Startup news and updates: Daily Roundup (April 9, 2026)

Featured stories

How VirtueLife makes home physiotherapy actually work

After struggling to follow proper physiotherapy routines without any actual guidance following a bike accident, Yogesh Patel co-founded Ahmedabad based startup VirtueLife with his wife, Ruby Patel, to make home-based rehabilitation more structured, guided, and accessible.

This platform combines video guidance, clinician tools, and AI-assisted planning to bring an easy to follow, guided program that holds individuals accountable and helps them be consistent even if they are older or non-tech-savvy users.

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Funding News 

Astranova Mobility raises Rs 60 Cr led by IvyCap Ventures

EV financing and asset management platform Astranova Mobility has raised Rs 60 crore in a Series A funding round led by IvyCap Ventures. The round also saw participation from Asian Development Bank, AdvantEdge Founders, and Trucks Venture Capital.

The company sait it plans to use a significant portion of the newly-raised capital to deepen its data, AI, and engineering capabilities. Founded in mid-2023 by Kunal Mundra, the startup currently has financed and allied services for over 25,000 EVs spanning two-wheelers and heavy-duty electric trucks.

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DAAKit raises $138,000 in pre-seed round

DAAKit raised $138,000 in a pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures. The company plans to use the funds towards business growth. It also aims to launch 25 dark stores, expand across Tier I and II cities, strengthen its technology stack, and build leadership teams.

The firm was founded in 2024 by Chandan Ghugtyal and operates on a tech-enabled, asset-light model focused on fast-growing hyperlocal fulfilment and last-mile logistics startup.

The company said it is seeing 15-20% growth every month in orders and revenue and plans to grow to nearly 500,000 monthly orders in the near term.

Angoor AI raises Rs 2 cr in pre-seed round led by Venturizer

Bengaluru-based Angoor AI has raised Rs 2 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by Venturizer, as the startup looks to scale its enterprise sales capabilities and accelerate product development.

The round also saw participation from angel investors including Uday Sodhi, Tarun Billa, and Mayank Singh Tomar.

Founded in October 2023 by IIT Bombay graduates Arpit Agrawal, Anuj Agrawal, and Rishabh Kumar, Angoor AI is building an AI-native customer interaction platform that enables businesses to automate engagement across channels such as WhatsApp, calls, Shopify, web, Instagram, email, and Messenger.

The company said the fresh capital will be deployed to expand its product and engineering teams, build out its enterprise sales function, and accelerate its transition toward a product-led growth model.

SiMa.ai secures strategic investment from Micron to Advance Edge AI Systems

SiMa.ai has received a strategic investment from Micron Technology, Inc., as the physical AI company looks to scale production-ready solutions for real-world intelligent systems.

The investment strengthens collaboration between the two companies around tightly integrated compute and memory architectures, aimed at delivering high performance with lower power consumption for edge applications such as robotics, autonomous systems, and industrial automation.

Physical AI, where machines can perceive, reason, and act in real time in the physical world, places significant demands on memory systems. These workloads require a balance between high bandwidth and energy efficiency, particularly as more complex models move closer to the edge.

SiMa.ai said its Modalix MLSoC platform is designed to address this challenge through a specialized memory architecture that can support advanced workloads, including large language models and vision-language models, outside of centralised cloud environments.

Other News

Turiyam AI successfully deploys inference engine on an indigenous server architecture

Turiyam AI, a deeptech company that specialises in high-performance AI compute hardware and software, announced the successful deployment of its inference engine on an indigenous server architecture at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune.

The platform is integrated with Rudra servers and during the validation, enabled a Hindi large language model with 37 dialects to run efficiently inside the platform's inference engine within the C-DAC infrastructure environment.

The deployment was a huge achievement as it shows a fully Indian-built AI system running smoothly on local servers at the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing.

Myntra names Alia Bhatt as brand ambassador

Alia Bhatt has been appointed as the brand ambassador for Myntra and its beauty vertical, Myntra Beauty, as the Walmart-owned platform sharpens its positioning in India’s fast-growing fashion and personal care market.

The partnership will kick off with a campaign for Myntra Beauty’s “Glow Up Days” event, aimed at driving customer engagement through value-led offerings across beauty categories.

The debut campaign film, featuring Bhatt, leans on relatable humour, centering on familiar consumer habits such as stretching the last drops of premium skincare or makeup products. The messaging underscores Myntra Beauty’s broader pitch of making quality beauty products more accessible to a wider base of Indian consumers.

Da Milano crosses 100 stores in India

Da Milano Group has crossed the 100-store mark across India, underscoring its expansion in the country’s premium leather accessories and footwear market.

The milestone reflects steady growth for the homegrown luxury brand, which has built a presence in handbags, small leather goods, and accessories, while also scaling its footwear portfolio through Rosso Brunello.

Rosso Brunello, focused on premium footwear, has emerged as a key driver of the group’s retail expansion, contributing to a broader store network and helping deepen its footprint in urban consumption centres.

Redcliffe Labs divests Crysta IVF to refocus on diagnostics core

Redcliffe Labs has sold its fertility services arm, Crysta IVF, to Moon Care Private Limited, the healthcare arm of the MMG Group, as the diagnostics platform sharpens its focus on its core preventive healthcare business.

The divestment marks a strategic shift for the company, which has positioned itself as one of India’s fastest-growing diagnostics networks built around a preventive-first model. By exiting the fertility segment, Redcliffe aims to double down on expanding its diagnostics footprint, particularly in advanced and technology-led testing services.

The company said the move would enable it to consolidate resources toward scaling accessible, accurate, and affordable diagnostic solutions across the country, at a time when demand for preventive healthcare and early detection continues to rise.

TR Capital appoints Umang Agarwal as India co-head

TR Capital has appointed Umang Agarwal as Managing Director and Co-Head of India, as the Asia-focused secondary private equity firm deepens its commitment to the country.

The firm also announced senior hires including Kushal Agarwal and Sagar Sheth, alongside the opening of a new office in Bengaluru, adding to its existing presence in Mumbai. The expansion underscores a sharper focus on India’s startup and technology ecosystem.

Founded in 2007, TR Capital has been an early mover in secondary private equity investments in the Asia-Pacific region, providing liquidity solutions to investors and backing high-growth companies across sectors such as technology, consumer, and healthcare.

India has emerged as a key market for the firm, where it has been active since 2008. Its portfolio includes companies such as Flipkart, Lenskart, Fibe, MoEngage, Shadowfax, and Whatfix.

The leadership appointments and Bengaluru expansion signal increased on-ground engagement as secondary investors look to tap liquidity opportunities in India’s maturing startup ecosystem.

foundit appoints Tarun Sinha as CEO

Jobs platform foundit has appointed Tarun Sinha as its Chief Executive Officer, as the company looks to accelerate growth and deepen its push into technology-led hiring solutions.

The leadership change comes as foundit, formerly Monster APAC & ME, positions itself for expansion in the increasingly competitive HR tech market across Asia.

Sinha brings over two decades of experience across internet and digital businesses. He has previously held senior leadership roles at BetterPlace, OLX (part of Naspers), and Times Internet, where he led growth initiatives, product strategy, and large-scale business transformation.

At foundit, Sinha is expected to focus on scaling the platform’s technology capabilities, strengthening product innovation, and expanding its market footprint, as hiring platforms increasingly integrate AI and data-driven tools to match talent with employers more efficiently.

Stripe Appoints Manish Maheshwari to lead India growth

Stripe has appointed Manish Maheshwari as Head of Revenue and Growth for India, strengthening its leadership as it deepens its presence in the country.

Maheshwari brings over two decades of experience, having held senior roles at Twitter, Flipkart, and Intuit. He also founded Fanory.ai. In his new role, he will focus on supporting Indian businesses, particularly AI-led startups, to expand globally with seamless payment and billing infrastructure.

Stripe is also scaling its operations in Bengaluru, now one of its fastest-growing global hubs.

Salesforce partners with NMIMS to digitise admissions with AI platform

Salesforce has partnered with NMIMS to build an AI-powered admissions and engagement platform aimed at improving student experience and operational efficiency. The university is deploying Salesforce’s Agentforce Education and Marketing solutions, integrated with MuleSoft, to unify fragmented systems and enable end-to-end lead management.

The platform will automate student engagement, streamline application workflows, and provide real-time data insights. Phase one has already digitised NMAT-based admissions.

The initiative aligns with NMIMS’ expansion across campuses and its push towards a more student-centric, data-driven ecosystem. Salesforce said the collaboration reflects a broader trend of Indian universities adopting connected digital platforms to enhance engagement and scale operations.

Swageazy raises Rs 5.4 Cr to expand corporate gifting platform

Swageazy has raised Rs 5.4 crore in a follow-on round led by InfoEdge Ventures, with participation from founders of HR tech firms OnGrid and HROne. The company, which serves over 800 enterprises including Amazon and LinkedIn, will use the funds to strengthen its technology, sales, and fulfilment capabilities.

Swageazy operates warehousing facilities in Delhi and Bengaluru and offers a platform for businesses to design, manage, and distribute branded merchandise globally. It integrates with HRMS tools to automate gifting workflows for employee and customer engagement.

Since its 2021 seed round, the company has grown 10x, benefiting from rising demand for centralised, tech-driven corporate gifting solutions in hybrid work environments.