Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [June 09 - June 14]

During the week, 20 Indian startups raised a total of approximately $184.75 million, including 5 growth-stage and 14 early-stage deals, while a startup kept its funding undisclosed.

In comparison, the previous week saw 21 startups across early and growth stages secure around $216.19  million.

[Growth-stage deals]

Growth and late-stage funding reached $135 million this week, led by  Kunal Shah-led CRED which raised $72 million from Lathe Investment, RTP Global, Sofina Ventures, and QED Innovation Labs. MSMEs-focused fintech lender FlexiLoans also raised $44 million in Series C funding while Vecmocon closed its $18 million Series A in which $8 raised this week in a mix of primary and secondary transactions. QSR chain Wow! Momo and dronetech Garuda Aerospace also raised funding this week.

[Early-stage deals]

Further, 13 early-stage startups collectively raised a total of $49.75 million in funding. Aerospace and defence startup Sanlayan Technologies led the early-stage funding with a $22 million round followed by wealthtech startup PowerUp, fintech startups Piston, Zype, Microdrama OTT platform FlickTV among others.

Zee Entertainment acquired a minority stake in OTT platform Bullet, but the deal amount was not disclosed.

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 9 deals followed by Delhi-NCR with 5 deals. Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai based startups also bagged deals.

Segment-wise, fintech startups are at the top spot with 6 deals. Deeptech and OTT startups followed with 2 deals each. Aerospace, foodtech, e-commerce, sportstech and others also bagged the deals.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, Seed funding led with 7 deals followed by debt deals , Series A, pre-seed, pre-Series A, Series G and others.

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

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined nearly 15% at $184.75 million as compared to around $216.19  million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $217.68 million with 23 deals per week.

[Key Hirings & Departures]

This week saw notable hirings across companies. Ahead of its planned IPO, Wakefit appointed Sudeep Nagar, Sandhya Pottigari, Aridam Paul, Gunender Kapur, and Alok Chandra Misra as independent directors in line with regulatory requirements. Edtech unicorn upGrad appointed Ferzad Palia to head its D2C business. Greaves Electric Mobility appointed Vikas Singh as its new Managing Director.

There were a couple of departures as well with Sujay Choubey has stepped down from Peak XV Partners and Meta India public policy head Shivnath Thukral will be stepping down from his role.

Visit TheKredible for more details

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

Byju’s, once considered India’s leading edtech company, has sold two major US acquisitions, Epic sold to China’s TAL Education for $95 million, while Tynker was acquired by CodeHS for just $2.2 million in cash in distressed deals. Japanese financial major Mizuho Financial Group to acquire KKR-backed Avendus Capital in a deal valuing the Indian investment bank at Rs 6,000 crore ($700 million). Digital marketing startup Wubba Lubba Dub Dub (WLDD) has acquired Bengaluru-based creative agency Imagined Studio. House of brands company BRND.ME (formerly Mensa Brands) has sold India Lifestyle Network (ILN), the parent company of MensXP to RPSG Group.

Visit TheKredible for more details

[ESOP Buyback]

Retail advisory platform Univest has completed its first ESOP buyback worth Rs 1.61 crore, allowing early employees to partially liquidate their equity and realize financial gains.

[Potential Deals]

▪️ Decoding Groww’s $200 Mn pre-IPO funding round 

▪️ GIVA to raise $53 Mn led by Creaegis at $465 Mn valuation

▪️ Snapmint set to raise $40 Mn led by General Atlantic

▪️ Durlabh Darshan set to raise $2 Mn led by Prime VP

▪️ Elevation Capital to lead $5 Mn round in Rumik.ai

▪️ Electric mobility platform Kazam to raise $6 Mn in Series B

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️ CoinDCX launches automated crypto trading feature for both new and experienced traders

▪️ Scapia unveils new dual-network credit card in collaboration with Federal Bank

▪️ Apna launches AI-powered interview prep tool

▪️ The Man Company partners with Unicommerce to streamline e-commerce operations

▪️ Namma Yatri partners with Covrzy to provide affordable health insurance for its drivers

[Financial result this week]

▪️ Credgenics clocks Rs 220 Cr revenue and Rs 25 Cr PBT in FY25

[News flash this week]

▪️Ola, Uber, Rapido bike taxi ban continues in Karnataka 

▪️PhonePe, G-Pay reach peak UPI volumes in May; Super.money maintains lead over CRED

▪️ Rekha Jhunjhunwala cashes out Rs 374 Cr from Nazara in June

▪️ Pine Labs to file DRHP for Rs 5000-6000 Cr IPO by June: Report

▪️ FIR against fantasy platform Sportasy under new Haryana gambling law; pressure mounts on Dream11, My11Circle, others

▪️ Meesho transitions into public company as it readies for IPO

[Summary]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined nearly 15% at $184.75 million as compared to around $216.19  million raised during the previous week.

PhonePe and Google Pay remained the top UPI apps in May 2025, leading in both transaction volume and value, according to NPCI data. PhonePe processed 8.68 billion transactions worth Rs 12.56 lakh crore, commanding 46.47% volume and 49.97% value share. Google Pay followed with 6.74 billion transactions worth Rs 8.85 lakh crore, capturing 36.09% and 35.20% shares, respectively.

Pine Labs, a merchant payments and lending platform, is set to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Sebi by the end of June.

Under Haryana’s new gambling law, the state has registered its first FIR against fantasy sports platform Sportasy, owned by Blossomfield Gamingzone Pvt Ltd. The complaint, filed by Naharpur resident Hari Nuniya, marks the beginning of the state's crackdown on fantasy gaming operators.

Homegrown e-commerce platform Meesho is set to become a public entity ahead of its planned $1 billion IPO and is expected to complete its flip to India soon.

The Karnataka High Court has upheld its earlier decision to suspend bike taxi services in the state, dismissing appeals from aggregators like Ola, Uber, and Rapido. The court's refusal to grant interim relief means that the suspension order remains in effect until at least June 24, 2025.