Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (July 8, 2025)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Tuesday, July 8, 2025.
From Amazon's Prime Day's efforts and quick commerce initiatives to IIT Madras launhing Rs 200 crore VC fund to support Indian startups, YourStory brings today’s headlines that highlight significant developments across industries.
Featured Stories
Amazon India bets big on Prime Day 2025 with exclusive launches, extended hours
Amazon India is all set to host its largest Prime Day event to date, with more deals, more product launches, and extended shopping time. For the first time ever, Prime Day will run for three days, from July 12 to July 14, offering Prime members 72 hours of exclusive discounts, new product launches, and access to blockbuster entertainment.
“This is our first Prime Day that we are doing for three days,” said Saurabh Srivastava, Vice President – Categories at Amazon India.
Prime Day 2025 will feature more than 400 new product launches across smartphones, electronics, fashion, beauty, appliances, and more. Several of these are exclusive to Prime members and will debut for the first time during the sale.
IIT Madras to launch Rs 200 Cr VC fund
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has launched a Rs 200-crore venture capital fund to support startups from the institution. The 'IITM Alumni Fund' was introduced during its flagship and alumni event Sangam 2025 held in Bengaluru recently.
The fund will focus on Series-A and pre-Series A investments and will operate as a separate legal entity from the institute. A large majority of investments will be in IITM-incubated startups.
Latest News
Amazon expands quick commerce service to Delhi
Ecommerce major Amazon has expanded its quick commerce services, Amazon Now to Delhi after running successful pilots in Bengaluru, according to a statement by the company.
"Amazon has always focused on offering customers a wide selection with convenient and fast delivery. We are running our 10-minute delivery service Amazon Now in select pin codes in Bengaluru and Delhi, and are excited by the initial customer response and positive feedback, especially from Prime members," an Amazon spokesperson shared.
The service is currently in some West Delhi areas. The latest entrant in the quick commerce frenzy plans to expand these two cities before going further.
Quick commerce competition cools as platforms pull back on discounts: ICICI Securities
Competition in the quick commerce space has been easing as platforms focus on profitability and sustainable growth, according to a recent report by ICICI Securities.
The report, dated July 7, highlighted that price discounting across platforms has decreased steadily from April to June. Further, performance marketing spending has remained comparatively muted in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, dark store expansion has receded on a quarter-over-quarter basis, with the majority of the investment phase completed in previous quarters, it said.
Funding News
Qoruz raises funding from The Chennai Angels in ongoing $1M Pre-Series A round
Influencer marketing platform Qoruz has raised an undisclosed amount from The Chennai Angels as part of its ongoing $1 million Pre-Series A round.
The round also saw participation from marketing leaders, agency executives, and founders from the media ecosystem.
The capital will be used to scale Qoruz’s AI-driven creator intelligence capabilities, expand into new verticals, and grow its presence in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Founded by Praanesh Bhuvaneswar, Prabakaran B, Aditya Gurwara, and Priya Vivek, Qoruz’s targeting $30 million in ARR by 2026 and claims to be growing 3x year-on-year in enterprise adoption. It has previously raised capital from Dexter Angels and the IIM Indore Alumni Fund.
Monetize360 raises funding from Abyro Capital to scale AI-powered monetization platform
SaaS company Monetize360 has secured an undisclosed investment from venture capital firm Abyro Capital to accelerate the global growth of its no-code monetization platform for large enterprises.
The Hyderabad-based company’s platform, MTZ360, helps enterprises launch and scale complex pricing models such as usage-based and hybrid through a unified quote-to-cash system.
Founded by Murali Saravu and led by CEO Jayaram Bhat, it counts GPU cloud provider Neysa, open finance firm Akoya, and a global bank among its clients.
The new funds will be used to expand R&D and strengthen go-to-market efforts. Abyro Capital joins existing investors Endiya Partners, Silicon Valley Quad, and Idealabx.
Linkrunner raises Rs 5 Cr in pre-seed round led by Titan Capital
Bengaluru-based startup Linkrunner has raised Rs 5 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by Titan Capital, with participation from Samir Sood and early-stage investor 2AM.VC.
The funding will be used to expand the engineering, data science, and sales teams, and drive product development and go-to-market efforts. Linkrunner plans to enhance its AI-driven attribution engine and expand globally as app-first businesses grow across emerging markets.
Founded by Shreyans Sancheti and Darshil Rathod, Linkrunner offers an AI-powered mobile measurement platform for Indian startups. It provides app attribution and analytics with faster onboarding and transparent pricing and counts startups like Stimuler, Grapevine, Fold Money, and Lingopanda among early adopters.
Other News
T-Hub launches second Orbit cohort with 17 startups to boost spacetech innovation
Telangana’s tech startup incubator T-Hub has launched the second cohort of its spacetech accelerator program, Orbit, run in partnership with AIC T-Hub, a JV between T-Hub and Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).
Mentors for the cohort include former DRDO Chairman Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, former NASA scientist Dr. Mila Mitra, and senior officials from ISRO and CNES.
The first Orbit cohort, launched in 2023, supported six startups that went on to raise ₹2.32 crore in funding, created 70 jobs, and filed 18 IP assets. With the second cohort, T-Hub aims to exceed those benchmarks and deepen India’s space-tech pipeline.
PhysicsWallah partners with YCMOU to launch UGC-compliant online degree programs
IPO-bound PhysicsWallah (PW) has partnered with Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) to offer credit-based online degree programs with real-time classes and doubt resolution features.
The partnership will launch four programs, namely MBA, MCA, MA English, and BCA, aligned with NEP 2020 and compliant with UGC/AICTE norms.
Courses will follow the Four-Quadrant MOOC model with self-paced content, online lectures, and assessments.
YCMOU will oversee academic approvals and degree issuance, while PW will manage content delivery, platform technology, and student engagement.
Suhora partners with Orbital Sidekick to bring operational hyperspectral satellite data to Indian markets
Suhora Technologies has partnered with US-based Orbital Sidekick (OSK) to bring high-resolution hyperspectral satellite data services to India.
Under the agreement, OSK’s hyperspectral imagery will be integrated into Suhora’s SPADE platform, a SaaS-based earth observation system that already supports multi-sensor data including SAR, optical, and thermal. The addition of OSK’s data will enable applications in mineral classification, rare earth mapping, methane detection, and environmental monitoring, helping the company unlock new use cases across government and enterprise sectors.
Ola Electric rolls out MoveOS 5 update across two-wheeler portfolio
Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric has begun the mass roll-out of MoveOS 5, its largest software upgrade yet, bringing over 50 new features to its S1 electric scooters and Roadster X motorcycles.
The over-the-air update will be available to users starting this week.
The upgrade introduces features such as DIY Mode, Road-Trip Mode, Easy Park, and Find My Vehicle, offering improved ride personalisation, smarter energy management, and enhanced battery performance.
Ola said the update also enhances vehicle range and reliability, particularly on its Gen 3 platform, by optimizing its in-house motor control unit and battery management system.
The rollout is part of Ola Electric’s ongoing push to build a proprietary EV software stack, integrating deeper vehicle intelligence and user-centric features to support future product evolution.
Pebble launches smart ring, partners with Flipkart for exclusive sale
Consumer tech brand Pebble has launched the Pebble HALO Smart Ring, partnering with Flipkart for an exclusive sale at an introductory price of Rs 3,999.
The stainless steel ring functions independently without continuous smartphone connectivity, tracking heart rate, steps, etc. It also supports gesture-based controls for interacting with mobile applications.
The launch marks Pebble’s entry into the smart ring category as part of its broader 2.0 roadmap. The brand said it aims to make smart wearables more intuitive and accessible for Indian users.
Founded in 2013, Pebble is expanding beyond smartwatches into new wearables categories as part of its consumer tech portfolio.
New Relic appoints Lauren Nemeth as Chief Revenue Officer to drive global growth
Observability platform New Relic has named enterprise tech veteran Lauren Nemeth as Chief Revenue Officer, tasking her with leading global go-to-market operations.
Nemeth brings over two decades of experience in sales and product leadership. In her prior stints, she held senior roles at Pinecone, Twilio, Nextdoor, Turn, and URX, and has helped scale businesses through IPOs and acquisitions.
Nemeth said she joins New Relic at a time when demand for observability and AI-driven capabilities is accelerating. “I look forward to working closely with our customers and partners to meet the ever-growing needs for observability in the age of AI,” she said.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan