Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (August 14, 2025)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, August 14, 2025.
From Rapido's food delivery app launch in Bengaluru to Treebo's strategy from burn to profitability, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.
Featured stories
How Treebo Hospitality Ventures found profitability, tech muscle, and a mid-market play
Treebo Hospitality Ventures (THV) has had a journey marked by turning points—each one nudging the company toward resilience, innovation, and a growing share of India’s fragmented hospitality sector.
The company began challenging industry norms early on. While most hotels relied heavily on OTAs (online travel agencies) for demand, Treebo invested in building its direct-to-consumer (D2C) channel.
In a conversation with YourStory, Sidharth Gupta, Co-founder of Treebo Hospitality Ventures, walks through the company’s biggest pivots—from near-collapse to profitability, and from budget focus to a full-fledged mid-market expansion.
IndiaMART’s playbook for digitising MSMEs
IndiaMART InterMESH Limited, one of the leading B2B marketplaces in the country, has been closely connected with the MSME ecosystem, supporting their digitisation journey and showcasing new ways of doing business.
MSMEs in India have adopted digital platforms in their business, but now they will have to harness AI and GenAI technologies to remain relevant, says IndiaMART InterMESH COO.
Latest news
Aditya Birla Group's TMRW secures Rs 437 Cr from ServiceNow Ventures
TMRW, a house-of-brands ventures backed by Aditya Birla Group, has raised Rs 437 crore from US-based ServiceNow Ventures to tap into the investor's agentic AI platform.
"ServiceNow’s Agentic AI and automation capabilities to power TMRW’s tech platform," Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited said in a press release.
TMRW's revenue grew 38% in the first quarter of FY26, even as its losses widened by 37% to Rs 63 crore. TMRW has brands such as The Indian Garage Co, Bewakoof, Nobero and Virat Kohli's Wrogn in its portfolio.
Rapido rolls out food delivery app Ownly in selected areas of Bengaluru
Cab-hailing startup Rapido has rolled out its food delivery app, Ownly, catering to selected areas in Bengaluru. The app is currently only available on the Google Play Store, and services areas including Koramangala, BTM Layout, and HSR, according to reports. The company’s plans to enter the segment ruled by listed giants Zomato and Swiggy were disclosed earlier this year.
The firm is rolling out a commission-free model to enable restaurants to pocket more money from food orders and also reduce the cost of food being delivered to users.
Ride-hailing platform Rapido’s foray into the food delivery landscape is expected to challenge the heavy commissions levied on restaurants by food-tech giants Zomato and Swiggy.
Funding News
SMBC Asia Rising Fund leads Rs 100 crore equity round in Shivalik Small Finance Bank
SMBC Asia Rising Fund, the corporate venture capital arm of Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), has led a Rs 100 crore ($12 million) equity funding round in Shivalik Small Finance Bank, the Indian lender said on Thursday.
Existing investors Accel, Quona Capital, Lightspeed and Sorin Investments also participated in the round.
The bank said it will use the fresh capital to strengthen its technology stack, expand hiring in product, engineering and operations, and scale its banking-as-a-service offering aimed at underserved MSME and retail segments in semi-urban and rural India.
Shreetech secures $4.5M from Aarii Ventures, Cello Family Office for infra tech expansion
Shreetech Data Pvt. Ltd. has raised $4.5 million from Aarii Ventures, the investment arm of the Kothari family, and the Cello Family Office to strengthen its integrated operations across data centres, power infrastructure, and in-house equipment manufacturing.
Founded in 1998, the Mumbai-based Shreetech offers design, construction, technical audits, IT integration, and lifecycle management through three verticals—data centre and digital infrastructure, power infrastructure, and manufacturing of mission-critical components. It has executed more than 100 data centre projects and holds over 500 MW of sanctioned power capacity.
Other news
Motilal Oswal AMC integrates with ONDC to expand mutual fund reach
Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company (MOAMC) has integrated with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to facilitate mutual fund transactions on the platform and appointed Cybrilla as its backend service provider.
The move aims to make mutual fund investing more accessible by creating a digital distribution channel using ONDC’s open protocol, the company said. MOAMC said it expects the initiative to broaden access to mutual fund products for a wider range of investors, including first-time participants, and leverage India’s digital public infrastructure.
Myntra launches zero-commission plan for new women’s ethnic wear brands
Myntra has rolled out a zero-commission scheme for new women’s ethnic wear brands for three months starting Aug. 15, as part of its Rising Stars programme aimed at promoting homegrown labels.
The ecommerce platform, owned by Walmart-backed Flipkart, said it plans to onboard 500 brands through the initiative.
Eligible brands will get end-to-end onboarding support, faster payment cycles, and access to Myntra’s M-Express delivery network. They will also receive prominent placement on the platform’s homepage and category pages, and be featured in social commerce formats such as Glamstream and Myntra Minis.
Livlong 365 to invest up to Rs 100 Cr in offline expansion, targets 100 branches by 2027
OPD healthtech platform Livlong 365 will open 100 physical branches by 2027 as part of a nationwide expansion, investing Rs 70-100 crore funded entirely from internal accruals.
The 2021-founded company said it will focus on Tier II and Tier III cities to make outpatient care and health insurance more accessible.
Livlong 365, which runs a tech-led model integrating preventive care, insurance distribution, diagnostics and telehealth, operates a Payvidor model that combines insurance and healthcare delivery. The company said it is profitable, has strong cash flows, and will not raise external capital for the expansion.
The plan targets a presence in all cities with populations over 1.5 million, offering OPD consultations in specialities such as gynaecology and paediatrics, along with diagnostics and insurance within a 2.5 km radius of customers.
Ampere Nexus becomes first electric scooter to reach Shipki La Pass
Ampere Nexus, an electric two-wheeler from Greaves Electric Mobility, has become the first electric scooter to reach Shipki La Pass in Himachal Pradesh, at an altitude of 13,200 feet, the company said on Thursday.
The three-day expedition, part of the Indian Army’s Border Tourism Initiative, began in Chandigarh on August 9 and covered over 425 km through Shimla, Reckong Peo and Pooh before the final climb to the pass, located just 200 metres from the Line of Control.
The feat, achieved by two Ampere Nexus scooters, was recognised by the India Book of Records as the “First Electric 2-Wheeler to Reach Shipki La Pass.”
Embee Software launches cyber defence centre
Embee Software, an IT solutions provide,r has launched a Cyber Defence Centre (CDC), a managed security service provider. The CDC will offer a cloud-native, AI-powered security ecosystem that integrates with on-premises, Azure, AWS, and third-party tools.
The CDC is aimed at providing real-time monitoring, automated response, and advanced threat intelligence. The centre also uses AI-driven analytics to reduce false positives and accelerate threat detection, ensuring timely and accurate responses. The company said the platform is customisable and scalable.
TEXMiN to set up centre at Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad
The Technology Innovation in Exploration & Mining Foundation (TEXMiN), set up by the Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India, will establish a new satellite campus at the Indian School of Mines in Dhanbad, and GMDC Ltd.’s iCEM will set up a Rare Earth-centric variant of the Observatory at Ahmedabad.
The satellite campus of TEXMiN will set up a digital infrastructure for the critical minerals value chain, thereby enabling digital traceability, sustainable sourcing, and transparency across the sector. Critical minerals, such as lithium, copper, nickel, and cobalt, are essential for modern high-tech applications, including electric vehicles, renewable energy, and semiconductors. The UK–India Critical Mineral Supply Chain Observatory, led by the Industrial Resilience Research Group at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge, with the Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and others, maps critical minerals supply chains, assesses risks, and identifies investment and recycling opportunities across both countries.
FatakPay appoints new CEO for insurance vertical
FatakPay, a digital financial services platform, has appointed Bikash Choudhary as the Chief Executive Officer of FatakSecure, the company’s newly launched insurance vertical. Choudhary, a seasoned actuary with over 22 years of experience across actuarial, risk, product, and governance functions, will lead FatakSecure’s strategy and execution.
He previously served as Chief Actuarial and Governance Officer at IndiaFirst Life Insurance. His earlier roles include serving as Appointed Actuary and Chief Risk Officer at Future Generali India Life Insurance, with prior experience at Willis Towers Watson, Bajaj Allianz Life, and Aviva Life.
FYERS unveils new markets analyst platform
FYERS, a digital brokerage platform, has launched FIA GPT, an AI-powered analyst platform focused on traders and investors. Incorporated directly within ChatGPT, it is freely accessible and aimed at providing real-time information to beginners to intermediate traders and investors. According to FYERS, FIA GPT has been specifically trained on Indian financial markets. It can also respond to queries about a user’s portfolio performance, including stocks and open positions, as well as market trends and news impact.
According to FYERS, the tool simplifies tasks such as checking profit and loss, understanding sector exposure, identifying stock highs or lows, and summarising important market developments. It can also analyse charts, set personalised alerts, analyse options chains, monitor order books and allocations, and learn financial concepts such as Relative Strength Index (RSI), return on Equity (ROE), or market volatility.
(The copy will be updated with the latest news throughout the day)