Indian Startups Funding News
This week, Indian startups raised $115 million through 4 growth-stage deals and 24 early-stage deals, which included one undisclosed round. Additionally, there were 6 significant appointments as well as one departure. In comparison, 15 startups had raised approximately $133.9 million the prior week.
Growth-Stage Deals
Growth-stage startups successfully accumulated $42.34 million through four deals this week, with Simplismart and Live2.ai leading the way by securing $14 million each. The e-commerce brand Troovy achieved $11.5 million in a Series B round, spearheaded by Sharrp Ventures and featuring participation from Info Edge, WaterBridge, and Better Capital.
Early-Stage Deals
Early-stage startups raised $72.25 million through 24 deals this week. Healthtech startup Cent topped the list with $15 million in a Series A round, backed by Blume Ventures and South Park Commos. Gaming entity Matiks secured $10 million during its pre-Series A round, guided by General Catalyst. The e-commerce platform Ace Blend raised $9.91 million in its Series A round from 3one4 Capital, while luxury watch brand Rotoris garnered Rs 70 crore (approximately $7.4 million) in its Series A funding round, also led by Blume Ventures. Other startups attracting investments this week included fintech brand Mochatrade, gaming startup Let’s Game Now, manufacturing firm Venttup, healthtech startup Jagruti Rehabilitation Centre, QwikBuild, and several others.
City and Segment-Wise Deals
Bengaluru led the startup funding scene with 14 deals throughout the week, followed by Delhi-NCR with five deals and Mumbai with three deals. Chennai, Pune, Rourkela, Kerala, and Hyderabad also experienced funding influx this week. E-commerce startups dominated the sectors with 8 deals, while AI startups secured 6 deals. Additionally, healthtech, gaming, deeptech, fintech, and spiritual tech ventures also observed funding activity.
Series-Wise Deals
Seed rounds led this week with 8 deals, followed by pre-seed startups that secured 7 deals. Series A, pre-Series A, and pre-Series B also marked notable engagements this week.
Week-on-Week Funding Trend
Compared to the previous week, startup funding experienced a 14% decline, amounting to $115 million, down from the $133.9 million raised previously. The average weekly funding over the last eight weeks remained around $210 million across 23 deals.
Key Hirings
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the founder of Info Edge, will assume the role of MD and Group CEO from December 3, 2026, as Hitesh Oberoi steps down. Shoonya, the trading and investment platform under Finvasia Group, has brought Basant Dhawan on board as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). CheQ has appointed Rupal Rajal as head of human resources. Former Criteo executive Medhavi Singh joined Aleph as the country head of India, and Kiran U was appointed CFO at Bellatrix Aerospace.
Financial Results This Week
New Launches and Partnerships
Air India and SBI Card are set to introduce a co-branded credit card shortly. This collaboration aims to create a Visa-powered credit card programme that provides various travel and lifestyle benefits to members of Air India’s Maharaja Club loyalty programme.
Pronto founder Anjali Sardana has set up Provision Labs, a physical AI venture in the US, which is dedicated to gathering real-world data for training and testing AI systems for robotics and other applications. This venture is supported by investors like Lachy Groom, Glade Brook, General Catalyst, and Bain Capital Ventures.
Digital lending platform Fibe has formed a partnership with Canadian cleantech fintech Hygge Energy to streamline solar loan financing in India. This collaboration intends to facilitate access to solar loans and support the uptake of rooftop solar initiatives under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.
Bengaluru-based Pixxel has established a US subsidiary named Pixxel Federal to expand its service offerings to American government agencies, including sectors like defence and intelligence. This unit will supply Earth observation technology and related services to federal clients.
News Flash This Week
Jio Platforms, backed by Reliance Industries, made a robust stock market debut, with shares listed at Rs 1,358 on the NSE—21% higher than the issue price of Rs 1,119. This listing values Jio Platforms at approximately Rs 12.5 lakh crore, positioning it as India’s second-largest listed entity by market capitalisation.
Skydo has been granted final IFSCA authorisation to operate as a Payment Service Provider at GIFT City, following prior approval in May 2026. This licence enables the company to venture into multi-currency accounts and merchant collections.
Ola Electric shares surged nearly 20% ahead of Q2 FY27 results, as focus remained on its Rs 1,000 crore rights issue, which concludes on October 30.
Startup Superb hosted the second edition of The Spur D2C Community mixer in Bengaluru on October 23, gathering over 30 founders and industry leaders for open discussions on brand development and scaling.
Cricketer Virat Kohli has increased his stake in Agilitas Sports to 6.4% from 1.8% in light of the merger between his sportswear brand one8 and the company.