Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [July 28- Aug 02]

During the week, 21 Indian startups raised a total of $130.49 million, including 3 growth-stage and 15 early-stage deals, while 3 startups kept their funding undisclosed.

In comparison, the previous week saw 23 startups across early and growth stages secure around $202.79  million.

[Growth-stage deals]

Only three growth and late-stage deals took place this week, totaling $90.88 million. Cybersecurity startup Safe Security (formerly Lucideus) led the pack with a $70 million Series C round led by Avataar Ventures. Fintech unicorn Navi Technologies raised ₹170 crore (around $20 million) in a debt round backed by PhillipCapital, NDX Finserve, Arpee Group, and others. Meanwhile, quick commerce platform Zepto secured Rs 7.5 crore from Elcid Investment.

[Early-stage deals]

Further, 15 early-stage startups collectively raised around $39.6 million in funding led by AI startup Metaforms raising $9 million in a Series A funding round led by Peak XV Partners followed by gaming startup STAN, online learning platform Arivihan, agentic AI platform Bhindi.io, SaaS startup Sharpsell.ai among others.

Insurance platform Acko, recruitment platform for blue-collar workers Vahan AI and SaaS firm Optipro also raised a sum but did not disclose the amount raised.

For a detailed funding breakdown, visit TheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]

In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups led with 8 deals followed by Delhi-NCR with 6 deals. Mumbai, Guwahati and others also bagged deals.

Segment-wise, AI startups are at the top spot with 3 deals. SaaS and e-commerce startups followed with 3 deals each. Fintech, cybersecurity, gaming and other startups also bagged deals this week.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, Seed funding led with 6 deals followed by Series A, pre-Series A and pre-seed  grabbing 3 deals each. Series C, debt, Series F and others also bagged deals.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined by 35.65% to $130.49 as compared to around $202.70 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $188.9 million with 23 deals per week.

[Key Hirings & Departures]

This week saw several key leadership appointments across the startup ecosystem. E-commerce enablement startup GoKwik named Vargab Bakshi as Chief Growth Officer to drive global expansion, marketing, partnerships, and product-led growth. VerSe Innovation, the parent company of DailyHunt and Josh, appointed Rohit Sandal as its new Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Meanwhile, electric mobility firm Magenta Mobility brought on Ankur Bhandari as its new Head of Finance.

There were a couple of notable departures this week. Maya John stepped down as Chief People Officer at VerSe Innovation, while Raheel Shah, co-founder and Chief Business Officer of education-focused NBFC Eduvanz, also resigned from his role.

Visit TheKredible for more details

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

Vahan.ai has acquired L.earn, the digital learning and upskilling platform developed by GoodWorker, which was backed by LemmaTree. Expense management firm Zaggle is set to acquire fintech startup Rivpe Technology Private Limited, widely known as Rio.Money, in a cash deal valued at Rs 22 crore ($2.5 million).

Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, and more insights.

[Fund Launches]

W Health Ventures has launched its second fund of $70 million, focused on healthcare company creation in India. Neo Asset Management announced the first close of its Rs 2,000 crore Neo Secondaries Fund, raising Rs 750 crore. Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) unveiled 'IPV International', a $110 million Category I Angel Fund under GIFT City’s IFSCA framework, targeting early to pre-Series A startups globally with investments ranging from $100K to $1 million.

[Shutdown]

Two startups shut down this week. Astra, an AI-powered sales workflow automation startup backed by Perplexity AI founder Aravind Srinivas, has ceased operations. Additionally, Shark Tank-featured digital gold savings platform Plus Gold has also wound up its business.

[Layoffs]

AI unicorn Krutrim has laid off over 100 employees in its second round of job cuts, as part of a strategic realignment aimed at building leaner teams and optimizing resource management, according to an ET report.

[Potential Deals]

▪️ Baaz Bikes to raise fresh funds from existing investors

▪️ Zetwerk to raise Rs 600 Cr from two co-founders

▪️ Shark Tank India-backed P-Tal to raise fresh funds in pre-Series A round

▪️ The Sleep Company to kick off Series D round with 80% valuation surge

▪️ Info Edge in talks to lead $2.5 Mn round in Ghar Mandir

▪️ Powerplay valuation halves in fresh funding

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️ Stellaris-backed Kombai launches the first domain-specific AI coding agent for front-end developers

[Financial result this week]

▪️ Swiggy posts Rs 4,961 Cr revenue in Q1 FY26, losses soar 96%

▪️ Mobikwik losses surge 6X in Q1 FY26

▪️ PB Fintech posts Rs 1,348 Cr revenue in Q1 FY26; profit increases 42%

▪️ Freshworks posts $205 Mn revenue in Q2 CY25, cuts losses by 80%

▪️ Lenskart posts profit of Rs 297 crore, revenue grew 23% to Rs 6,653 Cr

▪️ Go Digit’s revenue declines 17% in Q1 FY26, profit soars 46%

▪️ CarTrade posts Rs 173 Cr revenue in Q1 FY26, profit jumps 2X YoY

[News flash this week]

▪️ TVS maintains lead in 2W EV sales in July; Ather narrows gap with Ola Electric

▪️ UPI sets all-time high with 19.47 Bn transactions in July

▪️ Swiggy may exit Rapido over conflict of interest; Instamart GOV soars 2X in Q1 FY26

▪️ Swiggy beats Zomato in attrition and salary, but lags in gender balance

▪️ Indiqube Spaces lists at discount; market cap hovers at Rs 4,400 Cr

▪️ NCLT Ahmedabad initiates insolvency proceedings against BluSmart

▪️ Lenskart files DRHP for Rs 2,150 Cr IPO; SoftBank, Temasek among  key sellers

▪️ Peyush Bansal pays Rs 222 Cr to buy back 4.6 Cr shares at steep discount ahead of IPO

▪️ Agritech startups account for only 2% of venture funding since 2020: Entrackr Report

[Summary]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined by 35.65% to $130.49 as compared to around $202.70 million raised during the previous week.

TVS Motor led the electric two-wheeler market in July with a 21.6% share, registering 22,225 units, though down 12.73% from June. Bajaj followed with a 19.10% share and 19,650 units sold. Ola Electric’s market share continued to decline, dropping to 17.35% from 38.83% a year ago. Ather Energy held the fourth spot with a 15.78% share.

UPI hit a record high in July with 19.47 billion transactions worth Rs 25.08 lakh crore, up 5.8% in volume and 4.3% in value from June, according to NPCI data.

Eyewear brand Lenskart has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI, aiming to raise Rs 2,150 crore through a fresh issue. Additionally, existing shareholders plan to sell up to 13.2 crore shares via an Offer for Sale (OFS).

Swiggy, which holds a 12% stake in Rapido, is “actively re-evaluating” its investment due to a potential conflict of interest, citing the evolving nature of their business relationship.

Kombai, the first AI agent dedicated to frontend development, announced its public launch today. Backed by Stellaris Venture Partners and Foundation Capital, it is a domain-specific coding agent designed for frontend tasks and has consistently outperformed general-purpose coding agents in real-world scenarios.