Startup news and updates: daily roundup (March 2, 2026)

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has brought the Indian stock markets crashing and oil prices rising leading to very uncertain times. Amidst these developments, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Featured stories

Amazon India unveiled a series of fee reductions for merchants on its platform, expanding a programme that eliminates referral fees to cover more than 12.5 crore products. The move follows a similar initiative by rival Flipkart, which waived seller commissions on goods under Rs 1,000 late last year. This follows a year of significant financial improvement for the company's marketplace operator and ongoing investments in AI to compete with emerging rivals.

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The quest for increased participation of women in the workforce continues to remain a daunting challenge to overcome. Even for working women, there is always additional responsibility to managing the household and this increases if there are elderly people to look after. The situation is no different for stay at home women but with different nuances.

When paid and unpaid work are combined, women’s total working time exceeds that of men. Even when women enter formal employment, they do not shed domestic responsibilities; they add to them.

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Latest news

Inamo, a quick-commerce enablement platform, has raised $8 million in a Series A funding round led by Prime Venture Partners. The round also saw participation from returning investors Shastra VC, Antler India, and Gemba Capital.

Inamo said it aims to use this fresh funding round to scale its dark store network and invest into technology architecture.

Founded in 2024 by Sumit Anand and Rupesh Thakare, Inamo provides a plug-and-play infrastructure-as-a-service model for quick-commerce platforms and online marketplaces.

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upGrad partners with OpenAI to embed advanced AI Tools

upGrad has announced a partnership with OpenAI at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 to integrate advanced generative AI capabilities across its learning ecosystem that includes tools such as ChatGPT, Codex, and the ChatGPT Atlas browser. The move aims to bridge real-time AI interaction with credentialed learning.

As part of the partnership, learners will gain access to dedicated ChatGPT Foundations certifications, Engineering and Data Labs powered by Codex integration within Data Science and Full-Stack Development programs, and advanced research workflows using ChatGPT Atlas with native “Agent Mode”.

Ronnie Screwvala, Co-founder and Chairperson, upGrad, said the collaboration marks an important step in making AI skills core to India’s workforce, enabling learners to directly access frontier AI tools.

ROHM and Suchi Semicon form partnership

ROHM and Suchi Semicon have announced a semiconductor manufacturing partnership aimed at strengthening India’s semiconductor ecosystem. The collaboration will combine ROHM’s device technology expertise with Suchi Semicon’s back-end manufacturing capabilities to build a scalable and reliable manufacturing framework aligned with evolving industry needs.

ROHM is evaluating outsourcing back-end processes for power devices and IC products to Suchi Semicon, with potential mass production shipments beginning in 2026. The companies also plan to expand locally manufactured package offerings and jointly explore new business development opportunities.

Nester onboards Kunwarjeet Grover as co-founder and CBO

Premium homeware brand Nester has appointed Kunwarjeet Grover as Co-founder and Chief Business Officer to accelerate growth and expansion. Grover brings over a decade of experience building digital-first brands, having worked with Honasa Consumer, Wellbeing Nutrition, Himalaya, Havells and Philips. At Nester, he will lead business strategy, revenue growth, go-to-market strategy and marketing, while Founder and CEO Abhinav Singh will oversee product design, sourcing and operations.

Nester recently raised ₹19 crore in a Pre-Series A round led by Fireside Ventures and OTP Ventures.

Bio Valley, 4baseCare and Define Bio sign genomics partnership

Bio Valley, 4baseCare, and Define Bio have signed an MoU to establish a Genomics and Next-Generation Sequencing Center of Excellence named BioSphere at Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ), Vizag.

The CoE aims to enable early diagnostics, personalized treatments and population-scale genomic insights tailored to India’s genetic diversity. It will also create a dedicated incubation center to support genomics startups with sequencing services, data access and mentorship. The initiative is expected to contribute to national genomic infrastructure, public health policy development and precision medicine advancement in India.

Republic Media acquires minority equity Stake in ImagiNxt parent

Republic Media Network has acquired a minority equity stake in the parent company of ImagiNxt as part of a broader media partnership linked to ImagiNxt 2026.

Republic will leverage its television, digital and on-ground platforms to amplify ImagiNxt’s visibility and scale its innovation-focused dialogue across stakeholders.

Arnab Goswami, Founder-Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Republic, said the collaboration aims to strengthen national conversations around innovation, policy and enterprise strategy. Both organizations indicated plans to explore expanded programming and future initiatives.

Cars24 partners with OpenAI for AI-first automotive commerce

Cars24 has announced a partnership with OpenAI to deploy AI-powered consumer experiences and intelligent agents across its operations.

The collaboration integrates OpenAI’s enterprise models across vehicle discovery, support, sales, financing workflows and post-purchase engagement. Early deployments have led to a 50% increase in support resolution, 80% lower turnaround time in key workflows and AI-powered agents handling 20% of customer outreach. Cars24 has also rolled out ChatGPT Enterprise across its workforce, reporting 85% daily active usage among employees and measurable productivity gains across functions.

CEO Vikram Chopra said the partnership marks a foundational shift toward AI-first operations, embedding intelligence into core workflows to improve efficiency and trust at scale.

Flipkart appoints two new VPs

The Flipkart Group has appointed Somnath Das as Vice President, Supply Chain, and Digbijay Mishra as Vice President, Corporate Communications.

Das will lead supply chain operations for the Large business, focusing on network efficiency and building technology-enabled capabilities. He brings over two decades of experience across CPG, retail, and food and beverage sectors. Prior to joining Flipkart, he served as senior vice president at Jubilant FoodWorks and previously held leadership roles at Reliance Retail (Grocery), Nivea India, Marico Ltd, and PepsiCo India.

Mishra will spearhead corporate communications for the group.

Delhivery launches AI-Powered SmartAssist for SMBs

Delhivery has launched Delhivery One SmartAssist, an AI-driven agent designed to automate Level 1 support for small businesses through a unified ‘Conversation-to-Action’ workflow. Integrated within the Delhivery One platform, SmartAssist enables shipment management, performance analysis, and account updates via a single chat interface, eliminating manual ticketing. Unlike FAQ-based bots, it can execute system-level updates, including bank and GSTIN changes. Supporting 12+ languages, SmartAssist leverages LLM capabilities to provide contextual, real-time assistance, reinforcing Delhivery’s technology-led approach to logistics solutions in India.

MIC Electronics Partners Switzerland’s GHS Technologies

MIC Electronics has entered a strategic partnership with Switzerland-based GHS Technologies GmbH to design, manufacture, and supply advanced material handling solutions for the Indian market. The collaboration has progressed into active technical execution, supported by a live industrial client mandate. Engineering documentation, including Gerber files and component specifications, has been transferred to MIC Electronics for manufacturing evaluation. An initial sample order is expected following technical validation.

The partnership combines GHS Technologies’ European-standard engineering expertise with MIC’s manufacturing and systems integration capabilities, structured around a sample-to-scale commercial roadmap.

MedGenome makes majority Investment in Mumbai-Based Medcare

MedGenome has announced a majority investment in Mumbai-headquartered Medcare Management Services Pvt. Ltd., a radiology and nuclear medicine provider specializing in PET-CT and molecular imaging. Founded in 2012 by Dr. Atul Marwah and Dr. Ruchira Marwah, Medcare operates four imaging facilities across Mumbai and partners with over 50 hospitals. The company provides PET-CT, CT, mammography, nuclear medicine scans, and theragnostic services.