Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (January 13, 2026)
Featured stories:
Understanding private credit for startups: When and how to use it
Most founders think about debt only when equity becomes expensive or unavailable. By then, their negotiating position had already weakened.
The more thoughtful ones think about debt much earlier as a deliberate capital structure choice, not a fallback. They use it to fund acquisitions without dilution, to extend runway between equity rounds, or to finance expansion when the returns are predictable. They understand that borrowed money comes with borrowed time, and they structure accordingly. Read more.
How Fery Rides is making commuting safer for women
With public transport plagued by poor connectivity and overcrowding, bike taxis seem like the perfect solution: quick, affordable, and convenient. But for women, every ride becomes an anxiety-filled experience: share live location, verify the route, and keep your finger on the SOS button. Despite these precautions, several women continue to report incidents of harassment. Third-party platforms often lack rigorous verification and safety protocols, leaving gaps that some riders exploit.
Ajay Kumar first confronted this reality while he was studying engineering in Chandigarh. A female friend once arrived at their coaching centre, visibly shaken after a bike taxi ride: the driver had asked her to sit closer, made her place her hand on his waist, and used abrupt braking to force body contact. Read more.
Meet Ankita Vashistha, the venture capitalist who is proving repeatedly that women founders mean business
Ankita Vashistha recalls the monthly pitch meetings as a member of the Indian Angel Network in 2012.
Women founders were rare, and when they did appear, alongside male co-founders, they would sit silently as their male partners pitched. When women spoke about women’s health or fashion, they faced an audience of men who would never use their products or knew what they were solving for.
“I realised that there were no opportunities for women, and even if there were, it was not a level playing field,” recalls Vashistha. “We were missing out on backing women entrepreneurs and shifting the narrative by giving them access to capital.” Read more.
Latest news:
Elevation Capital-backed AI stylist Alle shuts shop
Elevation Capital-backed AI stylist Alle has closed shop after failing to find a product-market fit and a viable business model despite multiple pivots.
In a post on LinkedIn on Monday, Alle Co-founder Prateek Agarwal said the decision to shut down the company had been taken in October last year. Alle is the first startup to announce a shutdown in 2026. Read more.
Funding news:
Sukino raises $31M in Series B funding to scale post-hospital care across cities
Out-of-hospital healthcare provider Sukino has raised $31 million in a Series B funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Rainmatter.
The funding comes at a time when investors are increasingly betting on an under-penetrated but growing segment of India’s healthcare system: post-discharge rehabilitation and recovery.
The Bengaluru-based healthcare provider focuses on post-acute rehabilitation and out-of-hospital care for chronically ill patients, operating in a niche segment that begins where most hospitals stop. Read more.
IAN Group leads seed investment in AI learning Startup LearnTube.ai
IAN Group invested through the IAN Angel Fund in the seed round of LearnTube.ai, an AI-powered personalised learning and career acceleration startup. Nazara Technologies and Blitzscaling Ventures also participated in the round. The company did not disclose the size of the investment.
The startup will use the capital to strengthen its AI-driven skilling-to-jobs platform, deepen interactive and practical learning modules, expand multi-language support, and accelerate growth across Bharat, while testing select international markets.
Founded to address persistent skill gaps in the job market, LearnTube.ai uses AI to create personalised learning paths aligned to specific career outcomes. The platform converts individual career goals into structured, day-by-day learning programmes, beginning with a baseline assessment and adapting over time based on learner progress.
Other news:
BatteryPool partners with lenders to roll out battery financing for commercial EVs
BatteryPool, a fintech startup focused on EV battery financing, has partnered with leading financial institutions to introduce a sachetised financing model for the country’s commercial electric vehicle segment.
The model offers flexible repayment options—including daily, weekly, and prepaid 15- or 30-day EMIs—for batteries used by e-rickshaw drivers, gig workers, and fleet operators, a customer base that has historically remained underserved by traditional lenders.
BatteryPool’s battery financing portfolio is currently deployed across nine cities in four states, primarily in India’s western and central regions. The company said the portfolio has delivered strong credit performance, with repayment rates exceeding 99% and tightly controlled credit losses for its lending partners.
Founded in 2018, BatteryPool has developed a proprietary “charge-lock” technology that integrates payment discipline directly into the battery system. If a driver misses an EMI payment, the battery is temporarily prevented from being recharged. Charging access is automatically restored once dues are cleared.
Nexedge Capital appoints Gaurav Kulshreshtha as CIO and Founding Partner
Nexedge Capital has appointed Gaurav Kulshreshtha as chief investment officer and founding partner, as the firm moves to build a differentiated wealth management and multi-family office platform in India.
Kulshreshtha brings more than two decades of experience in investment leadership, portfolio strategy, and advisory. He has previously held senior roles at Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Axis Bank and IIFL, with experience across global and domestic markets spanning asset allocation, portfolio construction, and risk governance.
Over his career, Kulshreshtha has built investment platforms, developed portfolio frameworks, and advised ultra-high-net-worth individuals on multi-asset investment strategies. In his new role, he will be responsible for shaping Nexedge Capital’s investment philosophy and long-term portfolio strategy, overseeing research, advisory and product architecture in line with the firm’s client-first approach.
“India is at an inflection point in wealth management, with institutional thinking now essential,” Kulshreshtha said. “My focus at Nexedge is to define the investment philosophy, governance and decision-making framework that will guide portfolio construction and capital allocation over the long term.”
Uber rolls out metro ticketing, offers and last-mile discounts
Uber announced a set of initiatives aligned with the Delhi government’s push for cleaner air and increased public transport adoption, as the ride-hailing platform looks to nudge commuters away from private car usage.
As part of the effort, Uber is offering a free Delhi Metro ride of up to Rs 25 for users booking metro tickets through the Uber app for the first time. The offer is valid until January 18. By integrating metro ticketing into its app, Uber aims to simplify access to the metro, reduce queues at stations, and make public transport more seamless for daily commuters.
To improve first- and last-mile connectivity, the company is also offering discounts of up to 30% on auto and bike trips to and from metro stations. This offer will run until February 8 and aims to make shared mobility a more attractive alternative to private vehicles.
The initiatives come as Delhi continues to grapple with air quality concerns and policymakers push for higher adoption of public and shared transport as part of the city’s broader sustainable mobility agenda.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
Discover more from News Link360
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
