series A funding
Beer maker Medusa Beverages raised Rs 56 crore in series A to expand manufacturing and distribution capabilities.
The equity round was led by Amal N Parikh & Ashwin Kedia, along with co-investments by Ramesh Damani, Nikhil Garg, Crest Opportunities, and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) based in Singapore, the UK, and the UAE.
It plans to use the latest capital infusion to expand its production capacity, which currently stands at 2 lakh hectoliters annually.
A part of the fundraise would also be utilized to make strategic investments across the value chain and diversify within the alco-bev industry.
Other News
KOGO and MapmyIndia unveil Universal Voice Assistant for automotive industry
KOGO, a Bengaluru-based full-stack AI company, partnered with digital mapping and geo-intelligence platform MapmyIndia, and launched India’s first Universal Voice Assistant for the automotive industry at the Bharat Auto Expo 2025.
The company explains the technology with an example where while people are stuck in traffic, their vehicle can order groceries, do bank work, plan trips, and schedule services among others.
This leverages KOGO’s Agentic Mesh and MapmyIndia’s deep learning geo-intelligence stack, to provide an on-premises, edge-computing platform that ensures data privacy and safety for end customers, the company said.
Unlike existing voice assistants that are limited to basic in-car commands, the KOGO-MapmyIndia Universal Assistant delivers natural language conversations, the ability to surf the internet, and real- world impact by operating apps and services beyond the vehicle, it added.
“We designed the platform to work entirely on-premises and at the edge, ensuring that end customers’ data remains secure and private…Our vision is to empower every vehicle owner with an AI assistant that is not only powerful but also respects their privacy,” said Praveer Kochhar, Co-Founder and CPO, KOGO.
ZETWERK appoints industry veterans to lead electronics manufacturing services (EMS) division
ZETWERK Manufacturing Businesses appointed key industry veterans to lead its electronics manufacturing services (EMS) division, the company said in a statement.
The appointments include Bharat Chopra, who will be in charge of Noida Operations; Kannan Krishnan, in-charge of South Operations; and Santhoshkumar Ramakrishnan, AVP, Sales. The three appointees are set to report to Josh Foulger, President (Electronics), ZETWERK.
Chopra has previously worked with Samsung and PG Electroplast, meanwhile Krishnan is a veteran of Bharat FIH and Nokia, and Ramakrishnan previously worked with Flextronics Technologies.
ZETWERK has made significant investments in its EMS business, including management takeover of two advanced manufacturing facilities in Noida and a commitment of Rs 1,000 crore to expand its electronics division.
The company believes that these investments will significantly boost its production capacity and enable it to deliver a superior customer experience across a diverse range of products, including smart meters, mobile phones, smart watches, neckbands, TV & display devices, hearable & wearable devices, home appliances, automotive parts, and POS machines.
Unstop launches upskilling internship programme
HR tech startup launches Unstop Talent Park 2025, an upskilling internship program with Rs 1 lakh monthly stipend.
The internship is open to graduates, postgraduates, freshers, and experienced professionals and aims to enable individuals to upskill with the right resources and a clear end goal.
Conducted in three rounds, “The first Round is a learning boot camp to help participants get familiar with the platform and its resources. The second round comprises independent upskilling to encourage participants to maximize their learning journey at their own pace. The final round shall see an interview round to evaluate users' learning and cultural fit, which comes with a stipend and the potential for a full-time position based on performance,” the company said in a statement.
Jaipur Rugs acquires Shyam Ahuja
Jaipur Rugs announced the acquisition of luxury rug and fabric brand Shyam Ahuja to revive the handmade carpet brand on a global scale. As per the deal, Jaipur Rugs obtains both the personal collection of Shyam Ahuja and his entire design archive.
Shyam Ahuja founded the luxury rugs and textile design brand in 1963, recognising the potential of the flatwoven dhurrie as a woven canvas.
Jaipur Rugs was established in 1978 by Nand Kishore Chaudhary, who saw the potential for hand- knotted carpets as a way to preserve India’s rich artisanal legacy while benefiting rural populations.
“We have a shared vision for preserving and elevating the artisanal wealth of our country. The brand has an extremely strong emotional connection with so many customers and patrons around the world, which we will harness to revive the glory days of Shyam Ahuja and re-establish its unique positioning at the top of the market, globally,” said Yogesh Chaudhary, Director, Jaipur Rugs.
DSP Mutual Fund, Dentsu Creative Webchutney, Falco Robotics partner to reunite lost children at Purna Maha Kumbh
The Purna Maha Kumbh, which occurs once every 144 years, following 12 cycles of the Maha Kumbh is expected to draw a record 400 million devotees this year.
The past events have witnessed more than 250,000 missing individuals—with many of them being children. This prompted the partnership by the three companies to launch Garuda Rakshak—an offline drone-based search-and-rescue solution designed to overcome network congestion challenges and swiftly reunite lost children with their families.
“Based on 1970s marine navigation technology, it utilises low-frequency radio bands for long-range communication and precision satellite tracking, all while requiring minimal infrastructure,” the company said.
“If a child goes missing, guardians can simply tap their ID bands at the Lost and Found Centre to activate the Garuda Rakshak system. The drone, armed with real-time geo-data from the child’s wristband, springs into action, pinpointing the child’s location within minutes. It deploys an extendable colour marker high in the sky, cutting through the chaos to visually guide rescuers, while simultaneously transmitting the child’s details to the on-ground rescue team,” it added.
Hitachi Payment Services forms partnership with IvyCamp
Hitachi Payment Services has announced a partnership with IvyCamp, an alumni-based engagement initiative of IvyCap Ventures to propel digital payment innovation through Hitachi Payments Accelerator (HPX) program.
Hitachi Payments Accelerator (HPX) aims to engage with fintech startups and foster innovation by accelerating the development of technology solutions. The collaboration will identify and mentor promising startups in domains such as ERP/billing, segmented payment solutions, embedded finance, issuance, payments compliance, banking as a service, AI/Gen AI, core banking, Web 3.0/CBDC and more.
As part of this programme, selected startups will gain access to customer networks, integration with Hitachi Payment Services’ technology stack and opportunity to pilot their solutions, with the potential for commercial partnerships for successful pilots.
SBI Payments expands partnership with Pine Labs
SBI Payments and Pine Labs have expanded their 12-year partnership. With this latest expansion, SBI Payments and Pine Labs will focus on accelerating the adoption of digital payments and digital commerce solutions. The partnership will focus on ensuring a seamless checkout experience across multiple payment methods. Also, a comprehensive merchant digitisation suite is planned to be made available, empowering merchants to digitise and streamline their workflows.
SBI Payments is a joint venture formed between India’s largest commercial bank, State Bank of India, and Hitachi Payment Services Pvt. Ltd. Pine Labs is a merchant commerce platform. Together, SBI Payments and Pine Labs, enable over 200k digital checkout points across India.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti
