Zepto Leads the Way with $665 Million Funding
In a bustling week for Indian startups, as many as 41 companies secured substantial funding, raising a total of $906.7 million. These deals encompassed both growth-stage and early-stage startups, with 10 growth-stage deals and 22 early-stage deals. Notably, eight early-stage and one growth-stage startup opted to keep their transaction details confidential. This surge in funding follows the previous week’s trend, where 31 startups collectively raised over $336 million.
Growth-Stage Deals
Among the growth-stage deals, Zepto, a quick-commerce company, stole the spotlight by securing a whopping $665 million in funding. Following closely was Ummeed Housing Finance, which specializes in housing and secured small-ticket business loans, raising $76 million. Microlending platform Aye Finance, craft beer maker Bira 91, and fintech firm Slice also made it to the top five with impressive fundraises of $30 million, $25 million, and $20 million, respectively. The list continues with D2C men’s apparel brand WROGN, Shivalik Small Finance Bank, Dvara KGFS, Aviom Housing Finance, and Jupiter’s NBFC arm, Amica Finance.
Early-Stage Deals
Meanwhile, 22 early-stage startups secured funding worth $49.3 million during the same week. AI sales operating system OrbitShift led the pack, followed by healthtech platform Alyve Health, agriculture machinery company Balwaan Krishi, and The Pant Project—a D2C fashion brand focused on custom-made clothing. Additionally, several startups chose to keep their funding amounts undisclosed, including TaxGenie (Regime Tax Solution), Landeed, Praan, ThriveCo, Fanisko, Nirwana.ai, Lazy Cocktails & Co, and LEO1.
City and Segment-Wise Distribution
Bengaluru-based startups dominated the funding landscape with 13 deals, followed by Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Jaipur. Fintech startups led the way in terms of segments, accounting for 12 deals. E-commerce, AI, SaaS, food & beverages, and healthtech startups also secured funding, contributing to the vibrant ecosystem.
Series-Wise Breakdown
Seed funding deals took the lead with 17 transactions, followed by 7 Series A deals and 5 pre-Series A deals. Debt funding also played a role, with 4 deals, along with Series F, Series B, pre-Seed, Series E, and Series G rounds.
Week-on-Week Trend
Startup funding witnessed a remarkable surge of 170% week-on-week, reaching $906.7 million compared to the previous week’s $336.45 million. Over the last eight weeks, the average funding stood at approximately $421 million, with an average of 29 deals per week.
New Funds on the Horizon
This week also saw the launch of three significant funds:
VentureSoul Partners: Their debut fund of Rs 600 crore aims to invest in established startups through venture debt.
Gujarat Venture Finance Limited: Their Rs 200 crore “Prarambh Fund” targets seed-stage tech startups with investments ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore.
8X Ventures: Achieving a first close of Rs 60 crore for their second VC fund, they plan to invest in 18-20 early-stage deeptech startups, with a potential final corpus of Rs 300 crore.
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