Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (June 4, 2025)

YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Wednesday, June 4, 2025.

Jun 4, 2025 - 13:10

Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (June 4, 2025)

From how FMCG giant Marico navigates quick commerce frenzy and D2C ecosystem to Hyundai Motor and Kia offloading their stakes in Ola Electric, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Featured stories

Marico CEO on D2C buyouts and quick commerce hype

Over the last eight years, the FMCG giant Marico has made four acquisitions, either partially or in full. These include men's grooming player Beardo, nutrition brand Plix, ayurvedic beauty brand Just Herbs, and healthy snacking brand True Elements.

The Parachute and Saffola owner has stuck to its strategy of acquiring a minority stake initially and working with founders for a few years to scale the brand before offering a complete exit.

In an interview with YourStory, Marico MD and CEO Saugata Gupta talks about the company's acquisition strategy for D2C brands, the challenges and benefits of scaling digital brands in the FMCG landscape, and the company’s run with quick commerce. Read more.

What Pride means to us: Queer voices on identity, community, and celebration

Pride Month unfolds in a flurry of celebration and slogans, four queer individuals—each shaped by their intersections of caste, gender, indigeneity, and class—reflect on what Pride truly means to them.

From memories of erasure and rejection to radical self-acceptance and collective resistance, their perspectives highlight Pride as more than a moment of visibility, but as a space for remembrance, assertion, and building communities where people can live authentically. Read more.

This space tech startup is making reusable launch vehicles

Ethereal Exploration Guild’s goal is ambitious: to make one of India’s first reusable launch vehicles (RLVs).

Founded in 2022, Manu J Nair set up Ethereal Exploration Guild with fellow co-founders COO Shubhayu Sardar and CTO Prashanth Sharma. With a core team of 31 engineers, the startup is headquartered in Bengaluru.

“The economies of scale, particularly in the medium-lift segment, which currently holds 91% of the commercial market, made the decision clear,” he says. Read more.

Latest news

Shanti Ekambaram of Kotak Mahindra Bank top woman professional in India

Candere and Hurun India on Wednesday unveiled the inaugural edition of the 2025 Candere Hurun India Women Leaders List.

The list recognises 97 outstanding women making a significant impact across key sectors of the Indian economy. It features women leaders in nine categories: professionals, first-generation wealth creators, next-generation leaders, investors, philanthropists, young women leaders, artists, most-followed influencer founders, and most-followed celebrity investors. Read more .

Godfather of AI Yoshua Bengio launches non-profit LawZero to keep AI from lying

Yoshua Bengio, popularly known as one of the 'Godfathers of AI', launched LawZero, a non-profit organisation to build safer AI systems.

The new venture brings together leading AI researchers to focus on safety-first development, addressing growing concerns about dangerous capabilities emerging in AI models. These behaviours include deception, self-preservation, and goal misalignment. Read more.

Hyundai Motor, Kia offload stake in EV-maker Ola Electric

South Korean automotive major Hyundai Motor on Tuesday offloaded its stake in EV-maker Ola Electric, exiting the firm by selling shares worth Rs 552 crore in an open market transaction.

The firm, which held a 2.47% stake in Ola Electric, sold more than 10.8 crore shares at an average price of Rs 50.7 apiece, data from NSE showed. Read more.

Accel, Peak XV, Quick Routes pare stake in Zinka Logistics

Early investors of truck-aggregation platform BlackBuck, run by Zinka Logistics, have offloaded significant stakes in a series of bulk deals, just over six months after the company went public.

Flipkart, Accel, and Peak XV exit stakes in Zinka Logistics via bulk deals; new investors including ADIA and SBI MF pick up 4.7% in the logistics unicorn, BlackBuck.

Flipkart, through Flipkart Investments Private, also diluted its entire 6% stake in Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail through block deals worth Rs 583 crore. Read more.

Bessemer hires Cisco’s Pankaj Mitra to lead AI, Cybersecurity bets

Global venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners has appointed Pankaj Mitra as a partner in its India investment team, where he will focus on opportunities in artificial intelligence (AI), enterprise technology, and cybersecurity.

Mitra, who brings more than 25 years of experience across corporate investing and product strategy, joins from Cisco, where he led M&A (mergers and acquisition) and investment efforts for the tech giant’s global customer experiences unit as well as its India operations. Read more.

Grocery startup KiranaPro hit by cyberattack

ONDC-powered quick commerce startup KiranaPro has been forced to suspend operations following a cyberattack that wiped out its app code and customer data.

Due to inoperability for the past five days, the company's partnerships worth Rs 5 crore are on hold. It is also losing out on 1 lakh download requests daily and 2k daily orders on its app, KiranaPro's Co-founder and CEO Deepak Ravindran confirmed to YourStory.

The data hack destroyed the company's app code as well as its bank of sensitive customer information. It comes at a time when the company is gearing up to close its seed round with investors. Read more.

Senior Zepto exec Vivek Prasad resigns, joins Apollo Brands

IPO-bound Zepto's Senior Vice President for Private Brands, Vivek Prasad, has resigned from the quick commerce firm and joined Apollo Brands as President, a source familiar with the development told YourStory.

Prasad, who joined the quick commerce unicorn in February 2024, has previously worked with ecommerce players like Blinkit, Unizap, and Foodpanda, among others. Read more.

Quick commerce unicorn Zepto unlikely to go public in 2026

Quick commerce unicorn Zepto is unlikely to file its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) this year, as it has deferred its IPO plans to 2026, according to people familiar with the development.

The company had been gearing up to file its IPO papers and even selected bankers Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Axis Capital to pursue the listing, according to media reports. Read more.

CAQM directs wiping out ICE vehicles in commercial fleets in Delhi-NCR

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the National Capital Region and adjoining areas issued orders directing motor vehicle aggregators, delivery service providers, and ecommerce entities to stop inducting petrol and diesel-run vehicles into their existing fleet, with effect from January 1, 2026.

According to the orders issued, only CNG or electric three-wheeler autorickshaws shall be additionally inducted into the existing fleet of vehicles. Read more

Funding news

True Diamond raises Rs 26 Cr in pre-Series A round

Lab-grown diamond jewellery startup True Diamond has raised Rs 26 crore ($3.1 million) in its pre-Series A fundraise led by early-stage venture firm India Quotient, along with participation from existing investors Titan Capital Winners Fund and Huddle Ventures.

Founded in January 2024 by Parin Shah and Darayus Mehta, True Diamond plans to use the capital to scale its omnichannel retail operations, with a focus on expanding its offline footprint across major metro cities.

Other news

Meesho Mall partners with P&G, HUL, Himalaya to expand personal care portfolio

Hypervalue ecommerce platform Meesho on Wednesday announced a partnership of its curated platform for branded goods, Meesho Mall with Procter & Gamble (P&G), Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), and Himalaya.

The partnership will enable brands such as Pampers, Gillette, Dove, Vaseline, Lux, and Himalaya to reach a wider base of digital-first consumers, particularly in tier-2 and smaller cities, through Meesho’s online marketplace.

Policybazaar launches elder care service ‘Saarthi’ for senior citizens

Insurance marketplace Policybazaar has launched Saarthi, an elder care concierge programme for supporting senior citizens throughout their healthcare and insurance journey.

The initiative, developed in collaboration with insurer partners, offers services including personalised insurance guidance, 24/7 relationship managers, on-ground claims assistance, and tie-ups with home healthcare providers.

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

Edited by Kanishk Singh