Startup Funding in India Surges this Week

This week, startup funding in India reached an impressive $353.81 million, with 47 startups raising capital. The total comprises 9 growth-stage and 34 early-stage deals, while 4 startups opted not to disclose their funding amounts. In comparison, the previous week saw 28 startups collectively securing approximately $254 million.

Growth-stage Deals

This week’s growth-stage funding accounted for $229.3 million across nine deals. Notably, Emergent, a startup focused on vibe-coding, secured $70 million, backed by Khosla Ventures and SoftBank. Additionally, Juspay, a payments infrastructure company based in Bengaluru, entered the unicorn club after raising $50 million in a Series D follow-on round led by WestBridge Capital. Namdev Finvest, an NBFC from Jaipur, raised $37 million through debt financing, while Unbox Robotics, specialising in supply chain robotics, garnered $28 million from a round led by ICICI Venture. Other startups like Escape Plan, AssetPlus, Aerem Solutions, Qure.ai, and PropertyPistol also received funding this week.

Early-stage Deals

Early-stage funding this week amounted to $98.81 million through 34 deals. Leading the charge, Whizzo, a manufacturing startup, raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Fundamentum. Optimist, known for technology-led cooling solutions, followed suit with $12 million in funding. Other early-stage participants included Bolna and Ringg AI in voice AI, WanderOn in travel, Enerzolve in cleantech, and Troovy in snack branding. Sustainable packaging startup Regeno, circular economy player PolyCycl, healthtech firm 3TENX, and AI-focused FireAI also secured funding, although specific deal amounts were not disclosed.

City and Segment-wise Deals

Bengaluru took the lead in deal count this week, hosting 18 deals, followed by Delhi-NCR with 11 and Mumbai with 5. Startups from cities like Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, and Jaipur also secured funding. In terms of segments, Artificial Intelligence startups dominated the week with 7 deals, closely followed by e-commerce with 6 deals. Other sectors, including fintech, manufacturing, deep tech, and solar technology, also saw funding activity.

Series-wise Deals

Seed rounds emerged as the leading category this week, comprising 15 deals, followed by Series A with 10 deals. Additional rounds including pre-seed, pre-Series A, and Series B also saw activity. More detailed series-wise funding information can be accessed through various sources.

Week-on-week Funding Trend

In terms of weekly growth, startup funding increased by 39.3% to $353.81 million in comparison to nearly $253.98 million raised the week before. The average funding amount over the last eight weeks has been approximately $207.82 million, with an average of 23 deals per week.

Key Hirings and Departures

In recent appointments, Deepak Rastogi was named the new CFO of Ola Electric following Harish Abichandani’s resignation. Abhishek Gupta has joined Livspace as Chief Financial Officer. Avaana Capital has promoted Vikas Verma and Shruti Srivastava to partners, while Pocket FM has appointed Meta AI scientist Vasu Sharma as head of AI. Ankkit Jain has been appointed as Director of Sales at Matters.AI, a data security platform. Deepinder Goyal, founder and CEO of Eternal Ltd, has transitioned to vice chairman, with Albinder Dhindsa taking over as the new group CEO. Additionally, partner Mayank Khanduja has stepped away from Elevation Capital.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Pine Labs is set to increase its stake in Agya Technologies Pvt Ltd to 100%, which previously operated as an associate company of Setu. Care.fi, a healthcare-focused fintech startup, has acquired Aldun, a platform dedicated to automating hospital discharges.

ESOP Buyback

Cashfree Payments, a Bengaluru-based fintech organisation, has launched an ESOP buyback programme affecting over 400 employees, including 175 ex-employees.

Fund Launches

The IIFL Group has announced the final closure of its second fund, IIFL Fintech Fund, after raising Rs 500 crore from domestic family offices and high-net-worth individuals.

New Launches and Partnerships

Startup Investors.ai has launched an AI platform connecting Indian founders with global investors. Credgenics has entered the B2C market with the launch of FixMyScore, while Definedge Securities has introduced ALGOSTRA, an algorithmic trading platform for retail investors. Fermi.ai, a new edtech startup leveraging AI, was launched in the US and India by former Google GM Peeyush Ranjan.

Financial Results This Week

Upstox reported an income of Rs 1,208 crore and a profit of Rs 215 crore in FY25. Urban Company recorded a revenue of Rs 383 crore with a loss of Rs 21 crore in Q3 FY26. Purplle doubled its operating revenue to Rs 1,367 crore in FY25, with losses shrinking. Ideaforge posted Rs 31 crore revenue in Q3 FY26, although losses increased by 42%. Go Digit generated Rs 2,160 crore revenue in Q3 FY26 with an 18% increase in PAT. Bluestone achieved its first-ever profit in Q3 FY26, with revenue rising to Rs 749 crore. Ixigo reported Rs 317 crore in revenue for Q3 FY26 with a 55% profit increase. MakeMyTrip noted $295 million in revenue in Q3 FY26, though profits fell by 74%. Eternal achieved Rs 16,315 crore in revenue for Q3 FY26 with a 54% growth in profits. Exotel turned profitable in FY25 with total income exceeding Rs 500 crore, and Rapido entered the Rs 1,000 crore income bracket in FY25, propelled by its delivery services outpacing its ride-hailing segment. Simplilearn’s revenue decreased to Rs 556 crore in FY25, with potential for loss reduction. Samunnati recorded a GMV of Rs 2,434 crore and Rs 5 crore in PBT for FY25.

News Flash This Week

PhonePe has initiated a pre-IPO reset, affecting Rs 3,937 crore in founders’ secondary, alongside a Rs 1,500 crore impact from credit card rental fees. The company has filed its updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus (UDRHP) with SEBI, with an anticipated IPO issue size of around Rs 12,000 crore ($1.5 billion), potentially valuing PhonePe between $14.5 and $15 billion. PhonePe reinforced its position in India’s UPI market in December, executing 9.81 billion transactions, representing a market share of 45.35% by volume and 48.68% by value. Google Pay ranked second with 7.5 billion transactions, while Paytm followed with 1.65 billion. Adtech unicorn Amagi Media Labs made a subdued entrance into the stock market, debuting at Rs 317 on the BSE, below its IPO issue price. Both Infra.Market and Purple Style Labs received SEBI approval for their upcoming IPOs. Additionally, the Karnataka High Court lifted the ban on bike taxi operations, allowing companies like Rapido, Ola, and Uber to apply for permits to resume services.