Funding News: Indian Startups & Acquisitions [May 05-10]

Indian Startup Funding and Acquisitions: May 5–10, 2025

The Indian startup ecosystem witnessed a significant surge in funding and acquisitions during the week of May 5–10, 2025. A total of 27 startups secured approximately $585.71 million, marking a substantial increase from the previous week’s $102.93 million.

Growth-Stage Deals

Finarkein Secures .5M Pre-Series A Funding from DSP Group

Growth and late-stage startups attracted nearly $322.3 million in funding. Leading the pack was Porter, an on-demand goods transport agency, which raised $200 million in its Series F round led by Kedaara Capital and Wellington Management. Automotive company Routemotic secured $40 million in its Series C round, while interior design startup Flipspaces raised $35 million with Iron Pillar as the lead investor. Other notable fundraisers included Celcius Logistics, The Good Bug, and e-commerce startup Blissclub.

Early-Stage Deals

Early-stage startups collectively garnered $263.41 million. Healthcare company PB Healthcare led this segment with a $218 million seed round spearheaded by General Catalyst. Other significant deals included robotics company Posha, edtech platform Footprints, spacetech startup InspeCity, full-stack commercial vehicle platform 91Trucks, and proptech firm Alt DRX.

City and Segment-Wise Distribution

Delhi-NCR emerged as the frontrunner with 11 deals, followed closely by Bengaluru with 10. Mumbai and Chennai-based startups also secured funding. Healthtech startups dominated the sectoral distribution with four deals, while logistics and foodtech startups followed with three deals each. Other sectors such as AI, automotive, decor, and robotics also attracted investments.

Series-Wise Breakdown

Seed funding led the charge with nine deals, followed by Series A, pre-Series A, Series B, and others. This trend underscores the growing investor confidence in early-stage ventures within the Indian startup landscape.

Week-on-Week Funding Trend

The week-on-week analysis reveals a 5.7-fold increase in startup funding, soaring to $585.71 million from the previous week’s $102.93 million. Over the past eight weeks, the average funding stood at approximately $216.39 million, with an average of 25 deals per week.

Key Hirings and Departures

The week also saw notable movements in leadership positions:

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

Mergers and Acquisitions

The M&A landscape was active with significant deals:

SaaS unicorn Browserstack 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, signed definitive agreements to acquire TJRWrestling.net and ITRWrestling.com from Titan Insider Digital.

Fund Launches

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

Layoffs

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

New Launches and Partnerships

Several strategic partnerships and product launches were announced:

Aerem partnered with OMC Power to promote rooftop solar adoption among MSMEs in Uttar Pradesh.
Rilox EV joined forces with Hala Mobility to roll out 20,000 electric two-wheelers across India.
KOGO AI and Tech Mahindra collaborated on AI agents.
Fintech SaaS platform CaptainBiz launched Bill2Pay for MSMEs.

Potential Deals

Several startups are in the process of raising capital:

Petcare startup Vetic is set to raise $26 million led by Bessemer.
Propelld is poised to secure $30 million from WestBridge and Stellaris.
Toothsi parent MakeO is set to raise funds at a 50% valuation cut.
Motilal Oswal is investing Rs 200 crore into Lahori.
Celebal Tech is initiating its Series B round with a 2X valuation jump.

Financial Results

Several companies reported their financial performance:

Swiggy posted Rs 4,410 crore revenue in Q4 FY25, with Instamart growing 115%.
CaratLane reported Rs 883 crore revenue in Q4 FY25.
Arya.ag reported Rs 447 crore revenue in FY25, with profits spiking 70%.
CarTrade posted Rs 169 crore revenue in Q4 FY25, with profit jumping 2X.
Paytm reported Rs 1,911 crore revenue and Rs 23 crore loss in Q4 FY25.
Unicommerce’s revenue grew 70% in Q4 FY25.
Battery Smart’s revenue tripled in FY24, but losses widened over 2X.

News Flash

Additional noteworthy developments include:

Vanguard valued Ola at $1.25 billion.
10Club moved NCLT to begin insolvency proceedings.
Swiggy plans to transfer ownership of key food brands to Kouzina.
Porter became India’s second unicorn of 2025 with a $200 million fundraise.
Evera Cabs took over 500 BluSmart EVs.

This week’s developments underscore the dynamic nature of India’s startup ecosystem, reflecting robust investor confidence and a fertile ground for innovation and growth.