Startups That Caught Our Eyes In November 2024

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From controversies snatching Honasa’s unicorn tag to continuous volatility gripping equity markets, it was a rocky November for new-age tech startups. 

Despite the hiccoughs, the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem continued to remain agog with activities and funding raised by Indian startups in November 2024 so far has inched closer to the $1 Bn mark. 

What helped the upward movement further was the slew of new fund launches by venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms, showing the resilience of the homegrown startup ecosystem amid the ongoing, albeit waning, funding winter. 

As India’s entrepreneurial spirit continues to burn brighter, we are back with the 53rd edition of Inc42’s ‘30 Startups to Watch’, powered by Google Cloud. 

At the heart of this month’s issue is generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), which has become the latest buzzword among Indian tech founders. 

While about a third of our 53rd cohort features startups that have AI at their core, what also stands out in this edition is the growing number of founders looking to capitalise on the quick commerce boom. 

With that said, here’s the list of the 30 startups that caught our attention in November. 

Editor’s Note: The list below is not a ranking of any kind. We have listed the startups alphabetically.


30 Sundays 

Creating Unforgettable Vacations


Delhi NCR-based travel tech startup 30 Sundays specialises in creating tailored travel itineraries for couples. Founded by Kshitij Chaudhary and Anuj Punjani, the company seeks to move beyond generic travel packages offered by agents and large travel platforms.

30 Sundays combines the expertise of a dedicated team of travel planners with advanced AI technology to deliver personalised and budget-friendly travel experiences.

Couples can book curated trips to destinations like New York, the Maldives, Dubai, Thailand, Vietnam, and Bali through the platform.

The startup’s AI chatbot, integrated across WhatsApp and social media channels, gathers customer information, answers queries, and filters leads requiring human interaction. This automation has reduced the workload of its sales team by over 60%, enhancing operational efficiency.

In 2024, 30 Sundays raised $770K in seed funding, led by InfoEdge Ventures, with participation from First Cheque, Eximius, and others


Aaritya Tech

Helping You Trade Like A Pro

Founded by ex-Swiggy CTO Dale Vaz, Aaritya Tech is a trading platform that offers users an easy way to create demat accounts with zero account opening or maintenance charges or brokerage.

With over 15 years of software development experience at Amazon, Infosys, and Swiggy, Vaz’s parallel journey as an active trader inspired him to address key challenges faced by modern investors. 

In 2023, he partnered with ex-Fisdom head of product Manish Jain, who joined as the cofounder and CPO, to launch Aaritya Tech.

While established platforms like Groww and Zerodha dominate the online stock brokerage space, Aaritya Tech focusses on solving unmet needs. The team identified gaps in providing consolidated market insights and delivering the speed and stability essential for mobile trading.

Following alpha testing in October, Bengaluru-based Aaritya Tech is set for a full-scale launch in December.


Airbound

Building Drones To Reduce Delivery Cost

As businesses across industries increasingly experiment with new technologies to optimise operations, they are also looking at drone providers to streamline their logistics functions.

To capitalise on this and reduce the cost of deliveries, techies Naman Pushp and Faraaz Baig founded drone tech startup Airbound in 2022.

Since its incorporation, the founders have been working on building “the world’s most efficient” delivery drone, TRT. The drone, which uses a proprietary blended wing body tailsitter design, has logged in over 1,000 hours of flight time.

These drones can fly at a cruise speed of 60 kmph at a vertical height of about 400 ft for a range of 37 km. 

Airbound plans to deploy its drones by early 2025 to transport blood samples and other medical essentials from rural health centres to urban testing facilities.

Last month, the startup secured $1.7 Mn in seed funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from gradCapital.

Ambak

Hassle-Free Home Loans

Getting home loans is a complex process in India due to the various stages involved in the extensive documentation. The hidden costs, legal compliances among other things adds too many steps in the process. 

To address this pain point, Raghuveer Malik, Rameshwar Gupta, Rashi Garg, and Pranav Khattar founded Ambak last year. 

The startup offers a digital platform that simplifies the home loan process using its proprietary Bank Rule Engine and integrated credit scoring tools to match users with suitable financiers.

Ambak helps users secure loans covering up to 90% of their property value, with interest rates as low as 8.3%. Its platform connects borrowers with over 50 financial institutions, including Indiabulls, Deutsche Bank, DMI Finance, Bank of Maharashtra, and IIFL Home Loans. Since its inception, the company has processed more than 5,000 loan applications across India.

In October 2024, Ambak was selected for Peak XV’s 10th Surge cohort, receiving $3 Mn in funding.


Anubal Fusion

The Future Of Energy 

While the idea of privatisation of nuclear energy is still in its infancy in India, one startup has begun its journey in this space. 

Founded earlier this year by Dr Pravin Kini and Mukul Jain, Anubal Fusion claims to be India’s first startup focussed on developing nuclear fusion technology. 

The startup uses high-energy lasers to heat fuel pellets to achieve nuclear fusion, which generates a large amount of energy. It aims to harness nuclear fusion (a process in which hydrogen atoms are fused to produce energy) to offer a safer and cleaner alternative to traditional nuclear fission.

In November, the startup raised seed funding from Speciale Invest to support its initial work in collaboration with institutions like the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. 

The startup is focussed on conducting simulations for the next 1-2 years before moving to actual experiments, which could take another two years. The startup is planning to commercialise its nuclear fusion energy in the next 5-10 years. 


Billion Hearts

Solving One Problem At A Time

The year 2024 has been a roller-coaster ride for ex-Koo founder Mayank Bidawatka. After the closure of his previous microblogging platform due to stalled acquisition talks, Bidawatka announced the launch of his new venture, Billion Hearts, in September.

Founded by Bidawatka and Ankita Gandhi in August 2024, Billion Hearts is a consumer tech venture that aims to create digital products for a global audience. In a post on LinkedIn, the founder said that the startup will take one interesting unsolved problem at a time and build solutions around the same.

While the startup has been secretive about the products it has been building, it has hinted that the first product will be “fundamental” to every person with a smartphone.

Despite operating in stealth mode, the startup has bagged $4 Mn in its seed funding round from notable investors like Blume, General Catalyst and Athera Venture Partners. The founder claims that the startup has reserved 25% of Billion Hearts’ shares for its employees. 


C2i Semiconductors

Powering The Future Of Chip Design

As India’s semiconductor industry continues to surge, more tech entrepreneurs are entering the space. 

C2i Semiconductors, a fabless chip design startup, was founded earlier this year to focus on analogue and mixed-signal technologies, particularly in the power management sector for industrial and computing applications.

Incorporated by Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Charan Anand Tadeparthy, and Ramprasad Ananthaswamy in Bengaluru, the startup leverages over 100 years of combined experience in tech product development. The founders aim to position C2i Semiconductors as a globally competitive player, strengthening India’s presence in the global semiconductor design ecosystem.

While details about the startup and its founders remain limited, C2i Semiconductors secured $4 Mn from deeptech venture fund Yali Capital.


Crackle Technologies

Helping Publishers Maximise Their Earnings


While the shift to online publishing has opened up new revenue streams for news agencies, it has also brought challenges, including hefty publishing commissions and algorithm-driven hurdles. 

These issues have often pitted publishers against major tech companies. Recognising this struggle, three senior Google India executives — Harsh Mittal, Shashank Dudeja, and Jaivir Singh Nagi — decided to step in with a solution.

In 2023, the trio launched Crackle Technologies to help publishers maximise their ad revenues from digital platforms. The startup leverages advanced data analytics and predictive modelling to optimise ad monetisation, automate manual workflows, and enhance user engagement.

It also supports publishers in tackling challenges such as ad blockers, privacy regulations, and the dominance of big tech. Currently, Crackle Technologies’ offerings are in beta mode.

The SaaS startup raised $1.7 Mn in a pre-seed funding round led by We Founder Circle and AC Ventures, with participation from DeVC, Misfits Capital, Sunicon Ventures, and the founders of Impetus Technologies.


DealDox

Enhancing Sales Workflows & Deal Closures


Founded in 2022 by Mohmmed Khasim and Sandhya Hegde, DealDox is an enterprise solutions startup that streamlines and automates the quotation process for organisations. The startup claims to benefit companies of all sizes with its quotation automation tool. The tool helps enhance sales workflows and accelerates deal closures. 

It also streamlines the complex process of quotation pricing and approvals for faster decision-making. The pre-sales automation startup claims that unlike many other configure price quote (CPQ) platforms available in the market, which are focussed on serving product-led companies, DealDox solutions appeal to organisations that follow a business-to-business (B2B) business model. 

The startup recently secured $43K in a pre-seed funding round led by a Saudi Arabian NRI to expand the team at DealDox and enhance the company’s market presence. 


Healspan

Simplifying Healthcare Management

Born out of ex-Myntra exec Sabarinath U and ex-Prudent Insurance’s AVP Abhi Sinha’s shared peeve with gaps in the healthcare insurance industry, Healspan has been working on improving the Indian healthcare experience across all touch points since 2022. 

The startup offers a suite of solutions to address the financial challenges faced by healthcare providers. Its flagship product is a cloud-based claims management platform that automates the entire claims process, from initial submission to final settlement. This platform helps hospitals reduce administrative costs, improve efficiency, and accelerate cash flow.

Besides, it also operates a claims management SaaS platform that automates claim filing, tracking, and follow-up as well as an insurance desk management service to outsource insurance desk operations to streamline processes and reduce administrative burden.

Since its launch, the startup has partnered with about 40 hospitals for its offerings. It has managed to grow its ARR for the current fiscal to INR 42 Lakh. 


Induz 

Revolutionising Next-Gen Data Security

Founded in 2023 by Tirumalesh Chalamarla and Sreerama Mohan Gadam, Induz is a data security startup focussed on protecting cloud providers and data owners from breaches and unauthorised access.

The idea for Induz was sparked by the 2019 Capital One security breach, which exposed the sensitive data of over 100 Mn people across the US and Canada. 

After analysing the incident, Chalamarla (CEO) and Gadam (CTO) identified a growing need for dependable data infrastructure solutions.

With academic roots at IIT Roorkee and IISc Bangalore, the duo returned to India to address this gap. Induz is now developing advanced data security solutions, including proprietary hardware roots of trust, and working towards essential certifications to ensure reliable and compliant infrastructure.


Kiko Live 

Helping Retailers Take The Q-Commerce Plunge

Quick commerce is perhaps the biggest growth story in India this year, but the impact of the sector’s growth is said to have impacted many small-scale retailers.  

To address this, Mumbai-based husband-wife duo Alok and Neeta Chawla partnered with childhood friend Virendra Chouhan to float Kiko Live in 2020.

With its large product repository and easy-to-use seller solution, Kiko Live helps retailers build their online storefront with quick commerce offering and go live within 24 hours.

The startup has listed about 800 active retailers on its platform and processed over 500K transactions in its lifetime.

With the help of their collaboration with ONDC, the quick commerce platform gives their sellers visibility on all the ONDC buyer applications such as Paytm, PhonePe and Mystore. 


KiranaPro

Empowering Local Kiranas Stores

Founded in 2024 by serial entrepreneurs Deepak Ravindran and Dipankar Sarkar, KiranaPro is a platform to empower India’s Kirana stores in the booming quick commerce space.

Aiming to be India’s “first Kirana shopping app with lightning-fast deliveries”, the startup is working to build a platform that allows small-scale Kirana stores to connect with potential customers online and make deliveries in 10 minutes. 

Yet to be launched, the platform leverages AI and voice-driven technology to enable customers to place orders quickly and easily. As of now, it has integrated with ONDC as a buyer app and partnered with Kirana stores in Bengaluru for pilot testing.  

Its intended business model revolves around a commission-based approach, charging merchants a fee per order. The company has recently secured pre-seed funding from notable investors, including Unpopular Ventures, SL-Ventures, Blume and Turbostart. The startup plans to take its platform live soon.


Layers

Where Tech Meets Your Style 

After building a strong fan base through his tech reviews, Shlok Srivastava realised something was missing in the market. While we’re constantly bombarded with innovative gadgets, very few actually reflect personal style.

Spotting this gap, Srivastava joined forces with Neel Gogia, the founder of the influencer marketing agency IPLIX, to launch Layers in 2022. The idea was simple: let tech accessories match your vibe.

Layers kicked off with customised mobile skins, and the response was phenomenal. On the very first day, the company sold over 15,000 skins, thanks to a key feature — letting users design the look of their phone’s back.

Encouraged by this success, the duo decided to shake things up in the smartwatch segment. They teamed up with leading design studios, including Mumbai-based Thought Over Design and London-based Seymourpowell, to create a product that ticks both style and functionality boxes for Gen Z. Srivastava also invested $1 Mn to back Layers’ push into the smartwatch market.

In November, the company launched its first smartwatch, Anarc. It aims to sell 1 Lakh units of Anarc within six months and launch a new product in the audio category by early next year. 


Lets Get Happi

Mental Wellness App

After getting diagnosed with borderline depression in 2020, real estate businessman Manun Thakur began taking his mental health seriously. 

Following his subsequent visits with psychologists, he launched Veda Rehabilitation and Wellness in 2021. 

What initially started as luxury rehabilitation and mental health treatment centres later translated into a mental health app, Lets Get Happi. The app allows users to get access to round-the-clock therapy from psychologists unanimously at a price as low as INR 500.

The app also allows users to assess their mental health with tests, keep track of their progress via therapeutic journaling and get guided meditation and yoga sessions. While the app operates on a pay-per-use model, Veda plans to launch a subscription model for Lets Get Happi by the end of this month. 

Besides Lets Get Happi, Veda has established two tech products – Vibe Check for mental health analytics of a company and Healing Society App for freelancing mental health caregivers. Its core luxury rehab centres board patients for 1-3 months and get access to a host of mental well-being treatment plans. 

Since its inception, the startup has raised over $1.1 Mn from investors like Suniel Shetty, Boston Consulting Group MD Rashik Gupta, and Lotus Herbals’ chairman Nitin Passi. 


ModelsLab

Turn Text To Reality

Generative AI is transforming India’s tech landscape and shaping new entrepreneurial journeys. Ahmedabad-based tech entrepreneur Adhik Joshi is one such example. In 2022, while working with a stable diffusion model, which is commonly used for image generation, Joshi faced significant challenges.

At the time, he was running a company called Stable Diffusion API. To simplify API integration for image-generation GenAI software, Joshi developed a wrapper for the API, which quickly gained traction.

This early success prompted him to pivot and launch ModelsLab in 2022, a GenAI API startup. 

ModelsLab offers businesses a comprehensive suite of APIs for AI-powered solutions, including image generation, large language models (LLMs), video, voice, audio, 3D, and image editing.

The bootstrapped startup operates with six distinct products. Its flagship product is a dedicated enterprise server that enables users to maintain privacy while leveraging the full capabilities of the ModelsLab AI suite.

ModelsLab generates revenue through monthly subscriptions for access to its APIs. Since its inception, the startup has grown its user base to over 1,000 and achieved a revenue run rate of $1.1 Mn.


My Sivi 

AI Tutor To Improve Spoken English

The AI-based startup was founded in 2022 by Shivam Gupta, Anoop Jaiswal, and Akshay Sanghai, inspired by their struggles with English proficiency. 

Recognising a broader demand for effective language learning tools, they developed ARYA, an AI-powered conversational chatbot to help users improve their spoken English through instant feedback and corrections.

To complement its AI-driven instruction, My Sivi introduced a peer-to-peer learning feature, enabling users to practise with fellow learners. 

Operating on a freemium model, My Sivi offers basic features for free, while premium functionalities are available through subscriptions. The platform has gained significant traction, with over 2.5 Mn downloads and 6 Lakh active users. In 2024, its annualised revenue run rate surged 10x to $1.25 Mn.

Looking ahead, My Sivi plans to roll out advanced features like avatar-based interactions and text-based chats to further enhance user engagement. The startup is also seeking funding to expand its operations and reach a larger audience.


Nexstem

Merging Man & Machine

Growing up as an army brat, Siddhant Dangi often visited the Army R&R Hospital, where he saw war amputee soldiers struggle with their prosthetic limbs. Determined to help, Dangi teamed up with his classmate Deepansh Goyal to develop prosthetic limbs that could be controlled by thought.

After extensive research, once the duo succeeded in creating reliable devices that could capture brain waves, they founded Nexstem, in 2020.

The startup’s flagship product is Nexstem V1 EEG headsets, which has been designed to capture, analyse, and communicate bio-signals like EEG, ECG, and EMG.

Its 19-channel active electrode headset delivers medical-grade EEG data, while its AI-powered onboard processor converts analogue bio-signals into actionable digital data.

Nexstem licenses its intellectual property to businesses and research institutions and offers the Nexstem Instinct development kit, enabling users to build customised neurotech solutions.

Backed by InfoEdge and Gruhas, Nexstem has onboarded 50 beta clients and four business partners.


Olive Gaea

Turning Sustainability Into Opportunity

Despite growing awareness of the climate crisis, businesses often struggle to embrace sustainable practices effectively. For Vivek Tripathi, this challenge became evident during his 20-year career with companies like RIL, Cairn Oil & Gas, and CRISIL. 

An IIT-BHU graduate, Tripathi noticed that sustainability was frequently treated as a regulatory obligation rather than a business opportunity.

Driven by this realisation, Tripathi joined forces with fellow sustainability advocate Jessica Scopacasa to establish Olive Gaea, a climate tech startup, in 2022. 

The Kanpur-based startup has developed an AI-driven SaaS platform, Zero — which provides a comprehensive carbon accounting and management tool to businesses to measure, manage, reduce, offset, and report carbon emissions. The platform simplifies data collection, offers actionable insights for carbon reduction, and leverages AI to develop strategies for achieving net-zero goals.

Beyond the SaaS platform, Olive Gaea provides sustainability consulting services in India and the MENA region. Since its launch, the startup has partnered with 27 businesses and raised $1 Mn in funding from Cornerstone Ventures.


Pelocal

Simplifying Digital Payments For Indian Merchants 

Founded in 2021 by Vivekanand Tripathi, Chennai-based Pelocal is a fintech startup that simplifies digital payments for Indian merchants and businesses.

Pelocal streamlines customer management and automates payment collection, making the payment request process more efficient. 

By helping businesses optimise revenue through automated workflows, the platform ensures seamless transactions for merchants.

Over the past year, Pelocal’s monthly payment transactions have surged from 500K to 3 Mn, with the startup aiming to reach 10 Mn monthly transactions within the next year. 


PetStrong

Nourishing Your Furry Friends 

Serial entrepreneur and lifelong pet parent Nisheeth Kumar founded PetStrong in 2024 to address the many challenges he experienced in his pet parenting journey.

Gurugram-based PetStrong offers affordable, protein-rich pet foods, including meal boosters, supplements, fresh meals, treats, and gravy options through its website and ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon and Supertail. 

By tailoring its offerings to suit local diets, PetStrong aims to “Indianise” the pet food market. Key products include a gut health charger and a protein meal booster for dogs.

Besides its range of food, the startup’s key offering is its dog nutrition calculator, which allows pet parents to create personalised balanced meal plans for their pets based on individual requirements. By entering details such as breed, age, weight, and activity level, users receive tailored diet recommendations to meet their pet’s unique needs.

In just two months, PetStrong has sold 10,000 products across four categories, featuring around 30 SKUs. With fresh funding from Auxano Capital, the startup plans to expand to six categories with over 100 SKUs by February 2025. 


Plus Gold

Gold Savings Reimagined

Founded by Veer Mishra and Raj Parakh in 2022, Plus Gold is a full-stack platform designed to make gold savings and investments more accessible. 

Available on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store, the Plus Gold app lets users save in digital gold with flexible amounts or through fixed monthly SIPs. These savings can be redeemed as cash or jewellery, with up to 5% additional benefits.

Plus Gold generates revenue through transaction commissions on its app and jewellery sales under its in-house brand, Meera. The platform has over 5 Lakh downloads and 1 Lakh monthly active users. Notably, half of its transacting customers come from non-metro cities, showcasing its wide appeal.

In 2024, the fintech startup raised $1.2 Mn in a seed funding round led by JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation, with participation from Venture Catalysts and Signal Ventures. 


Pulse

Enabling Product Teams To Make Smart Decisions

In his nearly eight-year stint as a software engineer, Yellow AI’s VP Haren Chelle identified a gap in how customer insights often failed to translate into actionable product improvement for tech companies. 

Sharing his frustration were his fellow software engineers Alok Thatikunta and Vatsal Singhal. To address this gap, the trio banded together to float Pulse in August 2024. 

The startup assists SaaS companies with an AI platform that harnesses the voice of customers (VoC) to drive impactful business outcomes.

The platform captures customer feedback from multiple touchpoints, analyses structured and unstructured data, and automates key tasks such as feature extraction, prioritisation, and product hierarchy creation.

Seamlessly integrating with CRMs, customer support tools, call transcription software and analytics systems, Pulse provides a unified dashboard to consolidate and analyse data. 

Its real-time insights help businesses uncover pain points, address feature requests, and identify areas for improvement.


Rio.money

Making Credit As Easy As UPI

India’s journey from treating cashless transactions as an afterthought to making UPI payments an indispensable asset has been remarkable. While players like PhonePe, Paytm and Navi have largely fuelled this revolution, many new players are emerging in the space. 

One such gap was identified by Navi’s founding team member and vice president Riya Bhattacharya and angel investor Vivek Amarnani. They identified the need for a platform that integrates credit into everyday transactions, big or small.

This led to the inception of startup Rio.Money in 2023. The fintech startup allows users to apply for UPI credit cards, which it launched last month in partnership with YES BANK and NPCI. 

Through its digital credit card, users can make purchases at over 100 Mn merchant locations across India. 

The Rio credit card is compatible with all NPCI-recognised third-party application providers like BHIM, PhonePe, GPay, and Cred. Users can track their credit expenses on the Rio app, which is currently available on the Google Play Store. 


Sharang Shakti

Redefining The Future Of Aerial Security

With a keen interest in tech-oriented defence solutions, IIT-Delhi alumni Karan Goyal, Chirag Singla, Gaurav Kumar, Jitendra Singh and Rishabh Choudhary were united by their collective aspirations to build defence tech solutions that can aid the Indian military prowess. 

The result was Sharang Shakti. Founded in 2023, the Gurugram-based startup’s first product, hantR, is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of short-range airborne threat detection

Besides this, the startup is currently aiming to get its offerings ready for trials and secure initial orders. 

The startup raised $600K in its pre-seed funding round from investors AUM Ventures and Venture Highway.


Swish

Delivering Food In 10 Minutes 

Amid the fierce race to dominate the 10-minute food delivery market, Bengaluru-based Swish wants to become the ‘David’ challenging the ‘Goliaths’ of quick commerce, including Blinkit, Swiggy, and Zepto.

The startup was founded in August 2024 by Aniket Shah, Saran S, and Ujjwal Sukheja, who were previously part of the founding team of the crypto investment platform Pillow. 

Spotting a unique overlap between quick commerce and food delivery, the trio ventured into the space with a fresh perspective.

Since its launch, Swish has been delivering quick bites to Bengaluru’s HSR Layout and Bellandur residents in just 10 minutes. 

With over 10K app downloads across Google Play and Apple’s App Store, the startup has quickly found its footing in the bustling delivery market.

Swish operates through two cloud kitchens. Now, armed with a fresh $2 Mn in seed funding, the startup is gearing up for a nationwide expansion. 

It counts VC firm Accel, former Swiggy Instamart head Karthik Gurumurthy, and Urban Company founders Abhiraj Bhal and Varun Khaitan as its investors. In the short term, it plans to establish 150 delivery “centres” across key areas in Bengaluru.


Tailcall

Improving Developer Efficiency Through GraphQL

As tech companies push to maximise developer productivity, managing APIs in increasingly complex applications remains a significant challenge. 

Developers often grapple with streamlining data flow, managing infrastructure, and cutting operational costs.

Identifying these pain points, Tushar Mathur — an experienced tech leader with stints at Dream11, Ola, and Practo — founded Tailcall in 2022. 

Based in Bengaluru, Tailcall is an API integration platform that focuses on simplifying and optimising API development for modern tech environments.

The startup leverages GraphQL, a popular data query and manipulation language, to help developers seamlessly integrate existing data sources and APIs.

By offering best practices for GraphQL implementation, Tailcall helps developers integrate their existing data sources and APIs more efficiently, improving productivity and reducing the complexity associated with traditional REST APIs. 

Tailcall was selected in Peak XV’s 10th cohort of Surge back in October.


Ten x You

Creating A Large Global Sports Brand From India

After months of speculations, Swiggy Instamart architect Karthik Gurumurthy took to LinkedIn to announce the launch of his new venture, Ten x You

Founded in July, Gurumurthy’s new startup Ten x You is an activewear brand, which plans to sell cricket accessories, gear, footwear, apparel and equipment related to the sport in the future.

The startup will also see cricketer Sachin Tendulkar take the helm as its co-CEO. Leveraging Tendulkar’s years of experience on the field with his passion for sports, the startup wants to create high-quality footwear, apparel, equipment, gear and accessories. 

Currently, it is focussed on cricket but has plans to foray into other sports as well. Drawing inspiration from Nike’s dominance in basketball and Li Ning’s success in badminton, Ten x You seeks to become a leading sports brand in India.

As of now, the startup plans to take its online platform live shortly. 


Theranautilus

Nanorobotics For Dental Care

For decades, the concept of robots and their potential has captivated our imaginations. While popular culture often portrays them in films like Terminator, scientists and researchers have been working to create robots that can benefit humanity. 

For veteran physicists Ambarish Ghosh, Debayan Dasgupta and Dr Peddi Shanmukh Srinivas, the dream of building such robots is nearing reality. 

Since 2020, the trio of scientists has been developing magnetically controlled nanorobots under their startup, Theranautilus. These robots are designed to navigate through dental tissues and deliver precise treatments.

Made from biodegradable materials such as food-grade glass and trace amounts of iron, the nanorobots can locate damaged areas within teeth and form bone-like structures to treat conditions like dental hypersensitivity. 

So far, the startup has reported promising results in animal trials. Looking ahead, they plan to begin human trials in 2025, aiming to make the technology commercially available by 2026.

Once in the market, these robots are expected to be an over-the-counter available device for moderate to mild cases that patients can use at home, and a professional version for dental clinics for severe cases. The treatment is expected to be priced under INR 2,500 per unit.

Last month, the founders bagged $1.2 Mn in a seed funding round led by pi Ventures. Golden Sparrow Ventures and angel investors, including Tracxn founder and CEO Abhishek Goyal and Groww founder and CEO Lalit Keshre, also participated in the round.


Thesys

Designing The Future Of AI Interaction

As GenAI dominates the tech landscape in 2024, businesses are pouring resources into building AI agents that enhance user experiences and boost efficiency.  

While the potential for AI agents to be dynamic and personalised is considerable, the current user experience is often constrained.

To correct this, ex-DevRev employees Rabi Shanker Guha and Parikshit Deshmukh founded Thesys in January this year. The startup allows businesses to craft their AI agents to their full potential. 

It has built a visual collaboration tool, “Generative UI” platform, which enables teams to ideate, visualise and ship stunning UI for AI agents. 

Its platform helps businesses build interfaces that can respond and adjust to individual user behaviour, unlocking new levels of customisation.

Last month, the Bengaluru-based startup raised $4 Mn in a seed funding round led by Together Fund. The round also saw participation from 8VC.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]





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Startups That Caught Our Eyes In November 2024


From controversies snatching Honasa’s unicorn tag to continuous volatility gripping equity markets, it was a rocky November for new-age tech startups. 

Despite the hiccoughs, the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem continued to remain agog with activities and funding raised by Indian startups in November 2024 so far has inched closer to the $1 Bn mark. 

What helped the upward movement further was the slew of new fund launches by venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms, showing the resilience of the homegrown startup ecosystem amid the ongoing, albeit waning, funding winter. 

As India’s entrepreneurial spirit continues to burn brighter, we are back with the 53rd edition of Inc42’s ‘30 Startups to Watch’, powered by Google Cloud. 

At the heart of this month’s issue is generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), which has become the latest buzzword among Indian tech founders. 

While about a third of our 53rd cohort features startups that have AI at their core, what also stands out in this edition is the growing number of founders looking to capitalise on the quick commerce boom. 

With that said, here’s the list of the 30 startups that caught our attention in November. 

Editor’s Note: The list below is not a ranking of any kind. We have listed the startups alphabetically.


30 Sundays 

Creating Unforgettable Vacations


Delhi NCR-based travel tech startup 30 Sundays specialises in creating tailored travel itineraries for couples. Founded by Kshitij Chaudhary and Anuj Punjani, the company seeks to move beyond generic travel packages offered by agents and large travel platforms.

30 Sundays combines the expertise of a dedicated team of travel planners with advanced AI technology to deliver personalised and budget-friendly travel experiences.

Couples can book curated trips to destinations like New York, the Maldives, Dubai, Thailand, Vietnam, and Bali through the platform.

The startup’s AI chatbot, integrated across WhatsApp and social media channels, gathers customer information, answers queries, and filters leads requiring human interaction. This automation has reduced the workload of its sales team by over 60%, enhancing operational efficiency.

In 2024, 30 Sundays raised $770K in seed funding, led by InfoEdge Ventures, with participation from First Cheque, Eximius, and others


Aaritya Tech

Helping You Trade Like A Pro

Founded by ex-Swiggy CTO Dale Vaz, Aaritya Tech is a trading platform that offers users an easy way to create demat accounts with zero account opening or maintenance charges or brokerage.

With over 15 years of software development experience at Amazon, Infosys, and Swiggy, Vaz’s parallel journey as an active trader inspired him to address key challenges faced by modern investors. 

In 2023, he partnered with ex-Fisdom head of product Manish Jain, who joined as the cofounder and CPO, to launch Aaritya Tech.

While established platforms like Groww and Zerodha dominate the online stock brokerage space, Aaritya Tech focusses on solving unmet needs. The team identified gaps in providing consolidated market insights and delivering the speed and stability essential for mobile trading.

Following alpha testing in October, Bengaluru-based Aaritya Tech is set for a full-scale launch in December.


Airbound

Building Drones To Reduce Delivery Cost

As businesses across industries increasingly experiment with new technologies to optimise operations, they are also looking at drone providers to streamline their logistics functions.

To capitalise on this and reduce the cost of deliveries, techies Naman Pushp and Faraaz Baig founded drone tech startup Airbound in 2022.

Since its incorporation, the founders have been working on building “the world’s most efficient” delivery drone, TRT. The drone, which uses a proprietary blended wing body tailsitter design, has logged in over 1,000 hours of flight time.

These drones can fly at a cruise speed of 60 kmph at a vertical height of about 400 ft for a range of 37 km. 

Airbound plans to deploy its drones by early 2025 to transport blood samples and other medical essentials from rural health centres to urban testing facilities.

Last month, the startup secured $1.7 Mn in seed funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from gradCapital.

Ambak

Hassle-Free Home Loans

Getting home loans is a complex process in India due to the various stages involved in the extensive documentation. The hidden costs, legal compliances among other things adds too many steps in the process. 

To address this pain point, Raghuveer Malik, Rameshwar Gupta, Rashi Garg, and Pranav Khattar founded Ambak last year. 

The startup offers a digital platform that simplifies the home loan process using its proprietary Bank Rule Engine and integrated credit scoring tools to match users with suitable financiers.

Ambak helps users secure loans covering up to 90% of their property value, with interest rates as low as 8.3%. Its platform connects borrowers with over 50 financial institutions, including Indiabulls, Deutsche Bank, DMI Finance, Bank of Maharashtra, and IIFL Home Loans. Since its inception, the company has processed more than 5,000 loan applications across India.

In October 2024, Ambak was selected for Peak XV’s 10th Surge cohort, receiving $3 Mn in funding.


Anubal Fusion

The Future Of Energy 

While the idea of privatisation of nuclear energy is still in its infancy in India, one startup has begun its journey in this space. 

Founded earlier this year by Dr Pravin Kini and Mukul Jain, Anubal Fusion claims to be India’s first startup focussed on developing nuclear fusion technology. 

The startup uses high-energy lasers to heat fuel pellets to achieve nuclear fusion, which generates a large amount of energy. It aims to harness nuclear fusion (a process in which hydrogen atoms are fused to produce energy) to offer a safer and cleaner alternative to traditional nuclear fission.

In November, the startup raised seed funding from Speciale Invest to support its initial work in collaboration with institutions like the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. 

The startup is focussed on conducting simulations for the next 1-2 years before moving to actual experiments, which could take another two years. The startup is planning to commercialise its nuclear fusion energy in the next 5-10 years. 


Billion Hearts

Solving One Problem At A Time

The year 2024 has been a roller-coaster ride for ex-Koo founder Mayank Bidawatka. After the closure of his previous microblogging platform due to stalled acquisition talks, Bidawatka announced the launch of his new venture, Billion Hearts, in September.

Founded by Bidawatka and Ankita Gandhi in August 2024, Billion Hearts is a consumer tech venture that aims to create digital products for a global audience. In a post on LinkedIn, the founder said that the startup will take one interesting unsolved problem at a time and build solutions around the same.

While the startup has been secretive about the products it has been building, it has hinted that the first product will be “fundamental” to every person with a smartphone.

Despite operating in stealth mode, the startup has bagged $4 Mn in its seed funding round from notable investors like Blume, General Catalyst and Athera Venture Partners. The founder claims that the startup has reserved 25% of Billion Hearts’ shares for its employees. 


C2i Semiconductors

Powering The Future Of Chip Design

As India’s semiconductor industry continues to surge, more tech entrepreneurs are entering the space. 

C2i Semiconductors, a fabless chip design startup, was founded earlier this year to focus on analogue and mixed-signal technologies, particularly in the power management sector for industrial and computing applications.

Incorporated by Vikram Gakhar, Preetam Charan Anand Tadeparthy, and Ramprasad Ananthaswamy in Bengaluru, the startup leverages over 100 years of combined experience in tech product development. The founders aim to position C2i Semiconductors as a globally competitive player, strengthening India’s presence in the global semiconductor design ecosystem.

While details about the startup and its founders remain limited, C2i Semiconductors secured $4 Mn from deeptech venture fund Yali Capital.


Crackle Technologies

Helping Publishers Maximise Their Earnings


While the shift to online publishing has opened up new revenue streams for news agencies, it has also brought challenges, including hefty publishing commissions and algorithm-driven hurdles. 

These issues have often pitted publishers against major tech companies. Recognising this struggle, three senior Google India executives — Harsh Mittal, Shashank Dudeja, and Jaivir Singh Nagi — decided to step in with a solution.

In 2023, the trio launched Crackle Technologies to help publishers maximise their ad revenues from digital platforms. The startup leverages advanced data analytics and predictive modelling to optimise ad monetisation, automate manual workflows, and enhance user engagement.

It also supports publishers in tackling challenges such as ad blockers, privacy regulations, and the dominance of big tech. Currently, Crackle Technologies’ offerings are in beta mode.

The SaaS startup raised $1.7 Mn in a pre-seed funding round led by We Founder Circle and AC Ventures, with participation from DeVC, Misfits Capital, Sunicon Ventures, and the founders of Impetus Technologies.


DealDox

Enhancing Sales Workflows & Deal Closures


Founded in 2022 by Mohmmed Khasim and Sandhya Hegde, DealDox is an enterprise solutions startup that streamlines and automates the quotation process for organisations. The startup claims to benefit companies of all sizes with its quotation automation tool. The tool helps enhance sales workflows and accelerates deal closures. 

It also streamlines the complex process of quotation pricing and approvals for faster decision-making. The pre-sales automation startup claims that unlike many other configure price quote (CPQ) platforms available in the market, which are focussed on serving product-led companies, DealDox solutions appeal to organisations that follow a business-to-business (B2B) business model. 

The startup recently secured $43K in a pre-seed funding round led by a Saudi Arabian NRI to expand the team at DealDox and enhance the company’s market presence. 


Healspan

Simplifying Healthcare Management

Born out of ex-Myntra exec Sabarinath U and ex-Prudent Insurance’s AVP Abhi Sinha’s shared peeve with gaps in the healthcare insurance industry, Healspan has been working on improving the Indian healthcare experience across all touch points since 2022. 

The startup offers a suite of solutions to address the financial challenges faced by healthcare providers. Its flagship product is a cloud-based claims management platform that automates the entire claims process, from initial submission to final settlement. This platform helps hospitals reduce administrative costs, improve efficiency, and accelerate cash flow.

Besides, it also operates a claims management SaaS platform that automates claim filing, tracking, and follow-up as well as an insurance desk management service to outsource insurance desk operations to streamline processes and reduce administrative burden.

Since its launch, the startup has partnered with about 40 hospitals for its offerings. It has managed to grow its ARR for the current fiscal to INR 42 Lakh. 


Induz 

Revolutionising Next-Gen Data Security

Founded in 2023 by Tirumalesh Chalamarla and Sreerama Mohan Gadam, Induz is a data security startup focussed on protecting cloud providers and data owners from breaches and unauthorised access.

The idea for Induz was sparked by the 2019 Capital One security breach, which exposed the sensitive data of over 100 Mn people across the US and Canada. 

After analysing the incident, Chalamarla (CEO) and Gadam (CTO) identified a growing need for dependable data infrastructure solutions.

With academic roots at IIT Roorkee and IISc Bangalore, the duo returned to India to address this gap. Induz is now developing advanced data security solutions, including proprietary hardware roots of trust, and working towards essential certifications to ensure reliable and compliant infrastructure.


Kiko Live 

Helping Retailers Take The Q-Commerce Plunge

Quick commerce is perhaps the biggest growth story in India this year, but the impact of the sector’s growth is said to have impacted many small-scale retailers.  

To address this, Mumbai-based husband-wife duo Alok and Neeta Chawla partnered with childhood friend Virendra Chouhan to float Kiko Live in 2020.

With its large product repository and easy-to-use seller solution, Kiko Live helps retailers build their online storefront with quick commerce offering and go live within 24 hours.

The startup has listed about 800 active retailers on its platform and processed over 500K transactions in its lifetime.

With the help of their collaboration with ONDC, the quick commerce platform gives their sellers visibility on all the ONDC buyer applications such as Paytm, PhonePe and Mystore. 


KiranaPro

Empowering Local Kiranas Stores

Founded in 2024 by serial entrepreneurs Deepak Ravindran and Dipankar Sarkar, KiranaPro is a platform to empower India’s Kirana stores in the booming quick commerce space.

Aiming to be India’s “first Kirana shopping app with lightning-fast deliveries”, the startup is working to build a platform that allows small-scale Kirana stores to connect with potential customers online and make deliveries in 10 minutes. 

Yet to be launched, the platform leverages AI and voice-driven technology to enable customers to place orders quickly and easily. As of now, it has integrated with ONDC as a buyer app and partnered with Kirana stores in Bengaluru for pilot testing.  

Its intended business model revolves around a commission-based approach, charging merchants a fee per order. The company has recently secured pre-seed funding from notable investors, including Unpopular Ventures, SL-Ventures, Blume and Turbostart. The startup plans to take its platform live soon.


Layers

Where Tech Meets Your Style 

After building a strong fan base through his tech reviews, Shlok Srivastava realised something was missing in the market. While we’re constantly bombarded with innovative gadgets, very few actually reflect personal style.

Spotting this gap, Srivastava joined forces with Neel Gogia, the founder of the influencer marketing agency IPLIX, to launch Layers in 2022. The idea was simple: let tech accessories match your vibe.

Layers kicked off with customised mobile skins, and the response was phenomenal. On the very first day, the company sold over 15,000 skins, thanks to a key feature — letting users design the look of their phone’s back.

Encouraged by this success, the duo decided to shake things up in the smartwatch segment. They teamed up with leading design studios, including Mumbai-based Thought Over Design and London-based Seymourpowell, to create a product that ticks both style and functionality boxes for Gen Z. Srivastava also invested $1 Mn to back Layers’ push into the smartwatch market.

In November, the company launched its first smartwatch, Anarc. It aims to sell 1 Lakh units of Anarc within six months and launch a new product in the audio category by early next year. 


Lets Get Happi

Mental Wellness App

After getting diagnosed with borderline depression in 2020, real estate businessman Manun Thakur began taking his mental health seriously. 

Following his subsequent visits with psychologists, he launched Veda Rehabilitation and Wellness in 2021. 

What initially started as luxury rehabilitation and mental health treatment centres later translated into a mental health app, Lets Get Happi. The app allows users to get access to round-the-clock therapy from psychologists unanimously at a price as low as INR 500.

The app also allows users to assess their mental health with tests, keep track of their progress via therapeutic journaling and get guided meditation and yoga sessions. While the app operates on a pay-per-use model, Veda plans to launch a subscription model for Lets Get Happi by the end of this month. 

Besides Lets Get Happi, Veda has established two tech products – Vibe Check for mental health analytics of a company and Healing Society App for freelancing mental health caregivers. Its core luxury rehab centres board patients for 1-3 months and get access to a host of mental well-being treatment plans. 

Since its inception, the startup has raised over $1.1 Mn from investors like Suniel Shetty, Boston Consulting Group MD Rashik Gupta, and Lotus Herbals’ chairman Nitin Passi. 


ModelsLab

Turn Text To Reality

Generative AI is transforming India’s tech landscape and shaping new entrepreneurial journeys. Ahmedabad-based tech entrepreneur Adhik Joshi is one such example. In 2022, while working with a stable diffusion model, which is commonly used for image generation, Joshi faced significant challenges.

At the time, he was running a company called Stable Diffusion API. To simplify API integration for image-generation GenAI software, Joshi developed a wrapper for the API, which quickly gained traction.

This early success prompted him to pivot and launch ModelsLab in 2022, a GenAI API startup. 

ModelsLab offers businesses a comprehensive suite of APIs for AI-powered solutions, including image generation, large language models (LLMs), video, voice, audio, 3D, and image editing.

The bootstrapped startup operates with six distinct products. Its flagship product is a dedicated enterprise server that enables users to maintain privacy while leveraging the full capabilities of the ModelsLab AI suite.

ModelsLab generates revenue through monthly subscriptions for access to its APIs. Since its inception, the startup has grown its user base to over 1,000 and achieved a revenue run rate of $1.1 Mn.


My Sivi 

AI Tutor To Improve Spoken English

The AI-based startup was founded in 2022 by Shivam Gupta, Anoop Jaiswal, and Akshay Sanghai, inspired by their struggles with English proficiency. 

Recognising a broader demand for effective language learning tools, they developed ARYA, an AI-powered conversational chatbot to help users improve their spoken English through instant feedback and corrections.

To complement its AI-driven instruction, My Sivi introduced a peer-to-peer learning feature, enabling users to practise with fellow learners. 

Operating on a freemium model, My Sivi offers basic features for free, while premium functionalities are available through subscriptions. The platform has gained significant traction, with over 2.5 Mn downloads and 6 Lakh active users. In 2024, its annualised revenue run rate surged 10x to $1.25 Mn.

Looking ahead, My Sivi plans to roll out advanced features like avatar-based interactions and text-based chats to further enhance user engagement. The startup is also seeking funding to expand its operations and reach a larger audience.


Nexstem

Merging Man & Machine

Growing up as an army brat, Siddhant Dangi often visited the Army R&R Hospital, where he saw war amputee soldiers struggle with their prosthetic limbs. Determined to help, Dangi teamed up with his classmate Deepansh Goyal to develop prosthetic limbs that could be controlled by thought.

After extensive research, once the duo succeeded in creating reliable devices that could capture brain waves, they founded Nexstem, in 2020.

The startup’s flagship product is Nexstem V1 EEG headsets, which has been designed to capture, analyse, and communicate bio-signals like EEG, ECG, and EMG.

Its 19-channel active electrode headset delivers medical-grade EEG data, while its AI-powered onboard processor converts analogue bio-signals into actionable digital data.

Nexstem licenses its intellectual property to businesses and research institutions and offers the Nexstem Instinct development kit, enabling users to build customised neurotech solutions.

Backed by InfoEdge and Gruhas, Nexstem has onboarded 50 beta clients and four business partners.


Olive Gaea

Turning Sustainability Into Opportunity

Despite growing awareness of the climate crisis, businesses often struggle to embrace sustainable practices effectively. For Vivek Tripathi, this challenge became evident during his 20-year career with companies like RIL, Cairn Oil & Gas, and CRISIL. 

An IIT-BHU graduate, Tripathi noticed that sustainability was frequently treated as a regulatory obligation rather than a business opportunity.

Driven by this realisation, Tripathi joined forces with fellow sustainability advocate Jessica Scopacasa to establish Olive Gaea, a climate tech startup, in 2022. 

The Kanpur-based startup has developed an AI-driven SaaS platform, Zero — which provides a comprehensive carbon accounting and management tool to businesses to measure, manage, reduce, offset, and report carbon emissions. The platform simplifies data collection, offers actionable insights for carbon reduction, and leverages AI to develop strategies for achieving net-zero goals.

Beyond the SaaS platform, Olive Gaea provides sustainability consulting services in India and the MENA region. Since its launch, the startup has partnered with 27 businesses and raised $1 Mn in funding from Cornerstone Ventures.


Pelocal

Simplifying Digital Payments For Indian Merchants 

Founded in 2021 by Vivekanand Tripathi, Chennai-based Pelocal is a fintech startup that simplifies digital payments for Indian merchants and businesses.

Pelocal streamlines customer management and automates payment collection, making the payment request process more efficient. 

By helping businesses optimise revenue through automated workflows, the platform ensures seamless transactions for merchants.

Over the past year, Pelocal’s monthly payment transactions have surged from 500K to 3 Mn, with the startup aiming to reach 10 Mn monthly transactions within the next year. 


PetStrong

Nourishing Your Furry Friends 

Serial entrepreneur and lifelong pet parent Nisheeth Kumar founded PetStrong in 2024 to address the many challenges he experienced in his pet parenting journey.

Gurugram-based PetStrong offers affordable, protein-rich pet foods, including meal boosters, supplements, fresh meals, treats, and gravy options through its website and ecommerce marketplaces like Amazon and Supertail. 

By tailoring its offerings to suit local diets, PetStrong aims to “Indianise” the pet food market. Key products include a gut health charger and a protein meal booster for dogs.

Besides its range of food, the startup’s key offering is its dog nutrition calculator, which allows pet parents to create personalised balanced meal plans for their pets based on individual requirements. By entering details such as breed, age, weight, and activity level, users receive tailored diet recommendations to meet their pet’s unique needs.

In just two months, PetStrong has sold 10,000 products across four categories, featuring around 30 SKUs. With fresh funding from Auxano Capital, the startup plans to expand to six categories with over 100 SKUs by February 2025. 


Plus Gold

Gold Savings Reimagined

Founded by Veer Mishra and Raj Parakh in 2022, Plus Gold is a full-stack platform designed to make gold savings and investments more accessible. 

Available on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store, the Plus Gold app lets users save in digital gold with flexible amounts or through fixed monthly SIPs. These savings can be redeemed as cash or jewellery, with up to 5% additional benefits.

Plus Gold generates revenue through transaction commissions on its app and jewellery sales under its in-house brand, Meera. The platform has over 5 Lakh downloads and 1 Lakh monthly active users. Notably, half of its transacting customers come from non-metro cities, showcasing its wide appeal.

In 2024, the fintech startup raised $1.2 Mn in a seed funding round led by JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation, with participation from Venture Catalysts and Signal Ventures. 


Pulse

Enabling Product Teams To Make Smart Decisions

In his nearly eight-year stint as a software engineer, Yellow AI’s VP Haren Chelle identified a gap in how customer insights often failed to translate into actionable product improvement for tech companies. 

Sharing his frustration were his fellow software engineers Alok Thatikunta and Vatsal Singhal. To address this gap, the trio banded together to float Pulse in August 2024. 

The startup assists SaaS companies with an AI platform that harnesses the voice of customers (VoC) to drive impactful business outcomes.

The platform captures customer feedback from multiple touchpoints, analyses structured and unstructured data, and automates key tasks such as feature extraction, prioritisation, and product hierarchy creation.

Seamlessly integrating with CRMs, customer support tools, call transcription software and analytics systems, Pulse provides a unified dashboard to consolidate and analyse data. 

Its real-time insights help businesses uncover pain points, address feature requests, and identify areas for improvement.


Rio.money

Making Credit As Easy As UPI

India’s journey from treating cashless transactions as an afterthought to making UPI payments an indispensable asset has been remarkable. While players like PhonePe, Paytm and Navi have largely fuelled this revolution, many new players are emerging in the space. 

One such gap was identified by Navi’s founding team member and vice president Riya Bhattacharya and angel investor Vivek Amarnani. They identified the need for a platform that integrates credit into everyday transactions, big or small.

This led to the inception of startup Rio.Money in 2023. The fintech startup allows users to apply for UPI credit cards, which it launched last month in partnership with YES BANK and NPCI. 

Through its digital credit card, users can make purchases at over 100 Mn merchant locations across India. 

The Rio credit card is compatible with all NPCI-recognised third-party application providers like BHIM, PhonePe, GPay, and Cred. Users can track their credit expenses on the Rio app, which is currently available on the Google Play Store. 


Sharang Shakti

Redefining The Future Of Aerial Security

With a keen interest in tech-oriented defence solutions, IIT-Delhi alumni Karan Goyal, Chirag Singla, Gaurav Kumar, Jitendra Singh and Rishabh Choudhary were united by their collective aspirations to build defence tech solutions that can aid the Indian military prowess. 

The result was Sharang Shakti. Founded in 2023, the Gurugram-based startup’s first product, hantR, is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of short-range airborne threat detection

Besides this, the startup is currently aiming to get its offerings ready for trials and secure initial orders. 

The startup raised $600K in its pre-seed funding round from investors AUM Ventures and Venture Highway.


Swish

Delivering Food In 10 Minutes 

Amid the fierce race to dominate the 10-minute food delivery market, Bengaluru-based Swish wants to become the ‘David’ challenging the ‘Goliaths’ of quick commerce, including Blinkit, Swiggy, and Zepto.

The startup was founded in August 2024 by Aniket Shah, Saran S, and Ujjwal Sukheja, who were previously part of the founding team of the crypto investment platform Pillow. 

Spotting a unique overlap between quick commerce and food delivery, the trio ventured into the space with a fresh perspective.

Since its launch, Swish has been delivering quick bites to Bengaluru’s HSR Layout and Bellandur residents in just 10 minutes. 

With over 10K app downloads across Google Play and Apple’s App Store, the startup has quickly found its footing in the bustling delivery market.

Swish operates through two cloud kitchens. Now, armed with a fresh $2 Mn in seed funding, the startup is gearing up for a nationwide expansion. 

It counts VC firm Accel, former Swiggy Instamart head Karthik Gurumurthy, and Urban Company founders Abhiraj Bhal and Varun Khaitan as its investors. In the short term, it plans to establish 150 delivery “centres” across key areas in Bengaluru.


Tailcall

Improving Developer Efficiency Through GraphQL

As tech companies push to maximise developer productivity, managing APIs in increasingly complex applications remains a significant challenge. 

Developers often grapple with streamlining data flow, managing infrastructure, and cutting operational costs.

Identifying these pain points, Tushar Mathur — an experienced tech leader with stints at Dream11, Ola, and Practo — founded Tailcall in 2022. 

Based in Bengaluru, Tailcall is an API integration platform that focuses on simplifying and optimising API development for modern tech environments.

The startup leverages GraphQL, a popular data query and manipulation language, to help developers seamlessly integrate existing data sources and APIs.

By offering best practices for GraphQL implementation, Tailcall helps developers integrate their existing data sources and APIs more efficiently, improving productivity and reducing the complexity associated with traditional REST APIs. 

Tailcall was selected in Peak XV’s 10th cohort of Surge back in October.


Ten x You

Creating A Large Global Sports Brand From India

After months of speculations, Swiggy Instamart architect Karthik Gurumurthy took to LinkedIn to announce the launch of his new venture, Ten x You

Founded in July, Gurumurthy’s new startup Ten x You is an activewear brand, which plans to sell cricket accessories, gear, footwear, apparel and equipment related to the sport in the future.

The startup will also see cricketer Sachin Tendulkar take the helm as its co-CEO. Leveraging Tendulkar’s years of experience on the field with his passion for sports, the startup wants to create high-quality footwear, apparel, equipment, gear and accessories. 

Currently, it is focussed on cricket but has plans to foray into other sports as well. Drawing inspiration from Nike’s dominance in basketball and Li Ning’s success in badminton, Ten x You seeks to become a leading sports brand in India.

As of now, the startup plans to take its online platform live shortly. 


Theranautilus

Nanorobotics For Dental Care

For decades, the concept of robots and their potential has captivated our imaginations. While popular culture often portrays them in films like Terminator, scientists and researchers have been working to create robots that can benefit humanity. 

For veteran physicists Ambarish Ghosh, Debayan Dasgupta and Dr Peddi Shanmukh Srinivas, the dream of building such robots is nearing reality. 

Since 2020, the trio of scientists has been developing magnetically controlled nanorobots under their startup, Theranautilus. These robots are designed to navigate through dental tissues and deliver precise treatments.

Made from biodegradable materials such as food-grade glass and trace amounts of iron, the nanorobots can locate damaged areas within teeth and form bone-like structures to treat conditions like dental hypersensitivity. 

So far, the startup has reported promising results in animal trials. Looking ahead, they plan to begin human trials in 2025, aiming to make the technology commercially available by 2026.

Once in the market, these robots are expected to be an over-the-counter available device for moderate to mild cases that patients can use at home, and a professional version for dental clinics for severe cases. The treatment is expected to be priced under INR 2,500 per unit.

Last month, the founders bagged $1.2 Mn in a seed funding round led by pi Ventures. Golden Sparrow Ventures and angel investors, including Tracxn founder and CEO Abhishek Goyal and Groww founder and CEO Lalit Keshre, also participated in the round.


Thesys

Designing The Future Of AI Interaction

As GenAI dominates the tech landscape in 2024, businesses are pouring resources into building AI agents that enhance user experiences and boost efficiency.  

While the potential for AI agents to be dynamic and personalised is considerable, the current user experience is often constrained.

To correct this, ex-DevRev employees Rabi Shanker Guha and Parikshit Deshmukh founded Thesys in January this year. The startup allows businesses to craft their AI agents to their full potential. 

It has built a visual collaboration tool, “Generative UI” platform, which enables teams to ideate, visualise and ship stunning UI for AI agents. 

Its platform helps businesses build interfaces that can respond and adjust to individual user behaviour, unlocking new levels of customisation.

Last month, the Bengaluru-based startup raised $4 Mn in a seed funding round led by Together Fund. The round also saw participation from 8VC.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]





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