Indian Startups Funding Update: $254 Million Raised This Week

This week, Indian startups raised approximately $254 million, which included 4 deals for growth-stage financing and 22 deals for early-stage funding. Two startups opted not to disclose their funding amounts. In contrast, 24 startups had collectively raised around $75.36 million in the prior week.

Growth-stage Deals

After experiencing no growth-stage deals in the previous week, funding activity saw a resurgence this week, reaching a total of $91 million through four deals. Leading this round was Pee Safe, a brand focusing on women’s hygiene and wellness, which secured $32 million in its Series B funding. Healthcare startup Sukino followed closely, raising $31 million in a Series B round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Rainmatter. Wint Wealth, a platform for debt investment, and footwear company Neeman’s also raised $28 million and $4 million respectively.

Early-stage Deals

Early-stage funding this week amounted to $75.5 million spread over 22 deals. Emversity, a platform for higher education embedded training and employability, led the fund-raising with $30 million in Series A funding from Premji Invest. BillionE, an electric truck transportation startup, also secured $25 million in a pre-Series A round. Other participants included Spacetech startup Ethereal Exploration Guild, game production venture Liquidnitro Games, AI healthtech RISA Labs, proptech Truva, finance automation startup Bluecopa, and many others. The fleet management firm Carrum, backed by the CarDekho Group, along with AI education platform LearnTube.ai, also managed to secure funding this week without disclosing the amounts.

City and Segment-wise Deals

Bengaluru took the lead in the number of deals with 12, followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai with 6 and 4 deals, respectively. Other cities like Hyderabad, Vadodara, Coimbatore, and Indore also attracted funding this week.

In terms of segments, e-commerce startups dominated with 4 deals, while deep tech followed with 3. The healthtech, edtech, fintech, EV, proptech, and mobility sectors also saw substantial investment during the week.

Series-wise Deals

This week, seed rounds topped the funding charts with 8 deals, followed by Series A with 6 deals. Pre-Series A and pre-seed rounds also recorded significant activity. Further details on series-wise deals, along with funding amounts, are available from various sources.

Week-on-week Funding Trend

Comparatively, startup funding this week surged 3.4X to $254 million, up from around $75.36 million raised during the last week. The average weekly funding over the past eight weeks stands at around $207.82 million, featuring 22 deals each week.

Key Hirings and Departures

Jungle Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on Singapore and India, has promoted Arpit Beri and Rishab Malik to Managing Partner positions. Lighthouse Canton, a global investment firm, announced the appointment of Gurjeet Sohi as Managing Director and Head of Wealth Management for India. Meanwhile, Nexedge Capital has appointed Gaurav Kulshreshtha as its Chief Investment Officer and Founding Partner. BlackBuck Limited reported that Ms. Shilpi Pandey has stepped down from her role as Chief People Officer.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Snabbit, a quick home services platform, revealed its merger with the founding team of Pync, aiming to enhance its offerings in India’s burgeoning quick home services market. In another deal, Polygon Labs, a blockchain startup, agreed to acquire US-based crypto platforms Coinme and Sequence for over $250 million. Bartronics India Limited also disclosed its acquisition of a 51% stake in AYOU, a fresh produce brand operated by Shree NagaNarasimha.

Shutdowns

AI stylist platform Alle, backed by Elevation Capital, has ceased operations after struggling to establish product-market fit and a sustainable business model despite various attempts to pivot. Furthermore, Bengaluru-based startup Pync, supported by Accel and General Catalyst, is also shutting down, with its founders slated to join Snabbit.

ESOP Buyback

BrowserStack, a software testing platform headquartered in Mumbai, announced a significant $125 million share buyback programme aimed at providing liquidity for its employees and early investors. Healthtech firm Innovaccer has also successfully completed an ESOP buyback valued at Rs 600 crore, equivalent to approximately $75 million, aimed at providing liquidity to both current and former employees holding vested stock options.

Fund Launches

Kairon Capital, a consumer-focused venture capital firm founded by Deepankur Malhotra, has successfully completed the first close of its inaugural fund. Dharana Capital, an affiliate of global investment firm Vy Capital, announced it has raised $250 million (around Rs 2,254 crore) for its second India-focused fund, which includes a portfolio with Urban Company, Petpooja, LAT Aerospace, and Beyond Appliances.

New Launches and Partnerships

YKONE, BarCode, and Mirror Mirror have collaborated to launch a new initiative called ‘One’.

Financial Results This Week

Cars24 reported Rs 651 Cr adjusted revenue for H1 FY26, achieving a 36% reduction in expenses. Portea disclosed Rs 160 Cr revenue in FY25, reflecting a narrowing of losses. Sugar.fit announced a substantial 77% growth in revenue for FY25, also reducing losses. Smartworks reported Rs 472 Cr revenue in Q3 FY26 and achieved profitability. The Indian Garage Co doubled its revenue to Rs 204 Cr in FY25 but slipped into losses. Groww exhibited a profit of Rs 547 Cr on Rs 1,216 Cr revenue in Q3 FY26. Park+ noted Rs 175 Cr revenue in FY25, cutting losses by 39%. Eggoz reached Rs 130 Cr revenue in FY25, also reducing losses. Infra.Market reported over $2 Bn in gross revenue for FY25, with profits falling 42%. Zetwerk saw an 11% decline in GMV for FY25, posting a Rs 371 Cr loss. Ampere reported Rs 659 Cr revenue in FY25, cutting losses by 65%.

News Flash This Week

Shadowfax is preparing for its Rs 1,907 crore IPO, with the upper price band set at Rs 124 per share, promising significant returns for early investors. Unacademy is transitioning from company-operated centres to a franchise model. Blinkit has reportedly eliminated its 10-minute delivery claim following government intervention, with firms like Zepto and Instamart in the spotlight. SEBI has cleared Kissht’s IPO plans, and LambdaTest has rebranded itself as TestMu AI, launching the world’s first fully autonomous quality engineering platform for testing.