Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (March 27, 2025)
YourStory presents daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, March 27, 2025.
From what drives e-retail in India to World Bank's foray into India's venture debt market, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.
Featured stories
Online retail to grow on the back of quick commerce, hyper-value commerce: Report
The Indian e-retail market is expected to surge over $60 billion in GMV driven by the popularity of quick commerce, adoption of hyper-value commerce, and trend-first approaches in the market, according to a report from Bain & Company and Flipkart.
Hyper-value commerce grew from 5% of e-retail GMV in 2021 to more than 12% in 2024. The shift is growing on the back of internet penetration and traction among lower-middle-income consumers, particularly in Tier II or smaller cities.
According to another report by Redseer, a large share of consumers favour small-ticket transactions and prioritise affordability.
Hyderabad-based Equal is simplifying financial data sharing with consent-based solutions
Founded by Keshav Reddy, along with Rajeev Ranjan in 2022, the startup is an identity verification aggregator that helps businesses address critical pain points such as Know Your Customer (KYC), fraud prevention, onboarding, income validation, and regulatory compliance.
At its core, the company offers two key products—the KYC Aggregator and the Account Aggregator.
Latest news
World Bank's IFC backs Alteria Capital’s short-term Venture Debt fund
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has joined Alteria Capital as an anchor investor in its Shorter Duration Scheme (SDS), marking the World Bank unit’s foray into India’s niche venture debt market.
The SDS fund will target short-term capital demands, including working capital and inventory financing, with licensed fintech firms and consumer-focused startups as primary beneficiaries. Portfolio companies under SDS include proptech firm Ivy Homes, financial services startup Swara Fincare, and consumer brand TEN x YOU.
NuVentures unveils $75M fund to back AI startups with India connect
Nu Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm founded by seasoned startup investor Venk Krishnan in 2015, has unveiled a new $75 million fund. Based in the US, the fund is focused on supporting founders with a strong India connection.
The fund plans to invest in around four to five startups annually, with investments ranging from $250,000 to $750,000. NuVentures has already secured commitments from the Fund of Funds and high net worth individuals (HNIs) in the US.
Funding news
Mila Beaute bags $2.16M from Rukam Capital
Color cosmetics brand Mila Beaute has raised $2.16 million in a pre-Series A round from Rukam Capital, at a valuation of Rs 303 crore.
The company plans to use the newly raised funds for research and development, upgrading its manufacturing capabilities and deepening its market presence.
It currently clocks annual revenues of $7.23 million, and is targeting a 2X growth in the next 12-18 months.
OneStack raises $2M in Series A round
Fintech platform OneStack has raised $2 million in Series A funding and is expected to secure an additional $1 million as part of the same round.
The round was led by Pentathlon Ventures, along with participation from Yatra Angel Network and continued support from existing investors 100Unicorns and Venture Catalysts.
Founded by Amit Kapoor and Vishal Gupta, the company offers a comprehensive tech stack to digitise India’s cooperative banking ecosystem.
Other news
EY India launches LLM for BFSI sector
EY India has developed a ‘Customised Fine-Tuned LLM’ specifically for the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sector.
The tailored LLM will offer advanced AI-driven capabilities, enhancing answer accuracy, intent recognition, contextual comprehension, and BFSI-specific vocabulary depth.
It can be hosted on-premises or in the cloud with minimal GPU needs, reducing costs. BFSI organizations can use it for customer service via text channels like WhatsApp, SMS, and chatbots, as well as AI-driven voice call centers.
Camb.Ai appoints Anupam Sengupta as business head
Camb.Ai has appointed Anupam Sengupta as AI Business - Head India Subcontinent and SEA region to develop its emerging markets footprint across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
"At Camb.AI, our mission is to bridge India’s linguistic diversity through advanced AI, ensuring equal access across entertainment, sports, education, and healthcare. With India and SEA emerging markets central to our strategy, we’re excited to build long-term, transformative impact," noted Avneesh Prakash, CEO at Camb.Ai.
The Dubai-based startup offers AI dubbing and speech translation for live events, among other things. It raised $4 million in a seed round led by Courtside Ventures in February last year.
Cloud Security Alliance partners with edForce for training
Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) has partnered with upskilling accelerator, edForce, to offer cloud security training and certification programs to Indian enterprises.
edForce will integrate CSA’s Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK) training to address the cloud security skills gap.
edForce provides enterprise learning solutions, including onboarding, training, certifications, and assessments, serving clients like Infosys, Accenture, Sony, Walmart, Siemens, and Amazon.
Hitachi Cash Management Services names Yusuf Pachmariwala as CEO
Hitachi Cash Management Services, a unit of Hitachi Payment Service, announced a leadership transition with Yusuf Pachmariwala set to take over as MD and CEO from April.
Pachmariwala currently holds the position of Director Operations - Cash Business at Hitachi Payment Services. He will succeed Anup Neogi, who has decided to retire from the role.
Inspeq.ai sets up new office in Bengaluru
Ireland-born AI safety solution provider Inspeq.ai has marked its entry in India with a new office in Bengaluru.
Along with a R&D center, the company plans to recruit 50 professionals across engineering, operations, and client engagement roles in the coming months.
The platform enables developers to deploy Gen AI applications up to 4X faster while reducing costs by up to 70%. It offers enterprise-grade AI-driven safety solutions through a suite of capabilities including LLM evaluation, AI governance, model transparency, and scalable deployment.
Garuda Aerospace reaffirms its Rs 100 Cr investment for Andhra Pradesh Drone City
Dronetech startup Garuda Aerospace executive met with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to accelerate the development of the Andhra Pradesh Drone City in Kurnool.
Garuda Aerospace’s Rs 100 crore investment will focus on strategic land allocation near ports and airports to attract global aerospace companies and boost exports. Andhra Pradesh Drone City aims to be a global hub for drone technology, with the potential to create 20,000 jobs and train 25,000 pilots to support the aerospace sector.
The project is expected to support the establishment of over 500 drone-related companies and attract foreign investments worth $5 billion.
Netherlands, Karnataka govt, C-CAMP look at AI-led synergies in healthcare
Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) has facilitated discussions between Karnataka's Health Minister, Dinesh Gundu Rao, and Netherlands Vice Minister of Health, Barbara Goezinne, to explore collaborations in AI-driven health innovations.
Discussions explored aligning the Netherlands' public health system with Karnataka’s system through a proposed 'Innovation Bridge,' which will be facilitated by C-CAMP as part of a potential bilateral partnership.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
Edited by Swetha Kannan