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

This week, 14 Indian startups raised around $105.08 million, comprising 6 growth-stage and 7 early-stage deals, while a startup kept its funding undisclosed.

In contrast, 43 startups had collectively secured about $222.87 in the previous week.

[Growth-stage deals]

Growth-stage startups raised $95 million across six deals this week, led by rural omnichannel retail platform Rozana, which raised Rs 290 crore in a Series B round led by Bertelsmann India Investments. Home services startup Pronto followed with $25 million in its Series B round led by Epiq Capital. Meanwhile, RAS Luxury Skincare secured $7.5 million in a Series B round led by Dabur Ventures with participation from Unilever Ventures, while digital transformation consulting firm KaarTech raised around $11 million (Rs 100 crore) from Playbook Partners. Skincare brand RAS Luxury Skincare and EV startup Bounce also raised funding.

[Early-stage deals]

Early-stage deals totaled just $10 million funding activity this week across 7 deals. Quick commerce enablement platform Inamo has raised $8 million in a funding round led by Prime Venture Partners. AI-powered customer engagement platform Cheerio AI, EV charging infrastructure company ThunderPlus, Food tech startup 10on10 and others also secured funding this week.

For a detailed funding breakdown, visitTheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]

Bengaluru topped the city-wise deal count with 6 deals, followed by Delhi-NCR which secured 3 deals. Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Chandigarh also recorded deals this week.

Segment-wise, healthtech startups led the week with three deals, followed by e-commerce, EV, and food & beverages startups with two deals each. Retail tech, home services marketplaces, SaaS, and other sectors also recorded funding activity during the period.

[Series-wise deals]

This week Series B and seed deals led the funding with 4 deals each, followed by pre-seed 2 deals. Debt, Pre-Series B, Series A, Series F and others also recorded deals.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding fell 53% to $105.08 million as compared to around $222.87 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $358 million with 31 deals per week.

[Key Hirings]

Flipkart has appointed Somnath Das as Vice President, Supply Chain, and Digbijay Mishra as Vice President, Corporate Communications, as it strengthens its senior leadership. Meanwhile, premium homeware brand Nester appointed Kunwarjeet Grover as Co-founder and Chief Business Officer. Digital healthcare platform Practo named Cijo George as Vice President of Artificial Intelligence, while iD Fresh Food elevated its co-founders Jafar TK and Shamshudeen TK to its board of directors.

[Mergers & Acquisitions]

MakeMyTrip has agreed to acquire a majority stake in regional tour operator Flamingo Transworld, while MedGenome announced a majority investment in Mumbai-based radiology and nuclear medicine provider Medcare Management Services Pvt. Ltd.. Meanwhile, The Estée Lauder Companies signed an agreement to acquire the remaining stake in luxury Ayurvedic skincare brand Forest Essentials, taking full ownership of the brand. In another deal, Captain Fresh completed the acquisition of Spain-based tuna processor Frime to strengthen its presence across global seafood categories.

[Layoffs]

Flipkart, owned by Walmart, has laid off around 300 employees as part of its annual performance review cycle, according to sources familiar with the matter. The layoffs represent about 1.5% of its workforce of roughly 20,000 employees, with affected staff spread across multiple teams.

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️ Rapido launches food delivery App ‘Ownly’ in Bengaluru 

▪️ upGrad collaborates with OpenAI to embed advanced AI Tools

▪️ Cars24 teams up with OpenAI for AI-first automotive commerce

▪️ Oxyzo forays into fund management with launch of Credit Fund I

[Financial result this week]

[News flash this week]

▪️ Fintech unicorn Moneyview files DRHP with SEBI for Rs 1,500 Cr IPO 

▪️ Ola Electric shares sink to all-time low after 47% drop in monthly sales

▪️ With 3.5% market share, Ola Electric slips out of top 5 EV 2W makers in Feb

▪️ UPI volumes dip in February; average daily count rises to 728 Mn

[Summary]

On a weekly basis, startup funding fell 83% to $222.87 as compared to around $1.3 billion raised during the previous week.

Moneyview, a Bengaluru-based fintech lender, has filed its DRHP with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise Rs 1,500 crore through an IPO, which will include a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 1,500 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 13.6 crore equity shares by existing shareholders.

Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric slipped out of the top five electric two-wheeler makers in February after its sales fell 47% month-on-month and its market share dropped below 4%. TVS Motor continues to hold the top spot.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) recorded 20.39 billion transactions in February 2026, down from 21.7 billion in January, according to data from National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Despite the month-on-month decline, volumes rose 27% year-on-year, while transaction value stood at Rs 26.84 lakh crore, down 5.3% sequentially but up 22% YoY. The average daily transaction count reached 728 million.