February ended on a gloomy note for Indian startups as investor sentiment weakened due to global geopolitical tensions, disinterested foreign institutional investors, and uneven consumer spending. In the final week of the month (Feb 24 – Mar 1, 2025), startups collectively raised $88.3 million across 16 deals—a sharp 43% decline from the $152.9 million raised in the previous week.
Seed-stage funding took an even bigger hit, dropping by 62% to $5.7 million, compared to the $15.1 million raised by early-stage startups in the preceding week. However, the startup ecosystem saw some notable fundraises, IPO developments, and acquisitions that signaled continued investor interest in certain sectors.
Geniemode’s $50 Mn Boost Keeps Ecommerce in the Lead
The biggest funding round of the week came from Geniemode, a B2B ecommerce platform, which raised $50 million in a Series C round led by Multiples Alternate Asset Management. Other investors included Fundamentum, Paramark Ventures, and InfoEdge Ventures.
Additionally, D2C brand Earthful secured $572K, ensuring that ecommerce remained the most funded sector of the week despite the overall funding slowdown.
Fintech Remains Resilient, Raising $21.5 Mn
Fintech startups continued to attract capital, albeit at a slower pace. Five fintech startups—Oxyzo, Niyogin, HiWiPay, Dodo Payments, and Hornet—raised a total of $21.5 million.
- Oxyzo, a lendingtech startup, secured $11.5 million in debt financing from AK Capital.
- Niyogin raised $6.4 million from investors such as MK Ventures, Aionios Alpha Investment Management, and Ashika Group.
- HiWiPay, a payments startup, bagged $2 million in a seed round led by Unicorn India Ventures.
- Dodo Payments and Hornet raised $1.1 million and $458K, respectively.
Despite a solid fintech showing, no investor made more than one bet this week, suggesting a cautious investment climate.
Deeptech & Spacetech Shine with Key Investments
Investors showed growing interest in deeptech and spacetech startups:
- Sisir Radar raised $1.5 million in a seed round from Shastra VC, Riverwalk Holdings, and INVSTT.
- Astrogate Labs, another spacetech firm, secured $1.3 million from Piper Serica Angel Fund.
- Make in Box, a robotics startup, raised $260K in a pre-seed round from Mile Deep Works.
These investments indicate a rising appetite for frontier technology startups, despite the broader funding slump.
Indian Startup IPO Updates: bOAt & PhonePe Prepare for Public Listings
While funding slowed down, the IPO market remained active.
- bOAt, the consumer electronics major, made a major move toward its IPO as its board approved key amendments to its Articles of Association (AoA).
- PhonePe appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, Citi, and Morgan Stanley as investment bankers for its upcoming IPO, with filing expected in early March.
- Zappfresh, the meat delivery startup, is eyeing a BSE SME listing in FY26, marking another step toward its public debut.
- M&A Activity Heats Up Despite Funding Slowdown
- The startup ecosystem saw notable mergers and acquisitions:
- Zenduty, a SaaS startup backed by Titan Capital, was acquired by US-based Xurrent.
- Edtech firm Veranda Learning Solutions acquired a 40% stake in BB Virtuals and a 65% stake in Ahmedabad-based online CA coaching institute Navkar Digital.
- Fintech superapp super.money acquired BharatX, a BNPL startup, to strengthen its credit and checkout financing services.
Other Key Startup Developments
Despite the funding dip, several promising developments emerged:
- Moglix, a B2B ecommerce unicorn, raised $12.3 million from its Singapore parent over four tranches.
- The ePlane Company, an air mobility startup, is gearing up for a $30-50 million Series C fundraise.
- Wipro Ventures committed $200 million to investing in early and mid-stage startups.
- upGrad launched its ₹100 Cr AI Incubator, aiming to support 5-6 AI startups in the coming months.
- HRTech unicorn Darwinbox is in talks to raise $120-150 million in a down round, possibly led by KKR & Partners Group.
What’s Next?
With February closing on a bearish note, all eyes are on March 2025 to see if investor confidence rebounds. The pipeline for startup IPOs, ongoing fundraises, and corporate expansions will likely shape the funding landscape in the coming months.
While the slowdown raises concerns, strong interest in ecommerce, fintech, and deeptech suggests that strategic investors are still betting on high-growth sectors. As the market stabilizes, will funding bounce back? Only time will tell.
Stay tuned for more updates on India’s startup ecosystem!
