Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [May 04 – May 09]

This week, 24 Indian startups raised around $158.8 million, comprising 3 growth-stage, 18 early-stage deals and 3 startups kept their funding undisclosed.

In contrast, 18 startups had collectively secured about $187.21 million in the previous week.

[Growth-stage deals]

Growth-stage startups raised a total of $120 million across three deals this week, led by spacetech startup Skyroot Aerospace, which secured $60 million in a round co-led by Sherpalo Ventures and GIC, entering the unicorn club in the process.

It was followed by instant household services startup Pronto, which extended its Series B round to $45 million with a fresh $20 million investment from Lachy Groom. Meanwhile, climate-focused NBFC Ecofy secured $15 million in debt funding from Mirova.

[Early-stage deals]

Early-stage startups raised $38.3 million across 18 deals this week, led by Fabless semiconductor startup BigEndian Semiconductors has raised $6 million in a pre Series A funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund followed by Skincare brand CHOSEN has raised $5 Mn in a Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures.

AI computing solutions provider Tsavorite has raised $5 million (Rs 46.65 crore) in a Series A funding round led by Pavestone. Meanwhile, bank locker infrastructure startup Aurm secured Rs 42 crore in a seed funding round co-led by Earth Fund and Sattva Ventures, with participation from several angel investors.

Men’s and kids’ ethnic wear brand Kisah, enterprise blockchain engineering firm Antier Solutions, legal AI startup Jurisphere, menstrual hygiene startup HealthFab, along with ten other early-stage startups, also secured funding this week.

[City and segment-wise deals]

Bengaluru topped the city-wise deal count with 14 deals, followed by Delhi-NCR with 4 deals. Mumbai and Chennai recorded two deals each, while Hyderabad and Mohali also saw funding activity this week.

Segment-wise, e-commerce startups led the week with 5 deals. AI, SaaS startups followed with 4 deals each. Fintech, healthtech, spacetech, home services and others also recorded funding activity during the period.

[Series-wise deals]

Pre-seed rounds led the week with seven deals, followed by six seed deals and four Series A transactions. Series B, Series C, debt, pre-Series A, and angel rounds also saw activity during the week.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined over 15% to $158.8 million as compared to around $187.21 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $229.16 million with 23 deals per week.

[Key Hirings/Departures]

Key leadership moves this week: Healthy food brand Epigamia has appointed Ritesh Gauba as its Chief Executive Officer, while elevating Ankur Goel to the role of co-founder and COO.

Edtech platform Codingal has appointed Praveen Kumar as Vice President of Operations to lead teacher management, customer experience, and program delivery functions.Meanwhile, 35North Ventures’ India Growth Fund has named Naman Bagri as Managing Partner.

AI-powered decision intelligence platform DecisionX has also appointed Shantha Maheswari Sekhar, former Managing Director at Accenture and senior leader at EY, as Strategic Advisor for GTM and Industry Relations.

Gurugram-based B2B fashion supply chain startup Fashinza’s co-founder and former CEO Pawan Gupta has exited the company. Z47 Managing Director Sudipto Sannigrahi has reportedly stepped down from the venture capital firm.

[Layoffs]

Freshworks has laid off around 500 employees, or 11% of its global workforce, as the Nasdaq-listed firm restructures operations amid the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence across the software industry.

Meanwhile, Accel and Peak XV-backed grocery delivery startup Apna Mart has cut around 10% of its workforce in its first reported round of layoffs.

Audio entertainment platform Pocket FM has also undertaken another round of layoffs, impacting nearly 10% of its workforce, with around 100–130 employees affected across teams.

[Mergers & Acquisitions]

InMobi has acquired AI-powered app analytics platform MobileAction to strengthen its global advertising business, while Reliance and SoftBank-backed Netradyne has acquired Moove Connected Mobility as part of its expansion into the European market.

Fintech startup Freo has acquired digital lending marketplace IndiaLends, gaining full ownership of the company, while FMCG major Emami Ltd has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 60% stake in IncNut Digital, the parent company of Vedix and SkinKraft, for Rs 321 crore.

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️ Amazon opens its logistics network to third-party businesses

▪️ Finvasia launches voice AI finance assistant jAI on jUMPP with YES Bank

▪️Even Healthcare receives IRDAI approval to launch retail health insurance; enables policy portability for customers

▪️PhonePe Introduces AI-Powered Integration Layer for Merchants

[Q4 FY26 result this week]

[News flash this week]

▪️Tencent offloads 1.05% stake in PB Fintech for Rs 805 Cr via block deal

▪️ED arrests Gameskraft co-founders in alleged money laundering case

▪️Kissht makes stock market debut at 12% premium over IPO price

▪️Ola Consumer begins IPO process despite revenue decline and surge in losses

▪️NPCI mandates new MCC for UPI Gift Cards, caps per-transaction limit at Rs 10,000

▪️InCred files updated DRHP; plans Rs 1,250 Cr fresh issue

[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.

Chinese tech giant Tencent has offloaded a 1.05% stake in PB Fintech for Rs 805 crore through a block deal on the NSE. The shares were sold via Tencent Cloud Europe BV at Rs 1,664 apiece. Notably, Tencent had also sold a 1.06% stake in the company for Rs 695 crore through the same entity in March this year.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Deepak Singh, Prithvi Raj Singh, and Vikas Taneja in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to Gameskraft, according to a CNBC-TV18 report citing official sources. The action was reportedly taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Ride-hailing firm Ola Consumer has initiated preparations for an IPO, with parent ANI Technologies approving the proposal and beginning related processes, according to FY25 financial statements reviewed by Entrackr. The company also spent Rs 4.2 crore on IPO-related audit services and certifications during the fiscal year.

InCred Holdings has filed an updated draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) with SEBI for its proposed IPO. The company plans to raise Rs 1,250 crore through a fresh issue of shares along with an offer for sale of up to 9.9 crore equity shares.

Even Healthcare has received IRDAI approval to offer retail health insurance products, allowing it to directly sell policies to individuals and families as well as enable policy porting. The approval marks a major shift for the company, which previously operated mainly through group insurance products, and will help it expand its managed care model into the retail health insurance segment.

PhonePe has launched an AI-powered integration layer for merchants to simplify payment gateway onboarding. Built for AI coding assistants and its proprietary “Integration Intelligence” system, the tool reduces integration time from weeks to minutes by enabling conversational setup and automating workflows, helping businesses go live faster without deep technical expertise.