ProjectHero launched HomeRun, a 60-minute delivery service for building materials
Construction tech startup Project Hero, which previously raised $3.6 million from Ankur Capital, Omidyar Network and Titan Capital, has launched Homerun, a rapid commerce platform that offers 60-minute delivery of construction materials. HomeRun caters to contractors, professionals, and homeowners and currently delivers around 800 SKUs across 76 zip codes in Bengaluru.
Homerun addresses the problems faced by customers who depend on local retailers and vendors for supply of ad-hoc building materials like cement, hardware, plywood etc. — it’s time-consuming and a logistical nightmare, with no tracking or visibility around pricing or availability.
In addition, HomeRun supports on-demand material delivery directly to construction sites, ensuring quick access to supplies needed unexpectedly or at short notice.
StepTrade Share Services secures the FPI license for StepTrade India Fund
StepTrade Share Services, an asset management company known for launching India’s first successful SME-Exchange-focused CAT II AIF, Chanakya Opportunity Fund, has achieved another significant milestone. With its recently launched CAT III AIF GIFT City, Gandhinagar, StepTrade India Fund has been granted a Category I Foreign Portfolio Investor (FPI) licence, officially opening its doors to foreign investors.
StepTrade India Fund represents StepTrade’s first initiative in GIFT City. With an FPI license and registration as a restricted non-retail scheme under IFSCA FM rules, the open-end CAT III AIF underscores the firm’s commitment to aligning local expertise with global investment norms. The fund is specifically designed for private and accredited investors, offering the dual benefits of a Category III AIF framework with the international reach and flexibility of a Category I FPI licence.
DigiCert Unveils 2025 Security Predictions
DigiCert’s 2025 cybersecurity predictions highlight key trends shaping the digital trust landscape.
Key points include the rise of post-quantum cryptography, the prominence of key trust authorities, and the need for automation and crypto-agility. Sophisticated content provenance tools will combat digital misinformation, while resilience and zero outages will be critical to IoT security.
The rise in AI-powered phishing attacks, private PKI standards, and cryptographic bills of materials will redefine security. Manual certificate management will be phased out, and enterprises will prioritize vendor consolidation for improved integration and security.
“The relentless pace of innovation is not only reshaping our digital lives—it’s exposing new vulnerabilities faster than we can protect them, demanding a bold rethinking of how we approach cybersecurity,” said Jason Sabin, CTO of DigiCert.
Mars Veterinary Health invests in Crown Veterinary Services
Crown Veterinary Services (Crown Vet) today announced that Mars Veterinary Health has entered the Indian veterinary sector through a minority investment. As part of a family-owned business with nearly 90 years of experience in pet care, including 30 years in veterinary services, Mars Veterinary Health brings deep global expertise to Crown Vet’s established local presence that will help advance veterinary care in India.
Across five cities in India — Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune — Crown Vet is known for clinical excellence. Through this investment, Crown Vet will expand its network and introduce advanced training programs for its 240 employees, including 60 veterinarians.
FedEx enhances the logistics experience with the launch of a one-stop shop solution
FedEx, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp, introduced FedEx One Stop Shop, a digital platform that provides access to both shipping and freight forwarding services, simplifying global shipping for businesses.
FedEx One Stop Shop brings together order management, booking, and track and trace in a single system, giving businesses comprehensive visibility and control over shipments. The platform enables streamlined operations through a single point of contact at FedEx, eliminating the complexities of managing multiple freight forwarders. Additionally, it allows businesses to maintain inventory of their past shipments, ensuring a more efficient and transparent logistics process.
Kotak unveils Kotak BizLabs Accelerator Program
Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited has launched a new initiative, the Kotak BizLabs accelerator programme, under its CSR efforts aimed at empowering early revenue stage startups. The program is designed to help startups overcome growth challenges and effectively scale their businesses. In association with top incubators such as IIMA Ventures, NSRCEL, and T-Hub, Kotak BizLabs will offer tailored acceleration initiatives including mentorship, market access, and advisory support.
The Indian startup ecosystem, while vibrant, faces significant challenges such as market expansion, customer acquisition, operational scale, and strategic partnerships. While many incubator programs focus on early-stage startups (ideas and concepts), there are very few programs that focus on early-growth startups that face the challenges of navigating competition, refining product-market-fit, and securing funding for expansion and scaling operations. .
Kotak BizLabs addresses these issues by providing high-touch support, thematic workshops, ecosystem exposure, competitions, mentoring, partnerships, business development, guaranteed seed funding, and demo days.
ServiceNow has appointed Ganesh Laxminarayanan as MD and Group Vice President, ServiceNow India and SAARC Business.
ServiceNow, a digital workflow company, has appointed Ganesh Laxminarayanan as Managing Director (MD) and Group Vice President (GVP), ServiceNow India and SAARC Business, effective 06 January 2025. This strategic appointment reinforces ServiceNow’s commitment to one of the world’s fastest growing markets and a key driver of digital transformation.
Ganesh has a wealth of experience having served as the CEO of Airtel’s domestic B2B business. Prior to Airtel, he held the position of Chairman and MD of Dell India, exhibiting a distinguished career in leadership roles.
Known for his inclusive and high-performance leadership style, Ganesh is passionate about nurturing strong, engaged teams that deliver exceptional results. As MD and GVP, ServiceNow India and SAARC Business, Ganesh will play a key role in further strengthening ServiceNow’s position as a leader in digital transformation and innovation in the APAC region.
Ganesh Lakshminarayan
Radisson Hotel Group has appointed Rasna Kapadi as Director of Design and Technical Services for South Asia.
Radisson Hotel Group has announced the appointment of Rashna Kapadi as the new Director of Design and Technical Services for South Asia.
In her new role, Rashna will lead design strategies and execution for the group’s South Asia portfolio, driving innovative projects that enhance the guest experience and set new benchmarks in hospitality design.
With over 24 years of expertise in architecture, interior design, urban planning, and landscape design, Rashna brings a wealth of experience in luxury and budget hospitality, institutional developments, and mixed-use projects. His visionary vision and commitment to excellence align seamlessly with the group’s dedication to creating an exceptional, guest-centric environment.
Uber sees highest number of intercity trips booked in 2024, boosted by travel demand
Uber, India’s leading ride-hailing app, today released the latest edition of its popular intercity mobility product’s annual data collection ‘Intercity Ride’ Index, which tracks year-to-date journeys in 2024. The number surpassed the previous year’s high. .
In 2024, Uber recorded its highest ever intercity travel bookings, driven by Indians’ growing interest in travel, vacations and transformative improvements in the country’s road infrastructure. The expanded network of national highways and expressways has significantly reduced travel time, making long-distance road trips more comfortable, convenient and attractive than ever before.
Weekends continued to be the most preferred days for intercity travel by Indians, with Sunday packing the most booked trips, followed by Saturday and Friday respectively.
iD Fresh has appointed Gaurav Kwatra as Chief Marketing Officer
iD Fresh, the consumer fresh food brand, has announced the appointment of Gaurav Kwatra as its new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Quatra will be responsible for leading iD Fresh’s marketing and brand-building strategies, accelerating market expansion and driving greater customer engagement.
Kwatra is an accomplished marketing and business leader with over two decades of experience building and leading iconic global and Indian brands. During his 20 years at Nestlé and Britannia, his expertise in food and beverages spans various categories. Throughout his career, Quatra has led highly effective marketing campaigns, driving disruptive growth and profitability.
Prior to joining ID Fresh, Kwatra held leadership positions at Nestlé. Quatra’s ability to turn around brands, accelerate growth and successfully launch new ventures has earned him a reputation as a results-driven leader.
(It will be updated daily with fresh news.)