Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (June 27, 2025)

From Wakefit’s IPO to Pine Labs’ profitability, YourStory brings you today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Featured stories

Wakefit inches towards profitability, narrows FY24 losses

IPO-bound Wakefit is inching towards profitability after narrowing its losses in the year ended March 31, 2024. The omnichannel retailer of mattresses and furniture reported a loss of Rs 15.05 crore during this period, compared to Rs 145.68 crore in FY23. Read more

Latest news

Pine Labs chief earns Rs 9.5 Cr in FY25, receives 2.3 Cr ESOPs ahead of IPO

Merchant platform Pine Labs is set to go public and has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Sebi. A closer look at the filing reveals compensation, equity holdings, and stock option grants for the fintech company's top leadership. The company recently reported nine months of profitability for the first time.

B. Amrish Rau, Chairman, Managing Director, and Chief Executive Officer of Pine Labs, drew a base salary of Rs 3.8 crore from Pine Labs India, along with an annual incentive of Rs 1.9 crore, taking his domestic gross salary to Rs 5.8 crore. However, Rau’s total compensation rose to Rs 9.5 crore after including Rs 3.76 crore received from Pine Labs’ Singapore entities. Read more

MyGate elevates Rohit Jindal to co-founder; Pranav Shankar named CTO

MyGate, a community management platform in India, has announced leadership changes within the company. Rohit Jindal has been elevated to the position of co-founder; he will continue to serve as chief business officer.

Pranav Shankar has been appointed the chief technology officer (CTO), moving up from his previous role as senior vice president – technology.

Curefoods appoints Mala Todarwal and Natrajan Ramkrishna to board of directors

Curefoods has appointed Mala Todarwal and Natrajan Ramkrishna to its board of directors, effective April 2025. Both bring extensive experience in finance and accounting, having held senior roles at leading accounting and advisory firms, as well as board positions at various listed companies.

Todarwal, a chartered accountant and fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, has held a 'certificate of practice' for over 15 years. She is currently a partner at Arun Todarwal & Associates LLP and Arun Todarwal & Co LLP. She has served as chairperson and member of several audit committees and boards across sectors, with a focus on financial compliance and risk governance. At Curefoods, she will chair the audit committee, overseeing financial reporting and internal controls.

Funding news

Pazy raises Rs 6 Cr in pre-seed funding 

Pazy, a Bengaluru-based integrated business payments platform for finance teams, has raised Rs 6 crore ($720K) in a pre-seed funding round led by Inuka Capital, with participation from Gemba Capital. 

The capital is being invested as a single primary tranche and will be used to expand product capabilities, deepen ecosystem integrations, and scale the platform to ₹10,000 crore in annual spend under management over the next year.

ZILO secures $4.5M from Info Edge Ventures, others

ZILO, a fashion-tech platform, has successfully closed a $4.5 million seed funding round led by Info Edge Ventures and Chiratae Ventures. 

This investment is aimed to back ZILO to get to product-market-fit and ensure it continues to build an innovative hybrid supply chain, deepen brand partnerships, and expand beyond Mumbai to other top-tier Indian cities by the end of the year.

Other news

Many Indians are not sure if their insurace policy offers adequate coverage: Survey

CoverSure, a consumer-focused InsurTech, has released insights from its latest survey, revealing a significant gap between insurance ownership and coverage awareness among Indian policyholders. The survey, conducted with over 5,000 individuals across metros and Tier II and III cities, uncovers major gaps in policy comprehension, family awareness, and management mechanisms.

The survey highlights that 79% of respondents are unsure of the adequacy of their coverage. This uncertainty points to a widespread risk of under-insurance, leaving a large segment of policyholders financially vulnerable despite having insurance. 

The survey reveals that while insurance ownership in India is on the rise, policy awareness remains critically low. Around 71% of respondents hold two to five active insurance policies, with life insurance being the most common at 63%, followed by health insurance at 24% and motor insurance at 13%. Despite owning these policies, 65% of policyholders admit they have limited or no understanding of key policy details including benefits, exclusions, and claims processes. Only 35% claim to fully understand the benefits and terms of their policies.