Startup news and updates: daily roundup (March 21, 2024)

Droom and Badshah partner for a multi-year brand deal

Droom has tied up with Indian artist Badshah to make the company the most sought-after among millennials and GenZ. Badshah has also invested in Droom.

The partnership aims to drive market traction, revenue surge, and appeal to a broader consumer demographic, setting new industry standards.

Droom is an AI-driven online platform offering a range of services, including buying, selling, financing, and insurance. With over 250,000 vehicles available in 1,174 cities, it provides a selection, low price, and convenient buying and selling experience. Each vehicle undergoes a rigorous 1,100-point inspection and certification for condition, pricing, and history.

Kiko Live crosses 100,000 fulfilled Kirana orders on the ONDC Network

Kiko Live, a SaaS solution for neighbourhood stores and a seller network participant on the ONDC network, has processed over 100,000 total orders.

Launched on the open-source network in December 2023, Kiko Live has grown from 30-40 daily orders to over 2,500 daily orders just three months ago.

Kiko is working with 13 million kirana stores in India to digitise their operations. It allows sellers to collect orders from phone, WhatsApp, and other platforms, manage payments, and facilitate hyperlocal deliveries. The app also allows cataloguing of fast-moving SKUs, creating a Shopify-type ecommerce website for customers.

It is backed by investors, including Powerhouse Ventures, 9Unicorns, GSF, Venture Catalysts, Greenway Grid Global, and Super Angels like Dinesh Agarwal, Amarjit Batra, Nitish Mittersain, and Murugavel Jankiraman.

Kyndryl and Cloudflare announce global strategic alliance

Kyndryl and CloudFlare have formed a global strategic alliance to enable enterprises to migrate and manage networks for multi-cloud connectivity and comprehensive network security, expanding their partnership.

The partnership provides a solution for security, performance, and cloud flexibility by combining Kyndryl's comprehensive consulting services in enterprise networking, security, and resilience with Cloudflare's versatile connectivity cloud.

Kyndryl and Cloudflare, an enterprise infrastructure provider, first partnered in May 2023 to modernise their services, including Managed WAN-as-a-Service and Cloudflare Zero Trust.

Snitch to inaugurate store in Bengaluru

Snitch‎, a D2C fast fashion brand, has opened its fourth store in India in just two months. The store, located in Bengaluru's Brigade Road, covers a vast 4000 sq/ft area.

The company plans to expand its retail presence in key metro locations by launching 30-40 new stores within the next two years after snitching three stores in Surat and Bengaluru.

Snitch is a D2C men's fast fashion brand founded in 2020, and offers unconventional styles in response to the latest trends. The brand recently raised Rs 110 crore in its Series A funding round.

VentureBlick partners with T-Hub to advance healthcare solutions

VentureBlick, a global healthcare platform, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with technology incubator and accelerator, T-Hub, to foster cross-border cooperation and advance innovative healthcare solutions.

The partnership aims to establish an ecosystem for Indian healthcare startups, fostering innovation, knowledge exchange, and distribution. VentureBlick offers solutions like medical validation, clinical trials, market mapping, regulatory approvals, and go-to-market strategies to support their global growth, nurturing over 2,000 startups.

The company is also launching Discovery, a healthtech innovation platform, to connect innovators, physicians, investors, distributors, and industry experts to advance healthcare innovation and startups, providing Indian innovators global access.

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