Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [Feb 02 - Feb 07]

This week,  26 Indian startups raised around  $215 million, comprising 3 growth-stage and 18 early-stage deals, while 5 startups kept their funding undisclosed.

In contrast, 47 startups had collectively secured about $354 million in the previous week.

[Growth-stage deals]

This week, growth-stage funding reached $151 million across three deals. full-stack electric mobility platform, Drivn secured financing commitments of up to $80 million from Nomura, a global financial services group. Clean-label health food brand The Whole Truth has raised about $51 million in a Series D round led by Sofina and Sauce.vc, comprising a mix of primary and secondary capital. Climate-tech startup Varaha has raised $20 million in the first tranche of its Series B round led by WestBridge Capital.

Jain Cord, a Gurugram-based manufacturer of cotton and linen fabrics, has raised its first institutional funding of Rs 200 crore in a Series A round from the Lohia Family Office

[Early-stage deals]

Early-stage funding this week totalled $64 million across 15 deals. Fashion quick-commerce startup ZILO led the round with a $15.3 million Series A led by Peak XV Partners, followed by enterprise AI platform Loop AI, which raised $14 million in a Series A. Other early-stage startups that raised capital include interior design and home decor startup Material Depot, martech firm Fibr AI, D2C athleisure brand Cava Athleisure, preventive nutrition startup Good Monk, pet healthcare startup Dr. Doodley, and 11 others.

Global Enterprise AI Kore.ai, cloud PC platform NeverInstall, D2C fragrance firm EM5, fintech startup OneStack and agritech startup Regeno also raised funding this week, although the deal sizes were not disclosed.

For a detailed funding breakdown, visitTheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]

Bengaluru topped the city-wise deal count with 10 deals, while Delhi-NCR led in total funding, raising $104.5 million across nine deals. Mumbai, Ernakulam, Hyderabad, Indore, and Chennai also secured a deal each during the week.

Segment-wise, e-commerce and AI startups led the week with 5 deals each, followed by F&B with 3 deals. Robotics, manufacturing, EV, Climate tech, Interior design, and others also recorded funding during the period.

[Series-wise deals]

This week seed rounds led the funding with 9 deals, followed by pre-Series A and Series A with 5 and 4 deals respectively. Pre-Seed, Series D, debt and Series B also recorded  deals.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding surged 46% to $215 million as compared to around $147.64 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $201.94 million with 24 deals per week.

[Key Hirings/ Departures]

Enterprise fintech firm Nucleus Software has appointed Apurva Chamaria as its Chief Business Officer. Ride hailing company Uber elevated Balaji Krishnamurthy as CFO. Cloud PC platform Neverinstall has appointed Ramesh Gopal Krishna as its chief revenue officer. EM5, a homegrown D2C fragrance brand, has onboarded Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav as an investor and partner. : JioStar Group today announced the appointment of Emmy Award winner Stephan Bugaj as Senior Vice-President of GenAI Content & Technology.

Venture capital firm Peak XV Partners has seen the exit of three senior investment professionals Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal, and Tejeshwi Sharma as part of an ongoing leadership transition.

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

Mumbai-based FMCG major Marico will acquire a 60% stake in plant-based protein startup Cosmix at an equity valuation of Rs 375 crore and add a protein-focused brand to its D2C portfolio. HORIBA India has acquired a 100% stake in Pristine Deeptech, an R&D-driven startup focused on lab-grown diamonds for semiconductor and quantum research.

[Fund Launches]

Deeptech-focused VC firm Unicorn India Ventures has closed its third fund at Rs 1,200 crore, exceeding its Rs 1,000 crore target. Golden Sparrow Ventures has announced the first close of its $20 million Fund II, while early-stage VC firm All In Capital has unveiled the first cohort of its Golden Ticket Program for AI-led startups. Nitro Commerce, powered by GetVantage, has launched a Rs 100 crore embedded capital programme for MSMEs and digital-first brands in India. IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP) and Unicorn India Ventures (UIV) on Friday announced the launch of a Rs 600-crore deep tech fund

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️Nitro Commerce, GetVantage launch Rs 100 Cr embedded finance programme for MSMEs 

▪️Ashiana Care Homes partners with Epoch Elder Care to strengthen senior care

▪️Zappfresh enters frozen veg snacks segment with Meevaa Foods

▪️PhysicsWallah enters yoga and wellness, raises stake in Kamya Yoga & Wellness

▪️AAI and Apogee Aerospace collaborate to advance amphibious aviation in India

[Financial result this week]

▪️Capillary Technology posts Rs 184 Cr revenue in Q3 FY26; profit falls 20%

▪️CollegeDekho posts Rs 151 Cr loss in FY25, revenue remains flat

▪️PhysicsWallah posts Rs 1,082 Cr revenue in Q3 FY26; profit grows 33%

▪️Tracxn continues to report flat revenue in Q3 FY25; slips into losses

▪️Nykaa posts Rs 2,873 Cr revenue in Q3 FY26; profit jumps 2.5X

▪️Blackbuck records Rs 32 Cr profit on Rs 172 Cr revenue in Q3 FY26 

▪️Cosmix by the numbers: What Marico gets in its latest D2C acquisition

▪️Nazara’ Q3 FY26 revenue declines 24% to Rs 406 Cr; profit down 36%

▪️Dhan reports Rs 408 Cr PAT on Rs 877 Cr revenue in FY25

▪️Mobikwik posts Rs 289 Cr revenue and Rs 4 Cr profit in Q3 FY26

▪️Awfis posts Rs 382 Cr revenue and Rs 22 Cr profit in Q3 FY26

▪️PB Fintech posts Rs 1,711 Cr revenue in Q3 FY26; profit surges 2.6X

▪️Ather posts Rs 954 Cr revenue in Q3 FY26; cuts losses by 57%

▪️Mokobara revenue doubles to Rs 230 Cr in FY25

▪️Dezerv reports Rs 66 Cr revenue in FY25, employee costs climb to Rs 111 Cr

▪️VenturEdu announces Mentors for 14 month venture programme

[News flash this week]

▪️Crisis deepens for Resonance and BASE Edu as lenders manage to freeze bank account

▪️Fractal IPO to fetch over 5X returns for Apax Partners

▪️After 2024 revival, Indian proptech raises $550 Mn in 2025 amid full-stack shift and IPO wave: Entrackr Report

[Summary]

On a weekly basis, startup funding surged 46% to $215 million as compared to around $147.64 million raised during the previous week.

Kota-based coaching major Resonance Group and its subsidiaries, including BASE Educational Services Pvt Ltd, have faced a crisis after their expense accounts were frozen following the company’s failure to repay debt to multiple lenders, including banks and NBFCs.

Edtech major PhysicsWallah (PW) has forayed into the yoga and wellness segment by increasing its stake in Kay Lifestyle and Wellness Private Limited (Kamya Yoga & Wellness).

AI solutions firm Fractal Analytics has filed its RHP and set a price band of Rs 857–900 per share for its IPO, implying a valuation of about $1.6 billion at the upper end. Major shareholders Apax Partners, TPG, and GLM Family Trust will participate in the OFS and are expected to earn healthy returns on their investments through the initial public offering.

Microlending platform Aye Finance has set a price band of Rs 122–129 per equity share for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) after filing its red herring prospectus (RHP) with the capital markets regulator. According to the company’s filing, Aye Finance will raise Rs 710 crore through a fresh issue and up to Rs 300 crore through an offer-for-sale (OFS), aggregating to a total IPO size of Rs 1,010 crore.

As per Entrackr data, Indian proptech startups raised over $550 million across 32 deals in 2025, led by Infra.Market with around $175 million, over 30% of the total funding. Hospitality major OYO followed, while co-working firms WeWork India, IndiQube, and Smartworks went public during the year. Real estate brokerage Square Yards raised $35 million.