Ola’s Unhatched Eggs, Swiggy Faces Tax Demand, and Rapido Shifts Gears

Ola Electric’s been caught counting chickens (read: unlaunched bikes) before they hatched, Swiggy’s dealing with a ₹7.6 Cr tax curveball from Maharashtra, and Rapido is shifting gears from delivery to digitally delivering rupees with a fintech spin-off in the works. Besides, there’s also Startup Spotlight to savor.

Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

“Babuji Zara Dheere Chalo”: Ola Electric Counted Unlaunched Models In February Sales

Turns out Ola Electric might’ve gotten a little too excited in their sales report. They counted over 12,000 unlaunched Gen3 e-scooters and Roadster bikes in their February figures—yes, even though the Roadsters aren’t even on the roads yet.

The Centre wasn’t amused and has demanded answers, warning Ola of “adverse action” if they don’t clarify fast.

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“Bhaari Mistake Ho Gayil Ba”: Swiggy Gets Tax Demand Of INR 7.6 Cr From Maharashtra Govt

Swiggy just got served—by the Maharashtra taxman. The food delivery giant has been slapped with a ₹7.6 crore demand for allegedly skipping out on deducting profession tax from employee salaries back in 2021-22.

This one's from the Profession Tax Office in Pune, and it's definitely not on the menu Swiggy wanted.

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“Aasma Le Apni Kismet”: After food delivery, Rapido plans new subsidiary for fintech

Rapido’s not just zipping through traffic anymore—it’s eyeing your wallet next. After food delivery, the ride-hailing startup is now cooking up a fintech subsidiary, with plans to offer lending and financial services.

The move’s still hush-hush, but looks like Rapido wants to ride the money wave too.

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1. Innovist, the force behind Bare Anatomy, just scored ₹136 Cr in Series B funding, with Accel quietly bowing out. The beauty biz is clearly glowing—with investors lining up for a piece of the skincare pie.
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2. Nanotech startup Vimano just bagged ₹25 Cr from Ankur Capital and a mystery squad of eight investors. It’s now gearing up for energy pilots and team expansion in the race against cleantech heavyweights.
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3. Juspay just raised a solid $60 Mn in Series D to supercharge its payments infrastructure with AI smarts. With Kedaara, SoftBank, and Accel in the mix, it’s game on for intelligent transactions.
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4. Calligo Tech has scored $1.1 Mn to craft its second silicon chip and scale up its HPC game. With Seafund and Artha backing it, the Bengaluru-based startup is doubling down on AI and big data efficiency.
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5. Easebuzz just landed $30 Mn in Series A to jump into the UPI arena and level up its payments play. With Bessemer and others backing the move, it's ready to buzz louder in India’s fintech circuit.
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6. Asha Ventures has snagged $10 Mn from British International Investment for its debut fund, pushing its impact mission forward. With a $50 Mn first close already in the bag, it's betting big on changemakers like Adda 24×7 and Avanti.
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“Ice Cream Khaungi, Kashmir Jaungi”: Go Zero Is Redefining Guilt-Free Indulgence in India’s Ice Cream Market

Craving dessert without the guilt? Go Zero’s got your back with zero-sugar, high-protein ice creams that actually taste amazing.

Founded by Kiran Shah of Apsara Ice Creams fame, the brand’s already chilling in 16 cities, thriving on Blinkit and Zepto. With ₹30 Cr in fresh funding and kulfi sticks on the horizon, Go Zero is proving that healthy can be heavenly.

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