Indian Startups Raise $137 Million This Week

This week, Indian startups achieved a remarkable milestone by raising approximately $137 million through five growth-stage and 19 early-stage deals, although one startup chose not to disclose its funding details. During this period, the market also experienced four acquisitions, three notable leadership changes, two fund launches, and the closure of a platform. In comparison, the previous week saw 20 startups collectively garner about $1.1 billion in funding.

Growth-stage Deals

Growth-stage startups accumulated a total of $68.1 million through five deals this week. Leading the way was lab-grown diamond jewellery brand Limelight Diamonds, which raised Rs 275 crore in a strategic funding round spearheaded by the Bhathwari Group. Managed workspace provider Incuspaze obtained Rs 150 crore (around $15.6 million) from Bharat Value Fund, while the AI platform Kapture CX secured $10 million in a pre-Series B funding round led by Bajaj Finserv Ventures. In addition, the at-home elder care startup Age Care Labs raised Rs 85 crore (approximately $9 million) from Rainmatter, Pegasus Finvest, the Shrem Group, and several family offices. Meanwhile, the fresh produce supply chain startup Ninjacart completed a $6 million funding round, marking its first funding in 4.5 years.

Early-stage Deals

This week, early-stage startups raised $68.92 million through 19 transactions, with toxin-free cookware brand The Indus Valley securing $17 million in a funding round led by Gaja Capital, also seeing participation from DSG Consumer Partners. Noteworthy transactions included battery recycling startup BatX Energies raising Rs 105 crore (around $11 million) in a Series A round led by IvyCap Ventures. The independent asset servicing firm Dovetail Capital obtained Rs 100 crore in a mix of primary and secondary funding led by Elev8 Venture Partners, while the enterprise tech startup Data Science Wizards (DSW) raised $5 million in a pre-Series A round from angel investors. Other funded startups this week included Supply6, BCT Ventures, MyKare.ai, Spense, and PlayBlue, among ten additional early-stage ventures. The eyewear brand Rawbare also received funding from Teamology to enhance its next growth phase.

City and Segment-wise Deals

Bengaluru continued to dominate the funding landscape with 12 startup deals this week, followed by Mumbai and Delhi-NCR with seven and four deals, respectively. Chennai and Hyderabad each secured one deal. In terms of segments, AI startups and e-commerce companies led with six deals each, trailed by the fintech sector with three deals. Healthtech, proptech, battery tech, agetech, agritech, and other sectors also recorded funding activity during this period.

Series-wise Deals

Seed rounds topped the list with nine deals this week, followed by Series A and pre-seed rounds, which each logged six deals and four deals, respectively. Series B, pre-Series A, pre-Series B, and Series D rounds experienced activity as well.

Week-on-Week Funding Trend

On a week-to-week basis, startup funding witnessed a significant decrease of 87%, falling to $137 million in contrast to around $1.1 billion raised in the prior week. The average funding over the preceding eight weeks rests around $325 million, featuring an average of 20 deals weekly.

Key Hirings

Bengaluru-based credit card management platform CheQ has promoted Bipin Toro and Vished Banger to co-founders. Additionally, Flipkart has appointed Vinay Vaidya as Senior Vice President of Technology for Supply Chain, while Info Edge has designated Himanshu Agarwal as its new Chief Financial Officer.

Mergers & Acquisitions

The week also saw four notable acquisitions. Private equity firm Ananta Capital acquired a majority stake in D2C personal care brand Phitku in a deal estimated at around Rs 100 crore. AI-driven property management platform Crib App acquired rent financing startup CirclePe, while Mynd Fintech, a subsidiary of M1xchange, purchased fintech firm C2FO India. Meanwhile, Noon acquired Bengaluru-based AI engineering startup FinalRun, with its co-founders joining the company as Members of Technical Staff.

Fund Launches

Early-stage, sector-agnostic venture capital firm Sparrow Capital announced the final closing of its third fund at Rs 475 crore. The firm aims to invest in 25–30 startups over the next three years with initial cheque sizes ranging from $1–2 million and has already made five investments. Climate venture builder and VC firm 100×100 has launched its second fund, targeting a corpus of $100 million to establish and scale 50 climate-focused startups across Southeast Asia and India, aiming to support ventures addressing emissions challenges in sectors like energy, food, materials, and supply chains.

Shutdown

Dream Sports, the parent company of Dream11, has discontinued its wealth management platform, Dream Money, less than a year after its launch as part of its strategy to diversify beyond online gaming.

New Launches and Partnerships

Razorpay has partnered with NPCI Bharat BillPay to introduce a net banking solution. Netradyne has collaborated with GeoSecure to enhance AI-driven fleet safety in Australia. HiWiPay has received IFSCA approval to initiate a payment service provider in GIFT City. Additionally, Zeta’s co-founder Bhavin Turakhia has launched the AI startup Neo with a personal investment of $30 million.

News Flash This Week

The government has issued notices to Telegram and Signal regarding their username features, following a similar notice to WhatsApp. Swara Baby Products has filed Rs 1,000 crore IPO papers, and the parent company of FirstCry plans to sell Rs 300 crore in shares. UPI recorded 22.72 billion transactions valued at Rs 28.92 lakh crore in June. TVS expanded its lead in the electric two-wheeler market, with a 12% increase in registrations during June. Indian startups collectively raised $7.4 billion in H1 2026, buoyed by the CRED-Meta deal according to the Startup Superb Report. Fibe has filed a DRHP to procure Rs 750 crore through a fresh issue, while the parent company of OYO, PRISM, seeks to raise Rs 6,650 crore via a fresh issuance alone. Liqvd Digital has also submitted a DRHP for an SME IPO valued at Rs 37 crore.

Summary

An analysis of the week reveals that startup funding experienced an 87% drop to $137 million, compared to approximately $1.1 billion raised in the preceding week. The government’s focus on messaging apps has intensified, as it has sent notices to Telegram and Signal regarding their username features, aiming to address concerns related to user safety and fraud. Brainbees Solutions, which owns Swara Baby Products, is on track for an IPO with a DRHP filed for a fresh issue of Rs 500 crore, along with an offer for sale from existing shareholders, including FirstCry. The digital lending platform Fibe has also filed a DRHP for an IPO worth Rs 750 crore, while TVS Motor continues to assert its dominance in the electric two-wheeler sector. HiWiPay has secured a provisional nod from IFSCA to establish a wholly owned payment service provider in GIFT IFSC.