Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (May 23, 2025)

YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Friday, May 23, 2025.

May 23, 2025 - 21:40

Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (May 23, 2025)

From OpenFX fintech infrastructure startup has raised $23 million in seed funding led by Accel, while Hero MotoCorp and BGMI launch India’s first phygital bike-gaming crossover, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Feature stories

Navigating workplace loneliness in a hybrid environment

For Akshita Mehta, a marketing manager at a Mumbai-based multinational, the onslaught of COVID-19 wreaked havoc on her emotional and mental health. As someone who enjoys ‘socialising’, she felt alienated from her colleagues.

However, workplace loneliness isn't limited to remote work. There are employees who also experience it in traditional office settings or hybrid working environments. In Amit Kushwaha’s case, the feelings of loneliness were prevalent even when he went to his workplace three times a week.

A workhorse, he'd always been particular about his work but with no signs of recognition, he felt isolated. This became even more prominent when others in his team—some who pretended to work—got praised all the time by managers.

How this artist and climate optimist is making global warming feel tangible

Rising ocean temperatures, unbearable heat waves, floods—the effects of climate change are no longer distant warnings but present-day realities, disrupting ecosystems, endangering livelihoods, threatening food and water security, and deepening social inequalities across the globe.

To change people’s perspective and remove the notion that the crisis is happening somewhere else, climate activist and artist Aakash Ranison decided to bring the realities of climate change closer home.

Snowberry brings Korean Bingsu to Indian streets

What is this, Bingsu?... Flowers in full bloom in the middle of winter. Nothing could describe the internet’s favourite Korean dessert better than this dialogue from K-drama Mister Sunshine. ‘Hallyu’ or the ‘Korean wave’—a term used to characterise the global popularity of South Korean pop culture—has exposed consumers to a buffet of Korean delicacies, including Bingsu—almost a distant cousin of Mumbai’s Ice Gola—prepared live with shaved flavoured ice and fresh fruits.

“We noticed that customers were moving away from packaged or mass-manufactured desserts and were instead gravitating toward formats that offered customisation, freshness, and a sense of novelty,” Piyush Aggarwal, Co-founder of Snowberry, tells YourStory.

Eat meals based on your Ayurvedic body constitution at this Gurugram-based café

Amid the growing crop of cafés in Gurugram, a new concept has caught consumer attention for its wellness-meets-comfort philosophy. Café Swasthya by Butterfly Ayurveda, a brand led by entrepreneur Akshi Khandelwal, offers an Ayurveda-inspired menu with wholesome meals, herbal teas, wellness coffee, and bakery products.

At Café Swasthya, every dish is tailored to an individual’s Ayurvedic constitutional type—vata, pitta, and kapha—to ensure it suits their body. This is the tridosha philosophy, which defines the three fundamental energies or principles governing our body functions at an emotional and physical level. Vata (space and air) is responsible for movement, pitta (fire and water) helps with metabolism, and kapha (earth and water) manages assimilation in the body.

Hiring freshers: This startup is solving for campus placements with AI

As the former CEO of the educational institution, Maharishi Markandeshwar Group, Vishal Sood saw that when it came to campus placements, institutional machinery often left out students from rural or Tier II and Tier III India.

That experience shaped what would become PlaceCom, the flagship product under AlmaBay, a Chandigarh-based startup founded in 2016 and incorporated in 2021. AlmaBay was initially founded to improve alumni engagement, but the team pivoted toward placements after recognising how deeply access was skewed in Indian higher education.

These teenagers and women from UP and Jharkhand are rewriting the rules on gender

In rural India, a catcall can cost a girl her education, her freedom, or even her childhood. Because in the face of harassment, the families here often choose silence, seclusion, or early marriage over resistance.

Studies show that, unlike in urban areas, where support systems and progressive attitudes may offer some resilience, rural communities frequently respond to such incidents by withdrawing girls from school or arranging early marriages to protect family honour. This reaction stems from entrenched patriarchal norms that prioritise reputation over girls' rights. For girls in Bibipur village, Uttar Pradesh, things were no different.

Latest news

Ola Electric begins deliveries of Roadster X, prices start at Rs 99,999

Ola Electric on Friday said it has commenced deliveries of its Roadster X portfolio of motorcycles, along with offers worth Rs 10,000 for the first 5,000 customers.

The prices of the Roadster X series start at Rs 99,999 for the 2.5kWh variant, Rs 1,09,999 for the 3.5kWh variant, and Rs 1,24,999 for the 4.5kWh model, the company said in a statement. Roadster X+ 4.5kWh is priced at Rs 1,29,999, while the Roadster X+ 9.1kWh (with 4680 Bharat Cell) that has a range of 501 km/charge, is priced at Rs 1,99,999, it added.

Funding news

OpenFX raises $23M in seed round from Accel, NFX, Lightspeed Faction

OpenFX fintech infrastructure startup for cross-border payments has raised $23 million in seed funding led by Accel, with participation from NFX, Lightspeed Faction, Castle Island Ventures, Flybridge, Hash3, and other strategic fintech investors.

OpenFX plans to use the funding to expand into Latin American and Asian markets, launch treasury management products, and scale its regulatory footprint. The company, founded in early 2024 by FalconX co-founder Prabhakar Reddy, offers institutional-grade financial infrastructure for real-time cross-border payments.

Hero MotoCorp, BGMI launch phygital bike-gaming crossover

Krafton India and Hero MotoCorp have launched a first-of-its-kind collaboration in India, integrating motorcycles into the gaming platform Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI).

Starting May 25, BGMI players can access Hero MotoCorp’s Xtreme 160R 4V and Xtreme 125R as in-game vehicles, each featuring designs based on their real-world counterparts. The game also includes unlockable Hero-themed gear such as a custom outfit, helmet, and backpack.

PokerBaazi unveils upgrade to mobile and desktop apps

PokerBaazi, India’s largest poker platform, has launched the PokerBaazi Upgrade 2025, a significant update to both its mobile and desktop applications. The new version was introduced at the company’s annual PokerBaazi Experience Meet 2025, showcasing the latest product developments.

The upgrade was unveiled by Baazi Games leadership, including Founder and CEO Navkiran Singh and Co-Founder & Chief of Technology & Product Avneet Rana. PokerBaazi currently has over 5 million registered users and has been operating for 10 years, focusing on skill-based poker gameplay.

Butterfly Learnings expands to K-12 inclusive education model

Butterfly Learnings Inclusive Schooling System (BLISS) is expanding its education model to cover K-12, building on its foundation in early intervention and inclusive learning for children with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, ADHD, and intellectual disabilities.

The new K-12 system will feature neurodiversity-inclusive classrooms, integrated therapy and academic tracks, and a curriculum blending Finnish pedagogy with Indian educational contexts. A dedicated Mumbai campus is set to open in June 2025 to accommodate current and new students.

BLISS plans to start with an initial cohort of 70 students and aims to expand to 100 schools across India within five years, focusing on creating an inclusive and adaptable learning environment for diverse learners.

Ranbir Kapoor features in GABIT’s debut smart ring campaign

Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor has appeared in the first advertising campaign for GABIT’s Smart Ring, a wearable device designed to monitor key health metrics such as sleep, activity, heart rate, and recovery.

Ranbir Kapoor has reportedly been using the Smart Ring for six months and aligns with GABIT’s focus on balanced health through fitness, nutrition, sleep, and stress management.

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

Edited by Kanishk Singh