Indian startups raised $147.64 million across 23 deals this week, marking a sharp slowdown in funding momentum. The tally included four growth-stage deals and 19 early-stage deals, while three startups chose not to disclose their funding amounts.
This represents a 58% week-on-week decline, compared to the $354 million raised by 47 startups in the previous week, signalling a cautious investor mood amid macro uncertainty and selective capital deployment.
Growth-Stage Deals Account for Over Half of Weekly Capital
Growth-stage funding reached $77.8 million across four deals, contributing more than half of the total capital raised during the week.
Mumbai-based Easy Home Finance, a home loan lender focused on affordable housing, raised $30 million in a Series C round led by Investcorp, underscoring continued investor confidence in secured lending platforms.
In another major deal, aerospace manufacturer JJG Aero raised $30 million in a Series B round led by Norwest Venture Partners, highlighting rising investor interest in India’s aerospace and manufacturing ecosystem.
Precision oncology startup 4baseCare secured Rs 90 crore ($9.8 million) in the first close of its Series B round, co-led by Ashish Kacholia and Lashit Sanghvi, with participation from existing investor Yali Capital.
Meanwhile, legal-tech startup SpotDraft raised $8 million in a Series B extension from Qualcomm Ventures, as enterprise SaaS and compliance-focused startups continue to attract strategic capital.
Early-Stage Funding Remains Resilient Despite Market Caution
Early-stage startups raised $69.84 million across 19 deals, reflecting steady activity at the seed and Series A levels.
Spacetech startup The Guild, formerly known as EtherealX, led the segment with a $20.5 million Series A round backed by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital.
Bengaluru-based Agrani Labs, an AI semiconductor startup, raised $8 million in a seed round led by Peak XV Partners, pointing to sustained investor appetite for deeptech and chip design plays.
Several other startups across healthtech, deeptech, manufacturing, and consumer brands—including Nivaan Care, Vimag Labs, and Cava Athleisure—also secured funding this week.
Additionally, Legaltech SBC LLP, AI firm TakeTwo, and spacetech startup Sanyark Space raised capital, though the deal sizes were not disclosed.
Bengaluru Dominates City-Wise Funding Activity
On a city-wise basis, Bengaluru emerged as the clear leader, accounting for 14 deals during the week.
Delhi-NCR followed with five deals, while Hyderabad recorded two deals. Mumbai and Chennai also saw one deal each, reinforcing Bengaluru’s position as India’s most active startup funding hub.
Deeptech and AI Lead Segment-Wise Deals
Segment-wise, deeptech startups topped the charts with six deals, followed closely by AI startups with four deals.
Healthtech, fintech, aerospace, legaltech, e-commerce, and other sectors also witnessed funding activity, indicating broad-based—though cautious—investor participation across categories.
Seed Rounds Dominate Series-Wise Breakdown
In terms of deal stages, seed rounds led the week with eight deals, followed by Series A and pre-seed rounds with five deals each.
Series B, Series C, and pre-Series A rounds also saw activity, though in limited numbers, reflecting a preference for early-stage bets amid tighter capital markets.
Layoffs, M&A, and Fund Launches Shape the Ecosystem
On the M&A front, Macobs Technologies, the parent company of Menhood, signed an agreement to acquire a 50.01% stake in D2C wellness brand Getmymettle for Rs 10.5 crore.
Meanwhile, Navam Capital announced the final close of its maiden fund at over Rs 315 crore, and Red Vanda Partners launched a new VC fund targeting Rs 100 crore.
The Week in Perspective
Overall, the sharp 58% decline in weekly funding highlights ongoing caution among investors. However, consistent early-stage activity, strong deeptech participation, and selective growth-stage bets suggest that capital is still flowing—just more carefully and with clearer conviction.
