The Tech Panda takes a look at recent funding events in the tech ecosystem, seeking to know where the cash is flowing.
Startup: Zelio E-Mobility
Sector: EV
Amount: INR167.96 crore
Led by: Motilal Oswal Financial Services
Zelio E-Mobility, an electric two and three-wheeler manufacturer, has received board approval (subject to the approval of the shareholders, the in-principle approval of BSE Limited and other statutory / regulatory approvals) to raise up to INR167.96 crore through a preferential issue of equity shares and convertible warrants. The proposed fundraise is aimed primarily at supporting the company’s next phase of expansion across India.
Kunal Arya, Managing Director, Zelio E-Mobility, said, “Our next phase is about building the capacity and market reach needed to serve a much larger customer base across India. The proposed fundraise will give us greater room to expand our manufacturing footprint, strengthen our distribution network and accelerate the development of our upcoming three-wheeler facility in Patan. We have built the business with a focus on profitable growth, and the priority now is to take that foundation into more markets while continuing to invest in the capabilities needed for scale.”
Startup: ByteAsk
Sector: AI
Amount: US$1 Million
Led by: Y Combinator and Entrepreneur First
Anirudha Kulkarni and Pratyush Saini, two IIT Delhi computer science graduates who previously built and sold legal AI startup LawSutra AI to Manupatra, one of India’s pioneers in online legal research, have started their second company, ByteAsk. The company has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding from Y Combinator and Entrepreneur First, alongside investments from angels working at leading global quantitative trading firms.
Deepak Kapoor, Founder and CEO, Manupatra, said, “LawSutra’s semantic capability stood out for combining strong technology with a clear understanding of how lawyers actually research. Its performance on Manupatra’s proprietary data, together with the team’s technical depth and responsiveness, led us to explore the acquisition. By integrating this capability with Manupatra’s proprietary legal database and research platform, we can now bring more intuitive, intent-driven legal search to the wider legal community through Manupatra AI Search.”
Startup: Definedge Securities Broking Private Limited
Sector: Fintech & Brokerage
Amount: INR22 crore
Led by: Nitin Agarwal & D. Prasad
Definedge Securities Broking Private Limited (Definedge), a Pune-based fintech and brokerage firm known for its integrated suite of trading analytics, algorithmic and wealth-creation platforms. The firm has raised INR22 crore in a Pre-Series A round, taking its total funding raised to date to INR30 crore. The round saw continued participation from existing backers Nitin Agarwal and D. Prasad, alongside new investors Anant Jain and Sachin Kasera. The investment is entirely equity and follows Definedge’s first institutional/angel round, which closed in November 2025.
Prashant Shah, Co-founder & CEO, said, “Unlike most startups, we didn’t begin with a brokerage license; we began by building trust, knowledge and community. Our mission is to democratize access to professional-grade trading tools and education for Indian traders and investors. Over the next two to three years, our vision is to bring research, analysis, investing, trading, education, and automation into a more connected and intuitive experience. AI and automation will play an important role in helping users research ideas, test strategies, and follow their rules with greater consistency.”
Anant Jain says, “Definedge’s product-first approach stood out to us, especially impressive to me was developing my own momentum strategies, back testing them and deploying them. What would otherwise take months or even years has been made accessible through technology. This democratises investing by enabling informed users to become their own money managers.We’re excited to back a team building scalable, technology-led infrastructure for India’s traders and investors.”
Startup: DheyaTech
Sector: DeepTech
Amount: INR 43 crore
Led by: Avaana Capital
DheyaTech, a Bengaluru-based deep-tech company developing advanced small gas turbine engines has raised INR 43 crore in funding led by Avaana Capital. The company was founded by aerospace engineers with 15+ years of experience at GE Aviation, and Rolls-Royce. Small gas turbine engine design and manufacturing represent one of the most technically demanding capabilities in aerospace engineering. While over 30 countries operate nuclear power plants, fewer than a dozen nations possess the indigenous capability to design and manufacture small gas turbine engines. India has historically depended entirely on imports for small gas turbine engines – a technology critical to distributed energy generation, advanced aerial platforms, and next-generation energy infrastructure.
“The next generation of Indian deep tech companies will not just adapt technologies developed elsewhere; they will build globally relevant platforms from the ground up. DheyaTech represents that shift – building differentiated, mission-critical technology in a sector of strategic importance to India. We believe the company has the potential to become a global leader in propulsion, and we are excited to partner with the team as they take Indian engineering to markets around the world.,” said Vikas Verma, Partner, Avaana Capital.
“I congratulate the DheyaTech team on this important milestone. Their focus on building reliable gas turbine technology is truly exciting. Unimech continues to be the strategic manufacturing partner for DheyaTech, supporting the company through its precision manufacturing capabilities for gas turbine components and systems. We look forward to our continued association,” said Anil Kumar Puthan, Chairman & Managing Director, Unimech Aerospace and Manufacturing Limited.
Startup: Circolife
Sector: Cooling-as-a-Service
Amount: US$4.5 million
Led by: Bharat Jaisinghani
Circolife, an Indian Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform for businesses, raised $4.5 million (INR40.45 crore) in a Pre-Series A round, anchored by early-stage investor and mentor Bharat Jaisinghani, Joint Managing Director of Polycab India Limited. The round also drew participation from a group of individual, fund, and family-office investors: Nitish Mittersain (Founder, Nazara Technologies); Intelliquity Ventures (Mukul Agarwal, Param Capital); Sumit Jalan (MD of a global investment bank); Siddharth Ladsariya (Founder, Everest Fleet) and Anand Ladsariya (MD, Everest Flavours); Anant Goenka (ED, Indian Express); Sky Impact Capital (Aakash Sachdev); Rohit Dev (Founder, Ideas91); and family offices S N Damani and Vyom Wealth (Ramesh Jaisinghani Family Office).
Abhishek Murarka, Co-Founder & CEO, Circolife, said “Five cities and 10,000 subscriptions have shown us this model works. This raise is what lets us actually start building at national scale — the fleet, the field service, the technology — and make Cooling-as-a-Service India’s default way to buy cooling, not an alternative to it.”
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