Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (January 8, 2026)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, January 8, 2026.
From growing demand in the premium grocery space to OpenAI's new health initiative, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.
Featured stories
Ripe for growth: Why online grocers are keen to serve picky customers with premium produce
Online grocery is moving beyond speed to serve a more demanding customer. A growing set of urban consumers wants fruits and vegetables that look and feel handpicked, with no bruises, clear traceability, and reliable quality. They are also willing to pay a premium for this assurance and the convenience of doorstep delivery.
This shift has pushed quick commerce platforms and specialised startups to experiment with premium produce formats. Swiggy and Zepto are piloting curated offerings, while younger players such as FirstClub, Pluckk, Handpickd, and Freshly are building supply chains focused on freshness, hygiene, and quality checks rather than just delivery time. Read more.
How Good Monk is rethinking nutrition by blending supplements into everyday Indian food
Good Monk, a Bengaluru-based nutrition startup under Superfoods Valley Private Limited, develops easy-to-mix, clinically validated nutrition powders that address common vitamin and mineral gaps in Indian diets. Its Co-founder, Amarpreet Singh Anand and his wife, Sahiba Kaur, initially invested roughly Rs 1 crore of personal capital and raised Rs 28–30 crore in external funding. The next fundraising round is underway to support brand building, organisation expansion, innovation, and capacity enhancement.
Founded in 2022, Good Monk offers tasteless powders that blend into daily food, has served over 4 lakh users and currently operates at a Rs 30 crore annual run rate. Its growth has been nearly 30-fold over 20 months, driven largely by repeat usage and word-of-mouth. Its products are FSSAI-approved and manufactured in GMP-certified, HACCP-compliant facilities, ensuring regulatory compliance and food safety. Read more.
Latest news
OpenAI unveils ChatGPT Health to centralise personal medical and wellness data
OpenAI has launched a new dedicated experience called ChatGPT Health to centralise personal medical and wellness data. This move aims to provide a more informed and confident way for users to navigate their personal health journeys by bringing together scattered information from various sources, the company said.
The tool addresses a significant trend in AI usage: according to the company, roughly 230 million people worldwide already ask wellness questions on the platform every week.
The new platform wants to solve the problem of fragmented health data. Currently, many individuals find their medical history and fitness tracking spread across different portals, wearables, and digital notes. Read more.
Meesho shares hit lower circuit after exit of senior executive
Meesho’s stock slipped into the lower circuit on Thursday amid a mix of management churn and increased share supply in the market. The decline came after the ecommerce company disclosed the exit of a senior executive, alongside the expiry of the lock-in period for a portion of its pre-IPO equity.
The developments come less than a month after Meesho’s market debut, which had drawn strong investor interest and a sharp listing pop. With nearly 2% of the company’s outstanding shares becoming eligible for trading this week, the shares opened higher on Thursday, later settling 5% down in the lower circuit at Rs 164.4 apiece on the NSE. Read more.
Funding news
Haircare startup &Done raises $3M in funding led by RTP Global
Professional haircare brand &Done raised $3 million in a Series A funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm RTP Global, All-in Capital, Suashish, and angel investors, including Info Edge Ventures partner Kitty Agarwal and Titan Capital co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.
Founded in 2023 by Saumya Yadav and Atit Jain, &Done manufactures products specifically formulated for Indian hair types and weather conditions. The Gurugram-based company will use the fresh capital to scale research and development, expand its team and grow its salon network. The brand is currently available in over 500 salons across Delhi NCR, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabad.
Regional micro-drama platform MiniPix raises 2.4 crore rupees in pre-seed funding
Mobile-first entertainment platform MiniPix has raised 2.4 crore rupees in a pre-seed funding round led by startup accelerator PedalStart. The round also saw participation from Venture Catalysts and SanRaj Family Ventures, the investment vehicle of Route Mobile founders Sandip Gupta and Rajdip Gupta.
Founded in June 2025, the Bengaluru-based startup focuses on short, vertical micro-dramas designed for audiences in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. MiniPix plans to use the fresh capital to scale regional content creation, build its team and strengthen product-market fit.
Since its product launch six months ago, the platform has recorded over 100,000 downloads and 20,000 paying subscribers. It currently reports an annual recurring revenue of more than 3 crore rupees. Currently focused on Bhojpuri content, MiniPix plans to expand into five additional regional languages over the next two years and targets an annual recurring revenue of Rs 6 crore by March 2026.
Aditya Birla Ventures invests in Articul8 AI’s Series B round
Aditya Birla Ventures has invested in the first tranche of enterprise generative AI company Articul8 AI’s Series B financing round.
The round also saw participation from Adara Ventures and NXC Corporation. Articul8 AI expects to raise approximately $70 million upon the final closing of the round in the first quarter of 2026, which will bring its valuation to over $500 million.
Founded less than two years ago, Articul8 AI provides a full-stack platform powered by its proprietary "ModelMesh" reasoning engine. The technology allows enterprises to build and deploy secure GenAI applications within their own security perimeters.
The company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate global expansion across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America, and to deepen its proprietary reasoning technology. It has surpassed $90 million in total contract value, representing more than three times growth relative to its 2024 levels.
Interior design platform Project Studio raises funding led by Modulor Capital
AI-native platform Project Studio has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a round led by Modulor Capital. The round also saw participation from We Founder Circle, EvolveX and Thapar Innovate.
Founded by Nikhil Kaushik and Abhishek Jha, Project Studio builds an operating system for independent interior design studios to manage project execution, sourcing and payments. The company plans to utilize the funds to enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities and expand into international markets, having already initiated pilot deployments in the UAE and the US.
The platform currently works with over 150 interior design firms and has supported more than 3,500 projects across India. Project Studio aims to resolve execution delays and margin leakages caused by manual workflows by centralizing project coordination.
Menstrual hygiene brand Fabpad raises seed funding led by Inflection Point Ventures
Menstrual hygiene brand Fabpad has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round led by angel investing platform Inflection Point Ventures.
The Kolkata-headquartered company plans to use the funds to expand its distribution across direct-to-consumer channels, online marketplaces, quick commerce platforms and offline retail. The capital will also be used for brand building, hiring senior talent and meeting working capital needs.
Led by Shripriya Dhelia and Dipesh Dhelia, Fabpad operates an asset-light model offering both reusable and disposable menstrual hygiene products. The brand currently supplies products to NGOs and institutions while also manufacturing for private-label domestic and international brands.
Other news
Flipkart appoints Gunjan Bhartia as Senior Vice President of Business Finance
E-commerce marketplace Flipkart has appointed Gunjan Bhartia as Senior Vice President of Business Finance.
In his new role, Bhartia will lead eKart Business Finance across all verticals. He brings over 28 years of global finance experience across Asia and the Middle East. He has previously held senior leadership positions at companies such as GE and Coupang, where he managed multi-billion dollar programs and business transformations.
EV charging networks Bolt.Earth and Statiq form strategic partnership
Electric vehicle charging network Bolt.Earth has announced a strategic partnership with Statiq to enable interoperable charging services across India. The collaboration allows users to locate, access and pay for chargers from both networks through a single interface on either company's application.
The companies said the partnership is designed to reduce the need for multiple charging applications and address range anxiety for electric vehicle drivers by expanding accessible infrastructure on highways and in urban centers.
The move aims to integrate Statiq's fast-charging infrastructure for four-wheelers with Bolt.Earth's universal platform. Bolt.Earth currently operates over 100,000 chargers across more than 1,900 cities, serving two, three and four-wheelers. Statiq manages a network of over 10,000 chargers in 1,000 cities, offering both AC and high-speed DC fast-charging solutions.
Cashify appoints Raghvendra Singh as Chief Technology Officer
Re-commerce platform Cashify has appointed Raghvendra Singh as its Chief Technology Officer, effective January 1, 2026.
Singh, who has spent over a decade at the company in roles including Head of Engineering, will focus on strengthening the technology foundation to support business expansion. He will oversee platform architecture, infrastructure and security while embedding artificial intelligence and data into the company's decision systems.
The appointment comes as Cashify targets 30-35% growth in the year ahead. The company plans to expand into non-smartphone categories and increase its retail presence to more than 300 stores across India, up from its current count of over 200. Founded in 2013, Cashify facilitates the buying, selling and repairing of used electronic gadgets and serves as an official trade-in partner for brands such as Apple, Xiaomi and Samsung.
Matrix Geo Solutions partners with DRIIV Foundation for geospatial projects
Geospatial technology consultancy Matrix Geo Solutions has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding with DRIIV Foundation to execute national and state-level science and technology projects.
Under the agreement, DRIIV Foundation, a program under the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, will act as the project management partner. Matrix Geo will serve as the delivery partner responsible for executing projects for government and public bodies.
The collaboration aims to deploy advanced technologies including drone surveys, LiDAR, 3D digital twins and GeoAI for infrastructure and governance initiatives. The five-year agreement also covers collaborative research and development, capacity building and workforce creation in geospatial technologies. New Delhi-based Matrix Geo specializes in aerial surveys and infrastructure mapping across sectors such as railways, mining and urban development.
(The copy will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)