Jury to pick winners today; Shakeup in the EV race

The day has arrived! The distinguished jury of The Economic Times Startup Awards 2025, led by India’s former G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, will convene in Bengaluru today to select the brightest stars in India’s startup galaxy. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ ETtech Done Deals
■ Urban Company’s buildover play
■ Cloudera’s India bet

ET Startup Awards 2025: Elite jury meets today to pick startup stars of the year

An elite jury, led by former G20 Sherpa for India Amitabh Kant, will meet in Bengaluru on Thursday to select the winners of the 11th edition of India’s most distinguished award for entrepreneurial excellence — The Economic Times Startup Awards (ETSA).

The jury will assemble to recognise the best entrepreneurial leaders who have emerged from a challenging few years for the startup ecosystem.

Setting context: ETSA was launched in 2015 and has since chronicled Indian entrepreneurship and innovation over the years.

It will recognise founders who have built companies without external funding, those who have successfully innovated and established businesses in the social enterprise sector, and entrepreneurs who have created a comeback.

The awards will also honour students who have started up on campus, female entrepreneurs in the Woman Ahead category, and the top investor of the year in the Midas Touch segment. We will also present the ultimate award — the Startup of the Year.

Meet the members of our elite jury here.

Over the past few days, we have also announced the nominees for our eight categories. Find the shortlisted names for each accolade below:

Ather overtakes Ola in EV sales as rare earth curbs bite

A rare earth supply crunch has shaken up India’s electric two-wheeler leaderboard.

For the first time in months, Ather Energy has surged past Ola Electric in sales, propelled by continued supply-side disruptions and modifying consumer momentum.

EV reshuffle: In the first 27 days of August, Ola Electric sold 13,688 vehicles, slipping to third with a 17.3% market share. Ather Energy nudged ahead to second place with a 17.9% share, according to Vahan data. Both were behind TVS Motor, which retained its lead with a commanding 24.8% share.

Shift in ranks: Legacy brands saw contrasting fortunes. TVS Motor held steady, while Hero MotoCorp shiftd to fourth with 13.4%. Bajaj Auto slipped to fifth, as supply challenges mount.

Ola’s push: Ola Electric recently received compliance clearance under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for its Gen 3 scooters. At its first annual general meeting (AGM) post-listing, it also obtained shareholder approval to reallocate IPO funds and delay spconcludeing timelines, a shift seen as a response to ongoing challenges.

Market watch: On Tuesday, Ola Electric’s shares closed at Rs 50.8 on the BSE, still well below its Rs 76 issue price. Ather Energy gained 3.5% from the previous trade to close at Rs 431.8.

Supply crunch: Rare earth magnets—critical to EVs—remain a key bottleneck. In July, several EV buildrs, including Ather Energy, Bajaj Auto, and TVS Motor, had warned of potential production cuts due to limited supplies from China.

Also Read: Ather Energy CEO flags supply disruption in Q2 on rare earth magnet crisis

Banking infra startup TransBnk raises $25 million

Vaibhav Tambe, cofounder, TransBnkBanking infrastructure startup TransBnk has bagged $25 million in a new funding round.

Deal details:

The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners’ second India-focapplyd fund.
Arkam Ventures and Fundamentum Partnership joined in, alongside returning investors 8i Ventures, Accion Venture Labs, and GMO Venture Partners.
The Mumbai-based firm will utilise the funds to expand into Southeast Asia and the Middle East, while doubling down on product development and technology hiring.

Founder’s speak: “These are very large transaction banking mandates that typically require certain net worth criteria, which, of course, is now not a problem for us from a growth perspective,” declared founder Vaibhav Tambe. The startup aims to meet these requirements as it positions itself as a tech service provider to banks.

TransBnk is seeing to ride the wave of banks relocating away from old, capex-heavy systems to more modular, opex-driven alternatives–starting with payment and lconcludeing rails.

Also Read: Fintech startup Decentro raises Rs 30 crore, will shift domicile to India

Cumin Co raises $1.5 million in round led by Fireside Ventures

(L-R) Niharika Joshi and Udit Lekhi, cofounders, Cumin Co.Kitchenware brand Cumin Co. has raised $1.5 million (around Rs 13.2 crore) in its first institutional round. Fireside Ventures led the round, with Huddle Ventures also participating. The funds will assist expand enamel-based coating capacity in India and boost supply chain operations, Niharika Joshi, cofounder of Cumin Co, informed us.