This week, Indian startups attracted an impressive $330.2 million, consisting of 6 growth-stage and 20 early-stage funding agreements. In comparison, 22 startups had obtained approximately $162.98 million in the previous week.
Highlights
Growth-Stage Deals
Growth-stage companies garnered $272.1 million across six transactions this week, spearheaded by Weaver Services’ remarkable $156 million funding round from Premji Invest to gain a controlling interest in Centrum Housing Finance. Ecofy, a climate-centric non-banking financial company (NBFC), followed closely with Rs 380.5 crore ($42 million), led by BII and Finnfund. Meanwhile, visa processing startup Atlys secured $36 million in Series C funding. AI-driven cross-border e-commerce accelerator Assiduus Global obtained $25 million from Bajaj Finserv, while homegrown burger chain Burger Singh completed a Series B round worth Rs 82 crore (~$9 million). Anonymous social media platform Grapevine raised $4.1 million from Kae Capital, Peak XV, and Ronnie Screwvala.
Early-Stage Deals
Early-stage startups raised $58.1 million across 20 transactions this week. The AI-native procurement platform Aerchain led with a $13 million (Rs 118 crore) Series A funding from Pavestone VC. Conversational AI startup VerbaFlo secured $7 million in a seed round led by Pi Labs, while BambooBox raised $6.6 million from Peak XV Partners. CometChat also raised $6.5 million (Rs 60 crore) in a strategic round from its existing investor Run Ventures. Proptech startup OfficeBanao, fintech company Credilio, deep-tech firm Velmenni, Bengaluru-based AGNIT Semiconductors, along with 12 other early startups, also secured funding this week.
City and Segment-wise Deals
Bengaluru led the city-wise deal count with 14 transactions, followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, which recorded 6 and 3 deals respectively. Surat, Pune, and Haridwar also saw funding activities this week. In terms of segments, e-commerce startups emerged as leaders with 7 deals, followed by fintech, AI, and healthtech startups, each securing 3 deals. Additionally, sectors such as travel tech, F&B, SaaS, proptech, and others recorded funding activities during this period.
Series-wise Deals
This week, seed deals dominated the funding scene with 7 transactions, followed by Series A and pre-seed with 6 and 4 deals respectively. Series B, pre-Series A, Series C, and pre-Series B also witnessed activity.
Week-on-Week Funding Trend
Startup funding has surged more than twice this week to $330.2 million, compared to the $162.98 million raised in the previous week. The average funding over the last eight weeks stands at around $343.68 million, with approximately 27 deals per week.
Key Hirings/Departures
Several important leadership appointments occurred this week. Steadview Capital appointed Maneesh Menon as India Director, while BharatPe appointed Himanshu Verma as Head of POS. QMS Medical Allied Services welcomed Himani Pruthi as Strategy & Marketing BU Head. InvestorAi announced various senior appointments including Gopinath Natarajan (President & Head of Markets), Ajay Munni (CFO), Prema Deepthi Garlapati (CTO), and Aditya Raj Mohan (Product & Transformation). Nucleus Software appointed Yasmin Javeri Krishan as Chairperson, and Cadence named Alok Jain as India MD. Walmart-owned Flipkart announced that Group CFO Sriram Venkataraman will step down from his role, with CFO Ravi Iyer temporarily overseeing the broader finance function.
Mergers & Acquisitions
CureBay, a hybrid healthcare platform, has acquired the pharmaceutical distribution business of Saveo Healthtech for an undisclosed amount. Additionally, Nazara Technologies has taken over global gaming startups Bluetile Games S.L. and Bestplay Systems S.L. The Poggipolini Group, based in Italy, has secured a majority stake in Aero Fasteners Pvt. Ltd. for an undisclosed sum, marking its entry into India’s aerospace and defence manufacturing sector.
Fund Launches
Former Peak XV executives Shailesh Lakhani, Harshjit Sethi, and Mayank Porwal are establishing Ambition Capital, a new VC firm aiming to raise $250 million for early-stage investments. Based in Bengaluru, the fund intends to support seed and Series A startups in areas such as AI, fintech, deep tech, and consumer tech, with plans for approximately 26–30 investments. BlackSoil Capital has raised Rs 200 crore ($22 million) in debt from Impact Fund Denmark to enhance climate-focused lending across MSMEs, emerging corporations, and financial institutions in India. Optimo Capital has secured Rs 100 crore in debt from Punjab National Bank and has partnered with Godrej Finance for co-lending to disburse Rs 200 crore over the next year.
New Launches and Partnerships
Ather has expanded its service network to 500 centres, contrasting with Ola Electric’s reduction in retail network. Toing has entered Bengaluru, enhancing its presence in India, while PhysicsWallah has ventured into the student hostel segment. Navi has made its foray into motor insurance, set to compete with Acko and Digit.
Financial Results This Week
Food delivery giant Zomato has increased its platform fee by 19% to Rs 14.9 per order, aiming to enhance its margins amid waning growth. While the hike of Rs 2.4 may appear minor for users, it could considerably elevate revenue at scale. The UPI app BHIM has made a notable comeback, achieving a transaction volume increase of 4.7X to 175.93 million and a value rise to Rs 21,264 crore in February 2026, as reported by the National Payments Corporation of India. This surge propelled its ranking from 15th to 6th within a year, despite PhonePe and Google Pay maintaining a stronghold in the market. MakeMyTrip is contemplating an IPO for its India operations to tap into domestic markets, marking its second attempt in five years, despite its market cap declining from $10 billion to $4.5 billion over six months. PhonePe has put its IPO on hold due to geopolitical uncertainties affecting global market sentiment. Udaan is preparing for a reverse flip to India ahead of its IPO, merging its holding entity with Indian unit Hiveloop Ecommerce, which will serve as the parent post-restructuring. Navi has released digital motor insurance policies that include comprehensive, own-damage, and third-party covers with an instant issuance feature. Bharat Taxi, India’s cooperative ride-hailing platform, is experiencing notable traction with 2.73 million downloads, according to Sensor Tower, with a significant percentage of installs coming from Google Play.
