Indian Startups Raise $184.75 Million Across 20 Deals This Week

New Delhi: Indian startups continued to draw strong investor interest this week, with 20 startups collectively raising approximately $184.75 million across various stages of funding.

The funding activity included five growth-stage and 14 early-stage startups, while one startup opted not to disclose its investment details. Seed funding emerged as the dominant trend, with numerous startups securing capital early in their journeys.

In addition to seed rounds, the week saw a mix of funding types, including pre-seed, pre-Series A, Series A, and even late-stage funding such as Series G.

Bengaluru led the funding activity with nine deals, followed by Delhi-NCR with five. Startups from Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai also secured fresh investments.

Among sectors, fintech emerged as the top performer with six deals, followed by deeptech and OTT platforms with two deals each. Other sectors that saw activity included aerospace, foodtech, e-commerce, and sportstech.

Key Highlights:

• Fintech unicorn CRED, founded by Kunal Shah, raised $72 million from a group of investors, including Lathe Investment, RTP Global, Sofina Ventures, and QED Innovation Labs.
• FlexiLoans, a digital lending platform for MSMEs, secured $44 million in its Series C round.
• EV component manufacturer Vecmocon raised $18 million in its Series A, with $8 million coming this week via both primary and secondary transactions.
• Other notable deals included investments in QSR chain Wow! Momo and drone-tech startup Garuda Aerospace.

In the early-stage space, 13 startups raised a combined total of $49.75 million. The largest among them was Sanlayan Technologies, an aerospace and defence startup, which bagged $22 million.

Other early-stage startups that secured funding included wealth-tech firm PowerUp, fintech platforms Piston and Zype, and OTT app FlickTV.

Earlier this week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted the growing momentum in private investments over the last 11 years, noting that Indian startups have attracted over $150 billion in private capital over the past decade.

With inputs from IANS