When Mygate started in 2016, it had a simple job: help apartment societies manage visitors, domestic workers and delivery executives. Guards moved from paper registers to phones, and residents could approve entries from their flats. A decade later, the same access is helping Mygate build an advertising business.

Its proposed merger with AdOnMo values the combined company at around ₹3,500 crore. Mygate brings access to six million households across 30,000 communities, while AdOnMo brings over 55,000 advertising screens. Eternal, which owns Zomato and Blinkit, will hold about 4.4%.

The shift began long before this deal. Even wealthy housing societies dislike paying much for management software. Mygate found another payer: advertisers. Advertising now contributes nearly 70% of its revenue, and its turnover rose from ₹96 crore in FY24 to ₹229 crore in FY26. Adding lift and lobby screens gives brands another way to reach the same residents.

That audience is worth chasing. A large Bengaluru or Gurugram society can contain hundreds of families spending regularly on groceries, food delivery, appliances and insurance. They may ignore an online ad, but they see the same lift screen several times a day. Redseer estimates India's gated communities could account for $900 billion in consumer spending by FY31.

Eternal sees the opportunity too. Blinkit could promote products to households living near its dark stores, just before they order. China showed how valuable this could become: Alibaba invested in Focus Media, an operator of building and elevator advertising screens, in 2018. Still, Eternal's minority holding does not give Blinkit control over Mygate or prove special treatment. Swiggy and Zepto will want fair access to the same network.

The bigger concern is what happens to residents' information. Mygate collects details used for security, including visitor records and vehicle numbers. It says it does not sell personal data, and there is no evidence Eternal is receiving movement records. But a society chooses the security system for everyone. Residents cannot easily opt out. Information collected to protect a building should not quietly become a way to track purchasing behaviour.

Then there is the price. At roughly seven times reported annual revenue of ₹500 crore, the merged business must prove that advertisers will keep paying. Screens cost money to install and maintain, and societies may demand a share.

Mygate built trust by making apartment gates easier to manage. Now it wants to sell advertisers the attention of people living behind them.

Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

Binny Bansal-backed ShopOS has launched Sloosh, a self-service AI platform for generating product images, visual scenes, reels and creator-style videos.

Starting at $19 per month, it brings enterprise-grade creative tools to individual creators and small businesses.

Read more here

Anthropic has launched Claude Duet, a proactive AI agent that monitors connected apps, prioritises tasks and works in the background even when a user's device is switched off. It is powered by Claude Opus 5.5.

The research preview is available through a waitlist for US Claude Pro and Max subscribers.

Read more here

Tonbo Imaging’s cofounders are set to rake in ₹137 Cr through the company’s ₹852 Cr IPO, which comprises only an offer for sale.

The exit comes as FY26 revenue fell 22.7% to ₹362.6 Cr and net profit dropped to ₹50.8 Cr.

Read more here

Rebel Foods has approved fresh ESOPs worth ₹170 Cr for its five co-founders.

The cloud kitchen operator runs brands including Faasos, Behrouz Biryani and Oven Story Pizza.

Read more here

Sirona has launched its ‘Unpause Menopause’ campaign to challenge stigma around menopause.

The initiative aims to cut through the noise and encourage open conversations.

Read more here

Shiprocket's fastrr has partnered with Punjabi Angithi operator Vegorama Group and Bikkgane Biryani to help them manage direct orders, customer identification, marketing and hyperlocal deliveries through their own digital channels.

The model gives restaurants more customer data and post-purchase engagement than aggregator-only sales.

Read more here

Bengaluru-based Maasi has launched an on-demand nanny platform offering trained, background-verified childcare on demand or through subscriptions.

Instant Nanny visits start at Rs 660, while subscriptions begin at Rs 15,660 a month.

Read more here

Nutanix and ThoughtSpot cofounder Ajeet Singh has unveiled Different, an AI-powered marketing startup.

Different says its system can plan, create, execute and scale personalised demand-generation content for lean B2B marketing teams.

Read more here

Ultraviolette Automotive has launched the X-47 Venom on its new 100V VX-100 architecture at an introductory price of Rs 2.65 Lakh.

Ultraviolette claims a 343 km IDC range, 155 kmph top speed and 0-60 kmph acceleration in 2.7 seconds.

Read more here

Hyderabad-based Mapmygenome has acquired Vancouver personal-genomics company dnaPower for an undisclosed amount.

The deal extends its North American presence after its earlier acquisition of Canadian microbial-sequencing company Microbiome Insights.

Read more here