Startup news and updates: daily roundup (September 10, 2025)

From Apple’s launch event featuring its most-awaited iPhone Air to Urban Company’s IPO kickoff with Goldman Sachs and GIC as anchor investors, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Featured stories

Zendesk’s Adrian Fallow unpacks tech’s impact on Indian SMBs

When customer service software company Zendesk set foot in India with a physical office in Bengaluru in 2016, it saw the country as a natural focus area of its growth strategy. 

The same year, Zendesk had even made an appearance during YourStory’s TechSparks event to engage with the local startup ecosystem.

With India’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) also keeping pace with the large enterprises in implementing AI to deliver better customer experience (CX), Zendesk now sees an even bigger opportunity. Read more.

How Snabbit is digitising India’s domestic help industry

From groceries and cabs to courier services, nearly every part of urban life has moved online. But one essential need remains offline: finding reliable domestic help. For many Indian households and young professionals, domestic help is essential for cooking, cleaning, and daily chores. However, the process remains fragmented, marked by delays, inconsistency, and lack of trust.

Ayush Agarwal, Founder of Snabbit, felt this gap personally as a working professional living away from home in Powai, Mumbai. “I didn’t know how to find someone to clean my house. I tried looking online, speaking to agencies, and asking friends, but the process was unclear and inaccessible,” he recalls. Read more.

Latest news

Urban Company IPO kicks off with Goldman Sachs, GIC as anchor investors

Urban Company, a home services marketplace, has lined up marquee global and domestic funds as anchor investors ahead of its initial public offering (IPO).

The Gurugram-based startup raised Rs 853.87 crore ($97 million) by allocating 82.9 million shares at Rs 103 apiece, the top of the price band, regulatory filings show.

Global names including Goldman Sachs, Dragoneer Investments, Norges Bank, GIC, Nomura, Amundi Funds, Steadview Capital, and WhiteOak took part in the anchor book. About 37% of the allocation went to 13 Indian mutual funds across 29 schemes, among them SBI, HDFC, ICICI Prudential, Nippon, and UTI.Read more.

Ola Electric brushes off auditor concerns, says inventory issues are an “isolated case”

Ola Electric on Tuesday said the inconsistencies in inventory figures flagged by its statutory auditor, BSR & Co., were a one-off incident triggered by the company, linked to a restructuring of its network operations in Q4 FY25. 

The auditor had flagged that it recorded 19 cases where the scooter count at stores and money owed by customers to Ola Electric, as per its books, did not match the company’s quarterly returns filed with banks in FY25. Read more.

Apple unveils new smartphone lineup, puts spotlight on ultra-thin iPhone Air

It’s that time of year again when all eyes are on Apple, waiting to discover what’s next. This time, the company unveiled something entirely new—the iPhone Air—the thinnest iPhone ever made. 

The awe-dropping event held at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, commenced with a quote from Steve Jobs: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Approximately forty minutes later, CEO Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone Air, which sets a new benchmark in design.

Apple’s new iPhones may have stolen the spotlight at its biggest launch event of the year, but other products, including wristwear Ultra 3 and AirPods Pro3, too created a stir. Read more.

Funding news

ajvc closes maiden fund at Rs 165 Cr, bags 2X its target corpus in commitments

Aviral Bhatnagar’s ajvc on Wednesday said it closed its maiden fund at Rs 165 crore, which will make pre-seed investments into Indian startups. 

The firm had initially sought to raise a Rs 100 crore maiden fund, which it closed in March this year, YourStory had reported. 

However, the fund managed to attract large interest, attracting Rs 200 crore in commitments from global limited partners and family offices, but decided to cap the total fund size at Rs 165 crore. Read more.

Presolv360 secure $4.7M Series A led by Elevation Capital

Presolv360, an online dispute resolution platform, has secured $4.7 million in Series A funding led by Elevation Capital, with participation from existing investor, MGA Ventures, and a consortium of angel investors.

The funding will be strategically deployed towards market expansion,  advancing technology and AI capabilities, and building a world-class team.

This capital will accelerate Presolv360’s mission to transform the dispute resolution landscape by delivering full-stack, next-generation dispute resolution workflows and legal-tech infrastructure, while contributing towards positioning India as a global hub for ODR.

Unmanned aviation startup EndureAir raises Rs 25 Crore funding

EndureAir Systems, a deep-tech UAV and aerial robotics company, has raised Rs 25 crore from IAN Alpha Fund and IAN Angel Fund. 

The funding will be used to enhance its defence-focused drone technologies, expand into enterprise markets and develop next-generation high-altitude logistics and robotics platforms.

Founded in 2018 by Dr Abhishek, Professor of Aerospace Engineering at IIT Kanpur, and his former students Rama Krishna and Chirag Jain, EndureAir designs both hardware and software in-house, drawing on more than 15 years of rotorcraft research and holding eight patents.

EndureAir’s UAVs are already deployed across defence, healthcare, and disaster relief. Its heavy-lift Sabal serves the Indian Army, Vibhram enabled Telangana’s Medicine from the Sky, and Alakh supported major rescue operations in India and abroad. The company is also co-developing high-altitude drones with BEL and piloting logistics missions in Bhutan.

Skincare brand Asaya secures Rs 28 Cr in pre-Series A funding

Asaya, a skincare company focused on hyperpigmentation treatments, has raised Rs 28 crore in a pre-Series A funding round. 

The round was led by RPSG Capital, with participation from strategic investors Suyash Saraf and Anisha Agarwal Saraf, co-founders of Dot & Key, along with existing investors OTP Ventures and Huddle Ventures.

The funding will be used to set up an innovation centre aimed at accelerating product development. The company plans to introduce six products over the next 12 months, including a line featuring another patented molecule developed through 18 months of research to address a common skin condition in India. 

It also intends to expand to quick-commerce platforms and scale its operations and delivery network across the country.

Other news

PhonePe launches digital-first Udyam Assist registration

PhonePe has launched digital-first Udyam registration through the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) at an event in Delhi. 

The initiative is designed to give informal micro enterprises a formal business identity, enabling access to government schemes, tax benefits, business bank accounts, and financial services linked to the digital payments ecosystem. 

During the event, Udyam Assist Certificates were issued to merchants through the new digital system. PhonePe also announced a Memorandum of Understanding with SIDBI to support credit access for micro merchants via digital lending solutions integrated with UAP.

UAP, developed by SIDBI under the Ministry of MSME’s Formalisation Project, enables informal micro enterprises to register online through designated agencies. 

PhysicsWallah signs MoU with JM Foundation

PhysicsWallah (PW) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with JM Foundation, a non-profit organisation led by Jagmohan Singh Raju, IAS (Retd.), to try and provide academic support to students affected by the recent floods in Punjab.

Under this partnership, JM Foundation will focus on mobilising affected students, while PW will attempt to provide targeted academic assistance through free school exam preparation and competitive exam guidance for students impacted by the floods.

The initiative will be rolled out across the key flood-affected districts of Punjab, with a primary focus on reaching the maximum number of impacted students. JM Foundation will work closely with local schools, community centres, and relief camps to identify students in need, and PW will try to deploy its digital learning platform to provide curriculum-aligned content, live classes, and study materials. 

RevRag.AI acquires genAI infra startup GenStaq.ai

RevRag.AI, an enterprise-focused AI agent platform, has acquired GenStaq.ai, a modular LLMOps and workflow orchestration startup, to strengthen its infrastructure control and expand enterprise-grade AI agent capabilities.

The acquisition adds GenStaq’s plug-and-play LLMOps platform to RevRag.AI’s offerings, giving it greater control across the AI stack from application-layer agents to infrastructure, as the company prepares for its next stage of growth.

Founded in 2024, GenStaq.ai developed a modular LLMOps platform with engines such as RAG pipelines, session-based APIs and vector infrastructure, designed with developers in mind and focused on production readiness. RevRag.AI, already a GenStaq client, saw a strong fit in both technology and culture.

The GenStaq founding team will join RevRag.AI’s core product and engineering leadership, strengthening its work on autonomous, enterprise-ready AI agents.

IIT Madras-incubated JSP Enviro’s next-gen wastewater treatment tech

JSP Enviro, a startup incubated at IIT Madras, has developed an indigenous wastewater treatment technology that has been successfully deployed across industries in Erode, Tamil Nadu.

Following its field success, the company plans to scale deployment across India to serve a wider range of industries. 

The system, called the Bio-Electrochemical Anaerobic Digestor System (BEADS™), is designed to help businesses cut costs, recover energy and lower carbon emissions while addressing wastewater management challenges.

JSP Enviro is currently working with textile and dyeing clusters in the SIPCOT industrial regions of Perundurai and Erode, and is preparing to expand into sectors such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and speciality chemicals, where sustainable and cost-effective wastewater treatment is in high demand.

Leverage expands Careers platform to connect skilled workers with verified opportunities

Education-focused startup Leverage has expanded its Leverage Careers platform to connect skilled workers with verified opportunities in healthcare, education, hospitality and other high-demand sectors.

Leverage Careers aims to bring trust and structure to cross-border recruitment by working only with verified employers, providing genuine contracts and offering end-to-end support.

Healthcare is the first focus area, with demand for nurses, caregivers and allied health professionals in Germany, Japan and the United States. Leverage Careers is also working with hospitality chains, schools and construction firms to extend placements by 2026. 

For individuals, the platform offers vetted employers, secure contracts and end-to-end relocation support covering visas, documentation, housing and banking. For employers, it provides access to a pre-screened and credentialled talent pool with compliance and language readiness built in.

Esri India and Dhruva Space forge alliance

Esri India, a provider of Geographic Information System (GIS) software and solutions in India, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space, a full-stack space tech company, to enhance the availability and accessibility of satellite imagery in India through advanced GIS integration.

Through this strategic partnership, Dhruva will leverage Esri India’s advanced ArcGIS technology to enhance its AstraView commercial satellite imagery service that aggregates data from a constellation network of more than 200 satellites, spanning optical, SAR, RF, and hyperspectral sensors, into a unified ecosystem.

This collaboration aims to deliver an integrated software solution, enabling customers to seamlessly access, analyse, and derive actionable insights from AstraView in conjunction with Esri India’s robust GIS capabilities.

The collaboration between Esri India and Dhruva Space is expected to open new avenues for leveraging space-based data in critical national initiatives, fostering innovation, and supporting India’s growing emphasis on self-reliance in geospatial intelligence and space technology.

coto appoints Tabi Bude as chief expansion officer

coto, an Indian emotional wellness platform, has appointed Tabi Bude as its chief expansion officer. 

Bude will lead coto’s global growth vision, shaping and executing the platform’s international strategy. His focus will be on scaling coto’s proven model internationally while maintaining its core mission of empowering millions with expert-led emotional wellness services.

With more than 20 years of international experience in scaling businesses across media, consumer goods, technology, and software, he brings a unique blend of entrepreneurial drive and strategic expertise. 

He has worked across diverse ecosystems, including Germany’s dynamic startup scene, global leadership roles at Red Bull, and a C-level position at a Silicon Valley company backed by Softbank Ventures. Most recently, he served at McKinsey & Company.

ISRO, NSIL, IN-SPACe & HAL ink agreement for SSLV technology transfer

The 100th Technology Transfer Agreement, facilitated by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) was signed between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), NewSpace India Limited and IN-SPACe with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the production of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

Aimed at advancing India's capabilities in space technology and commercial activities, the agreement is a formative step towards democratising the SSLV space.

The entire process of technology transfer is targeted to be completed within 24 months from the date of agreement signing. This signing follows the June 20 announcement of HAL as the successful bidder in a competitive process managed by IN-SPACe.

During this period, ISRO will provide necessary training and technical support to HAL for acquiring the knowhow of the SSLV, from commercials to technology integration, eventually leading to the accomplishment of the two missions under the technology transfer agreement. 

Credilio appoints Manish Sinha as Co-founder

Credilio, a secured credit card fintech, appointed Manish Sinha as Co-founder.

Credilio’s founders bring over 40 years of entrepreneurial success in building scalable businesses in sales, credit, technology, and financial services. With Sinha now joining the leadership team, the company is further bolstering its ability to execute its long-term vision.

Sinha brings with him over three decades of experience spanning management consulting, banking, credit risk, and financial services leadership across India and international markets.

He has spent a decade in management consulting with McKinsey, Arthur Andersen, and PwC. In banking, held leadership roles over 12 years at Barclays and HSBC, where he specialised in consumer banking and credit risk.

Astrophel Aerospace indigenously develops cryogenic pump

Astrophel Aerospace, a Pune-based spacetech startup, is currently testing and characterising its indigenously developed cryogenic pump at ISRO facilities. Once successfully validated, the cryo-pump will be upgraded into a fully-fledged turbopump for integration into the startup's rocket engine, the Astra C1, by late 2026. 

What began as fifty-plus separate, precisely engineered components comes together into a cryo-pump system that spins at 25,000 RPM, delivering cryogenic fuel that will power both Astrophel’s first and second-stage rocket engines. 

Though the size of a one-litre bottle, the cryo-pump is powerful enough to generate 100 to 150 horsepower, equivalent to that of a family car, which will be scaled up to deliver 500 to 600 horsepower (turbopump) for larger launch vehicles. 

Acting as the “heart of the rocket,” a turbopump feeds cryogenic fuel into the engine at high pressure, ensuring efficient thrust control and lower material costs. 

Garuda Aerospace deploys drones in operations in J&K, HP

Drone startup Garuda Aerospace has deployed over ten drones to support the Indian Army's flood relief operations in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The drones have delivered 300 kg of supplies and are conducting aerial surveys to assess damage, identify vulnerable areas, and coordinate relief efforts.

In Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, two delivery drones are transporting medicines, food, and water to flood-isolated areas, navigating narrow valleys, steep slopes, and disrupted roads. In Kathua district, Jammu and Kashmir, ten Jawan drones have delivered essential supplies, including food, cooking oil, and medicines, to Chilla village in collaboration with the Indian Army and local authorities.

CloudKeeper appoints Sanjeev Mittal as CPTO

CloudKeeper, a cloud cost optimisation solutions company, has announced the appointment of Sanjeev Mittal as Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO). He will lead CloudKeeper’s product and technology strategy, strengthening its product capabilities in cloud optimization and accelerating innovation to meet the evolving needs of global businesses. Prior to this, he held senior roles at global enterprises like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Oracle, Nokia and Sapient.

Homemonde eyes Rs 100 crore ARR in FY26

Homemonde, the Jaipur-based home furnishings brand aims to achieve an annual revenue run rate of Rs 100 crore by March 2026. According to this bootstrapped startup, it claims to be EBITDA positive since its inception in 2020 and delivers its products to over 8,500 pin codes in India and also exports to North America. It also plans to roll out 8–10 offline stores across metro and Tier 1 cities in the coming year.

“Our goal is simple yet bold: to build a globally respected home furnishings ecosystem from India that blends scale, sustainability, and style,” said Sarvesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, Homemonde.

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