YourStory presents a summary of the latest events across various sectors, highlighting the newest developments in the startup world.
In India, a comprehensive approach is needed to create a safer and more responsible digital environment for children, which includes strict legal accountability, improved content moderation by platforms, parental controls, and active promotion of digital literacy.
Indian cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur announced her retirement from all three formats. She stated that she had fulfilled her duty as a leader and was now ready to play for the game itself.
Kitchen appliance manufacturer Beyond Appliances raised ₹110 crore in a Series B funding round. Fireside Ventures led the round, with participation from Dharana Capital and other investors. The Bengaluru-based company plans to use the funds for research and development and to build a new manufacturing unit. Furthermore, the capital will enable entry into new kitchen appliance product categories and strengthen its position in the existing portfolio.
Indian health and wellness investment firm NDude Labs led a $3 million investment in SuperMush, a functional wellness brand focused on scientifically backed ingredients, including adaptogens, nootropics, and functional mushrooms. These funds will be used to expand the product range, develop high-efficacy formulations, build the team, and develop infrastructure.
Over the past year, SuperMush has expanded to over 1000 Target stores and now has a retail network exceeding 2000 locations across the US, including Target and Sprouts. Founded in 2022 by Ali Shaper and Brian Friedman, the company has also released Shilajit, Creatine, and Lion’s Mane gummies. SuperMush intends to strengthen its retail presence through direct-to-consumer sales and marketplaces, aiming to become a leading functional wellness brand.
Designer kitchen and bathroom fixture brand Lorazzo raised ₹15 crore in a funding round led by Sauce, with participation from Sprout Venture Partners, Panthera Peak, and Alteria Capital. The company plans to allocate the raised capital to expanding its product line, investing in product development, strengthening the team, and growing its online and offline presence in India.
Founded in 2024 by Jatin Lutra and Saurabh Gupta, Lorazzo offers mixers, sinks, sanitaryware, shower systems, bidets, and smart toilets. The company reported that its revenue increased sixfold in the last 12 months and aims to achieve ₹100 crore in revenue over the next two years.
Cross-border healthcare platform CureMeAbroad raised $1.1 million in a seed round led by the health-focused venture fund SteerX Ventures, with participation from existing investor AIRA. The funding will be directed towards expanding into international patient markets, developing a hospital network, and improving the technology platform.
Founded in 2025 by Aditya Oza and Mikhail Bokhra, CureMeAbroad allows patients to find and compare hospitals, verify providers, receive treatment ratings, and book medical services abroad. The platform currently attracts over 22,500 monthly visitors and has a hospital network in six countries. The company plans to expand its accredited hospital network, enhance AI capabilities, and enter specialties such as orthopedics and oncology. CureMeAbroad aims to reach $100 million in annual patient treatment bookings by the 2028 fiscal year.
Electronics refurbishment company ReFit Global raised $1 million from an UAE-based family office, with Bestvantage Investments acting as exclusive advisor. In addition to providing capital, the investor will support the company's international expansion, facilitating access to partners, customers, and opportunities in the Gulf and African markets.
ReFit plans to use the funds to expand its retail network, strengthen refurbishment capabilities, invest in technological infrastructure, and develop an integrated omnichannel platform. The company manages a network of over 75 distributors, 2000 wholesale buyers, and 50,000 retail outlets across India, along with 12 ReFit Xpress stores. The company reports a 92% failure rate upon refurbishment and L4 level chip repair capabilities. It plans to deepen its presence across India while exploring international prospects.
AI-powered workspace platform CurvetAI raised ₹6 crore in a seed round led by Merak Ventures with participation from angel investors. Founded in December 2025 by Vivek Dubey and Utkarsh Gupta, CurvetAI allows users to access multiple AI models and combine them into a unified visual workspace. The platform supports text, image, audio, and video models and helps users compare results and direct tasks to appropriate models.
CurvetAI has over 100,000 monthly users globally, with India and the US being its largest markets, and the company has started generating revenue. The funds will be used to strengthen technological infrastructure, expand the team, and develop agentic capabilities. CurvetAI initially was an AI tool and prompt search platform before evolving into an integrated multi-model workspace.
IAN Angel Fund led a ₹5 crore funding round in IndigoTex, a deep tech startup developing waterless wool processing technology and wool blends. SIDBI, FITT, and IIT Delhi Angels also participated in the round. The funding will be directed towards establishing production and factories, expanding sales and operations, commercializing IndiWool Denim and washable wool and wool-blended fabrics, as well as R&D and obtaining international certifications. IndiWool Denim from IndigoTex combines the durability of denim with the thermal and comfort properties of wool.
The company is also developing ECOTEX Wool—a technology designed to create washable wool fabrics and reduce reliance on dry cleaning. The startup, founded in 2024 by Satendra Singh, B. S. Butola, and Dilip Singh and rooted in IIT Delhi, is exploring markets in Europe, North America, Australia, and other cold regions.
Health-focused mixer brand Sober & Co raised ₹75 lakh in a funding round led by Sunaina Bhattacharya and Anuj Dhariwal from New Ground Collective, representing a syndicate of seven angel investors. The capital will be used for inventory, production capacity, fast-service advertising, and team expansion, as the brand aims to cover broader national retail. Sober & Co uses monk fruit to sweeten its zero-sugar and zero-calorie mixers and currently operates through retail, HoReCa, Blinkit, and D2C channels.
Amazon India plans to open 50 new Ashray centers across the country. This expansion will increase the total number of Ashray centers to 200, and the company aims to reach 250 centers by the end of 2026. The company also announced the expansion of its Ashray mobile vans in Bengaluru—the fourth city after Delhi NCR, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.
Launched in 2024 in Delhi NCR, Ashray is a welfare initiative for delivery drivers. The centers are equipped with air-conditioned seating, drinking water, mobile phone chargers, clean restrooms, first aid kits, and a comfortable resting area. Each center accommodates 10 to 15 people, provides free access for up to 30 minutes per visit with convenient parking, and operates year-round from 9 am to 7 pm in high-traffic areas such as petrol stations and commercial premises.
Payment technology company Pine Labs launched a unified platform for merchants in Singapore, integrating payment acceptance, acquiring, installment plans, and customer engagement. The platform integrates cards and alternative payment methods with bank and brand-supported installment plans, allowing merchants to offer flexible checkout options through a single technological layer. Pine Labs also integrates its consumer payment and engagement app, Fave, which offers rewards, cashback, and merchant-funded offers.
The company noted that the unified platform can reduce the complexity of dealing with multiple vendors, increase conversion rates, and support larger purchases through installments, while strengthening customer loyalty. Pine Labs already operates in over 20 countries and serves Singaporean brands, including Courts, iStudio, CapitaLand, and FairPrice. The launch in Singapore followed the recent expansion of payment services in the Philippines in partnership with GCash.
AI automotive retail technology company Spyne reported that its conversational platform Vini AI has been implemented in 115 car dealerships across the US. The platform has processed over 450,000 leads, 900,000 conversations, and 312,000 minutes of calls from customers. According to Spyne, the capabilities processed through Vini are linked to dealership revenues exceeding $85 million. The platform helps dealerships manage customer interactions via phone, SMS, website chat, and email, including lead follow-up, reactivation, and appointment setting.
Paragon Honda's 30-day report showed a revenue return of $314,000 and a sales conversion rate of 48%. In Bob King Mazda, Vini helped increase demand capture by 30% and boost service appointments by 12%. Spyne integrated Vini with core dealership systems such as VinSolutions, Tekion, and CDK.
Indian aviation startup VORAN Private Limited, founded by Rajiv Rawat, entered into a strategic collaboration with an Italian gyroscope manufacturer to develop competencies in light aviation design, manufacturing, maintenance, repair, overhaul, and skills and innovation. VORAN stated that its goal is to build a light aviation ecosystem in India, not just sell or manufacture aircraft.
The company is considering opportunities for both gyrocopters and helicopters, depending on technical feasibility and regulatory requirements. Its model aims to connect Indian engineers, technicians, pilots, SMEs, manufacturers, training organizations, and MRO companies with international aviation expertise. VORAN is also exploring future concepts of unmanned or remotely piloted gyrocopters for specialized applications. The company emphasized that safety, engineering discipline, training, quality, and regulatory compliance will form the basis of the capacity building process.
ServiceNow introduced AI Workflow Factory and Autonomous Engineer solutions that help enterprises define, create, and scale AI-based workflows within fragmented legacy infrastructure. These solutions were presented in India at the World Forum in Mumbai and are designed to transition businesses from AI experimentation to governed execution. AI Workflow Factory unifies process mining, autonomous engineering, and application development into a continuous workflow improvement cycle, while AI Control Tower provides governance over AI assets, workflows, and agent actions.
ServiceNow stated that this approach can help enterprises scale operations in days rather than months. India is a key market for the company, where enterprise investments in AI grew by 119% in a year, according to its 2026 Corporate AI Maturity Index. AI Workflow Factory is available globally, and Autonomous Engineer is available in early access mode.
Clean FMCG brand Pluckk entered the UK market, marking its first major international expansion. The brand is currently present in 17 stores and captured a 15% share in the protein bar category in the first month. Pluckk plans to reach 100 stores within three months and around 500 stores within a year, while expanding its British portfolio from a few products to over 50 SKUs across juices, functional drinks, snacks, salads, and other clean-label products. The company has established a presence in England and Wales and is evaluating opportunities to enter the markets of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the US. Pluckk expects international markets to account for 25-30% of total revenue. In India, the company operates in over 50 cities, with an annual revenue growth rate exceeding ₹140 crore.
Azim Premji University will hold its 10th National Social Entrepreneurship Idea Contest on October 9, 2026. This initiative, launched in 2016, gives college and university students the opportunity to develop and present solutions to social and environmental problems.