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Zone Startups India Selects 15 Startups For EmpoWer Accelerator Program

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Zone Startups India Selects 15 Startups,15 Startups For EmpoWer Accelerator Program,Startup Stories,Latest Business News 2017,Inspirational Stories 2017,Zone Startups India selects 15 women Led Startup,EmpoWer Accelerator Program,15 Women Entrepreneurs in india,Top 10 Women Entrepreneurs

Zone Startups India has selected 15 women led startups for the second edition of its EmpoWer Accelerator Program. The current batch of 15 entrepreneurs were selected out of 376 applicants from across India.

EmpoWer is backed by the Department of Science and Technology, Tata Trusts’ Social Alpha, Microsoft, Amazon, ICICI Bank, PayU, CapitalFirst and FlexiLoans. The selected startups represent various technology themes such as Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and deep learning, across industries like healthcare, smart cities and enterprise solutions. A panel comprising of 12 mentors and noted industry experts selected the startups after careful examination.

The startups that have been shortlisted will join the six week community programme. All the entrepreneurs will be provided with industry networking opportunities, valuable mentoring sessions, workshops, case studies, peer to peer interactions, boot camp and investor networking. The winner of this Cohort will also get the opportunity to attend a week long business development and personal mentorship programme in Quebec, Canada.

Launched in 2016, the accelerator programme has been designed to identify the need based gaps witnessed by women entrepreneurs. Through extensive research, Zone Startups is gunning to fill the gaps such as a lack of peer group of like minded women, limited financial independence, a risk averse mindset, lack of training in technology and finance among others. In the first edition, $ 23.6 million was collectively raised in funds by the 15 startups which were selected out of 191 applications.

Speaking about the 2nd Cohort, Director of Zone Startups India, Ajay Ramasubramaniam said, “ We believe we have unearthed some solid winners in the final cohort of 15, who will go on to do wonders for themselves and the ecosystem of women entrepreneurs.” The selected startups will be supported by Zone Startups India for up to a year after the programme.

Here Is the List Of The 15 Selected Startups And Their Founders –

Aardra Kannan Ambili – Riot Solutions Inc.
Founded in 2015, Riot Solutions is an IoT-based startup which develops sleep monitoring solutions for babies to track their wellness.

Meenakshi Vashist – Technology Uncorked
Technology Uncorked, led by Meenakshi Vashist, offers a light IoT framework for devices and appliances for energy efficient, Smart and connected Living Spaces.

Komal Goyali – WOWLET
WOWLET runs a mobile application that offers toilet maintenance and cleaning services for household, office complexes, and restaurants. Founded in 2017, the startup gives the user real time information on the cleanliness of  toilets.

Neha Bagoria – Tapu Sustainable Solutions
Tapu Sustainable Solutions is into sustainable green solutions and provides waterless urinal solutions such as EcoTrapin Xtra and EcoTrapin Plus to help alleviate issues like climate change.

Vishakha Singh- ICONICbot
India’s first multilingual, AI driven chatbot, ICONICbot, helps to connect influencers and their fans on relevant messaging platforms. Available in English and Tamil, the company claims the bot has processed 2.6 million messages.

Shruthi Gilla – Revol Inc.
Revol is a startup engaged in the creation of smart wallets, such as Cashew, equipped with fingerprint authentication and Bluetooth connectivity. The company, registered in Delaware, USA, has a target to sell 10,000 units globally and generate $1,000,000 in revenue.

Niyati Agarwal – Morph.ai
Morph.ai is an enterprise ChatBot suite founded in 2016. The company introduced the concept of ‘chatbot as a landing page’ to boost lead generation for businesses and engage in personalized marketing and sales.

Chandni Rajendran – Tactopus
The Tactopus team, lead by design innovator Chandni Rajendran, is developing an interactive edtech device such as interactive books for blind children. Children with visual disabilities can listen to audio labels and explanations while feeling and reading tactile shapes with their fingers.

Pria Randolph – Bitgram Technologies
Bitgram is a trust based consent oriented software product which uses blockchain and machine learning for instant, real time exchange of verified information.

Veena Moktali – Periwinkle Technologies
Periwinkle Technologies Pvt., Ltd., is a med tech startup that provides various products for healthcare to enable faster and better diagnostics. The company also developed an affordable device in association with Tata Memorial Center for the diagnosis of cervical cancer.

Vidya Vellala – Faasthelp
Faasthelp is a customer support and engagement platform which helps businesses retain customers, convert new ones and enhance customer satisfaction.

Sivareena Sarika – PregBuddy Technologies
Founded in 2016, PregBuddy is a mobile application that is designed as a one stop platform for smart communication between doctors and patients, especially for pregnant women in India.

Mansi Khanna -The Friday Code
The Friday Code builds products which aid the growth of traditional and new age brands, develop platforms and transform organizations. Founded in 2016, this startup helps brands and agencies increase their returns from investments through efficient tracking and optimization of advertisements.  

Geetanjali Agarwal – Bizlem
Bizlem deals in chatbot technologies that tries to solve major business problems using artificial intelligence.

Dr. Tanushree Devi Laishram – CyGen
CyGen is an independent organization which provides unprecedented access to personalized healthcare services. Launched in 2016, this company helps individuals increase their knowledge and understand those opportunities which can minimize healthcare challenges and improve the quality of life.

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How Brands Around India Adapted RCB’s IPL 2025 Win: A Masterclass in Real-Time Marketing

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IPL StartupStories

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is not just a cricket tournament—it’s a cultural phenomenon that captures the imagination of millions. The 2025 season was especially significant as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ended their 18-year wait for an IPL trophy, sparking nationwide celebrations and a flurry of creative marketing from brands eager to ride the wave of emotion.

Seizing the Moment with Creative Campaigns

Brands across sectors quickly recognized the marketing goldmine that was RCB’s historic victory. Social media platforms became the battleground for witty, nostalgic, and heartfelt content. Voltas Beko, for example, cleverly played on the long wait with a pun: “This moment’s been cooking for 18 years,” featuring a microwave set to 18:00

. Fevicol used humor, captioning a visual of the trophy snuggled in bed with the iconic fan chant: “Ee sala cup chipak gaya ;)”. MG Motor referenced Bangalore’s infamous traffic, declaring, “The only time Bangalore enjoys slow traffic,” as a car displayed “Trophy On Board”.

From Jerseys to Delivery Trucks

Official kit partner Puma India launched a special jersey commemorating the win, emblazoned with RCB’s tagline, “Played Bold”. Quick commerce brands like BlinkIt and Swiggy joined in, with BlinkIt showing the cup being delivered to Bengaluru via a delivery partner and Swiggy featuring a GPS tracker with a delivery executive en route to deliver the trophy. Zomato kept it simple yet impactful with a post reading “EE Sala Cup Namdu,” echoing the fans’ rallying cry.

Emotional Storytelling and Viral Reach

Brands leveraged the emotional high of RCB’s win to connect with audiences. Lego India posted an animated Virat Kohli with the cup, highlighting loyalty and perseverance: “Some waited for years, some questioned loyalty, but greatness? That’s built brick by brick. Champions at last!” Google India, Coca Cola, boAt, and others added to the chorus, each with their own creative spin.

Conclusion

RCB’s IPL 2025 win became more than a sports story—it was a moment of national pride and a catalyst for innovative, real-time marketing. Brands that adapted quickly, using humor, nostalgia, and emotional storytelling, not only amplified their reach but also deepened their connection with fans across India. This approach highlights the power of tapping into trending moments to create memorable, shareable content.

 

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Gemini 2.5: Revolutionizing Dialogue and Audio Generation with AI

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Gemini

Google’s Gemini 2.5 marks a significant leap forward in artificial intelligence, introducing groundbreaking capabilities in dialogue and audio generation. Designed from the ground up as a multimodal model, Gemini 2.5 can natively understand and generate content across text, images, audio, video, and code, making it a versatile tool for developers, content creators, and businesses alike.

Advanced Dialogue: Real-Time, Natural, and Context-Aware

Gemini 2.5 excels in real-time audio dialogue, offering users remarkably fluid and expressive conversations. The AI’s ability to interpret tone, accent, and even non-speech vocalizations like laughter enables interactions that feel genuinely human. Users can customize speech delivery using natural language prompts, adjusting accents, tone, or even requesting whispered responses. This level of control is invaluable for applications ranging from virtual assistants to customer service bots.

The model is also context-aware, distinguishing between relevant speech and background noise, ensuring it responds only when appropriate. Integration with external tools, such as Google Search, allows Gemini 2.5 to incorporate real-time information seamlessly into conversations. Moreover, its multilingual capabilities support over 24 languages, enabling users to mix languages within a single phrase—ideal for global audiences.

Cutting-Edge Audio Generation: Flexible and Engaging

Beyond dialogue, Gemini 2.5 offers advanced text-to-speech (TTS) features. Users can generate everything from short snippets to long-form narratives, with precise control over style, tone, and emotional expression. The TTS engine supports multi-speaker dialogue, making it perfect for creating engaging summaries, podcasts, and audiobooks. Enhanced pace and pronunciation controls ensure audio clarity and naturalness, while multilingual output makes content accessible worldwide.

Developers can access these features through Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, with options for both high-fidelity (Gemini 2.5 Pro) and cost-effective (Gemini 2.5 Flash) audio generation. All generated audio includes SynthID watermarking for transparency and safety.

Conclusion

Gemini 2.5 is redefining the boundaries of AI-driven dialogue and audio generation. Its natural, expressive, and customizable voice capabilities, combined with robust reasoning and multilingual support, make it a powerful tool for the next generation of digital experiences.

Whether for interactive applications, content creation, or global communication, Gemini 2.5 sets a new standard for intelligent, multimodal AI.

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Dunzo Gets Breather as NCLT Rejects Insolvency Petition from Invoice Discounters

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Dunzo

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Bengaluru bench has dismissed an insolvency plea filed against quick commerce startup Dunzo by its invoice discounters, declaring the petition “not maintainable” after several postponements. This decision offers temporary relief to Dunzo, which has been facing multiple insolvency petitions from various creditors, including Velvin Packaging Solutions and Betterplace Safety Solutions, over unpaid dues.

The invoice discounters alleged that Dunzo had paid only 50% of the required amounts, though the exact sum was not disclosed. Despite ongoing settlement talks, no resolution was reached, and the tribunal noted Dunzo’s delays in responding to creditor petitions. Dunzo continues to grapple with severe liquidity issues, delayed payments, and significant losses—reporting a ₹1,801.8 crore loss in FY23 and owing approximately ₹11.4 crore to major vendors like Google India and Facebook India.

While this NCLT ruling provides Dunzo some breathing room, the company still faces ongoing financial and operational challenges as it works to resolve its outstanding liabilities.

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