Eighteen startups managed to raise $98.2 Mn between August 25 and August 30, up 58% from the $62.2 Mn raised across nine deals in the preceding week

The uptick in weekly startup funding was largely led by the fintech sector, with three startups raising a total of $54.4 Mn

Blume Ventures was the most active investor this week, investing in WizCommerce, Vutto and Anmasa

Indian startup funding recovered slightly in the final week of August after plunging significantly during the previous week. Eighteen startups managed to raise $98.2 Mn between August 25 and August 30, up 58% from the $62.2 Mn raised across nine deals in the preceding week.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week ( Aug 25 – 30 )

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The uptick in weekly startup funding was largely led by the fintech sector, with three startups raising a total of $54.4 Mn.
• While fintech SaaS TransBnk raised the biggest cheque of $25 Mn this week, NBFCs Altum Credo and CredRight together raised $29.4 Mn.
• Ecommerce sector saw the highest number of deals this week, with six startups raising $16.6 Mn.
• About 60% of fresh capital in the ecommerce sector was raised by five D2C startups.
• Blume Ventures was the most active investor this week, investing in WizCommerce, Vutto and Anmasa.
• Six seed stage startups cumulatively raised $8.1 Mn this week, more than 3X from the $2 Mn raised by four early stage startups last week.

Startup Fund Updates Of The Week

• Elevation Capital announced the launch of its IPO-bound startup focussed fund, Elevation Holdingswith a corpus of $400 Mn. Through the new fund, the Meesho-investor aims to back 10 to 15 startups that are eyeing public listing in the next three years.
• Early stage focussed VC firm a99 (formerly Artha99) launched its third fund with a target corpus of $100 Mn this week. With soft commitments of $30 Mn as of now, the firm is eyeing the first close of the fund by April 2026.

Startup IPO Updates Of The Week

• Market regulator SEBI cleared fintech unicorn Groww’s IPO bid this week, Inc42 learnt. The startup would look to raise $800 Mn to $1 Bn via its public issue at a valuation of $7 Bn to $8 Bn.
• In what will be its third attempt at a public listing, hospitality major OYO is likely to file its DRHP in November. The startup is targeting a valuation of $7 Bn to $8 Bn for its IPO.
• During Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) 48th annual general meeting yesterday, chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani announced that telecom major Jio is preparing for a public listing by the first half of 2026. Earlier in July, RIL was reported to be in discussion with markets regulator SEBI for a $6 Bn (INR 52,465 Cr) IPO for Jio.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Enterprise tech unicorn Uniphore announced the acquisition of US-based agentic AI platform Orby AI to strengthen its enterprise AI cloud offering. The startup said it also plans to acquire hyper-automation platform Autonom8 to enhance its AI talent pool and technology.
• Deeptech startup Arctus Aerospace is in talks to raise $2.4 Mn to $3 Mn in its pre-seed round from a group of investors, including South Park Commons and gradCapital, sources told Inc42.
• AI-driven robotics startup Miko is set to raise a whopping $151 Mn from AMDG-PAX Foundation through issuance of preferential shares. The startup’s board approved the issue of 22,464 Series D2 CCPS to AMDG-PAX Foundation for INR 5,90,000 per share.
• To foster Delhi’s startup ecosystem, the state government announced its plans to float a VC fund worth INR 200 Cr under the draft ‘Delhi Startup Policy, 2025. The government aims to support and facilitate the emergence of at least 5,000 startups by 2035.
• Prosus is reportedly in talks to invest about $200 Mn in ride-hailing major Rapido. The round is expected to value the startup in the range of $2.5 Bn to $2.7 bn, more than double than its last valuation of $1.1 Bn.