Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [May 05

During the week, 27 Indian startups raised a total of approximately $585.71 million, including 6 growth-stage and 21 early-stage deals.

In comparison, the previous week saw 25 startups across early and growth stages secure around $102.93  million.

[Growth-stage deals]

Growth and late-stage funding totaled nearly $322.3 million this week led by Porter, an on-demand goods transport agency, which raised $200 million in its Series F funding round, led by Kedaara Capital and Wellington Management. Autmotive company Routemotic secured $40 million in its Series C round, Interior design startup Flipspaces raised $35 million led by Iron Pillar while Celcius Logistics, The Good Bug and e-commerce startup Blissclub also raised funding this week.

[Early-stage deals]

Further, 20 early-stage startups collectively raised a total of $263.41 million in funding. Healthcare company PB Healthcare led the early-stage funding with a $218 million seed round led by General Catalyst followed by robotics company Posha, edtech Footprints, Spacetech startup InspeCity, full-stack commercial vehicle platform 91Trucks, proptech Alt DRX among others who raised funding this week

For a detailed funding breakdown, visit TheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]

In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals Delhi-NCR-based startups led with 11 deals followed by Bengaluru with 10 deals. Mumbai, Chennai based startups also bagged deals.

Segment-wise, healthtech startups are at the top spot with 4 deals. Logistics and foodtech startups followed with 3 deals each. AI, Automotive, Decor,  Robotics and others also bagged the deals.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, Seed funding led with 9 deals each followed by, Series A, pre-Series A, Series B and others.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding surged 5.7X to $585.71 million as compared to around $102.93  million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $216.39 million with 25 deals per week.

[Key Hirings & Departures]

This week saw some notable hirings across companies. Peeyush Ranjan, former CTO of Flipkart and ex-Google executive, has joined Mukesh Bansal’s startup incubator Meraki Labs as a partner. NBFC Kuhoo Finance has appointed Vineet Mahajan as CFO. Edtech company Veranda appointed Mohasin Khan as its new CFO. Astrikos.Ai, an AI-powered infrastructure intelligence firm, has expanded its leadership team with four senior hires to drive its next phase of growth.

Visit TheKredible for more details

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

SaaS unicorn Browserstack has acquired Requestly, a tool for HTTP interception, API mocking, and debugging. Absolute Sports, a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies and the parent company of Sportskeeda.com, has signed definitive agreements to acquire TJRWrestling.net and ITRWrestling.com from Titan Insider Digital.

Visit TheKredible for more details

[Fund Launch]

QED Investors, a US-based venture capital firm, is planning to deploy between $250 million and $300 million in early and growth-stage startups across India and the Asia Pacific region.

[Layoff]

GenWise, an app-based online club for seniors, has laid off 15–20 employees, or 20% of its workforce, across departments including tech, marketing, product, design, business, and operations.

Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, and more insights.

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️ Aerem partners with OMC Power to promote rooftop solar adoption among MSMEs in Uttar Pradesh

▪️ Rilox EV joins forces with Hala Mobility to roll out 20,000 electric two-wheelers across India

▪️ KOGO AI and Tech Mahindra partner for AI agents

▪️ Fintech SaaS platform CaptainBiz launches Bill2Pay for MSMEs

[Potential Deals]

▪️ Petcare startup Vetic to raise $26 Mn led by Bessemer

▪️ Propelld to raise $30 Mn from WestBridge and Stellaris

▪️ Toothsi parent MakeO set to raise funds at 50% valuation cut

▪️ Motilal Oswal pumps Rs 200 Cr into Lahori

▪️ Celebal Tech kicks off Series B round with 2X valuation jump

 [Financial results this week]

▪️Swiggy posts Rs 4,410 Cr revenue in Q4 FY25, Instamart grows 115% 

▪️CaratLane posts Rs 883 Cr revenue in Q4 FY25

▪️ Arya.ag reports Rs 447 Cr revenue in FY25; profits spike 70%

▪️ CarTrade posts Rs 169 Cr revenue in Q4 FY25, profit jumps 2X

▪️ Paytm posts Rs 1,911 Cr revenue and Rs 23 Cr loss in Q4 FY25

▪️ Unicommerce’s revenue grows 70% in Q4 FY25

▪️ Battery Smart’s revenue triples in FY24 but losses widen over 2X

[News flash this week]

▪️ Vanguard values Ola at $1.25 Bn

▪️ 10Club moves NCLT to begin insolvency proceedings

▪️ Swiggy to transfer ownership of key food brands to Kouzina

▪️ Porter becomes India’s second unicorn of 2025 with $200 million fundraise

▪️ Evera Cabs takes over 500 BluSmart EVs

[Summary]

On a weekly basis, startup funding surged 5.7X to $585.71 million as compared to around $102.93  million raised during the previous week.

Porter becomes the third unicorn of 2025 with a $200 million in its Series F funding round, led by Kedaara Capital and Wellington Management.

Evera Cabs (Prakriti Mobility) has begun reclaiming 500 electric cabs previously operated by BluSmart, following its suspension in key metros. With 220 vehicles already repossessed and the rest to follow, Evera is bolstering its leadership in electric cab services, particularly in airport mobility

Several startups are in the process of raising capital, according to regulatory filings accessed by Entrackr. Celebal Technologies, an IT Service provider, is set to raise Rs 125 crore (around $14.7 million) in its Series B round led by InCred Growth Partners Fund. Propelld, an education-focused lending platform, is set to secure Rs 260 crore (around $30.5 million) in its Series D round led by WestBridge Capital with the participation of Stellaris Venture Partners. Beverage brand Lahori is raising Rs 200 crore (approximately $23 million) from Motilal Oswal. Oral and skin care solutions MakeO, and petcare startup vetic are also in process of raising funds.