Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [May 19 - May 24]

During the week, 21 Indian startups raised a total of approximately $139.5 million, including 5 growth-stage and 13 early-stage deals, while three startups kept their funding undisclosed.

In comparison, the previous week saw 27 startups across early and growth stages secure around $194.22  million.

Growth-stage deals

Growth and late-stage funding totaled nearly $65.75 million this week led by healthtech startup CureBay in its Series B round led by Bertelsmann India Investments followed by cybersecurity startup CloudSEK who raised $19 million in its Series B round. Euler Motors secured $15 million in another tranche of its $60 million Series B round. Fintech firms Dvara KGFS and Borderless (Stockal) have also raised funding this week.

Early-stage deals

Further, 13 early-stage startups collectively raised a total of $73.75 million in funding. Jason Kothari’s new startup Mythik led the early-stage funding with a $15 million seed round followed by deeptech startup ALT Carbon, AI startup Biostate AI, and SaaS firm Data Sutram among others.

Spacetech startup PierSight, and e-commerce brands BlackCarrot and The Sock Street 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, Delhi-NCR-based startups led with 8 deals followed by Bengaluru with four deals. Mumbai, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Ahmedabad based startups also bagged deals.

Segment-wise, fintech startups are at the top spot with three deals. E-commerce and media and entertainment startups followed with three and two deals respectively. Deeptech, AI, healthtech and cybersecurity and others also bagged the deals.

Series-wise deals

During the week, Seed funding led with 8 deals followed by Series A , Series B, Series D and others.

Week-on-week funding trend

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined by 28.17% to $139.5 million as compared to around $194.22  million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $216.99 million with 25 deals per week.

Key Hirings & Departures

This week saw some notable hirings across companies. Quick commerce platform Zepto has appointed Rachit Ranjan as its chief public policy officer. Ranjan will oversee the company's policy, regulatory, and government affairs functions. ProcMart, a B2B marketplace for indirect procurement, has appointed Sachin Jain as co-founder. NBFC company Avanse Financial Services has appointed former Bajaj Finserv COO Rakesh Bhatt as an independent director of the company ahead of IPO.

Visit TheKredible for more details

Mergers and Acquisitions

Nazara Technologies has announced the acquisition of 100% ownership in Curve Digital Entertainment Limited, a UK-based publisher of PC and console games, for Rs 247 crore ($29 million). Zendesk has acquired Local Measure, a leading CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service).

Visit TheKredible for more details

Fund Launch

360 ONE Asset, a unit of 360 ONE WAM, has launched a Rs 500 crore ($60M) sector-agnostic VC fund targeting seed and Series A investments in India. Aarthi Ramamurthy has launched Schema Ventures with a $20M fund to back early-stage startups in sectors like industrial software, robotics, factory intelligence, construction, logistics, workflow intelligence, and developer tools. Venture capital firm 247VC has rolled out its first investment fund focused on early-stage startups in India.

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

New Launches and Partnerships

▪️ ThunderPlus partners with Ather Energy

▪️ Boba Bhai enters multi-channel model

▪️ TagHive unveils SaathiGPT, an AI-driven learning assistant designed to deliver personalized education

▪️ Banijay Asia and NODWIN Gaming partner to amplify gaming engagement

▪️ Oben Electric to unveil its second indigenously developed platform, ‘O100’

▪️ Glance AI launches commerce app with deep intelligence and visual shopping

 Financial results this week

▪️TBO Tek posts Rs 446 Cr revenue and Rs 59 Cr PAT in Q4 FY25

▪️Unnati Agri crosses Rs 500 Cr revenue in FY24; losses widen marginally 

▪️Mamaearth-parent Honasa posts Rs 533 Cr revenue in Q4 FY25; Profit falls 17%

▪️ Miko reports Rs 358 Cr revenue in FY24, income from subscription biz surges 29X

▪️ Mobikwik posts flat scale in Q4 FY25; bleeds heavily

▪️ Square Yards crosses Rs 1,400 Cr revenue in FY25, gross profit surge 52%

News flash this week

▪️ Zepto Cafe hits pause in smaller cities amid supply chain woes and high burn

▪️Ola Electric board approves Rs 1,700 Cr funding plan via debt instruments

▪️Change Engine to Create 20 Non-Profit Unicorns to Drive India’s Social Transformation

Summary

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined nearly 28.17% to $139.50 million as compared to around $194.22  million raised during the previous week.

Zepto Cafe, the quick food service branch of Zepto, has temporarily closed in several smaller North Indian cities, including Agra, Chandigarh, Meerut, Mohali, and Amritsar. According to ET Now, around 44 cafes have shut down, affecting over 400 employees, including some from newly opened locations.

Ola Electric Mobility has approved a plan to raise up to Rs 1,700 crore through debt instruments, According to the regulatory filing, the company will raise funds by way of term loans, working capital facilities, or issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) and other eligible debt securities.

Accelerator focused on social impact Change Engine to Create 20 Non-Profit Unicorns to Drive India’s Social Transformation.