Startup news and updates: daily roundup (September 21, 2026)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Monday, September 21, 2026.
From Ottonomy’s autonomous logistics robots to Rajesh Subramaniam’s 22-year journey building embedUR into an essential router-software powerhouse, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.
Featured stories
His software is inside your router. Now he wants it inside much smaller things
The first thing Rajesh Subramaniam wanted was to sort the lighting. “I just want to make sure my lighting is not that bad and you can still see me,” he said, before we had got anywhere near his company or his plans for it. When I told him the story would be written and not filmed, he settled back into his chair and talked for the better part of an hour about Wi-Fi.
How Enlightened India Foundation is empowering girls in rural Himachal become leaders in their communities
Growing up in Lank, a small village near Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, Smita Choudhary witnessed how differently boys and girls were raised. Girls were expected to leave school early and take on household responsibilities, while boys were encouraged to attend college and build careers.
Ottonomy is building robots for real-world logistics
Ritukar Vijay believes there is one part of logistics that is always messier than the rest: the middle. While robotics has slowly been incorporated into the industry over the past decade, the “messy middle” of moving samples, meals, parts and parcels between buildings, through elevators, and across campuses remained largely non-automated.
Funding news
Prime Industries raises Rs 11.86 Cr from Uday Narang
Prime Industries has raised Rs 11.86 crore from Dr Uday Narang, founder of Omega Seiki Mobility, to support its focus on defence, nuclear and precision manufacturing. The company plans to use the capital partly to establish an R&D and incubation centre for its Special Product Division.
Prime Industries has interests in businesses including Kay Bouvet Engineering and Linga Agri, spanning defence, nuclear and advanced manufacturing. Narang is also associated with OBSC Perfection, a precision manufacturing company with capabilities in CNC machining, investment casting, forging and stamping for industrial applications including defence and aerospace.
Other news
LTM appoints Shekhar Kapur as strategic advisor for AI creativity
LTM has appointed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur as Strategic Advisor to its BlueVerse Craft business unit. BlueVerse Craft helps enterprises develop AI-powered creative capabilities by combining strategy, creativity, technology and production. Kapur will advise the unit’s leadership on its vision for AI-enabled creativity, including how emerging technologies can expand creative possibilities and content production.
A BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee, Kapur has worked across global cinema and storytelling. The appointment comes as enterprises face growing demand for content across formats, channels and markets, with AI increasingly being used to accelerate, adapt and personalise content production.
Edelweiss Financial Services launches Rs 300 Cr NCD issue
Edelweiss Financial Services has launched a public issue of secured, redeemable non-convertible debentures worth up to Rs 300 crore, including a Rs 150 crore green shoe option. The issue comprises 10 series with tenures of 24, 36, 60 and 120 months, offering annual, monthly and cumulative interest options.
Effective annual yields range from 8.64% to 10%. The issue opens on September 21 and closes on October 5, 2026. At least 75% of the proceeds will be used to repay or prepay existing borrowings, with the remainder for general corporate purposes. The NCDs are rated Crisil A+/Stable and will be listed on BSE.
RNFI Money gets perpetual RBI approval for AD-II forex licence
RNFI Services said the RBI has granted perpetual validity to the AD Category-II foreign exchange licence held by its subsidiary, RNFI Money. The approval also permits trade remittances, Nostro accounts and appointment of Forex Correspondents. RNFI plans to use its network of over 2.8 lakh active agents to expand regulated forex, remittance and trade payment services, including for smaller exporters, importers and MSMEs outside major cities.
Transactions will remain centrally processed and subject to KYC, monitoring and regulatory controls. The development follows RNFI Money's in-principle RBI authorisation to operate as a Payment Aggregator - Physical.
Payinstacard partners with CAMS Group for DPDP compliance
Payinstacard has partnered with CAMS Group to strengthen data privacy and compliance with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act. The fintech will use ConsenPro, an AI-driven compliance platform from CAMS subsidiary Think360.ai, for data privacy and consent management.
The partnership is intended to bring greater structure to Payinstacard's collection, processing and protection of personal data, while streamlining compliance processes and improving visibility over data practices. It combines Payinstacard's fintech operations with CAMS Group's financial services, data and technology expertise, as financial institutions face increasing requirements to strengthen governance of customer information.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)