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Startup Funding in India: Weekly Update

During the last week, Indian startups successfully secured about $139.5 million across 21 companies. This included five deals in the growth stage and 13 in the early stage, with three startups opting to keep their funding amounts confidential.

For comparison, the previous week witnessed 27 startups, spanning both early and growth stages, raising approximately $194.22 million.

Growth-Stage Funding

In terms of growth-stage financing, nearly $65.75 million was raised this week. Healthtech company CureBay led the charge with its Series B funding round, backed by Bertelsmann India Investments. Cybersecurity firm CloudSEK followed closely, securing $19 million in its Series B round. Additionally, Euler Motors obtained $15 million from its ongoing $60 million Series B round. Fintech companies Dvara KGFS and Borderless (Stockal) also secured funding during this period.

Early-Stage Funding

On the early-stage front, 13 startups accumulated a total of $73.75 million. Mythik, launched by Jason Kothari, stood out with a $15 million seed round. Other significant contributions came from deeptech company ALT Carbon, AI-focused Biostate AI, and SaaS provider Data Sutram. Additionally, the spacetech startup PierSight, along with e-commerce brands BlackCarrot and The Sock Street, raised undisclosed amounts.

Funding Breakdown by City and Segment

In city-wise funding, startups based in Delhi-NCR led the pack with eight deals, trailed by Bengaluru with four. Startups from Mumbai, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, and Ahmedabad also secured funding.

Segment-wise, fintech startups topped the list with three deals, while the e-commerce sector and media and entertainment followed with three and two deals, respectively. Various players in deeptech, AI, healthtech, and cybersecurity also bagged funding.

Series-By-Series Breakdown

This week saw seed funding dominate with eight deals, followed by Series A, Series B, Series D, and additional rounds.

Weekly Funding Trend

The decline in startup funding on a week-to-week basis was 28.17%, dropping to $139.5 million compared to the $194.22 million garnered the previous week. Over the last eight weeks, the average funding has hovered around $216.99 million with 25 deals each week.

Key Appointments

This week witnessed significant hiring activity. Quick commerce platform Zepto appointed Rachit Ranjan as the chief public policy officer, responsible for overseeing policy, regulatory, and government interactions. ProcMart has welcomed Sachin Jain as co-founder, while Avanse Financial Services has brought former Bajaj Finserv COO Rakesh Bhatt on board as an independent director in advance of their IPO.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Nazara Technologies has announced its acquisition of 100% stake in Curve Digital Entertainment Limited, a UK-based publisher of PC and console games, for Rs 247 crore ($29 million). Zendesk has also acquired Local Measure, a prominent player in the CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) sector.

New Fund Launches

360 ONE Asset, part of 360 ONE WAM, has launched a Rs 500 crore ($60 million) sector-agnostic VC fund aimed at seed and Series A investments in India. Aarthi Ramamurthy has initiated Schema Ventures with a $20 million fund to support early-stage startups in sectors including industrial software, robotics, and logistics. Meanwhile, 247VC has introduced its first fund focusing on early-stage startups in India.

Recent Launches and Collaborations

Some recent collaborations and launches include:

• ThunderPlus partnering with Ather Energy
• Boba Bhai adopting a multi-channel model
• TagHive unveiling SaathiGPT, an AI-driven learning assistant
• Banijay Asia teaming up with NODWIN Gaming to enhance gaming engagement
• Oben Electric preparing to launch its second platform, ‘O100’
• Glance AI introducing a commerce app enriched with deep intelligence and visual shopping features

Financial Results This Week

• TBO Tek reports Rs 446 crore revenue and Rs 59 crore PAT in Q4 FY25
• Unnati Agri surpasses Rs 500 crore revenue in FY24; losses widen slightly
• Honasa, parent of Mamaearth, announces Rs 533 crore revenue in Q4 FY25 with a 17% profit decrease
• Miko reveals Rs 358 crore revenue in FY24; subscription income soars by 29 times
• Mobikwik’s growth remains stagnant in Q4 FY25; suffering significant losses
• Square Yards achieves over Rs 1,400 crore revenue in FY25, with gross profit increasing by 52%

News Highlights

Zepto Cafe has momentarily halted operations in various smaller cities due to challenges in the supply chain and high costs, affecting around 44 cafes and more than 400 employees, including staff from new locations. Ola Electric’s board has approved a funding plan of Rs 1,700 crore through debt instruments. The Change Engine is set to create 20 non-profit unicorns aimed at driving social transformation in India.

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