Graham Dugoni Wanted to Launch a Countercultural Movement. So He Started a Company
Fourteen years after founding Yondr, Graham Dugoni’s lockable phone‑pouch system now powers phone‑free zones in schools, concerts and venues across more than 55 countries, with high‑profile artist partners like Dave Chappelle and Madonna. The product aims to curb digital distraction by physically securing devices, then releasing them via unlocking stations where usage is permitted. While the model has gained global traction, educators criticize its cost and report students breaking into the pouches, prompting some schools to revert to cheaper, low‑tech alternatives. Dugoni likens his mission to Patagonia’s blend of capitalism and idealism, highlighting the inherent tension between profit and social impact.
22+ Communities Powering the Baltic AI Ecosystem
Baltic AI startups secured €607 million in 2025, a 20 percent rise from 2024, underscoring growing investor confidence. The surge is supported by a dense network of associations, incubators, and industry hubs that translate funding into market‑ready pilots. However, OECD data highlights...
Exclusive: Mintoak Plans to Acquire Dubai-Based ICC Loyalty
Mintoak, the Mumbai‑based merchant SaaS platform, will raise Rs 80 crore in debt through non‑convertible debentures issued by BlackSoil to fund the acquisition of Dubai‑based loyalty‑tech firm ICC Loyalty. This marks the company’s second acquisition in twelve months, after buying Digiledge in...
How Beauty Start-Ups Can Build Scalable Product Lines
Florence Roghe, founder of Collateral Projects, warns beauty start‑ups that rapid launches often lack a clear value proposition and long‑term roadmap. She stresses that products must deliver distinct, disruptive value in a crowded market, not just chase trends. Successful scaling...
Startup News and Updates: Daily Roundup (March 2, 2026)
YourStory’s March 2 roundup highlights a wave of strategic moves across India’s tech and startup landscape. Amazon India expanded its zero‑referral‑fee programme to over 125 crore SKUs, while upGrad teamed up with OpenAI to embed generative AI tools into its learning platform....
UK Private Capital Calls for Scaleup Reinvestment Relief
UK Private Capital, representing private‑equity and venture‑capital firms, is urging the British government to introduce a Scaleup Reinvestment Relief (SRR). The proposal would create a capital‑gains‑tax reinvestment relief for gains that are ploughed back into qualifying UK‑headquartered scaleups, growth‑equity funds...
Early-Stage Entrepreneurs Encouraged to Apply for EASI26
Early‑stage entrepreneurs across the UK with a clear social or environmental mission can apply for EASI26, the Entrepreneurs’ Award in Social Innovation, before the 31 March 2026 deadline. The award provides a £10,000 grant and a 12‑month business support package that includes...
Kardi AI Is Scaling, MDR Class IIa Certified and Series A Ready
Kardi Ai, a Czech med‑tech firm, has secured EU MDR Class IIa certification and is expanding its long‑term ECG monitoring platform into the DACH region. The solution records heart rhythm for up to 12 months, uses AI to deliver physician‑ready reports within...
FlightItineraryApp Introduces Airline-Verifiable Itineraries for Visa Applicants
FlightItineraryApp now offers airline‑verifiable flight itineraries that include a legitimate Passenger Name Record, allowing visa applicants to prove onward travel without buying a full ticket. The service costs $15 for one‑way and $19 for round‑trip itineraries, providing a low‑cost alternative...
Building Europe’s Native Code Infrastructure: Tangled Closes $4.5M Round
Tangled, a European‑focused GitHub alternative, closed a $4.5 million round led by byFounders with participation from Bain Capital Crypto and Antler. The platform introduces a decentralized “Knot” architecture that lets developers host code on their own infrastructure while maintaining a familiar...
Ola Electric Shares Sink to All-Time Low After 47% Drop in Monthly Sales
Shares of Ola Electric Mobility fell to a record low of Rs 23.82 on March 2 after February sales plunged 47% to just 3,968 units, pushing its market share to 3.55% and out of the top five EV scooter makers. The overall...
Profitable Bootstrapped D2C Brand Blue Tea Projects Rs 65 Cr Sales in FY26
Bootstrapped herbal wellness brand Blue Tea posted Rs 37 crore revenue for FY25, a 46% year‑on‑year increase, while remaining profitable. The company’s annual recurring revenue rose 68% and net profit in India jumped 75% despite a slight profit dip caused by...
Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Drive Nears Quiet Climax
Hong Kong is set to announce the first batch of stablecoin licences this month, after a licensing process that began with 77 interested parties and narrowed to 36 applicants. The pool has thinned further as mainland Chinese firms withdrew following...
Exclusive: Turiyam.ai Raises $4 Mn To Build Full-Stack AI Hardware Platform
Bengaluru‑based Turiyam.ai has closed a $4 million pre‑seed round led by Ankur Capital and Axilor’s Micelio Fund. The startup will accelerate development of a full‑stack AI inference platform that tightly integrates custom chips with optimized software. It is already piloting deployments...
AI Sales Startup Firmable Bags $14 Million to Expand to the US
AI‑powered B2B sales startup Firmable announced a $14 million Series A round led by existing backer Airtree, earmarked for a U.S. market rollout and further development of its proprietary data engine and AI agents. The company, founded by former Aconex executives in...
Inside DJI’s $3.2 Billion Sky: Frank Wang, Drones and Asia’s New Youngest Tech Billionaire
Frank Wang turned a dorm‑room drone prototype into DJI, the world’s dominant premium consumer‑drone maker, propelling him to a $3.2 billion net worth and making him Asia’s youngest tech billionaire. By concentrating on the $1,000‑plus segment, DJI captured professional creators, enterprises,...
The Fintech Showdown Before PhonePe’s IPO
PhonePe is positioning an IPO for FY27, with an April filing window being discussed, while investors scrutinize its path to sustainable profitability. The fintech’s latest filing shows a shift from consumer‑centric payments to a higher share of merchant transactions and...
Sendle, the Australia Post Challenger that Raised $100 Million, Is in Liquidation
Australian parcel‑delivery startup Sendle, which raised more than $100 million and positioned itself as a carbon‑neutral challenger to Australia Post, has been placed into liquidation. The collapse followed a costly US expansion and a merger in August 2025 that created FAST Group...
Canva Denies Job Losses as Leonardo.AI Comes Into the Fold
Canva announced that it will integrate its recent AI acquisition, Leonardo.AI, into the main platform without any layoffs. The company refuted media reports suggesting redundancies, stating that the 150‑person Leonardo team will be reassigned to existing AI initiatives or new...
5 Things You Must Know if You’re Going to Be on a Startup Board
Founders often become “accidental directors” when a startup raises capital, expands its team, or attracts investors, prompting the creation of a formal board. The shift to a boardroom demands a new governance mindset, emphasizing independent judgment, duty of care, and...
Nomadic Founders Are Using GeoArbitrage to Optimize Their Life and Reinvest in Growth. Here’s How You Can, Too
Nomadic founders are leveraging geo‑arbitrage—earning in strong currencies while living in low‑cost locales—to stretch capital and accelerate growth. The author’s three‑year stint in Medellín and current base in Bangkok illustrate how a $2,800 monthly budget can cover premium services while...
At Zikoko Citizen Townhall, Builders Urged to Engage, Not Avoid, Regulators
At the Zikoko Citizen Townhall in Lagos, tech leaders warned that regulatory uncertainty is hampering Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem. Panelists highlighted the psychological and financial toll of volatile policies, citing the 2021 cryptocurrency ban and fluctuating exchange rates as examples. They...
Safety Alarm for Women; Homemakers Aren’t ‘Idle’
India’s personal safety market got a boost when Bengaluru entrepreneur Sindhuja Sura’s startup BoomBird launched the country’s first rechargeable personal alarm, delivering a 130‑decibel siren and up to two minutes of continuous sound on a single charge. The device addresses...
This Is the $8 Trillion Investment Opportunity VCs and Founders Can’t Ignore
The longevity economy is set to reach $8 trillion by 2030, driven primarily by healthspan – the years lived in good health. A UBS report shows the market expanding from $5.3 trillion in 2023, outpacing AI growth forecasts. Preventative health solutions are...
This Is the Simple Blueprint to Make Your Business Growth Steady, Predictable and Sustainable
The article presents a practical blueprint for achieving steady, predictable, and sustainable business growth. It stresses a balanced strategy that couples incremental revenue gains with market‑share expansion, anchored by rigorous market research and data‑driven insights. The piece also highlights the...
Groww Unveils AI Enabled Platform to Expand Investment Basket
Groww launched an AI‑enabled product suite aimed at broadening its investment offering across trading, fixed income, and digital wealth management. The six new tools include an AI investing assistant, a retail bond‑trading gateway, a high‑frequency trading mode with a dedicated...
EaseMyTrip, Ixigo Brace For Turbulence Amid Iran-Israel Conflict
Indian online travel aggregators EaseMyTrip and ixigo are issuing travel advisories as the Iran‑Israel conflict escalates into major combat operations, prompting Middle Eastern airspace closures. Both platforms urge customers to monitor airline updates, expect longer flight times, and remain flexible...
Exclusive: Innoviti Closes Series M Funding Round At ₹104 Cr
Innoviti, the Indian merchant‑facing fintech, closed its Series M round at ₹104 crore ($11.4 million), with both new backers and existing investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners and Patni Family Office doubling down. The capital will be used to reduce debt, boost sales...
How a Young Bike Racer Helped Shape America’s Best-Selling Low-Cost E-Bike
Lectric eBikes’ best‑selling budget XP line owes its success to former mountain‑bike racer Luis Cerna, now product manager. Cerna leverages racing‑derived insights on handling, acceleration, and braking to refine the folding commuter e‑bike despite its low price under $1,000. The...
Inside Lemnisca’s Big Leap For Digital Twins To Make Biotech More Scalable
Lemnisca, a Bengaluru startup, is launching a digital‑twin platform that models fermentation at industrial scale, merging microbial biology with physical process conditions. The hybrid model, paired with an in‑house wet lab, creates a feedback loop that refines simulations and cuts...
It's Time for Banh Mi to Go National, Says This Vietnamese Sandwich Pioneer
Vietnamese sandwich pioneer Bun Mee, founded in San Francisco in 2011, operates five Bay Area locations. The brand is launching its first New York City outlet through a franchisee, marking its inaugural entry into the East Coast market. This move...
Day 1–1000 of Sharesell: How a Market Question Built a Credit Startup
Sharesell, founded in 2022 to streamline WhatsApp vendor supply chains, initially launched as a marketplace but struggled to gain traction. After two pivots, the founders discovered that informal Nigerian traders needed cash tied to inventory, prompting a shift to an...
Zap Africa Cuts 44% of Workforce in AI-Driven Restructuring
Zap Africa, a Nigerian cryptocurrency startup founded in 2023, slashed 44% of its staff in February 2026, reducing headcount from 18 to 10 as part of an AI‑driven efficiency shift. The cuts targeted design, operations, marketing and support roles, while...
UK Startup Founders Must Meet Evolving Investor Expectations to Scale Successfully
UK investors are increasingly demanding market‑pull evidence, shifting away from pure tech‑push narratives, even in deep‑tech sectors. The bar for being "investment ready" now includes demonstrable traction, a strong team, and rapid execution velocity. Digital Catapult’s investment‑readiness workshops helped startups...
Exclusive: Quick Commerce Enablement Startup Inamo To Raise ₹50 Cr
Inamo, a quick‑commerce enablement startup, is raising ₹50 Cr (≈$5.4 M) in a Series A round at a pre‑money valuation of ₹110 Cr. The round is led by Five SB Limited with participation from Shastra VC, Antler and Gemba Capital. Funds will be used to scale...
How Shiprocket Is Building The Backbone Of Bharat’s Ecommerce Growth
Shiprocket, originally launched as KartRocket in 2012, has transformed into a full‑stack ecommerce enablement platform that now powers more than 4 lakh merchants, many from Tier II and III cities. The platform bundles shipping, checkout, returns, analytics and working‑capital services, leveraging AI...
Africa’s Industrial Future Requires a Different Kind of Capital
In 2024 over 70% of Africa’s equity venture funding went to fintech, leaving defense, industrial automation, climate, health and scientific platforms severely under‑capitalised. The prevailing venture model rewards fast‑scaling, asset‑light platforms and excludes capital‑intensive, long‑horizon projects that are essential for...
How Jeff Waye and Patrick Curley Built Third Side Music Into an Indie Publishing Powerhouse with USD $25M in Annual...
Third Side Music, founded in Montreal with a $150,000 seed investment, has become an indie publishing powerhouse generating over $25 million in annual revenue in 2025 without outside capital. The company averages 15‑20% year‑over‑year growth, driven by a 75,000‑plus‑title catalog and...
Startup Space at 10: A Launchpad for the New Space Economy
The Startup Space pitch competition celebrated its 10th anniversary at SATShow Week, cementing its role as a premier on‑ramp for emerging space companies. Founded in 2015 to fill a gap for early‑stage firms, the event now draws about 400 attendees...
YSpace, York University Open the Door Between Canada and Korea’s Tech Ecosystem
YSpace, the entrepreneurship hub at York University, has signed two memorandums of understanding with South Korea’s Korea Business Angels Association and the Seoul AI Hub. The agreements give YSpace a formal mandate to help Korean startups enter Canada and to...
Whole Foods Market Triples Pitch Day Capacity for Q2 2026, Offering up to 50 Brand Slots
Whole Foods Market announced a three‑fold increase in its Q2 2026 Pitch Day capacity, offering up to 50 dedicated slots across Grocery, Whole Body and Specialty categories. Applications open on 27 February and close on 27 March, with the pitch event slated for...
Moonflow Partners with Puntored
Moonflow, the AI-driven collections platform, announced a partnership with Mexico’s payment network Puntored to bring automated, multi‑channel debt recovery to the country. The integration merges Moonflow’s AI agents, which handle reminders via WhatsApp, SMS, email and calls, with Puntored’s extensive...
How PeerSupport.io Is Helping Yukon Docs Send Referrals Using only Their Voice
PeerSupport.io, a Yukon health‑tech startup, launched CoWork, an autonomous AI browser that executes EMR and web‑based tasks through voice commands. In pilot clinics the tool can send referrals, renew prescriptions, and pull charts in under 11 seconds, delivering roughly 10.5...
Mellow Launches Support Program for Indie Game Studios
Mellow, a contractor‑management platform for freelancers, has unveiled Indie Launchpad, a six‑month support program for indie game studios. The initiative grants full access to Mellow’s global talent pool, covering more than 100 countries, enabling studios to hire remote developers, artists,...
An AU-Endorsed Reskilling Drive Is Expanding Into South Africa
The African Union‑backed Reskilling Revolution Africa has entered Phase Two in South Africa, partnering the Womandla Foundation with IBM SkillsBuild and the International Association of Volunteer Effort. The program targets women and young people, offering free AI, cybersecurity, green‑skill and entrepreneurship...
Embodiment Debt: Why Remote Founders Lose Judgement Before They Burn Out
Remote work has introduced a hidden cost for founders called embodiment debt, a chronic mismatch between cognitive output and bodily input. Continuous video calls, fragmented days, and endless screen time degrade interoceptive signals, leading to brittle judgement, escalated conflicts, and...
This Startup Is Moving Nigeria’s Land Records to the Blockchain
Sytemap, formerly HouseAfrica, is building a blockchain‑based map directory that digitises private developers’ land records across Lagos and other Nigerian states. By geo‑referencing each plot with satellite imagery and recording allocations on an immutable ledger, the startup aims to eliminate...
Ensuring Your Share Plan Is Not a Recruitment Risk
The Revolut share‑plan controversy highlighted how poorly managed equity schemes can generate massive tax bills for departing employees and reputational damage for founders. The article explains that the root causes—confusing tax treatment, vague leaver rules, and over‑promising on outcomes—are common...
Deepinder Goyal’s New Startup Temple Raises $54 Mn at a $190 Mn Valuation
Deepinder Goyal’s new venture Temple closed a $54 million friends‑and‑family round, valuing the stealth‑mode startup at roughly $190 million post‑money. Goyal contributed ₹104.07 crore, while Steadview Capital, Dharana Fund, Peak XV Partners and Aaroh Fund led the institutional side. More than 30 Temple employees...
Luno Nigeria to Offer Derivates in ‘All-in-One’ Investment Strategy Push
Luno Nigeria announced plans to launch perpetuals trading and potentially futures contracts in 2026, extending its crypto offering into derivatives. The move is part of a broader strategy to become an all‑in‑one investment app, building on recent launches of staking,...