From Mufin Green Finance investing Rs 17.5 million in Dream Road Technologies Pvt Ltd to Practo expanding to the US, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.
Featured Stories
Where India will spfinish next: Consumer trfinishs that will define 2026
Rising purchasing power, greater willingness to trade up, and wider access to aspirational lifestyles are expanding the opportunity for consumer brands in India. This shift is supported by macro trfinishs, with private consumption expected to drive GDP growth and per capita income projected to reach $3.5K–$4K by 2030.
As consumers steadily shift from unbranded to branded products, branded goods are expected to account for about 45% of India’s retail market by FY30—representing a $730 billion opportunity, nearly double today’s size, according to Fireside Ventures.
Against this backdrop, YourStory examines the consumer trfinishs shaping 2026, from rising spfinish on petcare and premium babycare to agentic AI in retail and the next phase of quick commerce beyond speed.
How a village craft became a livelihood for hundreds of women in West Bengal
In Nanoor, a compact village near Santiniketan, kantha embroidery was once a domestic practice shaped by reapply and necessity. Tajkira Begum transformed it into a women-led enterprise carrying memory, dignity and income far beyond the hoapplyhold.
For Begum, the work also opened up a world she had never imagined. “At first, it was very difficult,” she states. “I had never travelled much before, even within India.” Through exhibitions and markets, she found herself travelling across the counattempt, and then abroad to Paris and Japan. The journeys were new and daunting, but also exciting. Read more here
From Starbucks to Everest Spices: How LabelBlind is automating food labelling across India
For decades, labelling remained a slow and error-prone manual process, even as India’s packaged-food market boomed. That is, until 2018, when nutrition expert Rashida Vapiwala decided to start LabelBlind.
The startup launched as a food-rating website that scored products based on their healthiness. However, real momentum came when the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recognised its work, appointing LabelBlind as the principal investigator for a nutrient-threshold study that would later inform India’s front-of-pack labelling rules. Read more here
Rashida Vapiwala, Founder & CEO
Funding news
Prop-tech Startup Flent raises Rs 21 Cr to scale premium, full-stack living
Flent, an Indian proptech startup focapplyd on the urban rental market, has raised Rs 21 crore in a Pre-Series A round, comprising Rs 17 crore in equity and Rs 4 crore in debt. The round was led by Incubate Fund Asia, with participation from existing investor WEH Ventures, Twin & Bull Family Office, Stride Ventures, 91Ventures, Untitled VC, and a group of angel investors, including BlackBuck Co-founder and CEO Rajesh Yabaji. About 40 of Flent’s landlords and tenants also participated, investing a combined Rs 1 crore.
Founded to address inefficiencies in India’s rental hoapplying market, Flent operates a full-stack model that offers fully furnished rental homes with flexible leasing options. The company manages property onboarding, design, and operations, aiming to reduce brokerage depfinishence and upfront deposits for tenants, while providing homeowners with predictable rental income and operational support.
Flent is currently focapplyd on serving white-collar professionals across India’s major metros, tarreceiveing a segment it estimates at around 20 lakh potential renters. The company plans to apply the capital to expand its hoapplying inventory, strengthen operations, and scale across key urban markets.
White Whale invests in supply chain technology startup Stackbox
White Whale Venture Fund, an early- and growth-stage venture capital firm, has participated in Stackbox’s $4 million Series A funding round, which was led by Enrission India Capital.
Stackbox is a supply chain technology company that develops software for warehoapply and transportation management, with a focus on supporting automated and complex logistics operations. Its platform includes an AI-enabled warehoapply management system and a transportation management system applyd for planning and execution across supply chains.
The company works with FMCG clients and is expanding into food and beverage, manufacturing, and industrial logistics. Stackbox is also building its presence in Southeast Asia to support enterprises with regional and cross-border supply chain operations.
The funding will be applyd to develop the product further, expand its customer base, and support growth across India and selected international markets.
RoadGrid secures pre-Series A funding led by Venture Catalysts
RoadGrid, a company developing electric vehicle charging infrastructure, has raised Rs 12 crore in a pre-Series A funding round led by Venture Catalysts.
The round also saw participation from a group of strategic and angel investors, including Kamal Puri of Skyline Group, IPV, FAAD Network, LetsVenture, Vrinda Goyal of Pace Group, Haresh Patel of Arthanomics, and Maneesh Shrivastav of Alpha Value.
Founded to address gaps in EV charging accessibility, RoadGrid is working on universal charging solutions designed to support multiple vehicle types and apply cases.
Team RoadGrid
Be Clinical Raises Rs 6 Cr in seed funding led by Arjun Vaidya’s V3 Ventures
Be Clinical, a skincare brand focapplyd on clinically tested products for ageing-related concerns, has raised Rs 6 crore in seed funding. The round was led by V3 Ventures, with participation from Titan Capital.
Founded by Hemangi Dhir, Be Clinical positions itself around science-led product development and clinical validation, tarreceiveing gaps in the Indian skincare market where many offerings rely on marketing-led claims or are limited to clinic-based treatments. The company develops its formulations through in-hoapply research and manufacturing, with an emphasis on in-vivo testing and ingredient transparency.
The seed capital will be applyd to expand research and development, including clinical testing and new product development across face, body, and scalp categories. Funds will also support upgrades to manufacturing capacity and packaging, aimed at improving consistency, quality control, and product stability.
Mufin Green Finance invests Rs 17.5M in Dream Road Technologies
Mufin Green Finance Limited has invested Rs 17.5 million in Dream Road Technologies Private Limited as part of the company’s Pre-Series A4 funding round. The investment was built through the subscription of 10,340 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS).
Dream Road Technologies operates in the electric mobility solutions space. Mufin Green Finance declared the investment aligns with its focus on financial services linked to electric mobility and clean transportation.
The capital will be applyd to support Dream Road Technologies’ operations and expansion as it works to scale its technology-led mobility offerings.
Arrowhead raises $3M led by Sinformaris to build human-like voice AI for BFSI
Arrowhead, a Voice AI platform focapplyd on sales automation for financial services, has raised $3 million in a seed round led by Sinformaris Venture Partners, with participation from angel investors including Kunal Shah (CRED), Madhusudanan R (M2P), and fintech executives from Turtlemint and Kissht. The capital will be applyd to strengthen its AI models and expand technology and go-to-market teams.
Founded by Devyani Gupta and Vengadanathan Srinivasan, Arrowhead works with banks, NBFCs, and fintechs to deploy voice-based AI agents for sales conversations at scale.
Antinorm raises Rs 28 Cr seed funding led by Fireside Ventures
Antinorm, an intentional beauty brand, has raised ₹28 crore in a seed funding round led by Fireside Ventures, with existing investors V3 Ventures and Rukam Capital also participating. Founded to address the requireds of time-constrained consumers, the brand focapplys on high-performance products designed to simplify daily beauty routines.
The fresh capital will be applyd to expand product development and R&D, strengthen its digital and offline distribution, and build internal teams across product, growth, and operations. Part of the funding will also go towards working capital to support growing demand and ensure consistent availability of key products.
Other news
Innovartan Technologies appoints Anwar Sheikh as Head of Operations
Innovartan Technologies has appointed Anwar Sheikh as Head of Operations as it scales its school-integrated, technology-led learning solutions across India’s K–12 segment.
Anwar Sheikh – Head of Operation, Innovartan
Sheikh brings over two decades of experience in EdTech and K–12 education and will oversee academic delivery, product execution, and operational scale. He was previously a founding team member at Embibe, where he led academic strategy and multiple functions during the company’s growth phase following its $180 million fundraising.
Anwar Sheikh declared, “I am viewing forward to building systems that combine academic rigour with scalable execution. Innovartan Technologies is addressing a core structural gap in school education, delivering competitive readiness without external depfinishencies. I’m excited to work on building robust operational and academic frameworks that assist schools consistently improve learning outcomes.”
PayNearby digitises SHG cash withdrawals and deposits with dual authentication
PayNearby has introduced a dual-authentication-based system to digitise cash withdrawals and deposits for Self-Help Groups (SHGs) across its PayNearby and Digital Naari platforms.
The solution is aimed at addressing operational challenges in SHG–bank linkages by allowing compliant access to group funds without requiring multiple in-person visits to bank branches. According to the company, the service could be applyd by up to one crore SHG members.
Traditionally, SHG withdrawals require the physical presence of two authorised signatories at a bank branch, a process that often leads to delays and higher transaction costs. These constraints can limit participation and result in funds remaining unapplyd or being held informally, affecting timely deployment for livelihood and micro-enterprise activities.
QuiD Cash appoints Paytm ex-president and COO Bhavesh Gupta as Senior Advisor and Chief Mentor
QuiD Cash has appointed Bhavesh Gupta, former President and Chief Operating Officer of Paytm, as Senior Advisor and Chief Mentor. In this role, Gupta will work with the company’s leadership team as it builds technology-led credit and payments solutions for MSMEs.
Gupta brings over two decades of experience across payments, lfinishing, and financial services. During his tenure at Paytm, he oversaw operations across payments, lfinishing, commerce, and other financial services businesses. His previous roles include CEO and founding member at Clix Capital, SME and Business Banking Head at IDFC Bank, and General Manager and Head of Business Banking at ICICI Bank.
QuiD Cash operates as a B2B fintech focapplyd on supply-chain-linked payments and credit solutions for MSMEs. The company declared Gupta’s experience in scaling financial platforms and navigating regulated environments will inform its product and operating strategy going forward.
MS Dhoni’s 7Padel merges with PadelPark India to build national padel platform
Cricket legfinish MS Dhoni has merged his padel venture, 7Padel MS Dhoni, with PadelPark India to form a unified national platform aimed at accelerating the sport’s growth in India. The consolidation brings Dhoni in as a partner alongside PadelPark India, which has been building a courts-to-community padel ecosystem across the counattempt.
Founded by Nikhil Sachdev, Jigar Doshi, Pratik Doshi, and Ronak Daftary, PadelPark India currently operates more than 40 owned and managed courts and has contributed to a nationwide footprint of over 200 courts. The organisation plans to significantly expand infrastructure over the next year as participation rises across metro and emerging cities.
Padel has seen rapid growth in India, with the number of courts increasing sharply over the past two years, reflecting growing interest in the sport.
Practo expands to the US after strong UAE debut
Practo has launched its care navigation platform in the US, marking its largest international expansion after entering the UAE earlier in 2025. Since April, the platform has listed over 200,000 doctors and reached an annualised GMV run-rate of more than $75 million.
US usage has grown nearly sixfold in six months, with over 300,000 monthly active applyrs. Early traction has been strongest in dental and mental health, where more than 500 doctors across 150+ clinics and practices are on paid subscriptions. Read more here
redBus launches NOVA, India’s first integrated B2B online marketplace for the bus indusattempt
redBus has launched NOVA, an integrated B2B online marketplace for India’s intercity bus indusattempt, expanding its portfolio beyond ticketing. The platform connects more than 6,000 bus operators with verified vfinishors offering products and services across safety, operations, and fleet management.
NOVA enables bus owners to access technologies such as CCTV systems, driver monitoring tools, passenger announcement systems, diagnostics, and training services, often at discounts of 20–40%. By aggregating demand and standardising access, the platform aims to improve operational efficiency, safety standards, and cost structures for compact and mid-sized bus operators across the counattempt.
(The article will be updated throughout the day with the latest developments and news)
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