Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (August 31, 2026)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Monday, August 31, 2026.
Athletes continue to inspire with super human performance as government readies further investments, YourStory brings you today’s headlines and the latest news across sectors.
Featured stories
How Shashruti Nakade went from a swimmer to a top para triathlete
Shashruti Nakade has gone from winning swimming medals to becoming a para-triathlete ranked World No. 9. After narrowly missing the Paris Paralympics, she is now working towards qualifying for the LA 2028 Games.
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Key developments
NIIF raises Rs 19,000 Cr as first close in second fund
The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIF), India's sovereign-anchored alternative asset manager has raised Rs 19,000 crore as the first close for its Rs 30,000 crore NIIF Infrastructure Fund II. The first close is anchored by the government of India and also saw participation from sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurance companies and leading Indian financial institutions.
Zomato tightens food safety norms, bans imitation cheese and paneer
Food delivery aggregator Zomato on Monday announced a zero-tolerance policy on the sale of analogue dishes including analogue cheese, paneer or other dairy products by restaurants listed on its platform, saying it reserves the right to delist non-compliant restaurants.
Govt notifies Rs 1,27,500-cr Semicon 2.0
The government on Monday notified the Semicon 2.0 scheme, setting in motion the Rs 1,27,500-crore plan that seeks to deepen India's semiconductor ambitions--from chip manufacturing to a full-stack ecosystem encompassing indigenous design and IP, equipment, materials, advanced packaging, R&D and talent development.
Funding news
DocPharma raises $2M led by Equentis
Healthcare quick-commerce supply chain platform DocPharma has raised $2 million in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Equentis. Existing investor 100Unicorns, along with Vinners and a consortium of strategic angel investors, also participated in the round. The company plans to use the fresh capital to build 100 new compliant and licensed dark stores, expand into newer cities and strengthen its infrastructure.
DocPharma has developed a proprietary SaaS platform integrating warehouse management, inventory intelligence, order management and fulfillment into a single operating system for healthcare. The platform offers real-time inventory visibility, routes orders to the nearest compliant fulfilment centre and enables prescription-compliant processing. It serves e-pharmacies, insurers, hospitals, wellness and other platforms, enabling delivery of medicines and healthcare products in under 30 minutes.
YOGa Clean Air raises Rs 20 Cr led by Info Edge Ventures
Cleantech startup YOGa Clean Air has raised Rs 20 crore in a funding round led by Info Edge Ventures, with participation from Zomato/Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal and Three Words Capital. The company plans to use the capital for expansion activities. Founded in 2010, YOGa has developed clean air bubble technology designed to filter incoming air and maintain a slightly higher pressure inside a space, preventing polluted air from entering. The system also manages carbon dioxide levels to keep indoor air fresh.
YOGa’s products have been installed across homes, hospitals, schools, offices and gyms in 11 cities. Co-founder and CEO Sachin Panwar said the funding would help the company take its clean-air technology to more homes, schools and hospitals across the country.
Other news
PhonePe launches UPI 123Pay for feature phone users
PhonePe has launched PhonePe UPI 123Pay, bringing UPI payment capabilities to feature phone users across India without requiring an internet connection. The service will come pre-bundled on devices from Nokia, HMD, Lava International and Itel Mobile, with additional handset manufacturer partnerships expected in the coming months. Built on a proprietary technology stack for feature phones, UPI 123Pay uses an SMS-based architecture designed to enable transactions even in areas with limited 2G connectivity.
Users can make peer-to-peer transfers through mobile numbers or UPI IDs and make peer-to-merchant payments using UPI IDs and QR code scanning. The service also allows users to check account balances and transaction histories. Upcoming features include bill payments, recharges and Aadhaar-based UPI onboarding, supported by an AI-powered voice helpline in English and 12 Indian languages.
MapmyIndia Mappls and ClarityX launch Geo-FI lending intelligence platform
MapmyIndia Mappls, in partnership with AI-driven data analytics and decision intelligence company ClarityX, has launched Geo-FI, a geo-intelligence stack designed for the lending sector. The platform aims to provide BFSI companies with a comprehensive view of borrower risk and opportunity by adding spatial intelligence to existing lending technology. Geo-FI integrates with loan origination systems, loan management systems, CRM and collections platforms without disrupting existing workflows. It can be deployed through APIs, spatial visualisation tools and SDKs, with on-premises, hybrid and cloud options.
The platform supports multiple stages of lending, including market identification, underwriting, location verification and collections. It uses geo-tagged field intelligence, delinquency heatmaps and AI-driven workflows to identify emerging risk clusters, recommend collection priorities and continuously improve location intelligence through customer and field-level data.
Paisabazaar says AI now generates 86% of new code
Financial products marketplace and free credit score platform Paisabazaar is accelerating the use of artificial intelligence across its organisation, with AI now generating around 86% of the new code written on its platform. The company said the shift is transforming how it builds and scales technology, improving development velocity and allowing teams to take on a larger product and technology roadmap.
Despite the increased role of AI, Paisabazaar is also expanding its technology team, indicating that productivity gains are being directed towards building more products and experimenting faster rather than reducing resources. AI-assisted development is being used across the engineering lifecycle, including coding, testing, debugging and documentation. Engineers continue to provide human oversight, while the company is placing greater emphasis on systems thinking, complex problem-solving, architectural decision-making and effective collaboration with AI tools.
Appinventiv launches free workspace programme for early-stage AI startups
IT services and digital transformation company Appinventiv has launched AspireHub, a dedicated workspace initiative offering free office space to early-stage AI startups in Delhi NCR. Startups with teams of one to 15 people located anywhere in Delhi NCR can apply for the programme. Selected companies will receive free workspace, high-speed internet, IT support and access to meeting rooms. Participants will also receive mentorship from Appinventiv’s leadership in areas including product development, branding and scaling.
Applications are open on a rolling basis, with startups evaluated on factors such as the founding team, product, market opportunity and execution capabilities. Appinventiv said a select number of participating startups may eventually move into a more structured incubation track, although details of that programme have not yet been announced.
Dreamtime Learning launches AI platform for schools
Dreamtime Learning has launched Dreamtime AiQ, an artificial intelligence platform designed to integrate classroom activity, student performance and stakeholder communication with existing school systems. The platform addresses the fragmentation of classroom, teaching and student engagement information across different systems by capturing and structuring day-to-day inputs. Designed to work alongside existing ERP systems, Dreamtime AiQ uses AI-led transcription and summarisation to convert classroom information into structured reports and updates. School leaders and founders can access information on classroom activity, teaching delivery and student engagement through a central dashboard, allowing them to review developments during the academic year rather than relying solely on periodic assessments.
Teachers can use the platform for administrative tasks including attendance, documentation, assignment evaluation and parent communication. Voice-enabled attendance and AI-supported assignment checking are designed to reduce routine administrative work.
Tiger Analytics named OpenAI Select Partner
Tiger Analytics has been named an OpenAI Select Partner within the OpenAI Partner Network, a global programme for partners building, selling and delivering AI solutions with OpenAI. The partnership will see Tiger Analytics work with OpenAI to help organisations build, deploy and scale AI solutions responsibly and effectively. The company will focus on accelerating enterprise AI adoption, translating advanced AI capabilities into domain-specific solutions and helping organisations maximise business outcomes. Tiger Analytics will help enterprises use OpenAI’s latest capabilities, including GPT-5.6 and ChatGPT Work, to improve productivity and address complex business challenges.
The OpenAI Partner Network brings together companies with industry expertise, delivery capabilities and customer relationships, while providing resources, enablement and support to help enterprises adopt frontier AI models and products and translate investments into measurable impact.
DashLoc launches AI-powered customer support platform DashDesk
AI-powered MarTech platform DashLoc has launched DashDesk, an AI-powered customer support platform designed to help businesses manage customer conversations, automate support operations and deliver faster, more consistent experiences from a single workspace. DashDesk brings customer support functions together on a unified platform, allowing businesses to manage tickets, streamline workflows, collaborate across teams and gain greater visibility into customer interactions.
Built around AI-led automation, the platform combines omnichannel ticket management with features including AI-assisted ticket routing, workflow automation and SLA management. It also provides knowledge base management, customer self-service portals, real-time analytics and customer satisfaction tracking. DashLoc said these capabilities are designed to help support teams improve efficiency and consistency while managing customer queries across channels through a centralised operating environment.
Salesforce expands Headless 360 for the agentic AI era
Salesforce is expanding Headless 360 as part of its evolution towards an agentic AI platform. The expanded offering includes new Model Context Protocol servers, Data 360 capabilities, Slack integrations, developer tools, reusable Skills and headless experiences across major Salesforce clouds. The company said the architecture enables authorised AI agents to securely discover, understand and take action across enterprise systems. Headless 360 is designed to turn Salesforce from a collection of enterprise applications into reusable business capabilities that AI agents can access securely.
Organisations can reuse existing Salesforce capabilities without rebuilding integrations for every new AI experience, while retaining established identity, permissions, metadata, workflows, governance and business logic. Salesforce said the approach builds on its history of openness, extending its enterprise web API philosophy to make trusted business capabilities available wherever AI agents operate.
ARC partners with Qualcomm to develop next-generation gaming devices
Indian gaming technology company ARC is building a new generation of gaming devices in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies. The partnership will leverage Qualcomm’s expertise in high-performance computing, graphics, connectivity and gaming technologies to support ARC’s hardware development for India and other emerging markets. ARC aims to create gaming devices combining performance, portability and efficiency for a new generation of gamers. The planned devices are expected to focus on high-performance graphics, responsive gameplay, advanced connectivity and power-efficient operation.
ARC will also leverage Qualcomm Technologies’ capabilities across mobile computing, graphics, artificial intelligence, connectivity and power efficiency as it develops a broader portfolio. The company said the collaboration marks a significant step in its product roadmap, with the aim of delivering premium gaming experiences while keeping devices practical and accessible for everyday use.
PaySprint launches AI-powered multi-payment gateway platform
B2B Banking FinTech and RegTech infrastructure company PaySprint has launched SprintPGx, an intelligent multi-payment gateway platform designed for Indian enterprises. The platform connects businesses to more than 10 payment gateways through a single integration and uses artificial intelligence to route transactions in real time. PaySprint said SprintPGx is designed to address payment failures while improving conversion, reducing costs and supporting near-zero downtime without changing the customer checkout experience.
The platform operates as an intelligence layer between a merchant’s checkout page and multiple payment gateways. It analyses factors including card type, issuing bank, transaction amount, time of day and historical success rates before routing transactions to the gateway most likely to approve them. SprintPGx supports success-rate routing, cost-based routing and load balancing during peak periods such as festive sales and IPL ticketing.
NetApp named Leader in 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for enterprise storage platforms
NetApp has been recognised as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Storage Platforms, continuing its position as a Leader from the inaugural edition of the report in 2025. The evaluation considered the company’s Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute. In Gartner’s 2026 Critical Capabilities report for Enterprise Storage Platforms, NetApp ranked first in the Hybrid Cloud Storage Use Case and second in the Hybrid Platform Services Use Case. NetApp said the recognition validates its ability to help customers address data challenges while providing more predictable hardware delivery timelines. Its platform provides governed access to data across locations and connects with AI and analytics ecosystems through hybrid multicloud storage.