Ripplr Funding, Bolt's Swiggy Impact, and SC Rebuff for Byju's Founder

Every few years, the startup ecosystem gets a signal so clear that it defines an entire category. SBI investing in Ripplr is one of those signals. Not because a PSU wrote a cheque - but because a bank chose to back one of the toughest, least glamorous models in Indian logistics: a full-stack distributor.

Founders have always glorified “asset-light” model. But Ripplr did the opposite. It picked warehouses, inventory, retailer-level control - the exact things VCs avoid - and that’s the reason a PSU bank is now backing it. Banks only fund what they can understand, audit, and price, and Ripplr is proving that distribution-tech is finally bankable.

While unicorns like Udaan and BlackBuck chased GMV and burned billions, Ripplr built something VCs rarely celebrate: stable margins, high fill rates, and clean governance. This is why SBI’s stamp matters more than another VC round. It permanently lowers Ripplr’s cost of capital - and raises the bar for everyone else.

This shifts the entire supply chain.. FMCG giants like HUL, ITC, and Britannia gain immediate efficiency: cleaner inventory visibility, reduced leakage, and better demand forecasting. Retailers get more reliable fulfillment and fewer stockouts. For policymakers, Ripplr becomes a template for formalizing a massive unorganized retail network - GST visibility, traceability, and compliance built in.

Udaan is the perfect counter-example. Once the darling of B2B commerce, it struggled the moment capital tightened. A marketplace without balance-sheet strength simply can’t survive India’s working-capital heavy reality. Meanwhile, Ripplr’s debt-ready model now becomes the template for the next decade of distribution-tech IPOs.

Globally, Ripplr resembles China’s Manbang Group more than DHL or FedEx - deep penetration plus digital control. If this continues, India won’t have 200 fragmented distributors; it’ll have 3-4 national DaaS platforms by 2030, each crossing ₹2,000 crore revenue and heading for IPO.

But this SBI moment also brings new pressure. PSU governance brings rigour, but it can slow decision-making. Ripplr now has to scale without losing its founder-led speed. That’s the real test.

Still, the larger shift is unmistakable: India’s next unicorns won’t be consumer apps or GMV-chasers. They’ll be operational engines - companies that treat compliance and cash flow as core product features.

This funding also unlocked a new category: startups trusted by banks more than VCs. In India, that’s the strongest compounding advantage you can have.

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.

“Chakke Chhuda Diye Guru”: SC Rejects Founder’s Appeal Against NCLAT Order

The Supreme Court has shut the door on BYJU’S founder’s appeal, keeping the NCLAT’s earlier call firmly in place as the legal winds continue to swirl around the edtech giant.

BCCI’s ₹158.90 crore dues may have been settled, but the tribunal wants the proposal placed before BYJU’S CoC to keep the process transparent and tidy. For now, the insolvency track rolls on, a quiet reminder that even cricket’s governing body can bowl a yorker in the corporate arena.

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“Here Goes The Lower Jab”: SEBI Cracks Down On DroneAcharya, Founders Over IPO Fraud, Revenue Inflation

SEBI has swung hard at DroneAcharya, slapping ₹75 lakh in penalties and sidelining the founders after uncovering what it calls a carefully choreographed investor deception.

The regulator alleges that nearly a third of the company’s FY24 revenue was pure fiction while freezing its assets to keep the trail from going cold. And in the shadows of the IPO frenzy, early investors allegedly walked away with jaw-dropping 5,800 percent gains as the public was serenaded by shiny but misleading announcements.

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“Hame Maza Avi Che”: Bolt Boosting Swiggy’s Customer Retention, Says CEO

Bolt seems to be Swiggy’s secret sauce, with its customer retention clocking in a cool 4 to 6 percentage points higher than the platform’s average. The 10-minute delivery bets have already grabbed 10 percent of all Swiggy orders in just a year, hinting at a taste customers clearly like.

And CEO Rohit Kapoor says the plan now is to deepen these quick-bite use cases rather than scatter energy across new geographies, keeping the sprint tight and tasty.

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1. OYO’s parent PRISM has kicked off plans for a long-awaited IPO, seeking the green light to raise ₹6,650 Cr through a fresh issue of shares alongside a revised bonus structure. Shareholders now stand to receive one bonus share for every nineteen held, a pre-listing sweetener drawn from the company’s reserves.

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2. Groww has injected ₹104.4 Cr into its wealthtech arm Fisdom through a rights issue to support payouts and strengthen working capital. The move follows its recent all-cash acquisition, tightening Fisdom’s place in Groww’s expanding financial stack.

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3. Ripplr, the Bengaluru-headquartered distribution and supply chain platform, has raised $45 Mn in a Series C funding round from existing investors and with the participation of a new entity, SBI. The existing investors include 3one4 Capital, Zephyr Peacock and Sojitz Corporation.

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4. Ola Electric has won shareholder approval to raise ₹1,500 Cr, aiming to turbocharge its cell manufacturing, battery storage systems, and upcoming product lineup. The company also hopes the fresh capital will shore up cash reserves and push it closer to an EBITDA breakeven as capacity scales toward 5.9 GWh by March 2026.

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5. VentureSoul Partners is on track to close its maiden ₹600 Cr debt fund by February, having already secured about seventy-two percent of its committed pool. With major backers like Micro Labs and Rupa Group on board, the fund has deployed capital into fifteen startups ranging from PlayShifu to Captain Fresh.

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6. Neuron Energy has raised ₹31 Cr in a pre-Series B round to scale its battery manufacturing capacity to 3 GWh and build an automated plant for four-wheeler and bus batteries. With this, the EV battery maker’s total funding climbs to ₹80 crore as it amps up R&D and accelerates its domestic and global expansion.

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