Скачать или смотреть Indian Startup News 273 - Ather Is Catching up With Ola Electric

Welcome to the Backstage with Millionaires weekly Indian startup news show, hosted by Caleb Friesen. This week, Ather Energy closes in on Ola Electric in the EV race, Dhruva Space announces its first commercial satellite launch with SpaceX, Swiggy considers exiting its stake in Rapido over a conflict of interest, Tesla opens its first charging station in India, PharmEasy appoints Rahul Guha as CEO, and Indian startups raise $187 million.

0:00 Ather Closes Gap With Ola Electric
2:25 Dhruva Space Launches First Commercial Satellite
3:36 Swiggy Explores Ditching Rapido Stake
5:11 Quick News Updates
5:50 What Did You Build This Week?
7:35 Indian Startup Funding News

Ather Closes Gap With Ola Electric

Ola Electric’s market share has fallen sharply, dropping from nearly 39% last year to third place in July 2025, with just over 17,000 scooters sold compared to more than 40,000 a year earlier. Ather Energy is closing in, selling over 16,000 scooters for a 15.78% share. The Ather Rizta now accounts for nearly 60% of sales and has crossed 1 lakh units within a year, priced between ₹99,000 and ₹1,14,000. Ather Energy’s store count grew from 351 in March to 446 in July, with a target of 700 by year-end, expanding strongly in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. While Ola Electric and Ather Energy battle for position, TVS Motor Company leads with 22,000 units sold, followed by Bajaj Auto at nearly 20,000.

Dhruva Space Launches First Commercial Satellite

Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space will launch its first commercial satellite, LEAP-1, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 later this year. The mission will carry two Australian payloads: Nexus-01, an AI system for in-orbit data processing, and OTR-2, a high-resolution Earth imaging camera for agriculture, weather, disaster tracking, and defense. Dhruva Space is using its P-30 satellite platform, a reusable design that reduces cost and development time, first tested with ISRO in 2024.

Swiggy Explores Ditching Rapido Stake

Swiggy is considering exiting its investment in Rapido due to a conflict of interest. Swiggy, focused on expanding its Instamart quick commerce service, is building its own in-house logistics network. Rapido, once a key delivery partner, has expanded beyond bike taxis into delivery services, putting it in direct competition with Swiggy’s logistics ambitions. This strategic shift would give Swiggy greater control, faster deliveries, and better margins.

Quick News Updates

Swiggy has launched DeskEats, a feature for easier office food ordering, now live in 30 cities. PharmEasy cofounder Siddharth Shah has stepped down as CEO, succeeded by Thyrocare CEO Rahul Guha. Tesla has opened its first charging station in Mumbai, with plans for more locations across India.

What Did You Build This Week?

Heuristics AI by Fahad lets businesses and policymakers run AI-powered simulations using synthetic populations to predict real-world reactions. Vidhi by Mayank Thakur automatically creates interactive guides in response to user queries inside apps. FinalRun by Ashish and Arnold enables AI-driven app testing through natural language commands, replacing manual QA processes.

Indian Startup Funding News

Indian startups raised $187 million this week. The Sleep Company raised ₹480 crore ($56 million) in Series D for home furnishings. Pune-based SuperGaming raised $15 million in Series B for its Indus Battle Royale mobile game. Hyderabad’s Hylenr raised $3 million in pre-Series A for cold fusion clean energy systems. Bengaluru-based Xovian Aerospace raised $2.5 million pre-seed to develop AI-powered radio signal monitoring satellites. Chandigarh’s Terafac raised ₹6.5 crore ($800,000) pre-seed for AI vision-enabled industrial welding robots.

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