Startup news and updates: Daily roundup (February 14, 2025)

From Marico's gameplan to create soonicorns to a video intelligence platform, YourStory brings today’s headlines with the latest developments across sectors.

Featured stories

Marico Innovation Foundation’s Scale-Up accelerator on track to produce six soonicorns

Marico Innovation Foundation, the CSR-arm of consumer goods company Marico, plans to accelerate six startups from its mentorship programme and help them achieve the soonicorn tag soon.

The foundation’s Scale-Up acceleration programme, which offers bespoke mentorship to startups, has identified key areas of innovation across clean technology, plastic waste management, and agritech, in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

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Meet VOGIC AI, which turns raw CCTV footage into searchable, actionable intelligence

Video intelligence platform VOGIC AI enables corporates and government agencies to index massive volumes of CCTV and drone footage to offer real-time insights.

Founded by Arijit Biswas (CEO), Rahul Singh Thakur (CTO), and Nikhil Mehta (Co-founder), the Gurugram-headquartered startup transforms raw video into a structured, searchable knowledge base, allowing users to retrieve contextual insights instantly by leveraging vision language models.

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Funding news

Cherrapunji Craft Gin makers bag $1.2M funding from Japanese investors

Raincheck Earth Co., the company behind Cherrapunji Craft Gin, has raised $1.2 million in a pre-Series A round led by two prominent Japanese investors.

The round also witnessed participation from AngelList India Syndicate, who doubled down on their previous investments.

The company plans to use the capital to fast-track its domestic and global expansion, enhancing distribution and visibility for Cherrapunji Craft Gin in key markets. It also aims to scale production while innovating new products based on the culture of Northeast India.

"We see enormous potential in Cherrapunji Craft Gin due to its unique approach in a crowded market. The team’s deep understanding of today’s global consumer, combined with a strong Indian market presence, makes us confident that this company can become a leading global player in the alco-bev industry," noted Yasuhiro Seo, Partner at TRTL Ventures, one of the Japanese investors in this round.

(This article will be updated with the latest news throughout the day.)