Startup funding stood at $865 million in April 2026, down from $948 million in March, as large-ticket activity remained limited. The month recorded just one $100 million-plus deal, with KreditBee raising $280 million. Key highlights included Snabbit in home services, Palmonas in demi-fine jewellery, Oolka in credit cycle, and Sahi, a broking platform for performance-driven traders. There were no IPOs in 2026 so far, but the pipeline shows activity as Acko, Zepto, Rentomojo, Garuda Aerospace, and Kissht prepare for public listings, which reflects cautious optimism despite the funding slowdown.
This follows a robust Q1 2026, when startup funding climbed to $4 billion, supported by Neysa’s $1.2 billion round.
According to data compiled by Entrackr, Indian startups raised approximately $865 million in funding during April. This amount included 9 growth and late-stage deals totaling $544 million, along with 69 early-stage deals worth $321 million. Additionally, there were 14 undisclosed deals during the month.
M-o-M and Y-o-Y trend
Month-on-month, funding surged to $2 Bn in February from $930.39 Mn in January, then fell to $948 Mn in March and $865.36 Mn in April, indicating a post-February cooldown.
Year-on-year, April funding rose to $865.36 Mn in 2026 from $745.25 Mn in 2025, but stayed below $1.03 Bn in 2024. Deal count also declined from 121 in 2024 to 92 in 2026.
Top growth-stage deals
In April 2026, growth and late-stage deals reflected a mix of fintech, manufacturing, and consumer-focused startups. KreditBee led the chart with a $280 million Series E round, followed by Polaris at $80 million in the smart metering space. Snabbit raised $56 million, while Palmonas and Sahi secured $40 million and $33 million respectively. Kimbal Technologies added $22 million, and The Hosteller raised $16 million. Battery Smart brought in $15 million in debt, while TenderCuts closed the list with $2 million.
Top early-stage deals
Early-stage activity in April 2026 remained steady, led by Noon’s $44 million Series A round, followed by Nava at $22 million and Tsecond.ai at $21.5 million. Most deals fell in the $10–22 million range.
AI startups dominated the list, with players like Noon, Nava, Tsecond.ai, and GobbleCube attracting significant capital. Fintech and healthcare automation also saw traction through Oolka, Novio, and Coral, while e-commerce and gaming players such as Pluckk and LightFury Games added to the mix.
Mergers and Acquisitions
In April, acquisition activity spanned fintech, AI, edtech, and semiconductor segments, reflecting strategic expansion across sectors. Among key deals, Pine Labs acquired Shopflo Technologies to strengthen its commerce stack, while Palo Alto Networks moved to acquire Portkey to bolster its AI capabilities. In edtech, PhysicsWallah announced plans to acquire Rojgar With Ankit, signalling deeper play in skilling. Quest Global acquired BITSILICA to expand in chip design, while Exotel acqui-hired Dubverse to enhance its AI-led offerings.
City and segment-wise deals
Bengaluru led startup funding in April 2026 with $589.15 million, accounting for 68.08% of total capital across 34 deals. Mumbai followed with $113 million (13.06%) from 13 deals, while Delhi-NCR recorded 27 deals worth $91.49 million (10.57%). Chennai and Jaipur saw limited activity, with 4 and 3 deals raising $5 million (0.58%) and $2 million (0.23%) respectively.
Fintech led funding in April 2026 with $363.8 million, accounting for 42.04% of total capital across 12 deals. AI followed with 17 deals that raised $139.88 million (16.16%), while E-commerce recorded 13 deals worth $72.3 million (8.35%). Healthtech saw 6 deals with $14.57 million (1.68%), whereas F&B accounted for 5 deals that brought in $4.56 million (0.53%).
Series-wise deals
In April 2026, funding activity showed a tilt toward early and mid-stage rounds, led by Series A which brought in $220.84 million across 23 deals. Series B followed with $111 million from 6 deals, while Seed rounds accounted for 31 deals that raised $53.42 million. Pre-Series A saw 10 deals with $30.4 million, and Pre-Seed rounds remained modest with 9 deals contributing $3.08 million.
​​Layoffs, shutdowns and departures
Layoffs remained limited in April 2026, with only a few startups trimming their workforce as part of cost control measures. Acko and SuperOps each laid off around 60 employees during the month.
The ecosystem also saw three shutdowns — NeuroPixel.AI, QuickiES by Rebel Foods, and Zero1 by Zerodha.
Meanwhile, startup leadership churn continued with key executive exits across companies. Notable departures included Nandita Sinha from Myntra, Pawan Goyal from Info Edge, Monish Darda from Icertis, Navin Chandani from Pine Labs, and Tarun Mathur from PB Fintech, among others, taking the total to 11 senior-level exits. During the same period, there were 41 key hirings.
Trends
Layoffs saw a sharp decline in April 2026, with only two instances that impacted around 120 employees, compared to nearly 1,600 layoffs recorded during Q1, which signals easing cost pressures.
ESOP activity also slowed significantly. After $220 million worth of buybacks in Q1 2026, April saw just one transaction, with Atlys announcing a modest $0.4 million buyback.
Home services emerged as a headline segment, led by Snabbit, Pronto, and Urban Company’s InstaHelp. Snabbit and InstaHelp reached around 1 million orders, while Pronto crossed 500,000 orders. On the funding front, Snabbit raised $56 million, while Pronto is in talks for another $20 million.
AI funding remained relatively muted, with AI-first startups raising about $140 million across 17 deals. Upcoming rounds from Sarvam AI and Emergent are expected to boost the segment.
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