Healthtech, logistics propel Indian startup funding beyond $1 Bn in May

After a 35% drop in startup funding in April, Indian startups saw a strong recovery in May, crossing the $1 billion mark. This bounce-back was mainly driven by a few large deals such as $200 million raised by logistics firm Porter and $218 million by the newly launched PB Healthcare. These big-ticket fundings helped boost overall numbers and showed that investor interest is picking up again.

According to data compiled by TheKredible, Indian startups raised a total of $1.14 billion across 98 deals in May. Growth and late-stage funding accounted for $637 million from 25 deals, while early-stage funding contributed $505 million through 66 deals. Additionally, 7 rounds of funding remained undisclosed.

[M-o-M trend]

On a month-over-month basis, May saw a 53% jump in funding compared to April, which recorded $745 million. Year-on-year, this marks the second lowest May funding in the past five years.

For M-o-M funding trends, visit TheKredible.

[Top 10 growth-stage deals]

In May 2025, top startup funding was led by logistics firm Porter, which raised $200 million in a Series F round. Citykart followed with $63 million in retail tech, while Farmley and Routematic each secured $40 million. Other notable deals included Flipspaces ($35 million), Celcius Logistics ($30 million), CureBay ($21 million), VFlowTech ($20.5 million), Nobel Hygiene ($20 million), and Snabbit ($19 million). 

[Top 10 early-stage deals]

Early-stage startup funding was led by PB Healthcare, which secured a massive $218 million Seed round for its healthcare platform. Saarthi Finance followed with $55.5 million in Series A to expand its NBFC operations. Healthtech startup Complement1 raised $16 million, while media startups Mythik and Flam attracted $15 million and $14 million respectively. Other notable fundings included Fuze, Avammune Therapeutics, ALT Carbon, and Biostate AI, each raising $12 million across SaaS, biotech, deeptech, and AI segments. Fashion delivery startup Slikk rounded out the top 10 with $10 million.

[Mergers and acquisitions]

In May 2025, key acquisitions included Lytus Technologies acquiring AI startup Bold.in, Curefoods taking over Krispy Kreme, and Capillary Technologies acquiring Kognitiv in loyalty solutions. BrowserStack, Zendesk, and Nazara made strategic buys in SaaS and gaming, while Jumbotail, Plane, and Imarticus Learning expanded through acquisitions in B2B, tech, and edtech sectors.

[City and Segment wise deals]

In May, Bengaluru led India's startup funding landscape, accounting for 57.82% of total funds raised with 35 deals worth $659.97 million. Delhi-NCR followed with 31 deals worth $189.2 million, contributing 16.58% of the funding. Mumbai saw 15 deals raising $208.98 million, making up 18.31%. Chennai and Ahmedabad had smaller shares, with 2.42% and 0.09% respectively, reflecting modest activity in those regions.

Healthtech led startup funding with $288.93 million (25.31%) across 9 deals, followed by Logistics with $244.89 million (21.46%) from 6 deals. Fintech saw the most deals (10) but raised $103.96 million (9.11%). AI and E-commerce followed with $37.39 million and $30.5 million, respectively.

[Series-wise deals]

Seed stage deals dominated startup funding with 36 deals totaling $309.05 million, accounting for 27.08% of total funding. Series B followed with $219.8 million across 11 deals (19.26%), while Series A saw 18 deals raising $173.95 million (15.24%). Check TheKredible for more details.

[Layoffs, shutdowns, key hires, and departures]

The number of layoffs continued to slow down in May, with only two companies—Genwise and VerSe—laying off a total of 370 employees. Meanwhile, three startups—Otipy, Zoplar, and Leap.Club—are shutting down operations due to various challenges.

In May, the startup ecosystem experienced notable leadership shifts, with multiple senior executives—including CEOs, MDs, CTOs, co-founders, and a Group CFO—stepping down from their roles. Simultaneously, more than 20 key executive positions were filled, signaling a wave of transformation. For a detailed overview of these changes, click here.

[Trends]

Funding in quick fashion delivery and services: Quick commerce has expanded beyond groceries into fashion and home services. Recently, Snabbit, which offers on-demand home services, secured $19 million. Its competitor, Pronto, which raised $2 million this month, is reportedly in talks for another funding round. Meanwhile, 60-minute fashion delivery startup Slikk has raised two rounds in 2025, while its competitor Knot is in discussions to raise $3 million.

Unicorns are back: Logistics firm Porter became a unicorn following its $200 million Series F funding round, while pet care startup Drools also joined the unicorn club after selling a minority stake to Nestlé. Meanwhile, startups like Dhan, InsuranceDekho, and Jumbotail are also eyeing unicorn status in the near future.

Reverse flip at huge cost: Razorpay is the latest to join the list of tech firms paying substantial taxes during their reverse flips to India, shelling out $150 million. PhonePe led with around $1 billion, followed by Groww at $157 million. Zepto and Dream11 also completed their flips but haven’t disclosed tax details. Flipkart (valued at around $35 billion) is currently undergoing the process.

[Conclusion] 

While it is obvious that May has emerged as a strong month for funding over the past few years, the most positive aspect of the funding this time has been the high share of  seed stage funding. That indicates not just a thriving funding environment, but also the prospects of an Improving funding requirement. That is because investors nowadays have usually started backing firms with the implicit understanding that they will need a follow on round, series A, or whatever they might call it, in the near future. Thus, they will spring for a seed round only when they consider the prospects for further funding strong enough as well. The shuttering of Otipy is a little disappointing, as yet another agritech that pivoted to groceries, only to flame out eventually. It continues to drive home the point how challenging it remains to build for links between rural India and urban India. The other factor that will surely power future funding momentum is the almost $10 billion of IPO plans from startups that are 5 to 15 years old that are lined up for the next few months. From BlueStone to Lenskart to Physicswallah to OfBusiness and many more, these startups are from across sectors, proving how far the market has evolved. As and when these exits happen, they will drive home the value in the Indian market and Indian talent like nothing else.