Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (June 5, 2025)
YourStory presents the daily news roundup from the Indian startup ecosystem and beyond. Here's the roundup for Thursday, June 5, 2025.
From a Guwahati-based startup reviving the world’s oldest alcoholic drink with local flavours to a Noida fashion brand rewriting fast fashion with tech-driven, made-to-order garments, and a Gurugram climate-tech platform unlocking green finance—YourStory brings you today’s top stories spotlighting innovation across mead, manufacturing, and mobility.
Featured Stories
This startup from Guwahati is bringing mead to Indian consumers with a distinctly local flavour
Dream Hives, a Guwahati-based startup founded in 2021 by Kaustoov Gopal Goswami and Dhrubajyoti Deka, is introducing mead—an ancient honey-based alcoholic beverage—to Indian consumers under the brand ‘AS01’.
Originating from a community beekeeping initiative near Manas National Park, the startup began mead production during the pandemic to utilize surplus honey.
AS01 meads feature local flavours like Assam tea and King Chilli and will be available in still and carbonated versions. Priced at Rs 800 and Rs 350 respectively, the low-alcohol craft beverage targets health-conscious drinkers.
Dream Hives plans a commercial launch in Assam by August 2025 and aims to expand nationally. It recently won the Startup MahaRathi Challenge and is supported by Assam Startup’s incubation programme.
This Noida startup uses tech to eliminate fashion waste
Nitin Kapoor (Founder & CEO), Hema Kapoor (Co-founder), and Amit Gupta (Co-founder) of Noida-based IBAcraft are transforming fast fashion with their just-in-time manufacturing model under the brand MooMaya.
Noida-based IBA Crafts, the parent company of fashion brand Moomaya, is tackling fashion waste by adopting a tech-first, Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing model.
Founded in 2012, the company produces garments only after receiving orders, eliminating inventory and overproduction. Its fully automated system enables digital printing, laser cutting, and stitching within 48 hours with in-house tech.
Moomaya can launch new designs in two days and claims a 35% repeat customer rate. Operating at 90% capacity, it shipped over a million products to 40+ countries and generated Rs 37 crore in FY25. The company now plans to expand into new categories and license its tech to other brands.
Funding News
Stride Green raises $3.5M round led by Micelio Technology Fund, Incubate Fund Asia, and others
Stride Green, a Gurugram-based climate-tech asset financing and lifecycle management platform, has raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by Micelio Technology Fund, Incubate Fund Asia, and other investors.
The funding will support team expansion and accelerate Stride Green’s efforts in clean energy sectors like electric mobility and battery storage. Co-founded by Ishpreet Gandhi and Vivek Jain, the company offers a tech-enabled, impact-focused platform for real-time asset monitoring, financing, and leasing.
Vivek Jain, Co-Founder & CEO, Stride Green, said, “At Stride Green, we’re driven by deep domain expertise and a clear purpose to develop innovative and scalable solutions for the climate-tech ecosystem. We are grateful to have eco-conscious, mission-aligned partners like Micelio and Incubate, whose support empowers us on our journey to deliver bespoke, high-impact solutions for a more sustainable future.”
Other News
BharatPe appoints former Coca-Cola exec Siddhartha Jain as Chief Network Officer
BharatPe Group has appointed Siddhartha Jain as Chief Network Officer (CNO). With over 21 years of experience in general management, sales, and marketing, Siddhartha will be responsible for developing and executing sales strategies to improve network penetration, enhance merchant experience, and drive revenue growth.
Nalin Negi, CEO of BharatPe, welcomed Siddhartha, stating, “Siddhartha brings an extensive background in orchestrating large-scale business operations and cultivating high-performing professional networks.”
Siddhartha comes with over 21+ years of work-experience across FMCG Sales and Customer Marketing across companies like ITC, Mondelez, Perfetti Van Melle and Coca Cola FBO.
BimaPay Finsure launches premium financing for corporate insurance policies
BimaPay Finsure has launched India's first premium financing solution for corporate insurance policies, allowing businesses to pay premiums in easy equated monthly installments (EMIs) instead of full upfront costs.
This initiative covers various sectors and insurance products, including group medical, fire, and personal accident insurance. The company aims to finance over Rs 20 crore worth of premiums by the end of FY26.
Hanut Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of BimaPay Finsure, highlighted the challenges businesses face with upfront premium payments and the lack of structured financing options. He stated, “Our solution addresses this gap by allowing businesses to pay premiums in installments, using the policy itself as the only security.”
Inka partners with Growfitter to co-develop insurance wellness score system
Inka, an insurtech platform, has partnered with Growfitter, a leading health engagement platform, to co-develop the Inka Growfitter Insurance Wellness Score.
This innovative solution links real-time wellness behavior with personalized insurance insights, helping users identify coverage gaps and make informed financial protection choices. Vaibhav Kathju, Founder and CEO of Inka, emphasized the importance of integrating physical health with financial security, stating, “We’re making insurance intuitive, personalised, and proactive just like your health tracker.”
The collaboration aims to transform daily wellness activities into actionable insurance intelligence, making insurance more aligned with real-world behavior and individual lifestyles.
MiStay and HyperGuest partner up to revolutionise hourly hotel bookings
MiStay, a platform for hourly hotels and day-use rooms, has struck up a strategic partnership with HyperGuest, a B2B hospitality distribution marketplace.
This integration allows MiStay to scale its unique hourly hotel booking model through HyperGuest's single API, eliminating the need for multiple channel manager connections. Sandeep Jaiswal, Co-Founder of MiStay, stated, “Our goal is to make distribution effortless for our hotel partners.”
The partnership enables MiStay to sync a single room via HyperGuest and resell it in multiple time slots on the same day, tapping into an estimated $6 billion of otherwise unsold hotel inventory in India.
This collaboration is expected to dramatically accelerate hotel onboarding and unlock new demand segments for MiStay's micro-stay model.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan
