Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [Sep 01- Sep 05]

During the week, 28 Indian startups raised a total of $348 million, including 6 growth-stage and 18 early-stage deals, while a startup kept its funding undisclosed.

In comparison, the previous week saw 24 startups across early and growth stages secure around $127.59  million.

[Growth-stage deals]

Growth and late-stage funding this week totaled $285 million, driven by Tessolve’s $150 million round from TPG. Citymall raised $47 million in a Series D led by Accel, while Seekho ($28 million), Blue Tokai ($25 million), Colive ($20 million), and Offgrid Energy Labs ($15 million)  also secured notable funding.

[Early-stage deals]

On the early-stage side, 21 startups raised a total of $63 million this week. Quick commerce platform Firstclub secured $23 million in its Series A round led by Accel followed by online pharmacy PlatinumRx, social investing platform StockGro, D2C eco-friendly home essentials startup Ecosoul, AI startup Roadzen, among others.

Home interiors Homelane also raised funding from VentureSoul Partners, though the amounts were 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 14 deals followed by Delhi-NCR with 5 deals. Pune, Chennai, and Lucknow- based startups also bagged deals.

Segment-wise, healthtech startups are at the top spot with 6 deals. E-commerce startups followed with 5 deals. Fintech, Energy, AI and other startups also bagged deals this week.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, Seed funding led with 8 deals followed by Series A and Debt funding  grabbing 5 and 4 deals respectively. Pre-Series A, Series D and others also grabbed deals. 

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 jumped over 2.7X to $348.08 million as compared to around $127.59 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $217 million with 25 deals per week.

[Key Hirings & Departures]

Employee benefits platform Pazcare has elevated senior executives, appointing Aditya Malik as Chief Revenue Officer (earlier SVP, Revenue), Arpit Rungta as SVP, Customer Success, and Abhishek Goyal as Director, Growth. Meanwhile, actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu has joined menstrual wellness brand Zoy as co-founder.

Notable departures this week include Peak XV’s managing director Harshjit Sethi, who left the VC firm after a decade, and Freshworks co-founder Girish Mathrubootham, who will step down as executive chairman to focus on his SaaS-focused venture firm, Together Fund.

VisitTheKrediblefor more details

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

Star Localmart, the retail arm of the Sanjay Ghodawat Group (SGG), has acquired DusMinute, a Bengaluru-based retail chain operating in gated communities. Homegrown e-commerce marketplace Flipkart has acquired a majority stake in Pinkvilla India, a digital infotainment platform. Amazon, the ecommerce giant, has finalized its acquisition of digital lending startup Axio (formerly Capital Float), eight months after signing the definitive agreement.

[Fund Launches]

L Catterton’s India consumer fund marked its first close at Rs 1,760 Cr, while Venturi Partners closed Rs 1,320 Cr for its second fund, targeting Rs 1,980 Cr by June 2026. BizDateUp launched Pulse Fund I, a Rs 1,000 Cr AIF, and Elev8 Venture Partners closed its maiden Rs 1,400 Cr fund to back growth-stage consumer internet, enterprise software, and fintech startups.

[Layoffs]

Gaming firms MPL and Head Digital Works (parent of A23) are set to cut jobs, with MPL laying off 60% of its workforce (around 500–600 employees) and Head Digital Works letting go of about 500 staff. Ola’s AI unit Krutrim has also laid off around 50 employees from its linguistics team in its third round of cuts since June, according to an ET report.

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️ After the Good Glamm breakup, Darpan Sanghvi launches CoFounder Circle

▪️Reliance launches AI unit with Google and Meta as partners

▪️BeyondXcelerate launches D2C accelerator with Rs 5 crore pool

▪️Cashify collaborates with Google to sell refurbished Pixel phones

▪️Euler Motors signs MoU with Pickkup.io for 200 EVs3

▪️Swiggy rolls out ‘Giftables’, an instant gifting platform ahead of the festive season

▪️FuelBuddy expands into Zimbabwe and Zambia, strengthening its footprint in Africa

[Financial result this week]

▪️OYO posts over Rs 200 Cr profit in Q1 FY26; rebrands parent as PRISM Life

▪️Eldercare platform Emoha reports Rs 74.35 Cr revenue in FY25, cuts losses by 32%

▪️boAt makes turnaround in FY25 with Rs 60 Cr profit

▪️Bluestone controls losses by 41% in Q1 FY26; revenue nears Rs 500 Cr

[News flash this week]

▪️ Centre moves SC to consolidate legal challenges against Online Gaming ban

▪️Urban Company IPO to hand Accel, Elevation bumper returns on Dalal Street

▪️Urban Company and boAt secure SEBI nod for IPOs

▪️TVS retains top spot in August 2W EV sales; Ola Electric overtakes Bajaj, Ather rises to third

▪️Fintech and e-commerce push August startup funding to $960 Mn: Entrackr Report

[Summary]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined  55% to $127.59 as compared to around $283.83 million raised during the previous week.

TVS Motor retained its leadership in the electric two-wheeler (E2W) segment in August with a 23.09% market share, while Ola Electric (18.19%) and Ather (17.2%) secured the second and third spots, respectively. Bajaj slipped to fifth place with an 11.25% share.

The Union government has moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of petitions challenging the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, from various High Courts to the apex court.

Urban Company’s upcoming Rs 1,900 crore IPO is set to deliver bumper returns for early backers. Accel, with a 10.51% stake valued at Rs 1,576 crore, will reap a 28.5X return, while Elevation Capital’s 10.84% holding worth Rs 1,626 crore will yield 19X. Other investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, VY Capital, and Tiger Global, are also poised for significant exits.

Swiggy has launched Giftables, a new category to simplify both planned and last-minute gifting with curated options like chocolates, cakes, flowers, electronics, jewellery, and more. Currently live in Bengaluru, the service will soon expand to Mumbai, Delhi, and other metros.

FuelBuddy, a global mobile fuel distribution platform, has launched operations in Zimbabwe and Zambia, marking a key step in its mission to transform fuel delivery in emerging markets.