Indian Startups Funding Overview: $206.89 Million Raised

During the week, Indian startups raised an impressive $206.89 million, consisting of 6 growth-stage and 10 early-stage transactions, while one startup opted not to disclose its funding amount. In comparison, 33 startups had gathered approximately $173.48 million in the preceding week.

Growth-stage Deals

Growth and late-stage funding totalled $180.6 million across six transactions this week. The most significant was the direct-to-consumer Ayurveda wellness brand Kapiva, which garnered $60 million in a Series B funding round, backed by 360 ONE Asset and Vertex Growth. Debt marketplace Recur Club attracted $50 million through a combination of equity and debt, led by Info Edge, while NBFC GrowXCD Finance raised about Rs 200 crore from Blue Earth Capital and Prosus Ventures. Additional noteworthy fundraisers included luxury watch retailer Art of Time, restaurant POS and management software provider PetPooja, and ice cream brand Hocco.

Early-stage Deals

On the early-stage front, 10 startups raised close to $26 million this week. This funding round was spearheaded by AI startup Assessli and fintech firm RUGR Fintech, each securing $5 million, followed by enterprise messaging platform Fyno and another fintech startup, both raising $4 million. Other participants included the virtual spiritual app Vama, climate-tech startup Climaty AI, and defence-tech venture Unmannd. The adtech startup Wit & Chai also received funding this week, although the amount has not been disclosed. For a comprehensive funding breakdown, various sources should be consulted.

City and Segment-wise Deals

Bengaluru-based startups led the charge with 9 deals, followed by Ahmedabad with 4 transactions. Areas such as Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Kolkata, and Pune also witnessed activity with deals finalised this week. In terms of segments, fintech startups dominated with 4 deals, trailed by e-commerce with 3 deals amounting to $92.7 million. SaaS, AI, enterprise tech, spiritual, and various other startups also secured funding this week.

Series-wise Deals

This week saw seed and pre-seed funding rounds lead the activity, with four deals each, succeeded by Series B and pre-Series A, each with three deals. Participation was also noted in Series C and Series D. To explore series-wise deals along with the funding breakdown, various sources should be checked.

Week-on-week Funding Trend

In a weekly comparison, startup funding surged by 19% to $206.89 million, compared to around $173.48 million raised the week prior. The average funding over the last eight weeks stands at about $271.37 million across 24 deals each week.

Key Promotions

This week also witnessed several key leadership changes. LEAD Group promoted Moiz Saif to CFO and Deepak Hariharan to CBO, while appointing Prasad Narasimha as Head of HR and Ajay Kashyap as Chief Product & Technology Officer. boAt announced Gaurav Nayyar as its new CEO in preparation for growth and a public listing. Magenta Mobility appointed Sujit Cherian as its new CEO, while the current CEO Maxson Lewis transitions to founder and chairman. For more specifics, various sources can be referenced.

Fund Launches

Japan’s Unleash Capital Partners has successfully closed its inaugural Rs 300 crore fund, aimed at investing in India’s fintech sector. Supported by 35 limited partners, the fund is co-managed by founder Natsuki Sugai and Gojo & Company. Meanwhile, investment firm Ironclad Asset Management has introduced a Rs 200 crore ($22.5 million) ESOP-focused fund, Ironclad Ventures, aiming to provide liquidity for employees in India’s startup ecosystem.

Mergers and Acquisitions

TBO Tek has successfully acquired a US-based luxury travel wholesaler for $125 million, a deal facilitated through investment firm The Najafi Companies. Additionally, NRL Recycling Limited, a prominent recycling and waste management entity, has completed the acquisition of Tycod Autotech Pvt Ltd in an all-cash transaction worth Rs 24 crore to enhance its forward integration strategy.

Layoffs

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) startup Simpl Datalabs has unfortunately laid off around 80 employees, with the sales and marketing departments facing the most significant reductions.

New Launches and Partnerships

WinZO, IEIC, and Business Finland have partnered to bolster India-Finland gaming collaborations. PhonePe and Mastercard have teamed up to introduce contactless payment solutions. Additionally, Zoho has launched Vani, a new sub-brand that focuses on visual collaboration tools.

Financial Results This Week

Cleartrip reported expenditure of Rs 608 crore on discounts and cashbacks, resulting in net revenue of Rs 169 crore for FY25. Paper Boat announced revenues of Rs 668 crore for FY25, achieving a 24% reduction in losses. Battery Smart recorded Rs 250 crore in revenue for FY25. The Sleep Company saw revenue soar by 60% to Rs 499 crore in FY25, while the three-year-old Zype reported a fivefold revenue increase to Rs 101 crore for FY25. Amazon-backed M1xchange turned profitable in FY25 with an 80% revenue increase. Freecharge experienced a 35% decline in FY25 revenue, resulting in a Rs 42 crore loss. D2C beauty brand Plum made a financial turnaround in FY25, reporting a Rs 25 crore profit after tax. Unacademy narrowed its EBITDA losses by 38% in FY25, reporting an income of Rs 826 crore.

News Flash This Week

A Karnataka court has barred Boult from using the ‘GoBoult’ trademark. Ather has surpassed Ola Electric in September 2W EV sales, while TVS retained its top position. Indian startup funding dipped below $3 billion in the September quarter, totalling around $2.78 billion as per various sources. This decline follows strong previous quarters, marked by substantial contributions from debt rounds by PharmEasy and Eruditus, as well as pre-IPO deals involving Urban Company, IndiQube, Smartworks, and late-stage funding for Gupshup, Truemeds, Kapiva, and The Sleep Company. UPI transactions in India remained robust in September 2025, handling 19.63 billion transactions valued at Rs 24.90 lakh crore, according to NPCI data. Though the transaction volume saw a slight drop of 1.9% from August, the total value witnessed a marginal increase. Building materials unicorn Infra.Market has filed a confidential Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI, seeking to raise Rs 5,000 crore through an initial public offering (IPO), as reported by various sources.