Startup Funding Update: 14 Indian Startups Raise $151.5 Million This Week

This week, 14 Indian startups secured $151.5 million through two growth-stage deals, 11 early-stage deals, and one undisclosed round. The week featured five significant appointments, one exit, five fund launches, two mergers, and an ESOP buyback that transformed a startup into a unicorn. In contrast, 28 startups had collectively garnered around $383.8 million the prior week.

Growth-Stage Deals

Growth-stage startups raised almost $103.5 million through three deals this week. The electric mobility platform Yulu led the funding round with $93 million in Series C funding, which included $63 million in equity led by GEF Capital Partners and $30 million in debt. Additionally, the online bakery startup Bakingo acquired approximately $10.5 million in Series B financing from existing investor Faering Capital.

Early-Stage Deals

Early-stage startups accumulated $48 million over 11 deals, led by the Gurugram-based wealth management firm Centricity, which raised Rs 280 crore ($30 million) in Series A funding from SMBC Asia Rising Fund. The deep-tech startup Discovered Materials followed closely with $9 million (Rs 85 crore) in seed financing spearheaded by Lightspeed India Partners. The Gurugram home-cleaning products startup Scrubsy also raised Rs 27 crore (around $3 million) from V3 Ventures. In Bengaluru, the medical technology startup Ayati Devices secured Rs 15 crore ($1.5 million) in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Inflexor Ventures. Other startups that found financial backing this week included children’s technology startup Wippi, a tech-enhanced driving education and mobility platform Lane, AI transformation partner Vecton AI for financial institutions, and five other early-stage ventures.

City and Segment-Wise Deals

Bengaluru maintained its lead in funding activities, recording 10 startup deals during the week, followed by Delhi-NCR with two deals. Pune and Chennai each noted a deal. In terms of segments, healthtech and deeptech led with two deals each, while AI, Edtech, mobility, fintech, foodtech, e-commerce, and more also secured multiple deals this week.

Series-Wise Deals

The week was dominated by seed and pre-seed rounds, with four deals each, followed by two deals in both Series A and pre-Series A rounds. Series B and Series C also saw one deal each during this period.

Week-on-Week Funding Trend

Compared to the previous week, startup funding decreased by over 60%, dropping from $383.8 million to $151.5 million. The average weekly funding across the past eight weeks was approximately $297 million through 20 deals.

Key Hirings / Departures

In this week’s key appointments, Delhivery underwent a reshuffle in its senior leadership, with COO Ajith Pai Mangalore set to leave the logistics firm and chief business officer Vani Venkatesh promoting to deputy CEO. Troogue appointed the former Thoughtworks Data & AI leader Madhusudhana Rao Podila as Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO). SLMG Beverages welcomed Lagan Shastri as Chief Executive Officer, while Qlik appointed Saugata Saha as President and Chief Executive Officer. MOS Utility, an Indian B2B2C digital fintech and e-commerce company, designated Atish Shelar as Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Fund Launches

The US-based venture capital firm Accel raised a $550 million early-stage fund dedicated to India, as part of a larger $3.5 billion fundraising across four global funds. Early-stage VC company Aum Ventures announced the first close of its India Innovation Fund II at Rs 225 crore. This fund has a target corpus of Rs 750 crore ($80 million) and aims to support early-stage, IP-led technology startups from India targeting global markets. Mirae Asset Venture Investments India (MAVI India), the venture capital arm of Mirae Asset Financial Group, reported the first close of its second Mirae Asset Venture Opportunity Fund (MAVOF II) at Rs 1,125 crore. Bluehill.VC, focused on frontier tech, announced the final close of its maiden Rs 400 crore fund. BlackSoil Asset Management, the asset management arm of BlackSoil, has allocated Rs 750 crore across 40 companies through its second credit fund, BlackSoil India Credit Fund II (BICF II).

Mergers and Acquisitions

The space technology startup GalaxEye has acquired Bengaluru-based spacecraft engineering firm StarOps, enhancing its capabilities with proprietary technologies, qualified satellite platforms, systems engineering skills, and a seasoned engineering team. Omnichannel diagnostics provider Redcliffe Labs acquired Pune-based Megavision Diagnostics Center for around Rs 40 crore, strengthening its integrated diagnostics by offering both imaging and pathology services under a unified platform.

ESOP Buyback

The Noida-based astrology and spiritual tech platform Astrotalk achieved unicorn status at a valuation of $1 billion through an ESOP buyback involving over 100 employees. This buyback offers eligible employees a chance to realise liquidity while remaining engaged in the company’s future growth.

Financial Results This Week

New Launches and Partnerships

PayU launched India’s first RBI-compliant Accessible Payments Checkout for blind and visually impaired users. Redcliffe Labs and Skyroot Aerospace initiated India’s first collaboration between diagnostics and space sciences.

News Flash This Week

Swiggy’s 99 Store is gaining popularity and now accounts for one in seven food orders. Zetwerk filed a UDRHP to raise Rs 2,600 crore through a fresh issue, with promoters holding 53% of the OFS. Infra.Market may go public via a reverse merger with Shalimar Paints. Groww topped stock brokers in July, while Sahi recorded a 13.6% client growth. Ola Electric secured a five-year PLI window, aiming for Rs 7,240 crore in incentives. Table Space filed a DRHP with SEBI to raise Rs 800 crore. Zostel withdrew a recent plea in the OYO dispute. Bernstein raised Paytm’s target to Rs 2,200, focusing on UPI MDR upside. Zo House Bengaluru hosted a Sarvam AI hackathon, where 6,272 applicants vied for selection.