Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (October 28, 2025)

From sports tech startup KhiladiPro bridging gaps in sports by making fitness accessible to SaaS startup Smallest.ai raising seed funding, YourStory brings you the latest from India’s startup ecosystem.

Featured stories

KhiladiPro is bridging India’s youth sports gap

India is home to over 436 million children under 18, according to UNICEF; however, the country lacks a well-developed youth sports ecosystem. Most schools treat sports as an extracurricular activity rather than an integral part of a child’s development. 

In August 2023, Yadav, Akash Khunt, Nirav Shah, and David Gladson—all of whom had personal experiences with India’s sports infrastructure gaps—founded KhiladiPro (KPro) to address persisting challenges in the ecosystem. Read more here.

Wozart is building the future of smart homes

When Hyderabad-based Wozart began its journey in 2016, it had a simple goal: to make homes smarter, simpler, and more connected. Its first breakthrough came with India’s earliest Apple HomeKit-supported smart switches, letting users control lights and appliances with nothing more than a voice command. 

Nearly a decade later, the startup has grown into one of India’s leading smart home automation brands. It just marked another milestone, becoming the first Made-in-India startup to launch a Matter-certified Thread device, the Switch Controller Mini. Read more here.

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Enterprise AI firm Uniphore secures $260M from NVIDIA, AMD, others

Funding news

SaaS startup Smallest.ai secures $8M

Smallest.ai has raised $8 million in a seed funding round led by Sierra Ventures, with participation from 3one4 Capital and Better Capital. 

The full-stack enterprise voice AI platform will use the fresh capital to accelerate its global expansion across North America and India, fuel product innovation, and also deepen enterprise penetration in regulated sectors such as banking, financial services, retail, healthcare, and IT. Read more here.

Prashant Pitti leads Rs 150 Cr funding for Optimo Capital

Digital lending platform Optimo Capital has raised Rs 150 crore in a Series A funding round led by founder Prashant Pitti, who is also the co-founder of EaseMyTrip, alongside existing investors Blume Ventures and Omnivore.

In addition to the equity round, Optimo raised Rs 110 crore in debt from IDFC and Axis Bank. The company plans to use the new capital to strengthen its technology and AI infrastructure, expand co-lending partnerships, and extend its reach across Tier III cities. Read more here.

Purple Finance raises Rs 39 Cr from Intellect Money Finvest

Mumbai-based NBFC Purple Finance raised Rs 39 crore through the private placement of 1 crore equity share warrants, each convertible into one equity share at Rs 39 per share.

The company’s finance committee approved the issuance on a preferential basis, with Intellect Money Finvest acting as the sole investor.

The new funding is expected to strengthen the company’s capital base and also help accelerate the firm’s disbursement goals, according to Amitabh Chaturvedi, Executive Chairman and Executive Director at Purple Finance.

Cybrilla raises capital in pre-Series A funding round

Cybrilla, a fintech infrastructure startup, has raised an undisclosed pre-Series A round of funding from 360 ONE Asset, Peak XV and Groww. The capital will be used to accelerate the product roadmap, deepen AMC and distributor integrations, and strengthen operations.

Cybrilla has partnered with over 25 leading Asset Management Companies (AMCs) to provide technology solutions. Its flagship Wealth OS enables AMCs and distributors to launch, manage, and scale investment products while ensuring regulatory compliance and operational efficiency.

This marks 360 ONE Asset’s third investment from its dedicated early-stage and venture capital strategy and reinforces the firm’s thesis of backing high-conviction fintech companies building foundational infrastructure in India’s rapidly growing financial economy. 

Other news

Swiggy rolls out DeskEats 2.0 to serve working professionals

Foodtech platform Swiggy rolled out DeskEats 2.0–a revamped version of DeskEats launched earlier this year.

The updated version includes a curated selection of over 200,000 desk-friendly food items listed on the platform. Currently, the offering serves 5000 corporate heavy co-living places in addition to 7,000 tech parks across 30 Indian cities.

DeskEats continues to build on Swiggy’s Corporate Rewards programme, a first-of-its-kind initiative offering working professionals value, convenience, and delight. The Swiggy Corporate Rewards Program has also scaled to 27,000 companies, with enrolments from 2.5 lakh employees in 6 months, unlocking exclusive benefits across Food Delivery, Instamart and Dineout.

Ola Electric’s 4680 Bharat Cell gets ARAI certified

Electric vehicle manufacturer Ola Electric said its indigenously manufactured 4680 Bharat Cell battery packs, available in a 5.2-kilowatt-hour (kWh) configuration, have received certification from ARAI.

With this certification, the company will soon begin rolling out its vehicles powered by the 4680 Bharat Cells and will debut on the S1 Pro+ (5.2 kWh), making it the first vehicle to be powered by the 4680 Bharat Cell.

Until now, Ola has been using third-party cells across its scooter and motorcycle line-ups, all certified under AIS-156. 

IDP partners with Genesys to transform its global student engagement strategy

Cloud services provider Genesys partnered with IDP Education to deploy its Genesys Cloud platform to help transform its global student engagement strategy.

The partnership will bring unified operations across over 25 counties on Genesys Cloud, expected to enable student engagement and improve response time and student satisfaction.

To deliver this experience at scale, IDP sought to replace fragmented engagement models with a unified approach. It consolidated its global contact centre operations on Genesys Cloud, enabling it to orchestrate consistent interactions across the entire student journey—from initial enquiries and application support to International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scheduling, score updates, and post-test engagement. 

Uber for Business appoints Rituraj Chaturmohta as Senior Country Manager, India and South Asia

The enterprise arm for Uber India, Uber for Business, appointed Rituraj Chaturmohta as the Senior Country Manager for India and South Asia. 

In the new role, Chaturmohta will lead Uber for Business’s growth strategy in the region, focusing on strengthening partnerships with organisations, enhancing enterprise mobility solutions, and innovating across the corporate travel and employee transportation space.

Before joining Uber, Chaturmohta was at Airbnb as Head of Sales and Business Development, leading teams across supply and demand functions. He was also a former entrepreneur in the hyper-local delivery space. 

“I am thrilled to join Uber for Business to lead India and South Asia, one of Uber’s most dynamic growth markets. Uber for Business is reimagining how businesses move - with scale, sustainability, and customer centricity at the core. My focus is to deepen Uber’s relationships with our business clients, build tailored mobility solutions that drive measurable ROI, and make Uber for Business a growth partner for every company operating in this region,” said Chaturmohta in a statement. 

DesignUp25 to be held in Bengaluru from Nov 3-5

DesignUp25, a design and innovation festival, will be held in Bengaluru from November 3 to 5 with the theme - “The Design Currency.” The 9th edition of the festival shifts the focus from aesthetics to economic impact, positioning design as a fundamental source of business, social, and technological value in the age of AI. 

The three-day event will have workshops and keynotes, examining how design drives innovation and systemic change. The event will also unveil the Futures Challenge 2025 winners, where young designers reimagine future "currencies"— from reputation and trust to energy.

Enlight Metals to invest Rs 80 cr to set up AI dark stores

Enlight Metals, a metal aggregator, has announced an investment of Rs 80 crore to establish 10 AI-driven dark stores across the country’s key industrial hubs. The initiative is aimed at redefining materials distribution through the integration of artificial intelligence, automation, and data analytics, enhancing supply chain speed, precision, and responsiveness for more than 1,500 OEMs nationwide.

The dark stores will be launched in Aurangabad, Nashik, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Indore, and Chennai, expanding on Enlight’s existing footprint in Mumbai and Pune. Each facility will serve as a tech-enabled micro-fulfilment hub, powered by AI-based stock orchestration and predictive analytics to ensure optimised inventory management and delivery performance.

Around 50% of the total investment is earmarked for infrastructure development and automation, while the remaining funds will be directed toward strengthening Enlight’s digital platforms, AI-powered planning systems, and regional workforce. Each dark store will also feature a regional engagement cell, offering OEMs localised support in demand planning, technical assistance, and service delivery.

General Mills India Centre opens new office in Pune

General Mills India Centre has opened a new satellite office in Kalyani Nagar, Pune, and it will support the digital and technology functions for the company. The General Mills India Centre (GIC) serves as a vital Global Capability Centre (GCC) for General Mills, headquartered in Mumbai. Established to enhance the company's operational efficiencies, GIC plays a crucial role in delivering business value and service excellence across various domains, including supply chain management, digital technology, innovation, consumer insights, and financial services.

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