Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (March 20, 2025)
YourStory presents daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, March 20, 2025.
From the latest developments in AI in India to bringing cancer care for everyone, YourStory brings today’s headlines that highlight significant developments across industries.
Here’s a roundup of key stories:
Featured News
IndiaAI Mission receives 67 proposals to build indigenous AI models
The IndiaAI Mission has announced that it has received around 67 proposals as of February 15 for developing indigenous AI models.
According to a PIB release, out of the total proposals, 22 are focused on foundational models such as Large Language Models (LLMs)and Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) and 45 on domain-specific Small Language Models (SLMs) targeting sectors like healthcare, education, and finance.
The proposals were submitted in response to a Call for Proposals issued in January by the India AI Innovation Centre (IAIC), which invited startups and researchers to develop AI models trained on Indian datasets. Read more.
Latest News
Narayana Health, W Health Ventures, 2070 Health launch Everhope Oncology with $10M investment
Narayana Health, W Health Ventures, and 2070 Health have launched Everhope Oncology to improve cancer care in India. The initiative has secured $10 million in seed funding to establish medical and surgical oncology facilities in Delhi and Mumbai, with plans to expand to 10 cities over the next three years.
Everhope Oncology said it will focus on providing comprehensive cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and palliative care. The new facilities aim to offer a patient-centric experience, ensuring shorter wait times and a comfortable treatment environment. Everhope will also provide care services such as mental health counselling, nutritional support, and pain management. Read more.
Funding News
Lighthouse Proptech bags $2.5M led by Turbostart
Lighthouse Proptech on Thursday raised $2.5 million at a valuation of $13.5 million in a round led by Turbostart.
The round also witnessed participation from the Dabur Family Office and several other HNI family offices. The infusion is expected to support its expansion to build a technology-driven platform for luxury real estate transactions in India.
My Pahadi Dukaan bags pre-seed funds from IPV
D2C health and wellness brand My Pahadi Dukaan secured undisclosed pre-seed funding from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) for strengthening its marketing, working capital, operations, and IT infrastructure.
Founded in 2021 by Himanshu Dua (CEO), Shubham Tandon (CFO), Rohan Sehgal (CMO), and Mohd. Anas Zubair (CTO), the startup has a distribution network for premium-quality produce from across nine Himalayan states and Bhutan.
Upedd adds CoinDCX CFO as angel investor
Upedd (Unified Platform for Entrepreneurial Development and Discovery) received undisclosed angel funding from CoinDCX CFO Abhinav Jain.
Upedd supports entrepreneurship through training, mentorship, consulting, and pre-incubation programmes. It offers structured training programmes, hands-on mentorship, and strategic support for startups. Jain is also expected to make further investments in the organisation.
Other News
Snapdeal parent appoints Anil Kumar as group company secretary
AceVector Limited, the parent company behind Snapdeal, appointed Anil Kumar as group company secretary to oversee all corporate secretarial matters and compliances throughout the Acevector group companies, including Snapdeal, Unicommerce eSolutions, Shipway Technology, and Stellaro Brands.
Before his appointment, Jain was the head of legal, company secretary, and compliance officer at Ethos Limited. Prior to that, he worked at Parabolic Drugs Limited.
Rliox EV launches an EV leasing division
Electric vehicle player Rilox EV launched a dedicated EV leasing division to offer cost-effective leasing solutions, starting from April 1st 2025. It currently plans to roll out 2,500 vehicles in its first year, expanding to 10,000 in the second year and 25,000 by the third year.
Leverage takes Rs 50 Cr bet on offline expansion
Study abroad platform Leverage plans to open 20 more experience centres, aiming for a total of 30 by year-end with a Rs 50 crore investment.
For the past six months, Leverage has been developing these retail-style experience centres mainly in Delhi-NCR. It is now expanding with a focus on Maharashtra and Kerala.
Leverage says it sees over 10 million student visitors across its platforms each month and conducts more than 300,000 counselling sessions monthly.
Square Insurance gets new head for its Prime Connect Vertical
Insurtech company Square Insurance appointed Krishna Kumar as the National Head – Prime Connect Vertical. He will drive premium insurance solutions, expand customer outreach, and build strategic partnerships to strengthen the company’s presence.
Square Insurance aims to scale its Prime Connect Vertical, aiming for a 20-30% increase in high-value insurance policies over the next year. This initiative focuses on expanding distribution, deepening market penetration, and enhancing digital integrations to drive premium growth.
Krishna Kumar previously held leadership roles at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, driving business expansion and distribution strategy.
Upskilling leads to better career progression: Great Learning report
Great Learning, the company engaged in higher education and professional training, in its Career Progression Report 2024-25 highlighted that 80% of professionals experienced a positive career shift post-upskilling in AI/ML and Data Science programmes.
According to the report, the positive career shifts include promotions, salary increases, and successful career transitions over time, post-upskilling in high-value domains like AI/ML and Data Science.
Looking at a shorter time frame of two years post-upskilling, 74% of professionals received a promotion or transition to new roles, among which 69% successfully moved into new roles, either within their current organisation or with a new employer, while 31% reported significant enhancements in their existing roles.
The report also found that professionals in the early stages of their careers—typically with 0-3 years of experience—are experiencing an average salary hike of 139%. For professionals in their mid-career stages, with 3-8 years of experience, the increase remains substantial at 93%.
Similarly, for mid-to-senior professionals, with 8-12 years of experience, the average salary hike received is around 50%, and for senior professionals with over 12 years of experience, the average is 41%.
Apna.co appoints new public policy head
Apna.co, a jobs and professional networking platform, appointed Preet Deep Singh as its head of public policy. He will lead structured government partnerships and leverage AI-driven initiatives to advance employment, education, and upskilling.
Singh joined Apna.co from Invest India, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, where he served six years in various leadership roles. Prior to his government service, Singh had worked at EY India and KPMG.
Spyne unveils new digital platform for used car dealers
Spyne, a deep tech startup focused on the automotive segment, introduced a new product—Auto Retail Suite—a digital retail solution to enable small and mid-sized dealerships to work in interconnected ecosystems that streamline every aspect of buying and selling cars.
Spyne’s Auto Retail Suite automates key dealership operations, delivering data-driven insights, and optimising every stage of the vehicle sales journey—from acquisition to customer engagement. It also allows for car dealers to expand their reach without significant investment in resources or having the technical know-how.
MyFi launches AI-powered credit against mutual fund holdings
MyFi, a SEBI-registered wealth management platform, introduced “MyCash,” a credit facility allowing users to borrow against mutual fund investments without liquidating assets, the company announced on Wednesday.
It offers instant loans between Rs 10,000 and Rs 5 crore at a 10.5% annual interest rate, positioning it as a lower-cost alternative to credit cards and personal loans.
The AI-driven platform enables users to access funds within 10 minutes through a fully digital process, with interest charged only on the utilized amount and no prepayment penalties. MyFi CEO Kiran Nambiar stated, “Access to liquidity should not come at the cost of long-term financial goals. Whether it’s covering a sudden medical bill or making a down payment on a home, we are ensuring investors stay in control.”
Investors retain ownership of their mutual fund holdings, which continue earning returns during the loan period. The service uses digital lien-marking to secure collateral, ensuring uninterrupted market exposure.
Folks Motors allocates Rs 500 crore for EV expansion
EV industry player Folks Motors on Thursday announced a Rs 500 crore capital expenditure (CAPEX) investment over five years under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.
The investment will support EV warehousing parks, strengthen India's EV supply chain, and boost domestic value addition to 50%. The company is deploying the CAPEX funds through Folks Funds, an AIF Category II fund. It is also leveraging a broader investment channel valued between $700–$800 million.
Under its investment strategy, it will form partnerships with major system manufacturers specialising in powertrain, electronic manufacturing services (EMS), energy storage, and system integration.
(The copy will be updated with the latest news throughout the day)
