Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (March 13, 2025)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, March 13, 2025.
From Purple Style Labs’ funding to PhonePe’s Indus Appstore partnering with Xiaomi, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.
Featured stories
Revolutionising industrial safety with AI-powered wearable technology
For millions of industrial workers, extreme heat, hazardous environments, and a lack of real-time safety monitoring pose serious risks to health and productivity. Workers in sectors such as manufacturing, mining, construction, oil & gas, and heavy engineering endure prolonged exposure to high temperatures. This can lead to heat stress, dehydration, and even life-threatening conditions.
To address these challenges, Kausthub Kaundinya, Sreekanth Kommula and Anand Kumar—mechanical engineers and alumni of BITS Pilani—launched Jarsh Safety in 2017.
Arise Ventures helps Indian tech startups break into the US market
Startups aspire to have marquee clients and a meaningful presence in larger economies. However, it is easier said than done. To help early-stage Indian startups in this journey, Arise Ventures is building an India-US corridor.
Founder Ankita Vashistha, who has been associated with the venture capital and private equity space since 2008, believes a lot can be done to accelerate the growth trajectory of Indian tech startups.
How Clodura.AI is driving innovation in sales prospecting
The B2B sales landscape is rapidly changing, with businesses looking for efficient ways to identify and engage potential clients. Traditional prospecting methods often rely on outdated databases and manual research, leading to inefficiencies.
Recognising these challenges, Clodura.AI was founded to bring a data-driven, AI-powered approach to sales intelligence.
“The biggest challenge in sales prospecting is not just finding leads but finding the right leads at the right time. We built a system that ensures data is reliable and actionable,” Kapil Khangaonkar, Founder and CEO of Clodura.AI, tells YourStory.
Funding news
Purple Style Labs secures $40M
Purple Style Labs (PSL), the parent company of Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop, has secured about $40 million in a Series E funding round led by SageOne Flagship Growth OE Fund, Alchemy Long Term Ventures Fund, Bajaj Holdings and Investment, and Minerva Ventures Fund, including secondary investments.
Established in 2015 by Abhishek Agarwal, Purple Style Labs (PSL) is an omnichannel luxury fashion platform specialising in Indian designer wear. The company operates two multi-designer platforms: Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop and The Stylist.
Neural Defend secures funding by Inflection Point Ventures, MIT SBXI, Techstars San Francisco
Neural Defend, an AI-driven cybersecurity startup, has raised over $600K in a Pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV).
The round also saw participation from MIT SBXI (Boston-based), Techstars San Francisco, and Soonicorn Ventures. The capital will be used to enhance its agentic AI capabilities for real-time, multimodal deepfake detection, further advancing its R&D efforts and product development.
Scimplify raise $40M co-led by Accel and Bertelsmann India Investments
Scimplify, an R&D-driven speciality chemicals manufacturing startup, has raised $40 million in Series B funding to scale its platform and expand its global footprint.
The round was co-led by Accel and Bertelsmann India Investments with participation from UMI and existing investors including Omnivore and 3one4 Capital, bringing Scimplify’s total funding to $54 million following its seed and Series A rounds.
Other news
Nazara Technologies COO Sudhir Kamath resigns
Nazara Technologies Limited said the company's Chief Operating Officer (COO), Sudhir Kamath, will officially step down from his position on April 1, 2025.
The company disclosed Kamath’s departure in a regulatory filing with BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE). According to the statement, Kamath is leaving the company to relocate to his hometown and dedicate more time to his family.
Former GlobalBees executive Damandeep Soni joins AstroTalk as CBO
AstroTalk has appointed Damandeep Soni, former president and chief business officer (CBO) of ecommerce roll-up firm GlobalBees, as its CBO for ecommerce.
AstroTalk Co-founder Anmol Jain confirmed the appointment in a statement. In his new role, Soni will lead the company’s ecommerce and direct-to-consumer (D2C) business operations.
Abhibus and Telangana police join forces to strengthen bus travel security in Telangana
AbhiBus (ixigo’s bus business), a bus ticketing platform, has partnered with T-Safe, a safety initiative of the Telangana Police, to strengthen bus commuter security. The collaboration aims to enhance safety measures, particularly for women travellers, by leveraging technology to create a more secure and reliable travel ecosystem.
Through this partnership, AbhiBus has integrated T-Safe’s real-time emergency response system into its platform, enabling travellers to alert the police instantly in case of distress.
NSDC, AIu partner to transform academic credential verification and skill integration in India
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) have entered into a transformative partnership for academic credential verification and integrate skill-based courses into higher education across India.
The partnership will establish a robust, technology-driven verification system for academic and skill qualifications awarded by Indian institutions. Utilising the National Academic Depository (NAD) and institution-level data, it will streamline academic and professional verification, enabling universities and colleges to efficiently process verifications via online interfaces or API integration.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
Edited by Kanishk Singh
