Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (July 16, 2026)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, July 16, 2026.
From battery recycling breakthroughs at Metastable Materials to the strategic appointment of former ISRO chief S Somanath to Agnikul’s board, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.
Featured stories
Shubham Vishvakarma & Manikumar Uppala, Oct 2021, Bengaluru.
Inside Metastable Materials' Bengaluru refinery
India imports most of the critical metals used in batteries, even though spent lithium-ion batteries, whose volume is growing every year, contain many of these materials.
Bengaluru-based Metastable Materials was founded on a simple idea: those spent batteries are not waste to be processed but are ore to be refined.
Latest news
Former ISRO chief S Somanath joins Agnikul board
Chennai-based spacetech startup Agnikul Cosmos has appointed former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman Dr S Somanath as an observer on its board ahead of Mission 02, a flight that aims to test two technologies that could shape the future of Indian launch services.
The company said Mission 02 will attempt India’s first recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster while also demonstrating an upper stage that remains operational in orbit instead of being discarded after deploying a satellite.
Funding news
SwitchOn raises $8M in funding round led by IvyCap Ventures
Bengaluru-based SwitchOn, a startup developing AI-based quality inspection systems for manufacturers, has raised $8 million (~Rs 78 crore), in a pre-Series B funding. The round was led by IvyCap Ventures, with participation from SIG Tattva and Trifecta Capital.
The capital will be used to accelerate SwitchOn's international expansion and strengthen research and development in next-generation physical AI. The startup will also use the funds to expand its sales and go-to-market capabilities across key manufacturing sectors worldwide.
KuhlTherm raises $1.1M to expand liquid cooling solutions
KuhlTherm has raised $1.1 million in a seed funding round led by Arkam Ventures. The funding will support product development, research and development, testing infrastructure, team expansion, certifications and strategic partnerships as the company scales liquid cooling solutions for AI data centres and high-performance computing.
Founded in 2025, Ahmedabad-based KuhlTherm develops precision liquid cooling systems including direct-to-chip cooling, immersion cooling and rear door heat exchangers. The company manufactures key components in-house and focuses on cooling technologies designed for high-density computing environments.
Other news
Latent View Analytics appoints Sonal Ramrakhiani as CEO
Latent View Analytics has appointed Sonal Ramrakhiani as chief executive officer, effective July 15, 2026. She brings more than 20 years of leadership experience. She most recently led Wipro Engineering Edge in the Americas. Previously, she held senior leadership roles at Tata Technologies.
Sonal is an alumna of Tata Administrative Services. Based in the US, she will lead the company's global growth strategy, with a focus on expanding in the Americas and Europe and advancing its AI-first business. Outgoing CEO Rajan Sethuraman will serve as the strategic advisor during the leadership transition.
Smarten Power Systems appoints Ranjit Singh as COO
Smarten Power Systems has appointed Ranjit Singh as chief operating officer, effective August 1, 2026. Previously a consultant and vice president of operations, Singh will oversee manufacturing, supply chain, quality systems, and operational execution as the company expands in India and international markets.
Singh played a key role in establishing Smarten's in-house battery manufacturing facility in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, following the company's IPO. He brings more than 50 years of experience in manufacturing, engineering and power electronics, with previous leadership roles across the power, telecom and renewable energy sectors.
IIM Bangalore and Square Yards to develop India property price index
The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore's Real Estate Research Initiative and Square Yards have entered a multi-year partnership to develop a residential property price index for India. The index will combine IIM Bangalore's research and methodology with anonymised, aggregated market data from Square Yards, including more than 150 million property registration records, RERA data, guidance values, transaction records and listings.
The initiative aims to provide homebuyers, investors, lenders, policymakers and researchers with a transparent and consistent benchmark for tracking residential property prices across the country.
Seclore appoints Hitesh Kathuria as chief customer officer
Seclore has appointed Hitesh Kathuria as chief customer officer to lead its global customer organisation, overseeing customer success, implementation, professional services, support and customer experience. Kathuria brings more than 20 years of experience in customer leadership and business growth.
He joins from Nagarro, where he held senior leadership roles including global business unit head, managing director, and partner and director. He will focus on strengthening customer relationships, accelerating product adoption, and supporting Seclore's expansion across North America, the Middle East, Africa, India and Southeast Asia.
KisanKraft launches electric farm equipment range
KisanKraft has entered the electric farm equipment market with the launch of the E-Inter-cultivator and E-Self Propelled Reaper, designed for small and medium farmers. The company said field trials showed operating costs of about Rs 10 per hour, compared with around Rs 170 per hour for similar petrol-powered machines.
Both products are powered by lithium iron phosphate batteries and are designed for Indian farming conditions, with a single charge supporting 3.5 to 4 hours of operation. The machines are available through KisanKraft's network of more than 5,000 dealers across India.
Eazzy appoints Manish Gupta as co-founder and CTO
Eazzy has appointed Manish Gupta as co-founder and chief technology officer to lead its technology strategy, AI, product engineering and platform development. Gupta brings more than 15 years of experience across AI, SaaS, ecommerce and marketplaces, with previous leadership roles at Moglix, Cashify and Phyllo.
Founded by Saurabh Luthra and Aksh Chauhan, Eazzy is building a technology platform that brings together installation, maintenance, repair, buyback and resale services for household products. The appointment is aimed at accelerating product development and expanding the platform's AI capabilities.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)