Startup news and updates: daily roundup (January 20, 2026)
Featured stories
Shadowfax CEO on navigating the gig work efficiency puzzle ahead of IPO
Abhishek Bansal, Co-founder and CEO Shadowfax, isn’t too worried about the central government’s recent directive to ecommerce companies to stop 10-minute delivery promise.
In fact, he believes that rather than stifling growth, these regulations will legitimise the gig worker sector, raise benefits and expand the talent pool. The logistics provider says it allows delivery partner to operate across multiple delivery formats, from ecommerce delivery agents to food delivery or quick commerce riders, all inside one app, making it unique in India’s logistics ecosystem.
Now, Shadowfax is set to test the capital markets’ appetite for this model. The Bengaluru-based company, which offers logistics support to a host of consumer marketplaces—from food delivery to beauty and general goods—is set to open its Rs 1,907 crore IPO today.
The conversation around the gig economy has intensified in recent months, following the implementation of the Code on Social Security and a series of state-specific legislations. These regulations aim to formalise the sector by introducing a social security welfare fund, financed through a 1-2% levy on aggregator turnover, and mandating greater transparency in algorithmic management and “minimum pay floor” standards.
Speciality medicines: How MrMed is bringing life-saving drugs to far corners of India
In India, when patients in smaller towns and villages are prescribed a cancer drug or a rare-disease therapy, sourcing the medicine is often harder than finding the diagnosis.
These high-value, tightly regulated drugs are typically stocked by only a handful of hospital pharmacies in large cities, forcing families to navigate a complex network of distributors, delays, and inflated prices.
In fact, patients who travel to metro cities for treatment often struggle to access the same medicines once they return to Tier II, III or smaller towns and villages.
Seeing this disparity, Devashish Singh and Saurab Jain launched MrMed in 2021 to build what India’s healthcare system lacks most for complex therapies: a reliable, nationwide access layer.
The Chennai-based company operates a digital platform that connects patients directly to verified suppliers of speciality medicines, handling everything from prescription validation to cold-chain delivery.
2care.ai aims to transform chronic care management in India through WhatsApp
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Brothers Saket and Pavan Toshniwal founded Bengaluru-based 2care.ai in 2024
” align=”center”> Brothers Saket and Pavan Toshniwal founded Bengaluru-based 2care.ai in 2024
Cancer care doesn’t end when patients leave the hospital. For most families, that’s when the hardest part begins.
Between appointments, patients and caregivers are left to manage dozens of medical reports, changing medication schedules, dietary instructions, insurance paperwork, and advice from multiple specialists. For families stretched emotionally, chronic care quickly becomes a logistical nightmare. Launched in August 2025, Bengaluru-based 2care.ai aims to solve this challenge.
Siblings Saket and Pavan Toshniwal learned this the hard way during their father’s cancer treatment. Despite being tech-savvy and well-resourced, they struggled to organise more than 300 medical reports in a way doctors could actually use. “We had every possible advantage,” Saket recalls. “And yet, managing chronic care felt impossibly complex.”
The experience exposed a larger gap in India’s healthcare system: once patients leave the hospital, there is little support to help them track their condition, coordinate care, or make sense of evolving medical data. Doctors, meanwhile, make better decisions when they can see how symptoms, medications, and vitals change over time. However, that information is rarely structured or accessible.
To bridge this gap, the brothers founded 2care.ai, a WhatsApp-based chronic care platform designed for cancer patients.
Latest news
Cashfree Payments rolls out ESOP buyback for over 400 employees
Cashfree Payments has launched an employee stock option (ESOP) buyback covering over 400 current and former employees, as the payments firm marks a decade since it was founded.
The ESOP buyback includes 175 former employees, and comes as the Bengaluru-based company moves into a new 80,000-square-foot headquarters at Ecoworld, a large business park in the city.
Cashfree did not disclose the size of the buyback.
“As a company that has always put employee wellbeing first, we see ESOPs not merely as a retention tool or a future promise, but as a tangible way to participate in wealth creation and ownership,” said Akash Sinha, CEO & Co-founder, Cashfree Payments.
Ola Electric appoints Deepak Rastogi as CFO, Abichandani steps down
Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. has appointed veteran finance executive Deepak Rastogi as its new chief financial officer (CFO), while accepting the resignation of incumbent CFO Harish Abichandani, according to a regulatory filing on Monday.
The Bengaluru-based electric vehicle maker said its board approved Rastogi’s appointment as CFO on Tuesday. Abichandani stepped down from the role on Monday, citing personal reasons.
Abichandani joined Ola Electric as CFO in November 2023. Prior to that, he had held multiple senior leadership roles within the Ola group over more than six years, including group chief financial officer, interim chief executive officer of Ola Financial Services, and interim business head for the UK operations.
His earlier roles included finance leadership positions at Flipkart’s logistics arm Ekart and Tata Teleservices.
Funding news
Unbox Robotics raises $28M in Series B round led by ICICI Venture
Unbox Robotics, a supply chain robotics technology company, has raised $28 million (Rs 243 crore) in Series B funding, led by ICICI Venture and Redstart Labs (Infoedge), with co-investment from F-Prime, 3one4 Capital, Navam Capital, Force Ventures, and other existing investors.
The funding round, comprising a mix of primary and secondary capital, will be utilised towards strengthening the leadership and engineering teams, accelerating new product development, and expanding market presence across India and select international markets, the company said in a statement.
Founded in 2019, Unbox Robotics builds modular robotic systems for warehouse and intralogistics operations. The company combines swarm-intelligence software with 3D robotic sortation hardware to coordinate large fleets of robots, helping enterprises automate order fulfilment and scale throughput without heavy fixed infrastructure.
The Pune-based company works with customers across India, Europe, and the US, including ecommerce, retail, and third-party logistics companies.
Whizzo raises $15M in Series A round led by Fundamentum to deepen R&D
Bengaluru-based materials science and manufacturing startup Whizzo has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Fundamentum, with participation from Korea-based deep-tech investor LB Investment and existing backers Lightspeed and BEENEXT.
The round marks LB Investment’s first direct investment in India and comes as Whizzo looks to strengthen its research and development capabilities, build in-house intellectual property, and expand its supply-chain footprint across Asia.
Whizzo will use the capital to expand its science and engineering teams, invest in fundamental research, and deepen its manufacturing partnerships as it scales its technical textiles platform globally.
Intellend Technologies Advisors raises $1.2M seed round led by Incubate Fund Asia
Intellend Technologies Advisors Private Limited, a digital lending technology startup focused on India’s MSME sector, has raised $1.2 million (Rs 10.6 crore) in a seed funding round led by Incubate Fund Asia. The round also saw participation from M Venture Partners, Atrium Angels, and angel investor Dhananjay Tiwari.
Founded in May 2025 by Brotish Das (CEO), Som Chatterjee (COO), and Bodhisattwa Gupta (CBO), the Mumbai-based company is developing a full-stack platform that enables embedded credit solutions for digital merchant ecosystems. Intellend uses data analytics and technology-driven assessment models to help lenders and merchant platforms extend credit to underserved MSMEs.
The newly raised capital will support team expansion, product development, and execution of the company’s go-to-market strategy. Intellend also plans to grow its network of partnerships with merchant platforms and financial institutions, expand its product offerings, and explore opportunities in additional underserved segments and select international markets over time.
Pinky Promise raises $1M pre-seed round to expand AI-led women’s health platform
Pinky Promise, an AI-enabled digital clinic for women, has raised $1 million in a pre-seed round led by the Rebalance Angel Community, with participation from investors including Subramanian Ramadorai, Mala Ramadorai, Ajay Nair, Shreyas Srinivasan, and senior leaders from SpaceX, BCG, Flipkart, and PayTM.
Founded by Divya Kamerkar and Akanksha Vyas, the platform provides 24×7 gynaecological care via a mobile app in Hinglish and English, offering instant consultations, prescriptions, and guidance on over 320 women’s health conditions. Since its launch, Pinky Promise has served over 350,000 women and has 40,000 paying customers across India, reporting a 97.4% three-month retention rate.
The new funding will support the expansion of integrated services, rollout of physical clinics, and a range of clinically backed nutritional supplements to enhance continuity of care at a national scale.
For Real raises Rs 3.2 Cr pre-seed funding from Titan Capital
For Real, an online factory outlet marketplace for branded products in India, has raised Rs 3.2 crore in a pre-seed round from Titan Capital.
Founded by Anurag Sheth and Mohit Sheth, the platform enables brands to liquidate excess inventory in a structured, transparent manner without affecting primary sales channels.
<figure class="image embed" contenteditable="false" data-id="588378" data-url="https://images.yourstory.com/cs/2/6c7d986093a511ec98ee9fbd8fa414a8/ForRealFoundersAnuragShethLeftMohitShethRight2-1768899032406.png" data-alt="For Real" data-caption="
For Real Founders – Anurag Sheth (Left) & Mohit Sheth (Right)
” align=”center”> For Real Founders – Anurag Sheth (Left) & Mohit Sheth (Right)
The marketplace offers consumers a discovery-driven value shopping experience with branded products, while providing brands, both legacy and D2C, a predictable channel for clearing unsold stock. The funds will be used to scale the technology platform and drive early user adoption, addressing inefficiencies in India’s off-price retail and inventory clearance landscape.
DLI-approved chip startup Sensesemi secures Rs 25 Cr in seed round led by Piper Serica
Sensesemi Technologies Private Limited, a Bengaluru-based and DLI-approved fabless semiconductor startup, has raised Rs 25 crore in a seed round led by Piper Serica, with participation from LetsVenture Angel Fund, Sun Icon Ventures, MyAsiaVC, Whitepine Investments, Jain Oncor, and several angel investors.
The company develops integrated edge-AI silicon that combines AI inferencing, wireless mesh connectivity, and analog signal processing into a single ultra-low-power system-on-chip designed for industrial IoT, automotive, and medical device applications. Positioned to serve a growing global edge-AI chipset market projected to reach 5–7 billion units annually by 2030, Sensesemi’s technology targets use cases such as predictive maintenance, multi-sensor automotive systems, and medical monitoring devices.
The funding will support upcoming chip tape-outs, reference design development, team expansion, and partnerships with device manufacturers and ODMs to accelerate product deployment.
Hala Mobility raises Rs 12.25 Cr to scale FOCO Model and HELIX EV Framework
Hala Mobility, an EV-as-a-service platform, has secured a combined equity and debt investment of Rs 12.25 crore following its appearance on the premiere week of Bharat Ke Super Founders on Amazon MX Player.
The pitch by co-founders Srikanth Reddy Kalakonda and Snehith Reddy Meda drew notable attention on the show, where they addressed investor concerns around operational complexity, scalability of their FOCO (Franchise Owned, Company Operated) model, and unit economics, ultimately bringing previously hesitant investors back to the table.
The funding will support the company’s next phase of expansion driven by its HELIX framework, which integrates manufacturing, operations, analytics, and recycling across the EV value chain. Hala Mobility expects revenue to rise from Rs 22 crore in FY25 to Rs 92 crore in FY26, alongside plans to grow its fleet from 3,000 to 9,000 vehicles, expand operations from six to nine cities, and increase team strength.
The company has engaged more than 25,000 drivers so far, contributing to employment generation and reduced fuel consumption through its expanding electric vehicle fleet.
Gully Labs raises Rs 30 Cr in series A led by Saama Capital
Gully Labs, a New Delhi–based premium sneaker brand known for integrating Indian cultural themes into contemporary footwear design, has raised Rs 30 crore in a Series A round led by Saama Capital, with participation from existing investor Zeropearl VC, which increased its stake beyond its pro-rata share.
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(L-R) Animesh Mishra and Arjun Singh, Co-Founders’ at Gully Labs
” style=”float: right; margin-left: 20px; width:50%; height:auto”> (L-R) Animesh Mishra and Arjun Singh, Co-Founders’ at Gully Labs
The funding will support expansion of the company’s product portfolio, offline retail presence across major Indian markets, and international visibility in regions such as the US and the UK. The round also saw participation from several industry founders and angel investors including Sangeet Agrawal (Mokobara), Viraj Bahl (Veeba), Roman Saini and Gaurav Munjal (Unacademy), Sanjay Kapoor (Genesis Luxury), and Radhika Gupta (Edelweiss MF).
Founded in 2023 by Arjun Singh and Animesh Mishra, Gully Labs designs culturally rooted sneakers inspired by regional art forms and modern Indian identity, and sells through its website and select retail partners in metropolitan cities.
Other News
Vikas Verma joins Avaana Capital as Partner; Shruti Srivastava elevated
Avaana Capital, an India-based venture capital fund focused on deep tech, has expanded its leadership team with two senior appointments. The firm has named Vikas Verma as Partner, formalising his long-standing association with Avaana, where he previously served as Venture Partner and Investment Director.
Avaana has also elevated Shruti Srivastava to Partner from her earlier role as Investment Director. Verma brings over 20 years of experience in investing and operations, including his recent tenure as Partner at Sun Asset Management, where he led global investments in AI, critical minerals and energy infrastructure. Srivastava, who manages investments at Avaana, has over 15 years of experience across early-stage investing, private equity and development finance.
The appointments come as Avaana continues to strengthen its expertise across deep tech sectors such as energy, mobility, supply chains, advanced manufacturing, AI, robotics, semiconductors, biotechnology and advanced materials, and prepares for its next phase of portfolio expansion in India and international markets.
Vahan.ai partners with Sunlight Manpower to expand AI-Led recruitment network
Vahan.ai, an AI-powered recruitment platform for blue-collar and gig economy workers, has entered a strategic partnership with Sunlight Manpower Services, a recruitment firm with over 15 years of experience across India.
Signed on January 10, 2026, the collaboration aims to integrate Sunlight Manpower into Vahan.ai’s national hiring network, supporting high-volume recruitment across gig, logistics, and industrial sectors. Sunlight Manpower, which currently recruits over 6,000 workers in more than 20 cities, will leverage Vahan.ai’s platform to access aggregated hiring demand, streamline workflows, and expand into new sectors such as manufacturing.
Vahan.ai, which has facilitated over 1 million placements across 920+ cities, will extend its AI tools and performance-linked incentives under the Vahan Leader model to enhance recruiter productivity and workforce supply. The partnership is part of Vahan.ai’s broader efforts to scale its partner-led recruitment ecosystem nationwide.
Matters.AI appoints Ankkit Jain as Director of Sales
Matters.AI, an AI-native data security platform, has appointed Ankkit Jain as Director of Sales to lead enterprise sales and government-sector growth across India and the SAARC region.
Jain brings over 17 years of experience in cybersecurity and enterprise technology, having held senior sales leadership roles at Microsoft, Cisco, RSA Security, OPSWAT, and Radware, where he managed strategic relationships with government bodies and large enterprises.
In his new role, he will focus on building a high-performance sales team and strengthening channel partnerships to expand the adoption of AI-driven data security solutions. Matters.AI offers an integrated platform for monitoring and preventing data security threats, and is backed by investors including Better Capital, CVP, Kalari, and Endiya.
Livspace appoints Abhishek Gupta as Chief Financial Officer
Livspace, a home interiors and renovation company, has appointed Abhishek Gupta as its Chief Financial Officer. Gupta, a Chartered Accountant with over two decades of experience in consumer, retail, and digital businesses, previously served as CFO at Myntra and has held senior finance roles at Flipkart, Unilever, Abbott, and ITC.
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Abhishek Gupta as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Livspace
” style=”float: right; margin-left: 20px; width:50%; height:auto”> Abhishek Gupta as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Livspace
At Livspace, he will oversee financial strategy, planning, transformation, and corporate governance to support the company’s growth across India, the Middle East, and Singapore. Livspace, which uses proprietary technology to manage end-to-end home renovation services, has completed over 120,000 rooms and sold more than 5 million SKUs, raising around $450 million from global investors including KKR, Ingka Group Investments, TPG Growth, Goldman Sachs, and Bessemer Venture Partners.
IKEA launches online deliveries across Tamil Nadu
IKEA has started online deliveries in Tamil Nadu, covering Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, and Salem, allowing customers to access over 6,400 home furnishing products through the IKEA app, website, or Shop-by-Phone services.
The rollout includes one-to-one planning support, home delivery, assembly, and a 3–7 day delivery timeline, with warranties ranging from 5 to 25 years and a 365-day return policy. The company will fulfil orders in the state via its Bengaluru distribution network, with last-mile deliveries powered by electric vehicles.
Tamil Nadu already has over 25,000 IKEA Family members, and the online service aims to enhance accessibility and engagement in the region while providing structured support for modern Indian homes.
FireAI raises Rs 6.2 Cr, launches Mobile Decision Intelligence app
FireAI, an Indian AI analytics platform, has raised a total of Rs 6.2 crore across its pre-seed and seed funding rounds from investors including Inflection Point Ventures, Venture Catalysts, and SucSEED Indovation Fund, which contributed Rs 1 crore.
Following the fundraise, the company announced the launch of what it describes as the world’s first Mobile Decision Intelligence app, now available on Android with an iOS rollout and international versions in progress. The app enables users to query business data in any language and receive AI-generated insights and key performance metrics directly on mobile devices.
FireAI has allocated Rs 13–16 crore for further development aimed at mobile AI optimisation, security, scalability, and global go-to-market initiatives, and projects revenues of Rs 9–12 crore from India and Rs 15–20 crore internationally over the next two to three years. The company plans to use the funding to enhance mobile decision intelligence capabilities, strengthen infrastructure and data security, and drive enterprise and international adoption.
HDFC Bank sets aside Rs 20 Cr for FY26 Parivartan Start-up Grants Programme
HDFC Bank has announced the FY26 edition of its Parivartan Start-up Grants programme, under which Rs 20 crore in non-dilutive funding will be disbursed to support 10 initiatives across sectors including climate innovation, agriculture and livelihoods, manufacturing and MSME innovation, financial inclusion, gender inclusion, and emerging areas such as AI and deep tech.
Operated through an incubator-led, portfolio-based model, the programme involves partner incubators managing outreach, evaluation, mentoring, monitoring, and impact reporting. Since its launch in 2017, Parivartan Start-up Grants has supported more than 500 startups through over 130 incubators, deploying more than Rs 85 crore in grants, with about 40% of beneficiaries from Tier II and III cities and a similar proportion co-founded by women.
In FY25 alone, the programme funded 87 startups and deployed Rs 20 crore across 20 incubation centres. Applications for FY26 will be processed directly through partner incubators.
Mudrex launches AI Layer to enhance crypto investment decisions
has launched Mudrex AI, an integrated AI-powered assistance layer aimed at helping users make more informed investment decisions by providing contextual, prompt-based insights across its trading, asset, and portfolio interfaces. The rollout follows a pilot phase to observe user behaviour ahead of wider deployment.
The launch coincides with Mudrex completing eight years of product development focused on simplifying crypto investing through structured offerings and compliance-led systems. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Bengaluru, Mudrex serves over 3 million users and records about $5 billion in annual trading volume, offering investment and trading solutions for retail and institutional participants.
(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
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