Indian Startups Raise Funding This Week

This week, Indian startups have collectively attracted approximately $222.87 million in funding, consisting of 3 growth-stage and 36 early-stage deals. In contrast, 4 startups opted to keep their financial details undisclosed. Comparatively, 29 startups had raised a total of nearly $1.3 billion in the preceding week.

Growth-Stage Deals

Growth-stage startups brought in $45.2 million through three deals this week, with defence technology startup Constelli leading the charge by securing $20 million in a Series A funding round from General Catalyst. The creator-focused commerce platform Wishlink followed closely, raising $17.5 million in a Series B round with support from Vertex Ventures. Additionally, the direct-to-consumer home and kitchen brand Home Essentials raised Rs 70 crore in a pre-Series B round, led by 360 ONE Asset.

Early-Stage Deals

Early-stage deals took the spotlight this week, garnering $177.68 million across 36 transactions. Temple, a startup in the wearable technology sector that was founded by Deepinder Goyal, received $54 million in its initial funding round led by Goyal, along with investments from Peak XV Partners, Steadview Capital, Nikhil Kamath, and over 90 other investors. The B2B cross-border payments startup Xflow raised $16.6 million in its Series A round from General Catalyst, with MSME lending platform Prayaan Capital and pre-construction AI platform MeltPlan also securing $12 million and $10 million, respectively. On the debt side, SIDBI financed two startups, granting Rs 5 crore to deeptech company GalaxEye and Rs 10 crore to agritech startup Agrizy.
Other startups that found funding this week included the AI-driven B2B marketing platform Gushwork, proptech startup Spintly, the plant-based nutraceutical brand ZeroHarm Sciences, and debt relief platform FREED. The technology-driven elder care startup MAITYS raised an undisclosed amount in its funding round. Meanwhile, the manufacturing accelerator program Maxcel announced undisclosed investments in three deeptech startups: Enerzi, Misochain, and Quintrans.

City and Segment-Wise Deals

Bengaluru led the city-wise deal count with 21 deals, while Delhi-NCR followed with 11 deals. Cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Gwalior, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mumbai also made their mark with funding activity this week.
Segment-wise, AI and deeptech startups topped the charts with 7 deals each, trailed by healthtech and e-commerce startups which registered 6 and 5 deals, respectively. Fintech, SaaS, and Agritech startups also secured funding during this period.

Series-Wise Deals

This week, seed rounds dominated the funding landscape with 19 deals, followed by Series A and pre-seed rounds with 10 and 5 deals respectively. Other funding types, including debt, Pre-Series A, Angel, and Series B were also noted.

Week-on-Week Funding Trend

In terms of weekly funding comparisons, startup financing fell 83% to $222.87 million compared to the approximately $1.3 billion raised in the previous week. The average funding over the last eight weeks has been around $354 million, with an average of 32 deals each week.

Key Hirings and Departures

Aakash Educational Services has appointed Alka Garg as Chief Financial Officer and Kanika Kumar Nijhawan as Senior Vice President – Marketing. PRISM, the parent company of OYO, has designated Ajay Tyagi as an Independent Director on its board. Global fintech platform Pine Labs has selected Shalini Pillai as Chief Marketing Officer. Dream Sports has named Arpith Kanade as Head of Studio for Dream Cricket. Tartan has welcomed former CRIF director Subhrangshu Chattopadhyay as Chief Business Officer. Pankaj Walia joined Nexedge Capital as Co-founder after spending 22 years at Standard Chartered Bank. Aditi Madhok-Naarden assumed the role of Group CHRO at TBO.
Prabhkiran Singh, co-founder of the D2C fashion brand Bewakoof, announced plans to step down after 14 years, with intentions to focus on personal priorities. Livspace, a home décor and interior design company, has experienced another high-profile leadership exit, with Chief Business Officer Lalit Mittal resigning shortly after the departure of co-founder Saurabh Jain. In a separate development, Mayank Jain, a Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, has resigned after a four-year tenure.

Fund Launches

Consumer-focused early-stage venture capital firm Sauce VC has announced the final close of its Rs 750 crore Opportunities Fund, designed to support four to five companies from its current portfolio with high-conviction bets including Hocco, The Whole Truth, Mokobara, Innovist, XYXX, and Supertails. Furthermore, Info Edge has launched B8 Fund-I, a new growth-stage fund with an initial commitment of Rs 250 crore, marking its first dedicated vehicle for later-stage investments, with potential plans to expand beyond this initial amount.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Deepinder Goyal’s LAT Aerospace has acquired Gurugram-based defence robotics startup Sharang Shakti for an undisclosed sum. Capillary Technologies has authorised a $20 million investment in its overseas arm for acquiring the US-based loyalty platform Session M. BillDesk has signed an agreement to acquire the Indian payment operations of Worldline SA for an estimated $70.8 million. In another significant move, upGrad has acquired the early-talent marketplace Internshala in a deal valued at around Rs 100 crore, predominantly structured as a stock swap.

ESOP Buyback

In a notable development, edtech company Unacademy has initiated a Rs 50 crore ESOP buyback programme to offer liquidity to its employees. Co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal announced through X that eight employees are expected to receive over Rs 1 crore each through the buyback, while 17 employees will receive amounts exceeding Rs 50 lakh, and 38 others are likely to earn upwards of Rs 10 lakh.

New Launches and Partnerships

Clove Dental has launched 48 clinics in a single day; Toing now operates in Delhi NCR along with 11 other cities; Pluckk introduced guilt-free tomato ketchup to make clean-label choices simpler for households in India; Vivriti Group has launched Vivriti Next as its operational and holding company; and TransportOne by Delhivery has partnered with Style Bazaar to digitise and optimise logistics.

Financial Results This Week

News Flash This Week

Coronation Fund Manager has increased its stake in Ixigo to over 5%. Urban Company’s InstaHelp has reached 50,000 daily bookings. BRND.ME transitioned its domicile from Singapore to India.

Summary

On a weekly basis, funding for startups decreased by 83%, amounting to $222.87 million compared to approximately $1.3 billion from the previous week. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd, based in South Africa, raised its stake in Le Travenues Technology (Ixigo) by acquiring 1,83,322 equity shares from the open market, elevating its shareholding beyond 5%. Urban Company’s rapid-service housekeeping vertical, InstaHelp, surpassed 50,000 daily bookings within less than a year after its pilot launch. BRND.ME (formerly Mensa Brands) has completed a cross-border composite merger in ten months, transitioning its domicile from Singapore to India through the merger of Mensa Singapore with its Indian holding company and consolidating seven Indian group entities. Pluckk has broadened its essentials portfolio with the launch of guilt-free tomato ketchup, maintaining a commitment to using honest ingredients in urban households. Vivriti Group has introduced Vivriti Next to streamline its businesses and foster growth, with Founder and Managing Director Vineet Sukumar investing Rs 200 crore of personal equity into the new venture. TransportOne by Delhivery has revealed its strategic expansion into the burgeoning value retail sector through a partnership with the retail giant Style Bazaar.

Startup Funding Insights

Startup funding has seen a significant shift this week, indicating crucial movements in the market. In a contrasting scenario, 29 startups collectively raised approximately $1.3 billion the previous week.

Growth-stage Deals

Growth-stage startups attracted $45.2 million through three transactions this week. Leading this segment was Constellii, a defence technology startup, which garnered $20 million in a Series A round spearheaded by General Catalyst. Following closely was Wishlink, a creator-focused commerce platform, that secured $17.5 million in its Series B round from Vertex Ventures. Additionally, the D2C home and kitchen brand, Home Essentials, raised Rs 70 crore in a pre-Series B round led by 360 ONE Asset.

Early-stage Deals

Early-stage funding dominated the activity with a total of $177.68 million raised across 36 transactions. Temple, a startup focused on wearables and founded by Deepinder Goyal, raised $54 million in its inaugural funding round, with Goyal himself leading and supported by Peak XV Partners, Steadview Capital, Nikhil Kamath, among more than 90 other investors. Xflow, a B2B cross-border payments startup, raised $16.6 million in a Series A round from General Catalyst, while the MSME lending platform Prayaan Capital collected $12 million and the pre-construction AI platform MeltPlan accrued $10 million in funding. On the debt side, SIDBI supported two startups, granting Rs 5 crore to deeptech firm GalaxEye and Rs 10 crore to the agritech startup Agrizy.

Other startups making headway this week included Gushwork, an AI-driven B2B marketing platform, proptech startup Spintly, the nano-formulated plant-based nutraceutical brand ZeroHarm Sciences, and the debt relief platform FREED. The technology-focused elder care startup MAITYS secured an undisclosed amount in its latest funding round. Concurrently, the manufacturing accelerator programme Maxcel announced undisclosed investments into three deeptech startups: Enerzi, Misochain, and Quintrans.

City and Segment-wise Deals

Bengaluru led the city-wise deal count with 21 transactions, followed by Delhi-NCR, which recorded 11 deals. Other cities, including Hyderabad, Chennai, Gwalior, Thiruvananthapuram, and Mumbai, also documented funding activities this week.

From a segment perspective, AI and deeptech startups emerged at the forefront with 7 deals each, followed by healthtech and e-commerce with 6 and 5 deals respectively. Other categories, including fintech, SaaS, and agritech, also reported funding during this period.

Series-wise Deals

This week, seed rounds led the financing landscape with 19 transactions, whereas Series A and pre-seed followed with 10 and 5 deals respectively. Additional deal categories included debt, pre-Series A, angel investments, Series B, and various others.

Week-on-week Funding Trend

Comparatively, startup funding dipped 83% to $222.87 million this week, in contrast to the approximately $1.3 billion raised the prior week. The average funding over the past eight weeks stands at around $354 million across 32 deals weekly.

Key Hirings and Departures

Aakash Educational Services appointed Alka Garg as Chief Financial Officer and Kanika Kumar Nijhawan as Senior Vice President for Marketing. PRISM, the parent entity of OYO, designated Ajay Tyagi as an Independent Director on its board. Pine Labs, a global fintech platform, brought on Shalini Pillai as Chief Marketing Officer. Dream Sports named Arpith Kanade as Head of Studio for Dream Cricket. Tartan appointed Subhrangshu Chattopadhyay, formerly of CRIF, as Chief Business Officer. Pankaj Walia joined Nexedge Capital as Co-founder after a 22-year tenure at Standard Chartered Bank. Aditi Madhok-Naarden took on the role of Group CHRO at TBO. Prabhkiran Singh, co-founder of the D2C fashion label Bewakoof, plans to step down after 14 years but will remain until the end of March to ensure a smooth transition. Livspace, a home décor and interior design company, experienced another senior leadership exit, with Chief Business Officer Lalit Mittal resigning following the recent departure of co-founder Saurabh Jain. Separately, Mayank Jain, a Partner at Stellaris Venture Partners, has exited the firm after a four-year involvement.

Fund Launches

The consumer-focused early-stage venture capital firm Sauce VC has announced the successful closure of its Rs 750 crore Opportunities Fund. According to an ET report, this fund aims to back four to five companies in its existing portfolio, with a focus on high-conviction investments in Hocco, The Whole Truth, Mokobara, Innovist, XYXX, and Supertails. Additionally, Info Edge has launched B8 Fund-I, a new growth-stage fund with an initial commitment of Rs 250 crore, marking its first dedicated fund for later-stage investments. This fund has the potential to attract capital from external sponsors and might expand beyond the initial corpus of Rs 250 crore.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Deepinder Goyal’s LAT Aerospace acquired Gurugram-based defence robotics startup Sharang Shakti for an undisclosed amount. Capillary Technologies approved a $20 million investment into its overseas arm to acquire the US-based loyalty platform Session M. BillDesk has signed an agreement to acquire the Indian payment operations of Worldline SA for an estimated $70.8 million. Separately, upGrad acquired the early-talent marketplace Internshala in a deal worth around Rs 100 crore, with 90% of the consideration structured as a stock swap.

ESOP Buyback

The edtech company Unacademy has initiated a Rs 50 crore ESOP buyback programme to enhance liquidity for its employees. During the announcement on X, co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal indicated that eight employees are set to receive over Rs 1 crore each from the buyback, while 17 will obtain more than Rs 50 lakh, and 38 are expected to earn over Rs 10 lakh.

New Launches and Partnerships

• Clove Dental introduced 48 new clinics in a single day.
• Toing expanded operations in Delhi NCR, now active in 11 cities.
• Pluckk released guilt-free tomato ketchup to make clean-label options easier for everyday Indian families.
• Vivriti Group launched Vivriti Next as its operating and holding company.
• TransportOne by Delhivery aims to digitise and optimise the logistics for Style Bazaar.

Financial Results This Week

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in Ixigo, now surpassing 5%.

Urban Company’s InstaHelp achieved 50,000 daily bookings.

BRND.ME moved its domicile from Singapore to India, completing a cross-border composite merger.

Summary

This week saw startup funding drop by 83% to $222.87 million, compared to around $1.3 billion raised previously. Coronation Fund Managers raised its stake in Le Travenues Technology (Ixigo) after acquiring 1,83,322 equity shares, boosting its holdings above 5%. Urban Company’s InstaHelp surpassed 50,000 daily bookings shortly after its pilot commenced. BRND.ME transitioned its domicile to India from Singapore following the merger with its Indian holding company. Pluckk broadened its product range with the introduction of Guilt-Free Tomato Ketchup. Vivriti Group established Vivriti Next to consolidate its business and promote future growth, committing Rs 200 crore in personal equity to the venture. TransportOne by Delhivery has announced a strategic partnership with Style Bazaar to enhance its logistics operations.