Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (February 25, 2026)

Featured stories

Using AI to detect breast cancer

OncoStem Diagnostics, founded by IISc scientist Manjiri Bakre, has developed CanAssist Breast (CAB), an AI-powered test to identify which early-stage breast cancer patients need chemotherapy and those who don’t.

Bakre points out that today, 95% of patients with a two-centimetre tumour are getting chemotherapy, but its benefit is only for patients who are at risk of metastasis, which is under 30% of those patients; the majority are being over-treated.

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Funding news

Pulse raises $4M led by 3one4 Capital

Bengaluru-based healthtech startup Pulse has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by 3one4 Capital, with participation from Incubate Fund Asia and Stride Ventures. The round also saw backing from angel investors, including the founders of BlackBuck and Agrizy.

The startup said it is seeking to build what it describes as a full-stack, asset-light medical equipment manufacturing brand. Rather than owning factories, Pulse plans to design products in-house while partnering with Indian manufacturers for production, aiming to lower costs and improve speed to market.

The company’s focus is on developing affordable, globally compliant medical equipment that can compete with established multinational incumbents. By working closely with India’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Pulse intends to enable domestic manufacturers to scale production and meet international quality standards.

Armatrix raises $2.1M to led by pi Ventures

Bengaluru-based deeptech robotics startup Armatrix has raised $2.1 million in a pre-seed funding round led by pi Ventures, with participation from Inuka Capital, Boundless Ventures, Boost VC, Turbostart, and returning investor gradCapital.

The company plans to use the capital to complete development of its proprietary snake-like flexible robotic arm technology, expand its engineering and research teams, and accelerate pilot deployments with industrial customers.

Founded in 2024 by IIT Kanpur graduates Vishrant Dave, Prateesh Awasthi, and Ayush Ranjan, Armatrix focuses on building hyper-redundant robotic systems designed to operate in confined and complex environments. Such systems, inspired by the flexibility of biological snakes, are aimed at applications ranging from industrial inspection to maintenance in hard-to-reach spaces.

Capital-A, SanchiConnect commit Rs 27 Cr to manufacturing accelerator Maxcel

Capital-A, a venture capital firm focused on India’s manufacturing sector, along with SanchiConnect, has announced an investment of ₹27 crore for its manufacturing accelerator programme, Maxcel. The commitment follows a nationwide evaluation of more than 2,000 startups.

The Maxcel programme is designed to back early-stage startups building in advanced and capital-intensive manufacturing segments, a space investors say remains underfunded compared to software-led ventures.

India is home to more than 3,000 deeptech startups and has attracted over $10 billion in cumulative funding over the past decade, according to NASSCOM and Boston Consulting Group. However, much of that capital has flowed into software-driven and later-stage companies, leaving deeptech manufacturing at a relatively nascent stage.

Gut Clinic raises $1M seed round vacked by healthcare leaders

Gut Clinic, a healthcare platform focused on integrated gastroenterology, liver and metabolic care, has raised $1 million in seed funding from a consortium of more than 15 investors.

The round brings together healthcare ecosystem players and industry veterans, reflecting growing investor interest in specialised, outpatient-led care models targeting chronic digestive and metabolic disorders.

Notable participants include Dr. Amitoj Singh, a Harvard-trained physician and preventive care specialist affiliated with the University of Arizona, and Dr. Aman Rajpal, an international fatty liver expert associated with the University of California San Francisco.

The investor group also includes Ankur Kathuria of Alpha Wave Global, Juhi Bhatnagar of Forj Capital, and Deepak Garg, Senior Executive Vice President at Reliance Industries.

s2.dev raises $3.85M seed round led by Accel

Data infrastructure startup s2.dev has raised $3.85 million in a seed funding round led by Accel, with significant participation from Y Combinator and Uncorrelated Ventures, along with other investors.

The company had earlier secured $1.65 million in a previously undisclosed pre-seed round. With the latest raise, s2.dev’s total capital raised stands at $5.5 million.

The fresh funding is expected to support product development and scale go-to-market efforts as the company builds out its data infrastructure offerings amid rising enterprise demand for tools that manage, process and secure large-scale data workloads.

Tattvam AI raises $1.7M to automate custom chip design

Tattvam AI, a deeptech startup developing artificial intelligence systems to automate semiconductor chip design, has raised $1.7 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Seedcamp. The round also saw participation from EWOR, Entropy Industrial Ventures, Concept Ventures, and semiconductor industry angel Stan Boland.

The company is positioning itself at the intersection of AI and semiconductor design, as demand accelerates globally for custom silicon tailored to specific workloads.

Unlike general-purpose chips built to handle a wide range of computing tasks, custom silicon refers to specialised processors engineered for defined use cases such as AI training and inference. These purpose-built chips can deliver performance gains of up to 100 times compared with general-purpose hardware such as GPUs in targeted applications, while often consuming significantly less power.

Other news

Ritz Media World appoints Neeti Bhargava as chief content & client solutions officer

Ritz Media World has appointed Neeti Bhargava as Chief Content & Client Solutions Officer, bolstering its leadership team as brands step up investments in content-led and multi-platform communication strategies.

Bhargava brings more than 18 years of experience spanning radio, media and content creation. Her career has centred on storytelling, audience engagement and brand strategy, with a track record of building on-air formats and shaping programming direction.

She has previously worked with leading radio networks including Red FM 93.5, Reliance Big FM 92.7 and My FM, where she contributed to programming strategy, music curation and listener engagement initiatives.

Palo Alto Networks expands Bengaluru footprint

Palo Alto Networks has expanded its Bengaluru operations with the inauguration of a new workspace, adding more than 500 seats as part of its broader cybersecurity and AI push. Kunal Ruvala, SVP and GM–India, said the expansion reinforces India’s strategic role in the company’s global roadmap and strengthens its contribution to the country’s digital economy and technology talent ecosystem. 

The move comes amid rising global demand for advanced cybersecurity solutions and is expected to support hiring, innovation and regional customer support.

Novartis India concludes NEST 2.0 with three winners

Novartis India has wrapped up the 2026 edition of NEST (Nurturing Excellence, Strengthening Talent), its initiative aimed at nurturing students in clinical development through data science and technology. 

The programme received over 33,000 individual registrations, with participation from more than 24,000 teams across 7,000 colleges. This year marked a shift from a competition-led format to a partnership-driven model focused on collaboration with academic institutions.

The three winning teams were Nova Nexus (Indian Institute of Technology Patna), Parzival Prime (Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute of Engineering & Technology and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay), and Codeies (Vishwakarma Institute of Technology Pune). The winners shared a prize pool of Rs 7.5 lakh and will be considered for pre-placement interviews with the Novartis Development Hub in India.

DailyObjects crosses Rs 320 Cr ARR

DailyObjects said it has crossed an annual revenue run rate of Rs 320 crore, reporting nearly 100% year-on-year growth as it positions itself as a lifestyle tech brand. 

Founded in 2012, the company has raised about $12 million to date and expects to turn EBITDA-positive in FY26, with projected net revenue of over ₹230 crore. It is targeting Rs 400 crore ARR by FY27. 

Around 70% of sales come through owned channels, while recently launched exclusive brand outlets have turned profitable from month one. The company plans to expand its presence across Apple Authorised Reseller stores and EBOs, with 35–40% of demand now originating from Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities.

Waayu eyes Rs 10 Cr revenue target

Waayu, a zero-commission foodtech platform, has introduced an integrated restaurant ecosystem priced at ₹999 per month, bundling POS systems, QR-based ordering, WhatsApp ordering, AI-driven delivery management and faster payouts. 

The company aims to onboard 8,000 restaurants by FY27 and projects revenue of Rs 10 crore with a 25% EBITDA margin by Q4 FY27. In under six months, Waayu has signed more than 50 franchise partners and estimates annual cost savings of Rs 1.5–2 lakh per outlet. Co-founders Anirudha Kotgire and Mandar Lande said the model shifts focus from commission-led growth to technology-driven profitability.

Clove Dental launches 48 clinics in a day

Clove Dental marked 15 years of operations by launching 48 clinics in a single day, taking its network to 715 clinics across 26 cities. The chain operates with over 1,700 dentists and 1,100 dental assistants and has treated more than 3.5 million patients. 

Clove Dental said it follows standardised treatment protocols, biweekly audits, AI-enabled sterilisation tracking and digital treatment planning tools to maintain clinical consistency across its network.