This week, Indian startups raised a total of $137.68 million, including 5 growth-stage and 15 early-stage investments, while 2 startups chose not to disclose their funding amounts. In comparison, the previous week saw 18 startups collectively secure around $272.67 million.
Highlights
Growth-stage Deals
Growth and late-stage funding reached $92.6 million through five deals this week. The largest investment was made by consumer lending firm Fibe, which raised $35 million in its Series F round led by IFC. The at-home diagnostics startup Inito followed closely, securing $29 million in a Series B round led by Bertelsmann India Investments with support from Fireside Ventures. Soleos Solar Energy, energy-tech firm Smart Joules, and co-working space provider iSprout also attracted investment during the week.
Early-stage Deals
Meanwhile, early-stage startups collected approximately $45 million through 15 agreements this week. The highest round was obtained by cross-border payments facilitator Skydo, which secured $10 million in its Series A round led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital with participation from Elevation Capital. The education tech firm Uolo raised $7 million in a round led by Five Sigma. Other beneficiaries included electronics design startup Elecbits, quick commerce fashion platform KNOT, veterinary clinic chain Dr. Paws, plant-based nutrition initiative Earthfu, and AI wearable ventures. Additionally, AI startup Emergent and workspace organisation Clayworks reported funding but kept their amounts undisclosed.
City and Segment-wise Deals
Bengaluru took the lead in deal count with 9 transactions, followed by Delhi-NCR with 5 and Mumbai with 4. Hyderabad, Pune, and Ahmedabad also witnessed investments this week. In terms of segments, healthtech and AI startups topped the list with 4 deals each, while fintech registered 3 deals. Other sectors, including energy, proptech, e-commerce, and food and beverage, also secured funding during this period.
Series-wise Deals
This week, Series A rounds constituted the highest funding activity with 7 deals, while pre-Series A and Seed rounds each had 4 deals. Participation was also noted in pre-seed Series B, Series F, and debt funding. For a thorough series-wise breakdown, refer to various sources.
Week-on-week Funding Trend
In comparison to the previous week, total startup funding dropped by 50% to $137.68 million, with an average of approximately $308.14 million raised over the past eight weeks across 25 deals.
Key Hirings
Several notable appointments were announced within the startup ecosystem this week. OpenFX appointed Sourav Karmakar, a former CoinDCX executive, to oversee its India business. Infibeam has announced Vishwas Patel as its new MD and CEO, continuing with Vishal Mehta in the Chairman and MD role, and welcomed Neharika Vohra as an independent director. Other key appointments included Jatin Jain as Head of Technology & AI at Spyne, Atul Bansal as Head of Marketing at GoKwik for international expansion, and Sanjay Singh as Head of Investment Banking at InCred Capital.
Fund Launches
IAN Group successfully closed its second VC vehicle, the IAN Alpha Fund, at $100 million. Centre Court Capital finished its first fund at Rs 410 crore, exceeding its Rs 350 crore target. Transition VC announced the final close of its debut fund at Rs 700 crore (approximately $77 million), surpassing its Rs 400 crore goal. BYT Capital initiated a Rs 180 crore early-stage fund aimed at deep-tech and frontier engineering. Additionally, India Accelerator launched its accelerator programme in Saudi Arabia, supported by a $15 million fund to assist Indian startups in the Kingdom.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Honasa Consumer, the parent company of Mamaearth, ventured into the men’s grooming market by acquiring the South India-focused Reginald Men for Rs 195 crore. Virat Kohli is set to sell his brand One8 to Agilitas Sports and invest Rs 40 crore in the company. OfBusiness completed the acquisition of full ownership of Indian Design, buying the remaining 30% stake. PhysicsWallah approved the third tranche of investment in Utkarsh Classes, raising its stake to 75.50%. Furthermore, NBFC UGRO Capital concluded its all-cash acquisition of Profectus Capital amounting to Rs 1,400 crore.
Layoffs
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider Whatfix has laid off approximately 6% of its workforce, marking the company’s first round of layoffs since its inception. Reports indicate that between 60 and 80 employees were affected as part of a strategic realignment.
Shutdowns
The GenWise lifestyle app, backed by Z47 and aimed at senior citizens, has ceased operations. The startup, which employed around 20 individuals, has laid off the majority of its staff as part of its wind-down process.
New Launches and Partnerships
Wellbeing Nutrition is expanding its product range to include kids’ nutrition, while Zoho has introduced new enterprise billing and spend management solutions.
Financial Results This Week
Kirana commerce unicorn ElasticRun has successfully narrowed its losses by 60% in FY25. Joy E-bike reported a stable performance in FY25, although profits fell by 53%. Meanwhile, gin producer Nao Spirits has seen its losses double in FY25, and Your-Space reported flat revenue with losses climbing over 20%. PhysicsWallah’s profit surged by 70% in Q2 FY26, with ESOPs worth Rs 500 crore granted.
News Flash This Week
Groww solidified its lead in stock broking during November, as Zerodha faced further declines. Dhan has delivered 45X returns to angel investors, including CRED founder Kunal Shah and others, through early-stage exits. E-commerce marketplace Meesho made a notable debut on public markets, listing at a 46% premium to its issue price. Meanwhile, consumer electronics brand boAt’s auditors have reported several discrepancies and compliance gaps across FY23 to FY25.
