Startup Funding Trends: 26 Indian Startups Raise $329 Million This Week

Startup funding this week witnessed 26 Indian startups securing a total of $329 million, which includes 5 growth-stage and 19 early-stage deals, while 2 startups opted to keep their funding amounts private. In contrast, the preceding week had 28 startups across various stages raising approximately $348 million.

Growth-stage Funding

This week, growth and late-stage funding amounted to $265.85 million. This was largely propelled by the Edtech company Eruditus, which raised $150 million through a refinancing deal led by Mars Growth Capital. Additionally, Urban Company secured Rs 854 crore from primary investors ahead of its IPO. The interior design firm Flipspaces amassed another $9 million in its extended Series C round, bringing its total funding to $50 million. Meanwhile, Trufrost & Butler, which offers commercial refrigeration and foodservice equipment, also raised $7 million in growth funding from Carpediem Capital.

Early-stage Funding

On the early-stage front, 19 startups collectively raised $63.15 million this week. The leading contributor was HRtech company TERm Group, which experienced a $24 million Series A round, followed by other notable mentions including Ziffi Chess, Presolv360, IndiGrid, and cookware brand Ember. AI startup TraqCheck and Prebiotic soda maker Misfits also received funding this week, though exact amounts were not disclosed. For comprehensive funding details, additional resources are available.

City and Segment-wise Funding

In terms of city-specific funding, startups based in Delhi-NCR topped the list with 10 deals, while Bengaluru followed with 7 deals. Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and other regions also secured deals. Segment-wise, e-commerce startups led with 4 deals, followed by 3 deals in manufacturing. AI, foodtech, and edtech startups also secured funding this week.

Series-wise Funding Overview

This week, Seed funding emerged as the leader with 12 deals, followed by Series A. Pre-Seed, Series F, and other categories also facilitated deals. For a detailed overview of series-wise funding along with amounts, numerous resources are available.

Weekly Funding Trends

Comparatively, startup funding declined by 5.48% this week, totalling $329 million against approximately $348 million raised the week before. The average funding over the last eight weeks stands at roughly $245.96 million, with an average of 25 deals per week.

Key Hires and Departures

XpressBees has welcomed Mohit Sardana as the CEO of its B2C vertical. Credilio, a fintech offering secured credit cards, has appointed Manish Sinha as Co-founder. CloudKeeper, specialising in cloud cost optimisation, has brought on Sanjeev Mittal as Chief Product and Technology Officer. Coto, an emotional wellness platform, has named Tabi Bude as Chief Expansion Officer, while Samunnati appointed Vinod Kumar Panicker, a finance expert, as Group CFO. There were also high-profile exits, including Mudita Chauhan and Sridhar G from CoinDCX, and Gautam Thakar stepped down from his role at Prosus’ global edtech division. Further information can be found across multiple sources.

Mergers and Acquisitions

RevRag.AI, an enterprise AI platform, has acquired GenStaq.ai to enhance its infrastructure for enterprise AI agent development. US-based digital media group Minute Media has acquired VideoVerse, a SaaS startup backed by Binny Bansal. GenXAI, which provides AI-powered enterprise performance management solutions, has acquired Veear Projects and Tech Pvt. Ltd. Meanwhile, Marico plans to acquire the remaining 46.02% stake in HW Wellness Solutions, owner of True Elements, for up to Rs 138 crore.

Fund Launches

Accion, a global impact investor, has successfully closed its second early-stage fund at $61.6 million, focusing on promoting financial inclusion via fintech innovation. Venture Catalysts has raised Rs 150 crore (approximately $18 million) through an equal mix of primary and secondary share sales. A Junior VC (AJVC), a pre-seed venture capital firm headed by Aviral Bhatnagar, announced the final close of its inaugural fund with commitments exceeding Rs 200 crore.

Layoffs

The real-money gaming platform Zupee has laid off about 170 employees, representing roughly 30% of its workforce, due to operational restructuring in response to the government’s prohibition of RMG platforms.

Shutdowns

After 13 years of operation, Hike is ceasing all activities in the US and internationally, as informed by founder and CEO Kavin Mittal to investors. This decision follows India’s ban on real money gaming, which considerably limited the company’s operating runway from seven months to four.

New Launches and Partnerships

RapidShyp has launched Cargo+ to enhance B2B logistics, while Trovex.ai has introduced a sales enablement solution.

This Week’s Financial Results

Gameskraft reports Rs 4,000 crore in revenue for FY25; however, its PAT has decreased by 25%. Myntra’s profit surged 18 times to Rs 548 crore for FY25. Indifi’s revenue has grown by 22% in FY25, marking Rs 107 crore in EBITDA. Smytten has reduced losses by 41% in FY25, although revenue has dipped to Rs 111 crore. OneAssist achieved over Rs 620 crore in revenue for FY25, registering Rs 26 crore in EBITDA. PharmEasy reported Rs 5,872 crore in revenue for FY25, maintaining a stable burn rate. PhysicsWallah spent Rs 1,426 crore on salaries in FY25, while its Offline ARPU stood at Rs 40,405.

This Week’s News Highlights

August saw an unprecedented high in UPI transactions for PhonePe and Google Pay. Angel One has narrowed its gap with Zerodha as competition in broking intensifies. In August, UPI expenditures on debt, groceries, and fuel surged, while gaming expenditures saw a decline of 26%. Urban Company’s IPO concluded with an impressive oversubscription of 104X.

Weekly Summary

Startup funding decreased by 5.48% to $329 million compared to the prior week’s $348 million. UPI transactions reached an all-time high of 20 billion in August 2025, with PhonePe leading at 9.15 billion transactions, accounting for 45.7% of the volume and 48.3% of the value at Rs 11.99 lakh crore. Google Pay followed with 7.06 billion transactions, making up 35.3% of the volume and 35.6% of the value at Rs 8.83 lakh crore. The active user base of the Indian stock market rebounded slightly in August 2025, increasing by 0.5% to 46.19 million from the previous month. Groww maintained its lead with 12.07 million active clients, holding a 26.26% market share, despite a decline from July. Urban Company’s IPO concluded with an outstanding oversubscription rate of 103.63X, receiving bids for 1,106.45 crore shares against just 10.67 crore shares available on the final day.