India’s Startup Funding Analysis for February 2026

India’s startup funding activity revealed a varied trend as February 2026 began. The total deal value saw a significant increase, primarily due to Neysa securing a $1.2 billion funding round, although other startups failed to obtain deals exceeding $100 million during the month. Additionally, two listings, Fractal and Aye Finance, took place, but both attracted a lukewarm response from the market.

Data from Startup Superb indicated that Indian startups raised around $2 billion through 134 deals in February 2026. Of this, growth and late-stage funding contributed $1.6 billion from 17 deals, while early-stage startups amassed $405 million across 100 deals. Furthermore, 17 funding rounds were not disclosed.

M-o-M and Y-o-Y trend

February 2026 reported $2 billion in startup funding, marking a substantial rise from $930 million in January and surpassing December’s $870 million. Year-over-year, funding increased from $803 million recorded in February 2025, with deal activities climbing from 98 in the previous year to 134 this February.

Top 10 Growth-Stage Deals

Leading the growth-stage funding in February was Neysa, which acquired $1.2 billion in a Series B round. Following Neysa was Drivn, raising $80 million in an undisclosed round, and IDfy, which obtained $53 million in Series F funding. Consumer-centric startups also featured prominently, with The Whole Truth receiving $51 million in a Series D round and Supertails garnering $30 million in Series C funding. The remaining top ten included Stable Money ($25 million), Olyv ($23 million), Varaha ($20 million), Constelli ($20 million), and Pandorum Technologies ($18 million). These funding transactions spanned sectors like AI, EVs, SaaS, fintech, climate tech, defence tech, biotech, and consumer industries.

Top 10 Early-Stage Deals

In early-stage funding during February, Temple emerged as the frontrunner, securing $54 million in a seed round. This was succeeded by Showroom B2B, raising $17 million, and Xflow, achieving $16.6 million, both through Series A rounds. ZILO, C2i Semiconductors, and Portkey each managed to secure $15 million in Series A funding. The remainder of the top ten included Loop AI ($14 million), Prayaan Capital ($12 million), and Material Depot along with Vervesemi (both at $10 million). These deals covered a diverse range of sectors such as healthtech, fintech, AI, semiconductors, e-commerce, fashion tech, interior design, and MSME lending.

Mergers and Acquisitions

February exhibited a continuous stream of strategic acquisitions and majority stake transactions across various sectors. Bertelsmann acquired an 80% stake in logistics startup LetsTransport, while Rainmatter and USV secured majority stakes in PensionBox and Nutritional Lab, respectively. In consumer and platform-led transactions, Marico obtained a 60% stake in clean nutrition brand Cosmix, while aerospace startup LAT Aerospace took over Sharang Shakti. Announced deals included upGrad’s acquisition of Internshala, the acquisition of Worldline SA by BillDesk, and plans from Capillary Technologies to acquire SessionM Inc.

City and Segment Wise Deals

Funding activity in February centred on a few key cities. Mumbai was the dominant hub, raising $1.33 billion across nine deals, representing 66.46% of total funding, largely driven by high-value transactions. Bengaluru led in deal volume with 61 deals totalling $304.34 million, making up 15.22% of the total, while Delhi-NCR followed with 40 deals worth $286.58 million, or 14.33%. Other cities experienced limited funding activity, with Hyderabad raising $30.12 million through four deals (1.51%) and Pune recording four deals amounting to $3.85 million (0.19%).

In February, the funding landscape was heavily tilted towards the AI sector, which secured 22 deals amounting to $1.28 billion, or 64.05% of the total raised. E-commerce witnessed 16 deals worth $61.27 million (3.06%), while fintech observed 13 deals totalling $95.85 million (4.79%).

Series-Wise Deals

In February, Series B funding comprised seven deals, contributing to 63.68% of the total capital raised. Series A followed with 26 deals at 11.88%, while seed-stage rounds dominated deal volume with 56 deals, accounting for 7.28%. Early-stage activity remained modest, with pre-Series A rounds reporting 13 deals at 1.21% and pre-seed rounds achieving nine deals (0.31%) of the overall funding.

Layoffs, Departures, and Key Hires

Livspace, a home décor and interior design company, implemented layoffs affecting over 1,000 employees to transition towards becoming an AI-focused organisation. The company’s co-founder, Saurabh Jain, along with chief business officer Lalit Mittal, also left the firm. Across the startup ecosystem, the month saw eight exits, while over 20 key executive positions were filled.

Trends

AI dominated the overall funding landscape, responsible for around 64% of February’s total, significantly buoyed by Neysa’s $1.2 billion funding round, illustrating the impact of sizable single-ticket investments on monthly totals.

Market sentiment around IPOs remained subdued, reflected in the lacklustre responses to February’s listings of Fractal and Aye Finance, indicating ongoing apprehension regarding public market entries.

February recorded two ESOP buybacks by CoinDCX and Unacademy, both originating from sectors under stress like crypto and edtech.

Temple, a startup initiated by Deepinder Goyal, distinguished itself with a remarkable $54 million seed round raised from 94 investors, marking one of the most widely participated seed financings in recent history.