From Simple Energy To Arivihan — Indian Startups Raised Over $233 Mn This Week

Funding momentum in the Indian startup ecosystem continued through the final week of September. Homegrown new-age tech ventures raised $233.6 Mn across 16 deals between September 28 and October 2. While funding rose 14.9% from the previous week, deal count declined 23.8%. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Sep 28 – Oct 2]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Cleantech topped the funding charts this week, powered by the sole $180 Mn Series C round of electric vehicle (EV) maker Simple Energy.
• Proptech was the second-most funded sector this week as home interior startup Gravity bagged $15 Mn. Agritech and fintech followed at $10.4 Mn each, while edtech saw Arivihan raise $10.2 Mn.
• Ecommerce yet again led in deal activity, with four startups collectively raising $3.8 Mn.
• Early stage funding activity remained lukewarm this week as seed-stage and pre-seed startups raised $3.3 Mn across four deals. 
• Alteria Capital emerged as the most active investor this week, backing three startups.

Startup Fund Updates Of The Week

• Seed-stage VC firm WEH Ventures marked the first close of its third fund at an undisclosed amount. The fund is targeting a corpus of ₹250 Cr and is expected to close by mid-2027.
• VC firm Peak XV Partners launched the twelfth cohort of its Surge accelerator programme, which will incubate 18 startups across AI, robotics, space, consumer, healthcare and fintech. Seven Indian startups also made the cut.

Startup M&A Updates Of The Week

• ITC completed the acquisition of Yoga Bar’s parent Sproutlife Foods. The FMCG giant has picked up the remaining 52.5% stake for around ₹645 Cr, taking its total shareholding in the D2C healthy food brand to 100%.

Startup IPO Updates Of The Week

• Fintech unicorn Moneyview made a stellar stock market debut this week, with its shares listing at ₹55.6 on the BSE, a premium of 64% over the issue price of ₹34. On the NSE, the stock listed at ₹55, a premium of nearly 62% over its issue price. 
• Led by NIIs, AceVector’s ₹420 Cr IPO was oversubscribed 4.93X on the final day of bidding, receiving bids for 36.61 Cr shares against 7.42 Cr shares on offer. It’s set to make its market debut on October 5.
• Defence tech startup Tonbo Imaging received SEBI’s nod for its proposed IPO, which consists solely of an OFS of up to 1.81 Cr equity shares. 
• Used-car marketplace Cars24 expects to complete its reverse flip from Singapore to India by April 2027, after which it plans to file its DRHP for an IPO. 
• StockGro’s parent AssetGro Fintech pre-filed its DRHP with SEBI via the confidential route for a proposed IPO. The potential ₹2,500 Cr public issue will include a fresh issue worth ₹800 Cr and an OFS component.

Other Developments Of The Week

• MobiKwik cofounder and CFO Upasana Taku bought an additional 1.07 Lakh shares of the listed fintech company for ₹2.1 Cr, increasing her stake to 10.24% from 10.11% earlier.
• Ola Electric’s board approved a rights issue of up to ₹1,000 Cr. It will now decide on particulars like the price of the rights issue, rights entitlement ratio, record date and timing of the issue soon.
• SBI Mutual Fund purchased 1.18 Cr Swiggy shares, taking its total shareholding in the foodtech giant to around 5.1%. The open-market transaction was pegged at over ₹300.6 Cr.
• Jio Financial Services and Allianz infused ₹640 Cr into their general insurance joint venture (JV), Jio Allianz General Insurance, through a rights issue.

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