Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (May 22, 2025)

From Mr White Gloves’ impact on India’s car care industry to OpenAI’s $6.4 billion acquisition of Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Featured stories

How Mr White Gloves is driving change in India’s car care industry

With back-to-back meetings and long working hours, finding time for a simple car wash can feel like a luxury. Ever wish someone could just show up and get it done? That feeling led to Kunal Divyanshu’s entrepreneurial journey. 

“As a car owner, I faced a lot of difficulties related to car care. I wanted professionals to take care of my car, be it washing, detailing, polishing, and regular maintenance, but there were no reliable services nearby,” recalls the 32-year-old founder. 

That moment of frustration pushed Divyanshu, a former Director of Sales at BYJU’S, to make a bold move. After a successful stint at WhiteHat Jr. and witnessing its $300 million acquisition, he had seen firsthand how rapidly startups could scale. Armed with this insight, he launched Mr White Gloves in August 2021 in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Read more.

Latest news

OpenAI buys Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup io Products in $6.4B deal

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has acquired io Products, the AI hardware startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a $6.4 billion all-equity deal.

The acquisition is by far OpenAI’s largest to date and signals the AI firm's entry into the AI-enabled consumer hardware market. It already owns 23% of io Products and is paying $5 billion for the remaining stake in the company. 

The deal follows OpenAI’s recent acquisitions of Windsurf, an AI-assisted coding tool, for $3 billion, and analytics startup Rockset last year. Read more.

360 ONE Asset launches early-stage venture capital strategy

360 ONE Asset, a subsidiary of 360 ONE WAM, launched an early-stage venture capital strategy to support startups from their first institutional funding rounds. 

According to a company statement, this new strategy will focus on high-growth sectors, including consumer technology, fintech infrastructure, generative AI, spacetech, defence, and precision manufacturing. Besides capital, 360 ONE Asset will provide strategic guidance, governance support, and access to late-stage growth funding through its larger investment ecosystem. 

The strategy is part of the firm’s broader lifecycle investment model and is anchored by its Rs 25,000 crore ($3 billion) private equity platform. Read more.

Funding news

Data Sutram bags $9M series A funding led by B Capital, Lightspeed

Regulatory technology startup Data Sutram raised $9 million in a Series A funding round co-led by global venture firms B Capital and Lightspeed. The company seeks to expand its AI-powered fraud detection and compliance platform across new verticals and international markets. 

The funding will help Data Sutram expand its fraud detection capabilities beyond banking into sectors like insurance, gaming, and crypto, while scaling its team and operations for international growth, it said in a statement. Read more.

Promethean Energy raises $2M in a pre-Series A funding

Cleantech startup Promethean Energy has secured $2 million in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Transition VC. The round also saw participation from investors including Sangam Venture, Sagana Capital, and Fondation Botnar.

The company will use the funds to expand its product range, scale operations, and strengthen its presence in India and Southeast Asia.

Founded by IIT Bombay alumni, Promethean Energy develops industrial-grade heat pump systems and waste heat recovery solutions to replace fossil fuel-based heating in large factories and commercial settings.

The company’s proprietary systems integrate high-efficiency thermal technology with thermal storage, smart controls, and real-time energy monitoring to provide clean, reliable, and cost-effective heating.

Venture Catalysts participates in BlackCarrot’s pre-seed funding round

Venture Catalysts, an integrated incubator and accelerator, has participated in the pre-seed funding round of BlackCarrot, a dinnerware brand focused on health and modern design.

The round also included investment from We Founder Circle, EvolveX Accelerator, GX Ventures, and Suraj Nalin, Co-Founder of PlaySimple Games, along with celebrity investors Neha Dhupia and Agnello Dias.

The seed funding will support BlackCarrot in expanding its presence in key markets, developing its product range, and strengthening its market position. It intends to scale its distribution, strengthen retail partnerships, and invest in new product development.

Founded by Yadupati Gupta and Vishal Gupta, BlackCarrot offers a wide range of products, including bone china (animal bone ash)-free ceramics, lead-free glassware, and 304 food-grade stainless steel cutlery. 

Other news

ThunderPlus collaborates with Ather Energy

Electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy partnered with EV charging infrastructure company ThunderPlus to address range anxiety among electric vehicle users. 

The collaboration aims to significantly increase the availability of EV charging points nationwide.

As part of the partnership, Ather customers will now have access to all 140 ThunderPlus charging hubs across 15 states and 40 cities, providing access to a reliable and fast charging network.

Boba Bhai enters multi-channel model

Boba Bhai has entered the multi-channel with the launch of its ready-to-drink (RTD) canned bubble teas. 

Building on its presence through QSR outlets and third-party food aggregators such as Swiggy and Zomato, the brand is now extending its reach to modern retail and quick commerce platforms to meet the needs of India’s fast-paced, convenience-driven consumers.

The newly launched canned teas are now available on Blinkit and Zepto, with availability on Instamart expected soon. Currently distributed across 70 cities, the products are introduced in high-performing urban centres. 

Looking ahead, the product pipeline includes new milk teas, seasonal variants, functional beverages, and a K-Coffee range.

Getepay receives RBI approval to operate as online payment aggregator

Getepay, a digital payments and merchant enablement platform, has received final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a Payment Aggregator (PA) online under the RBI’s payment regulatory framework. 

With the RBI’s final PA license, Getepay aims to expand across India, enhance its merchant services, and onboard small businesses—particularly from Tier 2, Tier 3, and rural areas—onto a unified digital payments and commerce platform.

Founded in Jaipur in 2016 by Pravin Sharma, Getepay claims to have supported over 1.5 million merchants across sectors like kirana stores, micro-retailers, ecommerce, education, services, and small manufacturers.

The platform offers integrated tools for digital payments, commerce, and business management, targeting SMEs and enterprises in Bharat. 

Eka Care, AWS announce Ekathon 2025

Eka Care and Amazon Web Services (AWS) will hold Ekathon 2025, a hackathon focused on innovation and advancing digital transformation in India’s healthcare sector. 

The event, taking place on June 5 and 6 at the Amazon premises in Bengaluru, invites early-stage startups, independent developers, and innovators to develop solutions using Eka Care’s open healthtech developer platform, which is supported by a comprehensive set of application programming interfaces (APIs).

The event provides participants with access to real-world APIs already used by leading companies, offering an opportunity to develop practical, impactful solutions. Teams will receive mentorship from product and engineering experts at Eka Care and AWS, offering support throughout the process.

Participants will also present their solutions to prominent healthcare venture capitalists and strategic partners, creating potential opportunities for collaboration and funding.

Zeno Health launches platform to support early-stage startups

Zeno Health, an omnichannel pharmacy network, has launched Pay It Forward—a new platform to support early-stage healthcare and wellness startups building for Bharat.

Selected startups will gain retail access to over 180 Zeno Health stores in Mumbai and Pune, digital distribution through its app and website, exposure to a broad urban and rural customer base, and mentorship from the company’s founders and leadership team.

Early-stage healthcare and wellness startups offering products or services in areas such as medicines, diagnostics, insurance, hygiene, nutrition, preventive care, derma, or OTC—aimed at improving and expanding access to healthcare—can apply.

Scaler Innovation Lab signs MOU with Gahan AI

Scaler Innovation Lab has signed an MoU with Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup Gahan AI to jointly develop advanced autonomous navigation systems.

The duo aim to build vehicles capable of navigating unmapped, unstructured roads in India and global mining sites.

The initiative will serve as a live innovation challenge for students at Scaler School of Technology and Scaler School of Business, who will work with Gahan AI’s team to build AI systems replicating human decision-making in unpredictable driving environments.

Gahan AI will host workshops and hackathons for Scaler tech students, offer internships, and mentor student-led startups. Scaler business students will work on commercialising deep-tech solutions, developing GTM strategies and operational plans under Gahan AI’s mentorship.

Gahan AI will be based at the Scaler Innovation Lab, mentoring startups and participating in regular showcases and workshops.

YourTribe joins Ignyte partner network

YourTribe, a talent marketplace, has joined Ignyte, a community and marketplace designed to accelerate business.

This partnership marks the company’s first big leap towards becoming a full-fledged startup marketplace—a platform where founders can focus on building while it acts as their business operating system, supporting them across hiring, fundraising, legal, finance, tech, HR, wellness, and more, noted YourTribe Founder Deepak Subramanian.

Ignyte will work with YourTribe to offer additional support to the founders and emerging businesses it engages with daily.

Infra.Market’s tile manufacturing capacity crosses 81 million sq m

Infra.Market, a building materials platform has crossed 81 million square meters of installed manufacturing capacity for tiles to emerge as the second-largest player in India’s ceramics industry. This capacity is spread across 19 manufacturing facilities, with exports contributing 25-30% of total revenue.

Infra.Market co-founder Aaditya Sharda said, “India has evolved into a global manufacturing hub for tiles, becoming the third-largest ceramic category exporter in the world. The market is no longer driven solely by pricing; developers now demand rapid fulfilment, premium finishes, and distinctive designs. That’s where our multi-brand model and digital-first distribution give us an edge.”

Founded in 2016, Infra.Market has over 10,000 retail touchpoints, 30 plus exclusive stores, and more than 250 manufacturing units. It supplies more than 15 different product categories.

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