Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (November 26, 2025)

From labour law reform guides for founders to BII’s playbook for startup investments in India, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Featured stories

The women who defined India’s digital story in 2025

Women tech leaders have always been known for their distinct, detail-driven leadership and collaborative approach—as they push for equitable tech adoption, transparent processes, and long-term goals.

They drive billion-dollar businesses, balancing innovation with responsibility. They also bring a people-first approach to technologies that shape everyday lives and possess an instinctive understanding of inclusion. Read more.

Labour law reforms: A step-by-step compliance guide for founders

For over a decade, Indian founders have urged policymakers for one thing: simplicity. Labour compliance, fragmented across outdated statutes, stifled growth and left startups guessing where flexibility ended and penalties began.

That era seems to be almost over. India’s four labour codes, the most significant rewrite of workplace rules since Independence, deliver clarity and uniformity but demand greater accountability. Read more.

Latest news

AdvantEdge founders partially exit Rapido, earn 11.5x return on Fund I

AdvantEdge—one of the early backers of Rapido—has partially exited the ride-hailing company. This comes as the investment firm looks to raise its third fund to back companies that accelerate the transition from internal combustion engine to electric vehicles. Read more.

BII’s playbook for startup investments in India

British International Investment (BII), in its strategy for 2022-2026, had declared that 30% of its investments would be ringfenced for the climate sector. In India, BII’s investment commitment in the space is over 40%, says Shilpa Kumar, BII’s Managing Director and Head of India. Read more.

Funding news

3ev raises Rs 120 Cr in Series A round

3ev Industries has secured Rs 120 crore in a Series A funding round led by Mumbai-based Mahanagar Gas Ltd. This marks the city-gas distributor’s first strategic investment in India’s electric mobility market. The round also saw participation from Equentis Angel Fund and Thackersey Group. Read more.

Mirana Toys raises Rs 57.5 Cr in Series A

Mirana Toys, a vertically integrated toy tech startup, has raised Rs 57.5 crore in a Series A round led by Arkam Ventures, with participation from Accel, Info Edge, and Riverwalk Holdings. Read more.

LightSpeed Photonics raises $6.5M led by Pi Ventures

LightSpeed Photonics, a deeptech startup working on optical interconnect technology for data centres supporting AI and high-performance computing, has raised $6.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by pi Ventures. Read more.

AxiTrust raises Rs 23.5 Cr in seed round

AxiTrust has raised Rs 23.5 crore in seed funding led by General Catalyst, with participation from Atrium Angels, YAN Network, and Supermorpheous.

The company is building digital infrastructure to enable the adoption of insurance-backed surety bonds that can replace collateral-heavy bank guarantees. Over Rs 15 lakh crore of MSME working capital is currently locked as collateral, and surety bonds could help free this capital and improve credit access.

Recent policy changes and growing institutional interest have accelerated the shift to surety-based solutions. AxiTrust aims to connect insurers, financial institutions and procurement platforms to support this transition.

Enerzi bags Rs 16.5 Cr led by Capital-A

Enerzi, a deeptech manufacturer focused on microwave plasma-based hydrogen production and engineered carbons, has received Rs 16.5 crore in a seed round led by Capital A, with participation from 8x Ventures and several angel investors.

Based in Belgaum, Enerzi is developing microwave plasma reactors that convert methane into clean hydrogen while producing carbon nanopowder, improving hydrogen economics and enabling applications in batteries, composites, and advanced materials.

The company also builds industrial microwave heating systems used in sectors such as rubber processing and foundry operations. The new funding will help Enerzi scale manufacturing and advance commercial deployment.

ONYA secures Rs 5.5 Cr in pre-seed round

ONYA, a lab-grown diamond jewellery brand, has raised Rs 5.5 crore in a pre-seed round led by Zeropearl VC, with participation from angels, including the founders of MyGate and UrbanVault, as well as Crescendo Industries’ Alkendra Pratap Singh. The funds will support ONYA’s retail expansion across major Indian cities.

ONYA has grown to four high street stores in Bengaluru within 11 months and has reached a monthly revenue run rate of Rs 2 crore. The company has also added Gaurav Choudhary, former Director of Products at xto10x, as Co-founder.

Its pieces feature IGI-certified lab-grown diamonds set in BIS hallmarked gold. With the new investment, the brand plans to broaden its product range, open more experience-led stores, and cater to India’s growing community of conscious luxury buyers.

Arctus Aerospace raises $2.6M pre-seed funding

Arctus Aerospace, which is developing large unmanned aircraft capable of flying at 45,000 feet for up to 24 hours, has raised $2.6 million in a pre-seed round from Version One Ventures, South Park Commons, gradCapital and angels, including Balaji Srinivasan and Srinivas Narayan of OpenAI.

The company is building a deep engineering stack in high-altitude, long-endurance aviation, a capability that has so far been limited to defence programmes and costly satellite systems.

Arctus plans to offer high-altitude intelligence at about $100 an hour, cutting the cost of high-resolution Earth observation and enabling near real-time data for sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and climate.

Other news

Drishti Group appoints Vipan Joshi as CFO

Drishti Group has appointed Vipan Joshi as its chief financial officer, marking a significant step in strengthening the company's financial governance and preparing the organisation for its next phase of institutional growth.

A chartered accountant with over 23 years of experience, Joshi brings deep financial leadership across diverse sectors, having held senior roles at Thermax, Snapdeal, and Grofers, and most recently at Aakash Institute, where he served for nine years.

At Drishti, he will oversee financial strategy, risk management, compliance, and long-term capital planning. His mandate includes building world-class financial systems, driving fiscal discipline, and supporting the organisation’s journey towards scalability and IPO readiness.

MapmyIndia partners with Zoho CRM

MapmyIndia and Zoho have partnered to bring MapmyIndia’s Address Capture and Nearby Lead Finder features into Zoho CRM. 

The integration allows users to capture verified addresses, view customer locations, identify nearby prospects and optimise sales routes using MapmyIndia’s indigenous mapping data. It is designed to improve operational efficiency, customer service and location-based decision-making for businesses.

The partnership highlights the growing capabilities of India’s technology ecosystem, as homegrown geospatial solutions gain wider enterprise adoption and demonstrate the precision and reliability of indigenous innovation in a global market.

Chargeup partners with Eleven

Chargeup, an EV tech platform for last-mile drivers, partnered with Eleven to enable Rs 50 crore in Green Clean Loans and offer integrated financial and health security for India’s driving workforce. 

The collaboration brings together Eleven’s group companies, SV Credit Line, aiqa Health, and Finncub, to provide EV loans, healthcare benefits and a streamlined digital process, all supported by Chargeup’s technology platform. 

The programme also introduces a daily hardship allowance that compensates drivers for income lost during hospitalisation. Chargeup has already enabled EV ownership for more than 8,000 drivers and facilitated over Rs 8.64 crore in EV loan disbursements, with the new initiative aiming to widen access and protection for last-mile workers.

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)