Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (July 16, 2025)

From Thinking Machines Lab—the AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, closing a $2 billion funding to how Reelo is flipping the script on restaurant marketing, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with key developments across startups.

Featured stories

Reelo helps restaurants to stop relying on aggregators, build a loyal customer base

The math is brutal for Indian restaurants. Pay 20-30% commission to aggregators, compete on discounts that slash margins further, and still have no direct relationship with customers. After years of this cycle, many restaurant owners are asking: Is there a better way?

Parin Sanghvi thinks so. His Ahmedabad-based startup Reelo has become one of the platforms by flipping the script on restaurant marketing. Instead of chasing new customers through discounts, the startup looks to help restaurants turn first-time visitors into regulars through retention campaigns.

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How WEneurs Forum is supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage

WEneurs Forum is the only women-focused incubator in the Eastern region, exclusively nurturing women-led startups and fostering inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystems.

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Funding news

Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab raises $2B at $12B valuation

Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup founded by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, has closed a $2 billion funding round at a $12 billion valuation.

The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and included participation from NVIDIA, Accel, ServiceNow, Cisco, AMD, and Jane Street.

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Deep Algorithm raises Rs 10.8 Cr in seed round led by Unicorn India Ventures

Cybersecurity and AI startup Deep Algorithm on Wednesday raised Rs 10.8 crore in a seed funding round led by Unicorn India Ventures.

The round also saw participation from other angel investors. According to the company, the majority of the funds will be used to scale engineering and threat intelligence teams, accelerate go-to-market activities in India and Southeast Asia, and expand integrations with enterprise platforms, among others.

Fire AI raises pre-seed funding from Venture Catalysts

AI-powered business intelligence platform, Fire AI, on Wednesday raised an undisclosed amount in pre-seed funding from Venture Catalysts.

The round also saw participation from investors including Gaurav Khatri, co-founder and CEO of Noise, and Amit Kumar Singh, former Managing Director at Central Warehousing Corporation.

The newly raised funds will be used to accelerate product development, expand the company’s team, and deepen market penetration across industry verticals. Fire AI also plans to focus on enhancing its AI capabilities, building strategic partnerships, and scaling its go-to-market efforts.

Nutraceutical ingredient startup Zeus Hygia secures $2.5M

Zeus Hygia on Wednesday raised $2.5 million in Series A funding from the VC arm of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), NABVENTURES.

According to the company, the funding will be used to fuel its next phase of innovation and international expansion.

The nutraceutical ingredient maker already exports to over 15 countries and has set up a unit in the US to strengthen its operations in North America.

Over the next three years, the company aims to scale up its international presence through direct operations and strategic partnerships, expecting nearly 70% of its revenue to come in from global markets.

Zulu Club raises $250,000 from TDV Partners in pre-seed funding

Hyperlocal fashion platform Zulu Fashion on Wednesday raised $250,000 in pre-seed funding from early-stage VC firm TDV Partners.

Currently live in Gurugram, Zulu Club, which was founded last year, plans to use the funding to expand across key Delhi NCR regions.

The company will also focus on improving its try-at-home flows and personalisation features, deepen its partnerships with outlet stores and mall retailers, as well as make strategic investments into its logistics, operations, and customer engagement.

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NRI-focused fintech Belong raises $5M in seed round led by Elevation Capital

Deeptech firm Zuppa closes $1.5M bridge round

Drone intelligence system market Zuppa closed its $1.5 million bridge funding round.

The investment was led by Rahul Dewan, founder of a global software engineering company and the Mangwani Family Office—former owners of Aquapharm Chemicals Pvt Ltd, and manufacturers of speciality chemicals.

The new funding will be used to strengthen and expand Zuppa’s footprint in the key area of defence drones, where it enjoys a high entry barrier on account of its proprietary Aatmanirbhar technology.

Zuppa’s proprietary technology has already been deployed across varied use cases in defence that include secure drone cyber-physical stacks, vision guidance, and AI-based targeting, among others. ZUPPA is also working with academic partners and government programs to shape policy frameworks and technology standards for India's emerging drone economy.

Quick commerce fashion startup KNOT secures $3M in funding

KNOT on Wednesday raised $3 million in fresh funding, led by Kae Capital. The round also saw participation from Sparrow Capital, Boundless VC and existing investors WEH Ventures & All In Capital, among others.

It also saw participation from the founders of SNITCH, Souled Store & Bonkers Corner.

The company will use the fresh funding to accelerate product development, expand operations beyond Mumbai, and deepen brand partnerships.

KNOT offers 60-minute delivery, try-and-buy feature, and an AI try-on feature to its customers.

Culture Circle raises funding from OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal

Culture Circle, a luxury fashion app, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of OYO. The startup claimed that it is recording a 4X growth in business is valued at over Rs 400 crore.

Founded by Devansh Jain Nawal and Ackshay Jain, Culture Circle has over one million monthly users and 4,000+ KYC-verified sellers. It also recently announced plans to go international this year. This startup has stores in Delhi and Hyderabad with plans to have a presence in four more cities, including Gurugram and Mumbai.

Other news

Pocket FM elevates Akansha Kumari to Head of Product

Audio series platform Pocket FM has announced the promotion of Akansha Kumari to Head of Product, underscoring its commitment to creating a globally scalable and immersive entertainment experience.

Kumari initially joined Pocket FM as Assistant Vice President–Product. Within six months, her responsibilities expanded to include oversight of the platform’s entire revenue and business model, encompassing advertising, in-app purchases, and subscription services.

According to the company, under her leadership, Pocket FM has made notable progress in developing a sustainable, user-first monetisation strategy, aligned with its vision of delivering immersive audio storytelling at scale.

In her new role, Kumari will spearhead the end-to-end product strategy and execution. She will be responsible for the full user journey—ranging from onboarding and content discovery to long-term engagement and monetisation—while also driving innovation, operational efficiency, and international expansion.

Spinny expands car-selling services to over 10 cities in Karnataka

Full-stack used car platform Spinny, on Wednesday, said it has expanded its car selling services to over 10 cities across Karnataka, including Mysore, Mangaluru, Udupi, and Bengaluru, among others.

The strategic move reinforces the company’s goal of making car ownership accessible, effortless, and transparent, especially in Tier II and Tier III cities.

According to the company, cities like Belgaum, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Hubli, and Tumkur have emerged as major growth hubs for the company.

GIVA launches same-day delivery service across four cities

Direct-to-consumer fine jewellery brand GIVA on Wednesday launched same-day delivery feature in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Delhi.

With this GIVA Go, customers can now receive their orders within 24 hours of placing them.

“With GIVA Go, we’re bringing speed as a strategic edge to the jewellery-buying experience - meeting the rising demand for faster fulfilment while staying true to our promise of quality, design, and thoughtful packaging. This launch strengthens our role in India’s evolving ecommerce ecosystem and reaffirms our commitment to creating a seamless, trust-led experience for today’s consumer,” said Anirudh Kudwa, Chief Revenue Office.

OYO’s Ritesh Agarwal invests in Culture Circle at over Rs 100 Cr valuation

Hype and luxury app Culture Circle on Wednesday has secured strategic funding from OYO’s founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal, valuing the company at over Rs 100 crore.

The investment comes after it raised Rs 3 crore from Agarwal and Titan Capital’s Kunal Bahl during its appearance on Shark Tank India.

Culture Circle recently disclosed its plans for international expansion and has flagship stores in Delhi and Hyderabad. According to the company, it offers India’s largest collection of authenticated luxury fashion from Nike to Dior to Yeezy. The company is also expanding its stores with upcoming flagship stores in Gurugram and Mumbai.

Salesforce collaborates with Common Services Centres

Common Services Centres (CSC), the initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) to promote digital inclusion, has announced a collaboration with Salesforce. The collaboration aims to enhance citizen and Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) support across rural and semi-urban regions through a unified, AI-powered grievance redressal platform that delivers intelligent and scalable service experiences. 

According to the statement, the adoption of Salesforce by CSC is aimed at improving resolution timelines, empowering VLEs with modern tools, and fostering greater transparency and trust in citizen services. The Salesforce platform is expected to deliver on features such as extensibility, multilingual support, and mobile-first design.

Tenable extends partnership with SRF Limited

Cybersecurity company Tenable has extended its long-standing engagement with SRF Limited, a chemical-based multi-business entity engaged in the manufacturing of industrial and speciality intermediates. This extended partnership will see SRF Limited adopting Tenable One Exposure Management Platform. Through this, SRF aims to establish a centralised OT security monitoring centre as part of its SecureOT initiative, enhance network segmentation, and roll out advanced threat detection solutions.

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