Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [May 11 – May 16]

This week, 20 Indian startups raised around $292.52 million, comprising 3 growth-stage deals, 13 early-stage deals, while 4 startups kept their funding undisclosed.

In contrast, 24 startups had collectively secured about $158.8 million in the previous week.

[Growth-stage deals]

Growth-stage startups raised a total of $257.6 million across three deals this week, led by ride-hailing company Rapido, which secured $240 million in a round led by Prosus.

It was followed by F&B startup Wingreens, which raised $12.6 million in a round led by Ashish Kacholia. Meanwhile, fintech NBFC Sindhuja Microcredit secured $5 million in a pre-Series D round from Abler Nordic, GAWA Capital, and Oikocredit.

[Early-stage deals]

Early-stage startups raised $34.92 million across 13 deals this week, led by fabless semiconductor startup HrdWyr, which raised $13 million in a Series A funding round led by Singularity AMC and Avatar Growth Capital, followed by Mekr, which secured $7 million from Titan Capital Winners Fund.

Fintech startup Nivasa Finance raised $3 million in a seed round led by Blume Ventures and Whiteboard Capital. Meanwhile, robotics startup Flo Mobility secured $2.5 million in a seed funding round.

E-commerce startup Lavella, AI startups LifeSigns and CRAON, and F&B brand Moi Soi also secured funding this week.

[City and segment-wise deals]

Bengaluru topped the city-wise deal count with 11 deals, followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai with three deals each. Sonipat, Coimbatore, and Chennai recorded one deal each.

Segment-wise, e-commerce startups led the week with five deals. F&B and AI startups followed with four deals each. Fintech, mobility, semiconductor, and robotics startups also recorded funding activity during the period.

[Series-wise deals]

Seed rounds led the week with five deals, followed by four pre-seed deals and three pre-Series A transactions. Series A, pre-Series D, Series D, and primary rounds also saw activity during the week.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding increased over 85% to $292.5 million, compared to around $158.8 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding over the last eight weeks stands at around $224.45 million, with 23 deals per week.

[Key hirings/departures]

Key leadership moves this week: Trilegal appointed Sandeep Ghosh as CEO.

Sai Silks (Kalamandir) Ltd. appointed Bharadwaj Rachamadugu as CEO, citing his key role in the company’s growth and transformation over the years.

Good Capital elevated Maanav Sagar as Senior Partner. Ayekart appointed Gagan Choudhary as CFO, and actress Parineeti Chopra was appointed brand ambassador for Johnson’s Baby.

Honasa Consumer, the parent company of Mamaearth, announced the resignation of its Chief Business Officer Yatish Bhargava, less than a year after appointing him to the role.

[Layoffs]

Google-backed edtech startup Adda247 laid off over 200 employees, or nearly 20% of its workforce.

Innovaccer laid off 340 employees as part of its shift toward becoming an “AI-native” organisation.

[Mergers & Acquisitions]

InCred Capital, the institutional, wealth, and asset management arm of the InCred Group, announced the integration of S Cube Capital into InCred Global Wealth Pte in Singapore.

Packaged food and beverage company Wingreens acquired pesticide-free food brand Safe Harvest through a share swap deal. Meanwhile, Dhan parent Raise acquired GreenLife for an undisclosed amount. Healthtech startup Vaidam Health also acquired CancerRounds.

[New launches and partnerships]

▪️ ixigo launched an AI-native app with conversational travel assistant TARA
▪️ Uber partnered with Adani Group to set up its first India data centre
▪️ Zoho invested Rs 70 Cr in ONDC to support MSMEs and digital commerce adoption
▪️ D2C Insider to launch Rs 150 Cr early-stage fund ConsumerX Ventures
▪️ Lighthouse Canton launched Rs 1,200 Cr LC Luminere Credit Fund
▪️ Lightrock launched a $500 Mn Accelerate7 fund for clean energy and mobility startups
▪️ Mettle Capital was launched by former Peak XV executives with a target corpus of $350–400 Mn

[Q4 FY26 result this week]

[News flash this week]

▪️ Rapido raises $240 Mn led by Prosus at a $3 Bn valuation
▪️ Innovaccer lays off 340 employees amid AI-native restructuring
▪️ ED freezes Rs 526 Cr assets in Gameskraft probe
▪️ Ola Electric to infuse Rs 2,000 Cr into subsidiaries OET and OCT
▪️ Swiggy explores Indian-owned company status amid board changes
▪️ DevDham shuts down operations nearly two years after seed funding

[Summary]

Indian startup funding witnessed a sharp surge this week, with 20 startups collectively raising around $292.5 million across growth and early-stage deals, compared to $158.8 million raised by 24 startups in the previous week. Rapido emerged as the biggest fundraiser with a $240 million round led by Prosus, driving the bulk of the week’s capital inflow.

Among early-stage startups, semiconductor startup HrdWyr led the segment with a $13 million Series A round, while Mekr, Nivasa Finance, Flo Mobility, Lavella, CRAON, LifeSigns, and Moi Soi also secured fresh capital.

The week also saw notable leadership movements and restructuring across the ecosystem. Adda247 laid off over 200 employees, while Innovaccer cut 340 jobs as part of its transition toward becoming an AI-native organisation. On the executive front, Trilegal appointed Sandeep Ghosh as CEO, Ayekart named Gagan Choudhary as CFO, and Honasa Consumer saw the exit of Chief Business Officer Yatish Bhargava.

M&A activity remained active as Wingreens acquired pesticide-free food brand Safe Harvest through a share swap transaction, while Vaidam Health acquired CancerRounds. InCred Capital also integrated S Cube Capital into its Singapore-based wealth platform.

On the policy and market front, Tencent sold a 1.05% stake in PB Fintech for Rs 805 crore via a block deal, while InCred filed an updated DRHP for its IPO. Ola Consumer also initiated IPO preparations despite reporting a decline in revenue and widening losses in FY25.

Meanwhile, Even Healthcare received IRDAI approval to launch retail health insurance products, and PhonePe introduced an AI-powered merchant integration layer aimed at simplifying payment gateway onboarding for businesses.