Author: Aman Atulya

Long before medical devices became headline-worthy in India, Meril was quietly building world-class tech in Vapi, Gujarat. Now its parent company, Micro Life Sciences, has entered the global growth stage. Sovereign Backing & IPO Readiness In early 2025, global investors Temasek and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) signaled big-ticket interest preparing to invest $250–300 million in Micro Life ahead of its anticipated IPO within 12–18 months. The deal values the company at an estimated ₹65,000 crore (~$7.8B) a steep leap from the $1.8B valuation at which Warburg Pincus invested in 2022. Why This Round Matters Building India’s MedTech Powerhouse…

Some stories aren’t stitched they’re woven through experience, grief, and sheer resilience. Meghna Tewari’s journey from a teenage girl navigating loss to the founder of BigSarees is a testament to quiet strength and cultural vision. A Childhood Marked by Loss At just 13, Meghna lost her father a life-altering moment that thrust her into adult responsibilities far too early. Her family’s financial reality changed overnight. She took up her first job soon after, earning ₹1,200 a month. While most teenagers were discovering life, Meghna was learning how to survive it. This early adversity planted the seeds of independence, grit, and…

Building a startup is hard.But losing it all because of a legal oversight? That’s heartbreaking. A brilliant pitch deck won’t save you from a broken founder agreement.A 10x growth chart won’t fix unregistered IP.And no investor wants to clean up a messy cap table. The reality is simple: what you don’t protect, you risk losing. Here are 10 legal foundations every startup must get right—not after funding, but before scale. 1. Incorporation Done Right Your legal structure defines everything taxation, equity distribution, liabilities, and investor access.Private Limited is most common for VC-backed startups. Avoid shortcuts here. 2. Founders’ Agreement Write…

When many startups chase headlines, Milky Mist has quietly built one of India’s most mature dairy brands. Founded in 1985 by T. Sathish Kumar in Tamil Nadu, the company has grown into a 1 million L/day automated operation, serving over 70,000 farmers and producing 150+ SKUs including paneer, curd, ghee, and cheese from its 75-acre plant in Perundurai. Now, on the eve of its IPO, Milky Mist is tapping the markets again: a ₹357 crore (~$42 million) pre-IPO round has been filed with the RoC. The funds come months after converting into a public company and follow board approval to issue equity worth ₹1,785 Cr setting the…

When education met aspiration, the Global Educators Conclave (GEC India) was born. Now in its 2025 edition, this annual summit is quickly becoming India’s most influential platform where principals, policymakers, and edtech innovators gather to reimagine learning for the next decade. This year, the conversation moves even further. Startup Story India Joins the Movement In a strategic step forward, Startup Story India has come onboard as the Official Digital Media Partner for GEC 2025. Known for amplifying voices across India’s innovation and startup ecosystem, the platform will document key sessions, spotlight breakthrough ideas, and capture behind-the-scenes moments offering nationwide visibility…

From a small Pune office in 2016, Altum Credo dreamed of helping first-time homebuyers in Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 India. Fast-forward to 2025 it’s now executing at scale. The company is set to raise ₹100 crore (~$11.8 million) in a follow-on Series C1 round, with British International Investment (BII) doubling down as lead investor. What this round means: On-the-ground impact: Why it matters: Altum Credo is writing a quiet startup fairy-tale: service-heavy, impact-driven, and financially smart. They’re not chasing metro glitz or aggressive burn curves. Instead, they’re building a sustainable, purpose-first housing finance platform that delivers homeownership to the under-banked.

When Dodla Dairy first began in 1995, it was a regional name in South India. Fast forward to 2025, and the Hyderabad-based dairy leader has made its most ambitious move yet: acquiring 100% of Osam Dairy for ₹271 crore in cash, marking a pivotal entry into Eastern India’s growing dairy market. This is more than an acquisition it’s a strategic push into Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, where Osam processes 110,000 litres of milk daily, runs two processing plants, 1,000 collection centres, and 19 chilling facilities, and boasts a farmer network of 25,000 strong. Dodla’s MD, Sunil Reddy, explains why…

Mumbai, July 2025 — India’s startup ecosystem is getting a new support system. The Startup Policy Forum (SPF) an alliance of over 50 tech-driven companies has unveiled the Centre for New-Age Public Companies (CNPC) to guide both IPO-bound and newly listed startups through the critical transition to public markets. The launch was held in Mumbai and attended by key stakeholders such as SEBI Chair Tuhin Kanta Pandey, alongside founders from Lenskart, Swiggy, OYO, Razorpay, and others. What CNPC aims to solve: Why now? Nearly 40 new-age startups, collectively valued at approximately $90 billion, are expected to approach Indian capital markets in…

Bengaluru, July 18, 2025 — e‑commerce unicorn Udaan has acquired retail‑tech startup ShopKirana in an all‑stock transaction, strengthening its position in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and the HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, catering) sector ahead of its much-anticipated IPO. Info Edge also joins Udaan’s shareholder base through this share swap. Founded in 2015, ShopKirana delivers digital procurement, transparent pricing, and efficient logistics to kirana stores in Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 cities such as Indore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Agra, Surat, and Meerut. By integrating ShopKirana’s rural tech tools with Udaan’s broad supply chain and credit infrastructure, the combined entity aims to enhance efficiency and accelerate…

San Francisco, July 2025 — Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, has launched her next venture with a bang: her startup, Thinking Machines Lab, has closed a $2 billion seed funding round, valuing the company at $12 billion one of the largest seed-stage raises in tech history . Founded in February 2025 and emerging from stealth this July, Thinking Machines is building advanced multimodal AI systems that can understand and interact with the world using speech, vision, and natural collaboration. Murati, who briefly led OpenAI as interim CEO in 2023 and earlier helped bring ChatGPT, DALL·E, and voice mode to life,…