Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [Apr 20 – Apr 25]

This week saw muted funding activity, with 19 Indian startups raising around $47 million. The mix included 13 early-stage deals, no growth-stage transactions, while 6 startups kept their funding undisclosed.

In contrast, 17 startups had collectively secured about $129.07 million in the previous week.

[Early-stage deals]

Only early-stage deals were recorded this week, with 13 startups raising a total of $47 million. Healthcare automation startup Coral led the pack with a $12.5 Mn round from Z47 and Lightspeed Venture Partners, followed by LightFury Games, which raised $11 million (Rs 103 crore) in a pre-Series A round backed by Blume Ventures, V3 Ventures, MIXI, and Times Internet, along with participation from cricketers including MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya.

STCH, an AI startup focused on fabric development and textile manufacturing, has raised $5.5 million in a pre-Series A round led by Omnivore. Mobile gaming startup Spill Games secured $3.1 million in a seed round co-led by Centre Court Capital and PeerCapital, while cloud operations-focused AI platform NudgeBee raised $3 million in a seed round led by Kalaari Capital, with participation from tech founders.

Legal tech startup Lawyered, Wealth-tech platform PrimeInvestor, AI-powered cybersecurity startup Deep Algorithm, medical tourism discovery platform CureMeAbroad and 3 other early-stage startups also secured funding this week.

D2C footwear brand Chupps, clean food brand Khetika, modern Indianwear label Alaya By Stage3, refurbished electronics platform Grest, and spiritual tech startup 3ioNetra also raised funds this week, although the amounts remain undisclosed.

[City and segment-wise deals]

Bengaluru topped the city-wise deal count with 7 deals, followed by Delhi-NCR,  which secured 6 deals. Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Pune also recorded deals this week.

Segment-wise, healthtech and e-commerce startups led the week with 3 deals each. Gaming, AI and F&B startups followed with 2 deals each. Manufacturing, edtech, legaltech, fintech and others also recorded funding activity during the period.

[Series-wise deals]

Seed rounds led the week with 9 deals, followed by 6 pre-Series A deals, along with one each in Series A, pre-seed, pre-Series B and Series B categories.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined nearly 64% to just $47 million as compared to around $129 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $219.42 million with 23 deals per week.

[Key Hirings/Departures]

Key leadership moves this week: Tim Cook will step down as CEO of Apple on September 1 to become executive chairman, with John Ternus set to take over. Pocket FM has elevated Lalit Gangwar to Chief Operating Officer, while M2P Fintech has appointed Vivek Seshadri as its Group Chief Financial Officer.

Navneet Singh Batra, co-founder of Info Edge-backed agritech platform Gramophone, has exited the company to join fruit supply chain startup Superplum as Chief Business Officer. Meanwhile, AI-driven privacy platform Redacto has appointed Jaya Krishna as CBO to lead business development and digital marketing, while talent intelligence platform Third Bracket has named Paiterasp Cooper as co-founder.

[Mergers & Acquisitions]

Raise Financial Services, the parent of Dhan, has acquired Stratzy in a cash-and-stock deal. Meanwhile, Emversity has acquired Lanstitut Technologies for around $4.25 million through a mix of cash and stock.

[Fund Launches]

KRAFTON Inc. and Naver Corporation, in partnership with Mirae Asset Venture Investments, have launched a Rs 6,000 crore India focused Unicorn Growth Fund, one of the largest Asia backed capital pools for Indian startups, targeting sectors such as tech platforms, consumer, AI and software, and deep tech.

[Layoffs]

Acko has laid off around 5% of its workforce, impacting nearly 60 employees, as part of an AI-led restructuring. Meanwhile, SuperOps has cut about 60 roles from its engineering team amid an efficiency-driven restructuring exercise.

[Shutdown]

Zerodha has shut down its creator-led content initiative Zero1, marking a quiet exit from its experimental media play. Launched as part of its education venture, the program supported creators across finance, health, and climate and ran for over a year with notable reach, but has now been discontinued due to regulatory challenges.

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️ Avataar Ventures joins India Deep-Tech Investment Alliance (IDTA) as platinum general member 

▪️ Covasant Partners With Google Cloud to Accelerate Enterprise Adoption of Gemini

▪️ Axis Trustee launches PRISM to advance its Fintech-led trustee vision

▪️ CENT opens advanced clinical prevention centre in Bengaluru, partners with Siemens Healthineers

[Q4 FY26 result this week]

[News flash this week]

▪️ PhonePe crosses 10 Bn UPI transactions for the first time in March 

▪️ Nasscom appoints Fractal cofounder Srikanth Velamakanni as Chairman

▪️ Govt notifies gaming rules, brings new regime into force from May 1

▪️RBI cancels Paytm Payments Bank’s licence

[Summary]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined nearly 64% to just $47 million as compared to around $129 million raised during the previous week.

PhonePe crossed 10 billion UPI transactions in March for the first time, processing 10.5 billion transactions and capturing around 46.4% market share, as National Payments Corporation of India data showed record UPI volumes of 22.64 billion during the month, indicating a strong rebound after February’s dip.

The Centre has notified the Online Gaming Rules, 2026, bringing the framework under the Online Gaming Act, 2025 into effect from May 1, with a proposed Online Gaming Authority of India to act as the nodal regulator for classifying games, handling complaints, and coordinating with financial and enforcement agencies. A key feature is the “determination” process, under which games will be evaluated for real-money elements based on factors such as entry fees, deposits, prize winnings, and the ability to monetise rewards, distinguishing them from safer categories like social games and e-sports.

The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the banking licence of Paytm Payments Bank Limited effective April 24, 2026, under Section 22(4) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and will move the High Court to wind up the bank. The RBI said the bank has sufficient liquidity to repay depositors but cited serious governance lapses, noting its affairs were conducted in a manner detrimental to depositors and public interest.

Covasant Technologies has partnered with Google Cloud to accelerate enterprise adoption of Gemini Enterprise. The collaboration will combine Gemini Enterprise with Covasant’s agentic AI solutions, enabling businesses to scale from experimentation to fully governed, production-ready AI deployments across industries.

Axis Trustee Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Axis Bank, has launched PRISM, a digital-first platform designed to enhance client engagement and streamline service delivery, marking a step toward becoming a fintech-led trustee.

Srikanth Velamakanni, co-founder and Group CEO of Fractal, has been appointed as the new Chairman of NASSCOM, the apex IT industry body.

CENT, founded by Shashank ND, has launched its first clinical prevention centre in Bengaluru and partnered with Siemens Healthineers for diagnostics and imaging, with the 7,000 sq ft facility focused on early detection of critical diseases through a standardized CCNM protocol.