Startup news and updates: daily roundup (March 24, 2025)

From Perfios facing challenges amid a slowdown in financial services to Amazon reducing seller fees for low-value goods, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Featured stories

Perfios feels the heat as financial services industry cools

Banking technology provider Perfios is facing pressure amid a slowdown in the financial services industry as uncertainty in unsecured lending market volatility troubles the sector.

"Every industry in India is going through challenges," said Sabyasachi Goswami, CEO of Perfios. "Does the broader financial and economic slowdown have an impact? Absolutely—since we are deeply embedded in this ecosystem."

For companies like Perfios, which serve a vast majority of financial institutions, market-wide distress has a direct impact on performance. "I'm serving 90% of the market," Goswami stated, indicating how extensively the company's fortunes are tied to overall financial sector health. Read more.

With AI, TrucksUp is fixing India’s empty miles problem

India’s road freight transport industry, with over 12.5 million trucks operating nationwide, forms the backbone of the country’s logistics. However, the sector remains highly fragmented and inefficient. A major challenge is the large number of trucks returning empty upon delivering goods, leading to revenue loss and wasted fuel.

To tackle this inefficiency in supply chains, Gurugram-based logistics startup TrucksUp has introduced an AI-driven freight-matching platform aimed at optimising truck utilisation and reducing empty miles.

By leveraging AI algorithms, the startup connects truckers with shippers in real-time, enabling truckers to list their availability and routes while businesses post freight requirements. Read more.

Latest news

Amazon slashes seller fees for low-value goods

Ecommerce giant Amazon India has undertaken its highest-ever reduction in seller fees as it squares up to growing competition in the sector.

The company has introduced zero referral fees on over 1.2 crore products in the low-value category, i.e., less than Rs 300. This is expected to apply across 135 categories including fashion, jewellery, grocery, home, furnishings, kitchen, beauty, etc.

Referral fees refer to the commission that sellers pay to Amazon for each product sold. The number was anywhere between 2% to 14.5% earlier. These changes are expected to come into effect from April 7, 2025, the company said in a press note. Read more.

Funding news

DCDC Kidney Care raises Rs 150 Cr from ABC Impact

DCDC Health Services (DCDC), which operates dialysis centres under the DCDC Kidney Care brand, secured an investment of Rs 150 crore from Singapore-based ABC Impact, the Asia-focused impact investor backed by Temasek.

The investment from ABC Impact will support DCDC’s expansion, enabling the launch of over 150 new clinics nationwide in the coming months. This growth aims to improve access to affordable dialysis for ESRD patients in line with the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

Founded in 2009, DCDC operates over 200 dialysis centres across India, managing both public-private partnership (PPP) clinics and company-owned standalone facilities.

DCDC's shareholders include IFU, a Danish government-owned investment fund, and the Asian Development Bank. IFU’s investment comes through the Danish SDG Investment Fund, supported by the Danish State, major Danish pension funds, and other private and institutional investors.

KollegeApply raises seed round of funding

KollegeApply, an edtech startup launched in March of this year has raised an undisclosed seed round of funding from angel investors.

Founded by Sanjay Meena, former chief business officer of Collegedunia, this startup aims to be a single platform to provide the answers on colleges and admission related queries.

KollegeApply wants to be the one-stop-shop to help students all their questions regarding colleges, courses, exams etc. 

The platform has information for over 6,000 educational institutes across 500 cities. Besides, it also provides information about 200 plus exams, over 1,000 courses and more than 200 online courses. It also provides counselling and admission support services.

Other news

Poonawalla Fincorp unveils AI-powered underwriting solution

Poonawalla Fincorp, a Cyrus Poonawalla Group-promoted NBFC, unveiled an AI-powered underwriting solution, developed in collaboration with IIT Bombay.

This solution combines artificial and human intelligence to automate and improve the credit evaluation process. It aims to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and scalability while prioritising risk assessment.

The AI solution leverages large language models and machine learning to automate and enhance credit decision-making. The firm aims to increase credit managers' productivity by 40% in retail lending through this system.

In the next phase, the company plans to enhance its AI capabilities with self-learning models powered by deep learning algorithms.

Delhivery names Milind Sharma as Head of Rapid Commerce, D2C Brands

Logistics services provider Delhivery appointed Milind Sharma as Head of Rapid Commerce and D2C Brands. In his new role, Sharma will build out the Rapid Commerce Service and oversee Delhivery’s entire product portfolio for the direct-to-consumer brand segment. He will also scale up Delhivery’s same-day and next-day offerings.

Sharma is a serial entrepreneur with over 14 years of experience in high-growth ventures across ecommerce and quick commerce. He has launched Flyo, a quick commerce platform, and Mabel, a jewellery commerce venture.

He was a founding member of Delhivery in 2012, scaling operations to 100,000 daily orders while leading business development. He later co-founded PepperTap, a hyperlocal pioneer, and Nuvo Logistics, where he expanded the business before its acquisition by Shadowfax, where he led growth and strategy. 

Wadhwani Foundation appoints Gopal Devanahalli as President of Skilling

Wadhwani Foundation has appointed Gopal Devanahalli as President of Skilling, where he will lead global skilling initiatives to drive workforce development and job creation.

Devanahalli brings over 30 years of leadership experience across IT services, software products, BPO, healthcare, education, telecom, and consumer industries.

Before joining the Wadhwani Foundation, Devanahalli was group president of strategy and business development at Manipal Education and Medical Group.

He has served as CEO at MeritTrac and Manipal Education Americas and previously held leadership roles at Infosys and Kotak.

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