The Ayurveda Co Shuts Down After Overexpansion Derails Business

Source: inc42

The Ayurveda Co Shuts Down After Overexpansion Derails Business

Business

"D2C ayurvedic beauty brand The Ayurveda Co and its sister brand Khadi Essentials have shut down after ceasing operations in July 2025. Despite raising ₹125 Cr, the startups liquidated their assets and entered a formal winding-up process. Cofounder Param Bhargava attributed the failure to unsustainable rapid expansion and premature senior hiring. The company previously sold various ayurvedic skincare, haircare, and wellness products through online and offline channels.".

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NCLT Orders Status Quo On BYJU’S Assets Sold For ₹16 Cr

Business

"The National Company Law Tribunal has ordered a status quo on assets auctioned by BYJU’S parent company, Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, to Comprint Tech Solutions. This follows a dispute where the resolution professional of BYJU’S K3 Education claimed ownership of goods worth ₹150 crore. Due to insufficient evidence from both parties, the tribunal directed Comprint to disclose the assets' location and inventory until ownership is conclusively established.".

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Cradlewise raises $12M in Series A led by 3one4 Capital, Prudent Investment Management

Startups

Cradlewise, an AI-first health company, raised $12 million in Series A funding led by 3one4 Capital and Prudent Investment Management, bringing its total funding to $26 million. The startup develops a smart sleep system combining a crib, monitoring, and adaptive motion to help infants sleep better. The company plans to use the capital for international expansion, product research, and developing new offerings for children beyond infancy.

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VLCC raises Rs 110 Cr in funding from BlackSoil Capital

Startups

"VLCC, a beauty and wellness company backed by Carlyle, has raised Rs 110 crore from BlackSoil Capital to fuel its expansion. The funding will support the company's growth across its beauty, wellness, and personal care sectors, including new product launches and store network expansion. Operating in 11 countries with over 250 locations, VLCC aims to strengthen its platform to meet the rising demand for organized wellness services.".

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D2C Smart Crib Brand Cradlewise Raises $12 Mn To Expand Product Portfolio

Business

"Cradlewise, a San Francisco-based smart crib startup, has raised $12 million in a Series A round led by 3one4 Capital and Prudent Investment Management, bringing its total funding to $26 million. The company plans to use the capital to expand its distribution channels, enter international markets, and develop new sleep-related hardware and software solutions for children, leveraging its AI-driven technology and extensive sleep data.".

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Inside Yes Madam’s Bet To Own The Full At-Home Beauty Stack

Business

Yes Madam is expanding its at-home salon services to include dermatologist-designed, non-invasive aesthetic treatments. Using a hub-and-spoke model, the startup provides professional-grade procedures like laser hair reduction and HydraGlo facials at 35-55% lower costs than conventional clinics. By employing certified professionals and single-use kits, the company ensures safety and convenience. Yes Madam aims to build a ₹500 Cr business while expanding across major Indian cities.

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Meet the lender taking secured small-business credit beyond India’s top 100 locations

Startups

Business Nextgen Finance (BNF), founded by former risk executive Pankaj Poddar, has raised Rs 215 crore in equity capital from institutional investors, including Beams Fintech Fund and Baring Private Equity. The NBFC aims to expand secured MSME lending beyond India's top 100 markets, targeting 1,000 locations. By integrating AI-native technology with traditional underwriting, BNF intends to bridge the credit gap for underserved small entrepreneurs while maintaining risk discipline.

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Uber To Lay Off 200-250 Employees In India Amid Global Restructuring

Business

Uber is laying off 200-250 employees in India as part of a global restructuring that will eliminate approximately 3,300 roles. These cuts primarily impact technology and operations teams, including half of the AI Solutions unit. The company aims to simplify its organizational structure and redirect resources toward core mobility, delivery, and autonomous vehicle technology. Despite the layoffs, Uber continues to invest in India's strategic growth and infrastructure.

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Data centre industry, Piyush Goyal discusses power availability, regulatory issues

Startups

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met with data centre stakeholders to discuss accelerating India's digital infrastructure. Participants urged for reliable power availability, streamlined single-window approvals, and DC-ready land banks to support growing AI and cloud workloads. With hyperscalers driving significant demand and expected investments reaching USD 200 billion, the government aims to implement high-impact reforms to position India as a trusted global data centre hub.

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Uber to cut about 10% of global workforce, nearly 3,400 jobs likely to hit

Startups

Uber Technologies is reducing its global workforce by approximately 10 percent, affecting about 3,400 employees, as part of an organizational overhaul. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated the move aims to simplify team structures, remove management layers, and reduce operational complexity to accelerate decision-making. The company is also consolidating roles into hub cities and limiting fully remote work to 1 percent of staff to drive future growth and innovation.

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A gem shines brighter after life’s hardest trials & friction

Startups

Life's challenges and discomforts are essential for personal growth, acting like the friction that polishes a gemstone. While setbacks and failures can feel discouraging, they build resilience, reveal hidden strengths, and teach lessons that comfort cannot provide. By viewing struggle as a process of refinement rather than failure, individuals can transform adversity into stepping stones toward greater maturity, wisdom, and emotional strength.

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Flipkart’s Microdrama Foray, Purple Style Labs’ IPO & More

Business

The primary story is Flipkart's move into microdramas. The other snippets are secondary news items. Usually, in a summary of a "news article" that contains multiple snippets, the lead story gets the most weight, or the summary covers the main highlights. However, the prompt asks to summarize the "news article content," which is a collection of several short news pieces.

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TechSparks 2026: Priyank Kharge, Krishna Byre Gowda, Sameer Nigam, Pramod Varma, and more to take the stage

Startups

"YourStory's flagship startup-tech summit, TechSparks 2026, returns to Bengaluru from October 13-15 under the theme 'The New Tech Order.' The event gathers policymakers, founders, investors, and technologists to explore AI, deeptech, and digital infrastructure. Featuring leaders from government, Meta, PhonePe, and various venture capital firms, the summit aims to turn conversations into action, shaping India's next phase of innovation and large-scale technological growth.".

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Amazon India adds 160,000 seasonal jobs; JioHotstar goes global

Startups

AI salaries are rising, especially in Bengaluru, while Amazon India creates 160,000 seasonal jobs. JioHotstar is expanding into the UK, Canada, and Singapore, and Bengaluru startup Magron is developing electric motorcycles. Meanwhile, FSSAI's proposed food labels face criticism, Tim Cook's compensation reaches $47 million, Range Rover unveils its first electric model, and Uber plans to cut 3,300 jobs to reduce costs and management layers.

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The Builders Stage brings practical strategies for scaling startups to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Startups

"The Builders Stage returns to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 from October 13-15 at San Francisco's Moscone Center. This industry-focused stage brings together over 10,000 founders, investors, and operators to discuss scaling successful companies. Featuring leaders from Google, Gamma, and Precedent.vc, sessions will cover critical topics including AI defensibility, fundraising, hiring, and go-to-market strategies. Attendees will gain actionable insights and practical strategies to navigate the challenges of startup growth.".

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Palo Alto Networks paid $500M for Thrive-backed Console, sources say

Startups

Palo Alto Networks acquired AI startup Console for $500 million in cash and stock to automate routine IT help desk tasks. The cybersecurity firm will integrate Console’s agentic functionality into its Cortex platform, allowing security teams to resolve alerts using natural language. Founded by Andrei Serban, Console previously served clients like Ramp and Scale AI. This marks Palo Alto Networks' seventh acquisition of 2026, strengthening its autonomous security capabilities.

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TechCrunch Disrupt 2026’s new Real World AI Stage features Nvidia, robots, and extinct animals

Startups

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will take place from October 13 to 15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. This year, the event expands its AI programming by introducing a second stage called the Real World AI Stage. This new stage focuses on the intersection of digital and physical technologies, featuring discussions on robotics, autonomous hardware, and de-extinction with leaders from Nvidia, Shield AI, and Colossal Biosciences among other industry experts.

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Google spared from ad-business breakup, but judge orders changes to how it operates

Startups

The Justice Department's antitrust efforts to break up Google's search and ad-technology businesses have faced setbacks. While courts ruled Google maintained illegal monopolies in both sectors, judges rejected requests to divest Chrome, Android, or the ad-tech business. Instead, Google must end exclusive default-placement deals and adjust business practices to favor competitors. Google considers these rulings a victory, avoiding a forced breakup of its core operations.

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OpenAI’s new reasoning technique alarms AI safety experts

Startups

OpenAI's new Astra model employs a reasoning technique called "recurrent depth" or "opaque recurrence," which allows for non-sequential processing. While OpenAI maintains its commitment to chain-of-thought monitoring, AI safety experts warn that this approach could make model reasoning harder to track and monitor. Concerns persist that scaling such techniques may lead to a loss of transparency, potentially prompting other labs like Google and Anthropic to follow.

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MapQuest is now the No. 1 U.S. app after bucking Trump’s ‘Lake America’ renaming

Startups

"MapQuest has surged to the No. 1 spot on the U.S. App Store after refusing to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America,' following a presidential executive order. While competitors Google and Apple Maps complied with the directive, MapQuest’s defiance sparked a massive wave of downloads from supportive users. The company reported over 1.5 million new installs across the U.S. and Canada, marking a significant and unexpected comeback.".

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