Indian startups raise second-highest funding of 2025 in October

Indian startups recorded their second-highest funding month in 2025, with the jump in capital inflow driven by Zepto’s $450 million mega round, followed by Uniphore’s $250 million and two $100 million-plus fundraises by Snapmint and Dhan. October also turned out to be an active month on the IPO front, with Lenskart and Groww gearing up to list, while boAt, Curefoods, and Milky Mist moved a step closer to their public market debut. Meanwhile, layoffs saw a noticeable decline compared to previous months.

According to data compiled by TheKredible, Indian startups raised a total of $1.73 billion across 110 deals in October. Growth and late-stage funding accounted for $1.41 billion from 22 deals, while early-stage funding contributed $312 million through 77 deals. Additionally, 11 rounds of funding remained undisclosed.

[M-o-M and Y-o-Y trend]

With $1.73 billion in funding, October became the second-highest funded month after January’s $1.76 billion. Overall, Indian startups crossed the $1 billion monthly mark five times in the first ten months of 2025. On a year-on-year basis, October 2025 ranked as the second-highest in the past five years.

[Top 10 growth-stage deals]

Growth-stage startups dominated October’s funding charts with around $1.41 billion raised across the top 10 deals. Zepto led with $450 million, followed by Uniphore’s $260 million round. Fintech players Snapmint and Dhan raised $125 million and $120 million respectively, while KuKu FM secured $85 million. The list also featured UnifyApps, Dezerv, Snabbit, Intangles, and IntrCity SmartBus.

[Top 10 early-stage deals]

AI infrastructure startup Mem0 led the early stage with a $24 million round, followed by fintech firm Optimo Capital, which raised $18 million. CapitalXB and Goyaz secured $15 million each, while Pluro Fertility closed $14 million in its fertility tech play. Other notable rounds included KGeN, GoodScore, Ekkaa Electronics, Pantherun Technologies, and SalarySe, which raised between $11 million and $13.5 million. 

[Mergers and acquisitions]

M&A activity in the Indian startup ecosystem witnessed a sharp slowdown in October, with only three deals compared to eight in September. The month saw Groww acquiring wealthtech platform Fisdom, TBO Tek taking over Classic Vacations, and TCC Concept buying a 95.18% stake in Pepperfry.

[City and Segment wise deals]

Bengaluru maintained its clear lead in startup funding activity during the month, drawing $1.02 billion across 48 deals, which made up nearly 59% of the total capital raised. Mumbai followed with $441 million from 14 deals, while Delhi-NCR recorded 28 deals worth $160 million. Emerging hubs Pune and Hyderabad saw relatively modest traction, attracting $46.9 million and $24.6 million respectively.

E-commerce emerged as the top-funded segment in October, attracting $527.4 million across 18 deals, accounting for over 30% of the total capital raised. Fintech and AI startups followed closely, securing $410.5 million and $395.2 million respectively, together contributing nearly half of the month’s funding. Meanwhile, Healthtech and Deeptech saw limited activity, drawing $31.6 million and $16.3 million, respectively.

[Series-wise deals]

Early-stage funding continued to dominate deal volumes in October, led by 46 seed and 14 Series A rounds. However, Series B attracted the largest share of capital, accounting for 26.47% of total funding with $457.9 million raised. In contrast, pre-seed and pre-Series A stages saw limited inflows.

[Layoffs, shutdowns, departures and key hires]

Unlike the previous months marked by large-scale layoffs in the gaming sector, October witnessed a relatively calmer phase with only two layoffs, as Zepto and Simpl let go of around 380 employees combined. Additionally, Hike and Mypickup announced the shutdown of their operations. 

Overall, the month saw limited exits in the startup ecosystem, while over 28 key executive roles were filled. For a detailed overview of these movements, click here.

[Trends]

Strong secondary and IPO pipeline: Several startups including Lenskart, Groww, boAt, Pine Labs, Curefoods, and Milky Mist are gearing up for IPOs. This reflects stronger investor confidence and a maturing ecosystem where public market exits are gaining pace.

M&A activity declines: After a busy September, mergers and acquisitions declined by more than 60%, with only three deals in October. 

Shrinking gap between AI and Fintech: The gap between AI ($395 million) and fintech ($410 million) narrowed as worldwide investment attention shifts toward AI platforms and uses.