Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (April 23, 2025)
From Ather announcing its IPO to Swiggy allotting ESOPs, YourStory brings you all the top stories from the Indian entrepreneurial landscape.
Featured stories
Rs 100 Cr ARR in 8 years: How Ugaoo is cultivating India's modern gardening movement
When Siddhant Bhalinge returned to India in 2015 after studying landscape architecture in the US, he was immediately struck by a disconnect in Indian horticulture. Unlike abroad, where plant stores were designed to inspire and educate, India’s gardening scene was fragmented between agri-stores and roadside nurseries.
Ather Energy IPO: Tiger Global and other investors to walk away with handsome gains
Hero MotoCorp-backed EV maker Ather Energy has priced its initial public offering (IPO) between Rs 304 and Rs 321.
Internet Fund III, which is managed by Tiger Global, will tender up to 400,000 equity shares in the offer for sale (OFS), and will see about 8X returns, given that it will be selling its shares at the upper end of the price band. The cost of acquisition per share for the firm was Rs 38.58 apiece. Internet Fund III is likely to receive Rs 12.84 crore through this sale.
Funding news
Emversity grabs $5M in pre-Series A funding round led by Lightspeed, Z47
Beyond Odds Technologies, the parent of the skill-based training and higher-education platform Emversity, has closed a $5 million pre-Series A round. The round was led by Z47 and Lightspeed, with participation from Alteria Capital and Innoven Capital.
SaveIN raises Rs 37 Cr led by existing investors
SaveIN, a healthcare-fintech startup, has secured Rs 37 crore in its latest funding round, led by its existing global investors including 10X Founders, Oliver Jung, and Leblon Capital, with fresh participation from Stem AI.
This follows a Rs 64 crore seed round, bringing the Y-Combinator-backed startup’s total funding to over Rs 100 crore.
Other news
Dailyhunt parent VerSe's group CFO steps down citing 'health reasons'
Sandip Basu, Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of VerSe Innovation—the parent company of Dailyhunt—stepped down earlier this month citing health reasons, people in the know told YourStory.
BankBazaar ventures into gold loans through a tie-up with Muthoot FinCorp
Non-banking financial company Muthoot FinCorp has invested in fintech platform BankBazaar's ongoing Series D2 round as an equity investor. This is part of a strategic collaboration that will see BankBazaar enter the secured loans market with a gold loan product.
upGrad opens enrolments for ‘U&AI’ certification with Microsoft
upGrad has opened enrolments for ‘U&AI’ Certification - a first-of-its-kind Generative AI Certification, developed in collaboration with Microsoft, to skill one million learners in foundational and advanced GenAI within a year.
The initiative, now bolstered by a completion certificate from NSDC, will accelerate India’s digital transformation by bridging the AI talent gap and enhancing employability for professionals, in the rapidly evolving job market.
Ampivo AI acquires 51% stake in Commerce Forever
Ampivo AI, a multi-modal AI solutions provider, has acquired 51% stake in Commerce Forever Solutions, a B2B ecommerce operations firm. The move aims to grow and strengthen Ampivo AI’s role in the ecommerce space by using its AI Technology into real world B2B applications.
Commerce Forever Solutions closed the financial year 2024-25 with net sales of Rs 115 crore. Ampivo AI said it will be deploying advanced predictive AI technology in commerce forever solutions to enable long-term cost optimisation. This move will allow Ampivo AI to step into an untapped segment of B2B commerce with the help of Commerce Forever’s established operational infrastructure in the Indian Market. While the leadership role and day-to-day activities remain the same, the focus of the integration will be embedding AI across the key business processes, with clearly defined KPIs centred around enhancing cost efficiency.
The copy will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti