Swiggy’s shares have declined more than 21% over the last week and over 26% over the last month as quick commerce competition heats up at the cost of rising expenses. Meanwhile, B2B ecommerce marketplace Solv is in advance talks to merge with Jumbotail as the space consolidates.
YourStory brings you all of today’s major developments across the Indian startup ecosystem on a single page.
Funding news
Owl Ventures backs BorderPlus with $7M investment
Global workforce mobility platform BorderPlus has raised $7 million in funding, marking its first institutional investment round, led by Owl Ventures.
The round also included contributions from Binny Bansal, Mithun Sacheti, Ritesh Agarwal, Aakash Chaudhary, and Apoorva Patni.
The Energy Company bags $2M in pre-Series A round
Full-stack EV battery provider The Energy Company has raised $2 million in a pre-Series A funding round. The round saw participation from Siana Capital, Callapina Capital, Z21 Ventures, 1Crowd, LetsVenture, and other investors.
The company will use the newly raised funds to grow its full-stack battery intelligence platform, Flexi as well as scaling up its batteries, FlexiPack, for electric two-wheelers and e-rickshaws.
Triton announces first close of second fund at Rs 120 Cr
Mumbai-based venture capital firm Triton has announced the first close of its second fund, raising Rs 120 crore out of a targeted Rs 240 crore ($28 million). The new fund is over five times larger than its predecessor and will continue to focus on business-to-business (B2B) technology and tech-enabled services.
Venturi Partners invests $25M in footwear brand JQR, secures minority stake
Venture Capital firm Venturi Partners has invested $25 million in JQR (Just Quick Run), a brand in the affordable footwear segment. This marks JQR’s first venture capital funding, with Venturi acquiring an undisclosed minority stake.
The funding will allow JQR to expand its offline presence in new markets, establish an online platform, and enhance its product offerings to meet India’s rising demand for affordable, high-quality sneakers.
Rupeeflo raises $1M from Piper Serica to work on financial access for NRIs
Rupeeflo, a fintech platform, has raised $1 million in funding in a pre-seed round led by Piper Serica Angel Fund. Fintech veterans, including Ravi Shankar (Co-founder of Active AI), Kishore Natarajan, and Kedar Kulkarni (Co-founder of Hyperverge) participated in the maiden round.
Founded in 2024 by Dharmendra Maurya, Ashish Jha, and Manav Bharambe, Rupeeflo aims to enable seamless banking and investing for NRIs. It enables them to digitally apply for an NRE/NRO account and have access to stock markets, mutual funds, and index funds.
Other news
Okta appoints Shakeel Khan as regional VP and country manager in India
Okta, an independent identity provider, has appointed Shakeel Khan as Regional Vice President and Country Manager for Okta India to drive secure identity for organisations in India while also amplifying Okta’s presence in the region.
With an impressive 27 years of experience in the cybersecurity industry, Khan will play a pivotal role in strengthening Okta’s position as a trusted partner in secure growth and digital transformation for Indian businesses, the company stated. From his background in pre-sales to becoming an enterprise sales leader, his expertise spans the full spectrum of the cybersecurity ecosystem. Based in Bengaluru, Khan will lead the company’s sales operations in India.
MSys Technologies acquires Gophers Lab
MSys Technologies, an IT services and digital transformation company, has acquired fintech Gophers Lab. The acquisition enables MSys Technologies to overcome obstacles of face scalability, performance, security, and regulatory compliance, and create next-generation AI-driven fintech and API ecosystems, the company said.
Gophers Lab’s expertise in Golang, fintech, and Google Cloud will significantly enhance MSys Technologies’ capabilities, driving innovation in FinTech solutions and API development, deployment, and scalability across industries, it added.
This acquisition was guided by SA Global Advisors.
Manish Kumar forms V4B.ai, an AI-driven content agency
Entrepreneur and digital expert Manish Kumar, Founder of SS Yoga App by Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Digi-Osmosis, has announced his new AI venture Videos4Businesses.
V4B is an end-to-end AI-powered content agency that specialises in creating branded content without the need for actors or video shoots. Blending cutting-edge production technologies like motion capture, CGI, Unreal Engine, and multiple AI platforms, V4B aims to deliver quality, scalable, cost-effective and quick business content solutions.
Its custom AI-powered multi-lingual audio-video chatbot replaces the need for existing text chat-bots, FAQs and call centres, and acts as a 24/7 sales representative or training tool, providing consistent, on-demand interactions without any human, the company shared.
(This copy will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)
