Indian startups raise $97.45 million this week

MUMBAI — Indian startups continued to attract steady investor interest this week, raising a total of $97.45 million across 26 deals.

Despite global funding challenges, the Indian startup ecosystem maintained its momentum, with four growth-stage and 16 early-stage startups securing funds.

Six other startups raised capital but chose not to disclose the amount.

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The total funding this week remained marginally up compared to the previous week, which saw 17 startups raise around $95 million.

However, this week witnessed more activity in terms of deal volume -- indicating broader investor participation.

Bengaluru emerged as the top city in terms of deal count, with 11 startups securing funding.

It was followed by Mumbai with six deals, while Delhi-NCR, Chennai, and Pune also contributed to the weekly activity.

AI remained the most attractive segment this week with six deals, followed by e-commerce and healthtech with four and three deals respectively.

Other sectors like deeptech, fintech, and consumer tech also saw investor interest.

Seed-stage funding led the week with eight deals, followed by six pre-Series A and four pre-seed rounds.

Series A and Series B deals continued to support startups moving into their next growth phase.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $200 million per week, with approximately 22 deals weekly.

Growth and late-stage funding accounted for $38.3 million. Telehealth platform Truemeds led the pack, raising $20 million in its ongoing Series C round from Peak XV Partners.

Payments company Phi Commerce topped up its Series B round with $6 million from BEENEXT.

B2B e-commerce unicorn Zetwerk secured INR 75 crore (around $8.8 million) in debt funding from JM Financial, while foodtech startup Lo! Foods raised $3.5 million in its Series B round led by Rainmatter.

On the early-stage front, 16 startups raised about $59.15 million. Deeptech startup QpiAI was the biggest gainer, raising $32 million in a Series A round co-led by Avataar Ventures and the National Quantum Mission.

Other notable fundraisers included speech technology startups, home decor brand Vaaree, AI video platform Trupeer, quick commerce fashion brand KNOT, spacetech startup OmSpace, and AI research company Gibran.

Several AI startups, such as Onetab.ai, Fire AI, Aquila Clouds, and wellness brand CosMoss, also raised funds this week, though they did not disclose the exact amount.