Startup news and updates: daily roundup (June 17, 2026)

From Equip’s AI-driven recruitment solutions to Resilience AI’s hyperlocal climate risk mapping, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Featured stories

How Equip is using AI to change the way companies hire

Hiring has become a volume problem. Recruiters post a role and are immediately flooded with applications. Most are irrelevant. Some are borderline. A few, genuinely strong, are buried somewhere in the pile. By the time shortlists are ready, the hiring cycle has already moved on to the next opening.

AI hasn’t really fixed that. If anything, it has added another layer of noise. Candidates now mass-apply using automation tools, resumes are tailored at scale to match job descriptions, and interviews increasingly involve AI assistance in the background. The result? More applications, less clarity.

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How Resilience AI is using hyperlocal risk data to help villages prepare for climate disasters

During a training workshop at a village in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu, last year, a local administrator was shown a risk map generated by an AI platform.

It flagged that the girls' school in her village was located in a micro-hotspot with elevated temperatures. The administrator already knew that the children of the area were frequently falling ill, but did not know why. When she realised the reason, her response was immediate.

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Funding news

Creator platform Influish raises pre-seed funding

Influish, a creator platform, has raised a pre-seed round of funding from Clovia co-founder Pankaj Vermani and angel investors Jeetendra Tewani and Sachin Harneja. The funding amount was not disclosed.

According to a statement, Influish is the first startup in CoFounder Circle Accelerator, a venture creation and acceleration platform founded by entrepreneur Darpan Sanghvi.

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Haircare startup Xtovia raises Rs 6.9 Cr in pre-seed funding

Xtovia, a haircare startup, has raised Rs 6.9 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by V3 Ventures, with participation from Consumer Collective by Atrium and angel investors. The company will use the funds to strengthen its intellectual property portfolio, expand its team, support its market launch and accelerate growth.

Founded in 2025, Xtovia develops premium haircare products focused on repairing structural hair damage through proprietary technology and research-led formulations developed in India. Its products are based on TriLayerX Hair Tech, an in-house platform backed by extensive testing and multiple patent applications. The brand currently sells through its direct-to-consumer channel and plans to expand its distribution footprint.

TDK Ventures backs Aston Power to accelerate AI infra build-out

TDK Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of TDK Corporation, has invested in US-based Aston Power, a startup developing private power networks for large industrial energy users. The investment targets a key challenge facing the AI sector: securing reliable power quickly enough to support growing demand from hyperscale data centres.

Aston aims to reduce power deployment timelines from the typical 5-10 years to 2-3 years through modular private power grids. Its platform combines grid and on-site energy sources, including solar, batteries and natural gas, to deliver contractually guaranteed service levels and 99.9% power availability. The company has a 2GW development pipeline across Arizona, Texas and New Mexico.

Atom XVII launches consumer-focused AIF

Atom XVII has launched as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) focused on India’s consumer sector, targeting a corpus of Rs 75 crore. Founded by Harsh Kapadia, the fund aims to achieve its first close by July-end 2026 and has already secured soft commitments worth Rs 40 crore.

Atom XVII will invest in early-stage consumer startups from pre-seed to Series A stages, with an average ticket size of Rs 3 crore. The fund plans to build a portfolio of 13-15 companies, focusing particularly on underserved markets beyond Tier-1 cities. Safari Commercials Pvt Ltd will serve as an anchor investor, while Alphagrep Group’s Mohit Mutreja is among the notable limited partners backing the fund.

Other news

Dhruva Space, ICEYE partner on satellite manufacturing and Earth observation

Dhruva Space and ICEYE have signed an MoU to explore collaboration across satellite manufacturing, space systems production, Earth observation services, disaster management solutions and ground infrastructure. The partnership combines Dhruva Space’s spacecraft engineering, manufacturing and ground station capabilities with ICEYE’s synthetic aperture radar satellite expertise.

The companies will assess opportunities to jointly develop satellites and space systems, expand component manufacturing from India and enhance access to Earth observation data. They will also explore applications in disaster management, agriculture, maritime monitoring and climate intelligence. The collaboration could leverage Dhruva Space’s upcoming 280,000 sq. ft. assembly, integration and testing facility and its ground station network to support domestic and international programmes.

Indian crypto investors show growing discipline, survey finds

A survey of more than 6,000 crypto traders and investors across 22 Indian states found that 91% avoid panic-selling or chasing market hype during periods of volatility. Nearly half allocate less than 10% of their portfolio to crypto, while more than 70% keep exposure below 25%, indicating a cautious approach to digital assets. 

Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu recorded some of the lowest levels of reactive trading. Long-term investing is gaining ground, with 41.2% identifying as buy-and-hold investors. The trend is strongest among those aged 35-44 and women investors. Mudrex also reported a more than 220% rise in crypto SIP openings in 2025.

Red Balloon Aerospace signs Armenia partnership for stratospheric research

Red Balloon Aerospace and Armenia-based Bazoomq Space Research Laboratory have signed an MoU to collaborate on near-space testing, payload integration, atmospheric research and onboard AI development. The partnership will focus on stratospheric demonstration missions, real-world payload testing, data collection and autonomy applications, while exploring future commercial and government-backed opportunities.

The agreement follows Red Balloon Aerospace’s May launch of VISTA, an indigenous stratospheric super-pressure balloon platform. The collaboration combines India’s growing near-space capabilities with Bazoomq’s high-altitude flight experience, supporting the development of high-altitude platform systems for connectivity, Earth observation, environmental monitoring and disaster-response applications.

Tata Trusts backs IIM Bangalore’s new undergraduate school

IIM Bangalore has received a major philanthropic grant from Tata Trusts to support the development of its new School of Undergraduate Studies in Bengaluru. The funding will help advance the institution’s academic vision, campus infrastructure and long-term growth plans.

Located about 27 kilometres from IIM Bangalore’s main campus, the school will launch in August with two four-year residential programmes - BSc (Honours) in Economics with a minor in Data Science, and BSc (Honours) in Data Science with a minor in Economics. The initial intake will be 80 students. The grant will also support research in areas including AI, data science and Indian Knowledge Systems, while strengthening faculty development and interdisciplinary learning.

Bolt.Earth, ChargeZone partner to expand EV charging access

Bolt.Earth and ChargeZone have partnered to provide EV drivers with access to a combined network of more than 1,500 fast-charging locations for four-wheelers across India through a single app. The integration allows users to locate, access and pay for chargers across both networks, reducing the need to switch between multiple platforms.

The partnership aims to improve charging accessibility and interoperability, with integrated payments and real-time charging updates. ChargeZone operates a nationwide fast-charging network across highways, intercity routes and urban hubs, while Bolt.Earth’s platform serves two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers across more than 2,000 cities, supporting broader EV infrastructure growth.

Bijliride joins Telangana initiative to support women EV drivers

Bijliride has partnered with the Telangana Police Women Safety Wing and the State Transport Department to support the ‘Stree Ride’ initiative, which aims to create employment opportunities for women in the mobility and logistics sectors. The programme provides access to electric vehicles and enables direct onboarding onto ride-hailing platforms such as Ola, Uber and Rapido, as well as quick-commerce delivery services.

Bijliride is deploying EVs for women undergoing driving and safety training in Hyderabad and is managing digital verification and app integration to simplify entry into the workforce. The initiative is designed to help participants begin earning quickly while offering flexible opportunities across passenger transport and delivery services.

EbixCash expands payments and forex network across smaller towns

EbixCash World Money has expanded its payments, remittance and forex network to 2,250 cities, towns and villages across India, up from 2,143 a year earlier. The expansion adds more than 573 retail touchpoints, with 89% of new merchant additions coming from Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations.

The growth is concentrated in regions including Punjab and Kerala, where remittance demand remains strong, and in cities such as Gurgaon and Pune, which are seeing increased SME payment and forex activity. The company said neighbourhood retail outlets are playing an increasingly important role in financial access, supporting remittances, payments and assisted digital transactions, particularly in smaller markets.

Raptee.HV expands financing options to boost electric motorcycle adoption

Chennai-based electric motorcycle manufacturer Raptee.HV has partnered with a major EV financier to improve access to financing for electric motorcycle buyers. The collaboration aims to reduce adoption barriers by offering faster loan approvals, flexible repayment options and a streamlined purchase process.

The company has also partnered with IDFC FIRST Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Shriram Finance to broaden financing availability. In addition, Raptee.HV has appointed Muthoot Risk Insurance and Broking Services as its preferred insurance partner for its dealership network. The expanded financing and insurance ecosystem is intended to lower upfront purchase hurdles and make electric motorcycle ownership more accessible to customers.

BytePe launches zero cost store, expands beyond smartphones

BytePe has launched its zero cost store, combining no cost EMI and cardless EMI options in a single platform aimed at improving access to premium technology and lifestyle products. The company has also expanded its product range by adding brands including Dyson, Marshall, Mokobara, EDT and Protouch.

The move marks BytePe’s transition from a smartphone-focused platform to a broader marketplace for gadgets and lifestyle products. The platform offers curated products sourced directly from brands and provides flexible financing options, including for consumers without credit cards. Founded by former Flipkart executive Jayant Jha, BytePe currently sells smartphones, laptops, wearables, audio products and accessories.

Chainguard expands India focus with partner-led growth strategy

Chainguard has outlined its India growth strategy, centred on partnerships with major system integrators including TCS, Infosys, HCLTech, Persistent and LTIMindtree, as well as cloud providers AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. The company aims to strengthen its presence in India’s growing AI and software development ecosystem.

The expansion builds on an existing customer base that includes global enterprises and Indian technology firms. Chainguard said India’s 1,700-plus Global Capability Centres and expanding AI infrastructure market represent a significant growth opportunity. The company has raised $892 million to date and is also backing Athena, an industry initiative focused on improving the security and reliability of open-source software used in AI development.

SiMa.ai unveils agentic development platform for Physical AI

SiMa.ai has launched Palette Neat, an open-source agentic development environment designed to accelerate Physical AI application development. The platform uses natural-language commands and automated workflows to reduce deployment timelines from months to days, while allowing developers to reuse most existing software code.

Palette Neat is integrated with SiMa.ai’s Modalix MLSoC System-on-Module and a new PCIe companion card, enabling AI workloads across robotics, automotive, drones, industrial automation, aerospace, defence and healthcare. The company says the platform simplifies migration from existing hardware, supports concurrent AI models and delivers high performance with power consumption below 10W, reducing development complexity and deployment costs.

Airtel expands Rahul Vatts’ role to lead corporate affairs and regulatory strategy

Bharti Airtel has appointed Rahul Vatts as Director - Corporate Affairs and Group Chief Regulatory Officer, expanding his responsibilities beyond regulatory matters. In the new role, he will lead corporate affairs, oversee engagement with government and industry stakeholders, and help shape the company’s public policy and regulatory strategy.

Vatts will continue to serve on Airtel’s Management Board and will also join the Board of the Bharti Airtel Foundation. A telecom industry veteran with nearly 30 years of experience, he joined Airtel as Chief Regulatory Officer in 2020 and is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and The Wharton School.

Amazon expands fast delivery network with 100 urban fulfillment centres

Amazon India has launched more than 100 specialised Urban Fulfillment Centers to expand the product selection available through Amazon Now. The new facilities will offer customers four times more assortment across categories such as electronics, fashion, furniture, jewellery, groceries, and personal care products, with deliveries completed within minutes.

The initiative builds on Amazon Now’s expansion to 100 cities through over 1,000 micro-fulfillment centres. Urban Fulfillment Centers will initially roll out in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. The expansion is part of Amazon’s broader investment of over Rs 2,800 crore to strengthen its operations network and delivery infrastructure. The company is also expanding its Ashray rest centres for delivery associates from 100 to 250 locations in 2026.

Konnect Insights nears $10 Million ARR

Customer experience platform Konnect Insights is on track to surpass $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), driven by rising demand for AI-powered customer engagement and intelligence solutions. The bootstrapped company serves enterprises across more than 35 countries and offers a unified platform for social listening, omnichannel engagement, analytics, automation, and customer intelligence.

Founded as a social listening platform, Konnect Insights has expanded into a full-fledged customer experience management solution. The company has strengthened its presence across the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America through growing enterprise adoption and an expanding partner ecosystem. The milestone reflects increasing global demand for AI-enabled customer experience technologies as businesses seek deeper insights and improved engagement across digital channels.

Smarten targets 350+ distributors in FY27

Power backup and solar solutions company Smarten plans to expand its distributor network to more than 350 distributors during FY 2026-27 as it looks to strengthen its presence across India. The company currently operates through a network of over 250 distributors and intends to add 108 new partners across key regions.

North India will account for 41 additions, followed by South India with 32, East India with 23, and West India with 12. Smarten said the expansion is aimed at meeting growing demand for power backup and renewable energy products while improving customer access and service support. The company plans to deepen its presence in existing markets and expand into high-potential regions as part of its growth strategy.

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