Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (May 29, 2025)

From Snabbit raising funds to Imarticus Learning acquiring MyCaptain, YourStory brings today’s headlines that highlight significant developments across industries.

Featured stories

How Retrod is empowering small hotels across India

When the world came to a standstill during the pandemic, Pravat Panda’s life took a dramatic turn for the worse. The pandemic brought widespread layoffs in its wake, and Panda, who worked as head of sales in a traveltech company, was among those affected.

To make ends meet, he started Pandamart, an aggregator in the food supply industry. But navigating the uncertainties of a newly-founded company during a global economic crisis proved anything but easy. Read more.

Latest news

Upskilling firm Imarticus Learning acquires learning platform MyCaptain for Rs 50 Cr

Mumbai-based upskilling firm Imarticus Learning acquired Bengaluru-based learning platform MyCaptain in a Rs 50-crore cash-and-stock transaction.

MyCaptain helps college students, recent graduates, and early-career professionals build skills and explore opportunities in emerging, non-technical fields. It has built a presence across 1,500+ campuses, with 60% of its users coming from Tier II and III cities and 80% pursuing creative or entrepreneurial paths. Read more.

Quick commerce drives 20% of ecommerce business in India: Walmart International CEO

US-listed retail giant Walmart revealed that quick commerce is about 20% of its ecommerce business in India, and it is currently on a 50% growth trajectory, said Kath McLay, EVP, President and CEO of Walmart International.

"As we've been on our path to profitability with what I would call the core business, we've now started investing in emerging areas. We have 250 fulfilment centres that are Minutes fulfilment centres that deliver within minutes," said McLay in a fireside chat at the 41st Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference.

In a recent interview with YourStory, Kabeer Biswas, Vice-President of Flipkart Minutes, shared that the quick commerce initiative is halfway towards achieving its target of launching 800 stores by the end of the year. Read more.

NVIDIA clocks $44B in Q1 revenue, fuelled by data-centre biz

US chipmaker giant NVIDIAhas posted a revenue of $44.1 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, exceeding analysts' expectations. Revenue was up 69% from a year ago, fuelled by surging demand in its data centre business.

The revenue from the data centre segment, which includes AI chips and networking products, soared 73% year-on-year to $39.1 billion, representing over 88% of the company’s total sales. Read more.

Pixel fans in India can now buy devices directly from online Google Store

Android and Google enthusiasts in India have reason to celebrate, as the tech giant on Thursday opened direct sales on its online Google Store, making Pixel phones, watches, and earbuds available for purchase.

Previously, consumers could browse and compare Google devices on the online Google Store, but purchases had to be made through ecommerce platforms like Flipkart and Amazon, or via online and offline channels of retail partners such as Croma and Reliance Digital. Read more.

Funding news

Snabbit raises $19M from Lightspeed, existing investors

Quick service provider Snabbit has picked up another funding haul, less than six months after its last, to support expansion dreams as investor interest and competition in the sector shoot up.

The company has secured $19 million in its Series B round led by Lightspeed, along with participation from Elevation Capital and Nexus Venture Partners. Read more.

Cleevo raises $1M in funding led by Eternal Capital

Cleevo, a home hygiene brand, raised $1 million in a seed funding round led by Eternal Capital, with participation from Zeca Capital, as well as marquee angels investors, including DeVC, Utsav Somani (iSeed), Suhail Sameer (OTP Ventures), Sumit Jalan, Ajay Kumar (Action Tesa Group), and Alok Mittal (Indifi), along with key members of the Venture Garage Network.

According to Cleevo Founder and CEO Mayank Jain, the startup will use the funding to scale its R&D, expand manufacturing.

AI startup Unbound raises $4 million in seed round of funding

AI startup Unbound has raised $4 million in seed round of funding led by Race Capital, with participation from Wayfinder Ventures, Y Combinator, Massive Tech Ventures and angel investors.

Unbound gives IT teams the visibility and controls they need to safely introduce and manage AI tools in the enterprise. Its AI Gateway plugs into commonly used tools and provides real-time protection, model routing, and usage analytics.

“As AI tools become mainstream, enterprises are turning to flexibility and control,” said Rajaram Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO of Unbound. “They want visibility into what’s being used, assurance that their data is protected, and the ability to swap in better models as the space evolves. Unbound is the bridge that makes that possible.”

Other news

Supertails launches ‘Feed a Streetie’ campaign

Petcare startup Supertails has launched Feed a Streetie, a campaign to feed the street dog population, where it will distribute 1,000 kgs of nutritious food to street dogs across three Indian cities through trusted feeders.

According to the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), India is home to over 62 million stray dogs, and most of them rely on community feeding for survival.

Supertails has collaborated with three well-known community feeders—Modern Mowgli, Rescue by Garima, and Manjari from South Bengaluru Cares—for the initiative.

Rapido to provide basic life support training to over 1,000 drivers

Ride-sharing platform Rapido has partnered with the Society for Advanced Clinical and Therapeutic Emergency Medicine (SACTEM) to provide basic life support training to over 1,000 bike, auto, and cab captains across 16 cities in the country.

Captains will be trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and First Aid, equipping them to respond effectively to medical emergencies until professional help arrives.

The training will be rolled out in a phased manner, with the first phase covering captains across Bengaluru, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Vijayawada, Dehradun, Mysore, Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, and Vizag.

Automotive SaaS startup Spyne forays into the Indian used car market

Spyne, a SaaS startup focused on the automotive segment, has entered the Indian used car market with the introduction of its AI-enabled visual merchandising solution. The startup has deployed its solutions across auto dealerships across the US, Europe, and the Middle East.

According to a statement, the startup claimed its solution enables a 67% increase in sales leads and a 40% increase in conversions, while clocking a 70% reduction in operational costs.

Enlight Metal embeds AI to drive efficiency

Enlight Metal, the Pune-based metal aggregator, has embedded artificial intelligence (AI) across its business functions, which it claims has resulted in a 40% improvement in customer response time and a 25% reduction in stockouts. The shift has been from traditional, intuition-based trading to data-driven decision-making.

By integrating AI into its CRM and ERP platforms, Enlight Metals automates workflows such as daily prioritisation of customer inquiries received via WhatsApp and email. This ensures urgent requests are routed quickly to the right teams, eliminating response bottlenecks and improving client satisfaction.

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)