Startup news and updates: daily roundup (August 12, 2026)

From Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran stepping down to EV mobility service startup Yulu raising $93 million, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Latest news

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran steps down

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran has stepped down from his role and will not seek reappointment due to lack of unanimity from the board members on his continuation.

Chandrasekaran was appointed the chairman of Tata Sons, the holding company of the $400-billion Tata Group, in February 2017.

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Ola Electric secures 5-year PLI window

Ola Electric has secured a revised timeline under the Government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for advanced chemistry cells (ACC). The company secured a full five-year PLI window through calendar year 2031 and cumulative incentives of up to Rs 7,240 crore, the company said in a BSE filing.

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Funding news

Yulu raises $93M led by GEF Capital

Electric mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) startup Yulu has raised $93 million in a Series C funding round. The total includes equity of $63 million, led by GEF Capital Partners, with the remaining $30 million raised via debt.

According to Yulu, this is its largest funding round and it will use the capital to quadruple its active fleet to 200,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in the next two years, expand service hubs, and deepen strategic enterprise partnerships.

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Wippi raises $1.2M to scale screen-free AI products for children

Wippi has raised $1.2 million in seed funding led by 12 Flags, with participation from Warmup Ventures, Ventana Ventures and Ruvento Ventures. The Bengaluru-based children's technology startup will use the capital to develop its voice AI, expand engineering and AI teams, scale manufacturing in India and grow its direct-to-consumer business.

Founded by Rishabh Singhi and Siddhartha Jain, Wippi builds screen-free, conversational products combining voice AI, Character Cards, illustrated storybooks and interactive storytelling. The company plans to expand its characters, languages and content, introduce collectible figurines and reach more than 15,000 families over the next 12 months.

Lane raises Rs 8.5 Cr to expand structured driver education

Tech-enabled driving education platform Lane has raised Rs 8.5 crore in a funding round led by Kae Capital, with participation from DeVC, Antler India, Panthera Peak and angel investors. Founded in 2025 by Samiksha Agarwal, Lane provides structured driving instruction and has delivered more than 30,000 hours of training to over 3,100 learners. Nearly 70% of its customers already held driving licences.

The company will use the funding to expand its instructor network, develop sensor-based driving behaviour technology and build services supporting car ownership. Lane plans to expand across Bengaluru and other Tier 1 cities.

Quarkitech raises Rs 2 Cr to develop sensor data compression technology

Quarkitech, a deeptech company based at IIT Madras Research Park, has raised Rs 2 crore in pre-seed funding from Artha Access and Finvolve to develop proprietary data compression technology for defence, aerospace and other data-intensive applications. It has also received a Rs 1.5 crore grant under the National Quantum Mission.

Its software compresses sensor data at source by 10-100 times, targeting radar, LiDAR, hyperspectral and electro-optical systems on UAVs, satellites and other platforms. In laboratory testing, Quarkitech reports 26x data reduction while retaining 98% of mission-critical information. It is now validating the technology under real-world operating conditions.

KshatraLabs secures investment to advance autonomous counter-drone systems

KshatraLabs has received an undisclosed investment from Finvolve and India Accelerator to advance its autonomous counter-drone technology. Its HAWK interceptor is designed to detect, track and neutralise hostile UAVs at speeds of up to 300 km/h, with less than five seconds of launch readiness.

The company is developing swarm-capable systems supported by its APEX autonomy stack and an AI-native C4ISR and JADC2 layer for multi-sensor fusion and operations in GPS-denied environments. KshatraLabs has demonstrated autonomous interception and hardware-in-the-loop testing at 90 m/s. The funding will support engineering, R&D, certifications and field validation, with the company targeting TRL-6.

Other news

PayU launches RBI-compliant accessible payment checkout

PayU has launched an accessible payment checkout designed for blind and visually impaired users, which it says is India's first RBI-compliant checkout of its kind. The solution complies with the Reserve Bank of India's October 2024 accessibility mandate under BIS IS 17802 and is designed to improve navigation and interaction for users with visual and cognitive accessibility needs.

Features include full screen-reader optimisation, adjustable user profiles, visual modes for low vision and colour blindness, and text resizing up to 200%. Users can navigate payment methods, confirm amounts and complete transactions through screen-reader assistance without sighted support.

BLive, Tata Motors partner to deploy 1,000 electric mini trucks

BLive has signed an MoU with Tata Motors to deploy up to 1,000 Tata electric mini trucks through its BLive PRIME franchise-owned fleet programme. The first batch of Tata Ace Pro EVs has already been inducted for enterprise logistics operations. BLive plans to deploy the fleets across sectors including e-commerce, quick commerce, manufacturing, retail distribution, pharmaceuticals and 3PL.

Under the model, franchise partners own the vehicles, while BLive manages enterprise demand, deployment, charging, maintenance, technology and operations. The company has committed Rs 100 crore to BLive PRIME and said franchise investments start at about Rs 45 lakh.

i-Hub Gujarat and SanchiConnect expand deeptech acceleration

i-Hub Gujarat and SanchiConnect are expanding their TattvaX partnership to support deeptech startups in strategically important sectors, including defence, drones and space. Following the programme, the partners are launching sector-focused accelerators, with initiatives in drones and aerospace already underway.

The model connects startups with investors, industry buyers and government stakeholders, including police departments, municipal corporations and regional PSUs, to help move technologies from development towards deployment. SanchiConnect is also building sector-focused micro-ecosystems with state governments, industry associations and incubators. A recent Demo Day brought together 30 startups, more than 20 investors and corporate leaders over two days.

TimbuckDo to create Rs 25 lakh in student gig opportunities

TimbuckDo has partnered with IdeaBaaz Startup Fest as workforce partner, creating Rs 25 lakh in gig opportunities for more than 100 students during the five-day festival from August 26-30, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. Students will support festival operations while working alongside startups, entrepreneurs and investors, gaining practical experience and industry exposure.

The partnership builds on TimbuckDo's earlier appearance on IdeaBaaz as a startup seeking funding. The company says the initiative reflects its focus on student gig work as a route to earning, practical experience and participation in India's startup ecosystem.

Glu appoints Neha Sharma Katyal as Head of Growth - India

Glu has appointed Neha Sharma Katyal as Head of Growth - India to lead market expansion, growth strategy and strategic partnerships. Reporting to founder and CEO Rahul Pandey, she will drive go-to-market, customer acquisition and commercial development as AI assistants and conversational search reshape brand discovery.

Katyal brings more than 18 years of experience across digital media, advertising and technology, with senior roles at Disney+ Hotstar, The Trade Desk, Spotify and Twitter. Glu helps brands improve visibility and influence across AI-powered buying journeys and works with brands including Heads Up For Tails, 11:11, Dilmah Tea and Tasc Performance.

Walplast takes majority stake in Vura Bau Chemie

Walplast Products has made a strategic majority investment in Vura Bau Chemie, strengthening its presence across specialised building materials. Vura manufactures tile adhesives, waterproofing solutions and stone-care products, with a focus on quality and technical expertise. The investment will expand Walplast’s offerings in tile adhesives and waterproofing, add stone-care products and support entry into new market segments.

It also complements Walplast’s manufacturing, R&D and distribution capabilities as it expands across India’s construction materials value chain. The companies said the investment is intended to support category expansion and address evolving demand in India’s housing and infrastructure sectors.

India leads Asia-Pacific in demand for digital skills

India is the most digitally intensive hiring market among six Asia-Pacific economies studied by Indeed Hiring Lab and the Asian Development Bank. Nearly 9 in 10 Indian job postings require digital skills, while more than half require intermediate or advanced proficiency. The demand spans sectors including education, insurance, healthcare, construction and retail.

Digital skills also carry a wage premium, with advanced skills associated with 31% higher pay than comparable roles requiring none, versus 12% for intermediate and 5% for basic skills. AI requirements are also rising, with advanced-digital roles increasingly seeking AI capabilities and additional wage premiums for AI skills.

UpTik nearly doubles AUM to Rs 20 Cr

UpTik, the invoice financing investment platform of Growwcap Fintech, has nearly doubled its AUM to Rs 20 crore from Rs 10 crore at FY26-end. The platform recorded more than Rs 10 crore in retail investments during July, alongside its highest monthly app downloads and largest addition of new investors since launch.

UpTik connects investors with opportunities backed by approved business invoices while helping MSMEs access working capital. It has recorded more than 5,000 app downloads and 30-40% monthly growth in investor participation. The platform plans to expand its investor base and strengthen its digital infrastructure.

Pathway reports low-cost reasoning results and raises funding 

Pathway has published benchmark results for BDH-CQ, a 150-million-parameter reasoning model, which scored 29.5% pass@2 on ARC-AGI-1 at a reported $0.0007 per task. The company says BDH-CQ uses recurrent latent-state reasoning rather than generating intermediate text traces, reducing inference costs.

Pathway has also secured additional funding at a $500 million valuation, taking total seed funding to $30 million. The capital will primarily expand compute capacity, including GB300 systems. The company has appointed Adam Kurzrok, formerly a Google DeepMind Gemini product leader, as chief product officer and plans to expand its reasoning models and benchmarks.

Jee Bhar Ke targets Rs 150-200 Cr business

RASA Group is investing Rs 15 crore to expand its cloud kitchen brand Jee Bhar Ke, targeting a Rs 150-200 crore business over five years. The company plans up to eight new kitchens across North and Central India over the next 12-24 months, with expansion planned across cities including Jaipur, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Indore and Jammu.

Currently operating in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida, Jee Bhar Ke fulfils about 10,000 orders monthly, with 35-40% repeat customers. The investment will fund kitchen expansion, operations and technology. The brand aims to contribute 10-15% of RASA Group's revenue over the coming years.

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