Somerset Indus Capital Partners Closes Fund III at $288 Mn
Somerset Indus Capital Partners announced the closing of its third fund at $288 million, exceeding the $250 million target. The fund will target affordable healthcare solutions in India’s Tier II and Tier III markets, covering delivery, pharma, MedTech, and diagnostics. Typical investments range from $15 million to $40 million, with co‑investment capacity up to $80 million. Prior funds have generated roughly 4‑times returns, underscoring the firm’s track record.
Microdramas Clock $300 Mn Revenue in a Year; RMG Users Shift to Offshore Betting Apps
India’s interactive media market, now worth $13.8 billion, is being reshaped by microdramas, which generated $300 million in revenue, 450 million downloads and 100 million monthly active users in their first year. The format is projected to expand to a $4.5 billion market by 2030,...
Razorpay Partners Sarvam to Power Voice-First Conversational Commerce
Razorpay has teamed up with Sarvam, a sovereign AI platform, to launch voice‑first conversational commerce in India. The collaboration blends Sarvam’s multilingual AI models with Razorpay’s payments infrastructure, enabling users to discover products, place orders and complete payments via natural...
Koovers Reports Rs 36 Cr Loss on Rs 198 Cr Revenue in FY25
Koovers, the Bengaluru‑based B2B automotive spare‑parts marketplace, posted FY25 revenue of Rs 198 crore, a 2.5‑fold increase over the prior year. However, expenses surged 145% to Rs 235 crore, pushing the net loss to Rs 36 crore, more than double FY24’s deficit. Material costs, which represent...
Workroom Automation Raises Seed Funding Led by Equirus InnovateX Fund
Workroom Automation, a Hyderabad‑based connected‑factory platform, secured ₹6.2 crore in seed funding led by the Equirus InnovateX Fund, with participation from Astir Ventures, Venture Catalysts Group, and several angels. The capital will accelerate product development, especially its AI‑powered planning engine, and...
Digital Lending Marketplace Finfinity Raises $2.4 Mn in Seed Round
Finfinity, a Mumbai‑based digital lending marketplace, closed a $2.4 million seed round led by Mankind Pharma promoter’s family office, with participation from several angel investors and family offices. The capital will fund technology upgrades, new lender partnerships, distribution scaling, and brand‑building...
Toy Manufacturing Startup BIDSO Secures Rs 63 Cr in Series A Led by Blume Ventures
Indian toy‑manufacturing startup BIDSO secured Rs 63 crore ($6.7 million) in a Series A round led by Blume Ventures, comprising Rs 51 crore in equity and Rs 12 crore in venture debt. The capital will fund product‑design upgrades, expand manufacturing capacity, and broaden its licensed‑toy portfolio. BIDSO’s revenue...
CoinDCX Founders Questioned in Impersonation Fraud Case; Firm Denies Allegations in FIR
Indian crypto exchange CoinDCX’s co‑founders Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal were interrogated by Bellandur police as part of a fraud investigation. The FIR filed in Thane alleges that impersonators used the CoinDCX brand and a fake CoinDCX.pro portal to lure...
Exclusive: Temasek Increases Stake in Cult.fit to 12% After Rs 440 Cr Investment
Temasek, via its MacRitchie arm, invested Rs 440 crore ($47 million) in Cult.fit, raising its stake to about 12 percent. The funding round valued the Bengaluru‑based health and wellness platform at Rs 13,668 crore ($1.45 billion), unchanged from the previous round. Cult.fit, operating in over 300 Indian...
Exclusive: Exponent Energy Raising $20 Mn in an Extended Series B
Exponent Energy announced an extended Series B round that will raise Rs 182 crore ($20 million), co‑led by 360 One and TDK Ventures, with participation from existing backers. The funding lifts the post‑money valuation by roughly 56% to about Rs 1.25‑1.30 billion. Revenue surged 80% to Rs 30.2 crore...
Pep Technologies Cuts Losses 81% in FY25; Hyphen Drives Growth, mCaffeine Stalls
Pep Technologies posted a 23% rise in operating revenue to Rs 237.5 crore in FY25, while cutting its net loss by 81% to Rs 18 crore. The growth was driven almost entirely by its Hyphen brand, which surged over 6.5‑times to cross...
Exclusive: WeRize to Raise Rs 64 Cr From Existing Investors
Full‑stack fintech WeRize is raising Rs 64 crore (~$6.9 million) through convertible equity, with Sony Innovation Fund contributing Rs 46 crore and 3one4 Capital Rs 18 crore. The capital will fund general operations, working‑capital needs, capital expenditures, and geographic expansion. WeRize, founded by former Lendingkart executives, serves...
Flipkart Declares 105% Bonus Multiplier for Eligible Employees
Flipkart announced a 105% Company Performance Multiplier for eligible employees, covering roughly 20,000 staff. The bonus reflects strong performance across business, operational, financial and people metrics and signals momentum toward sustainable profitability. Payouts for senior staff (VPs and SVPs) will...
Bharat Taxi Crosses 2.7 Mn Downloads but Faces Pricing Concerns
India's cooperative ride‑hailing platform Bharat Taxi has surpassed 2.73 million downloads, with 84 % coming from Android devices. Launched by Union Minister Amit Shah, the service uses a driver‑ownership model where each driver holds five shares and pays no per‑ride commission, promising...
Flipkart CFO Sriram Venkataraman Steps Down; Nishant Verman Rejoins in Leadership Role
Flipkart announced that Group CFO Sriram Venkataraman will step down, with a transition period overseen by current CFO Ravi Iyer. The company simultaneously appointed Nishant Verman as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Partnerships, bringing back his experience from...
Aamra Seniors Club Raises $150K in Pre-Seed Round
Aamra Seniors Club, a Gurugram‑based eldercare startup founded in 2025 by Sripriya Yegneswaran and Dr. Akanksha Saxena, announced a $150,000 pre‑seed round backed by angel investors. The capital will be deployed to tighten product‑market fit, build a preventive ageing framework,...
Italy’s Poggipolini Enters India with Acquisition of Aero Fasteners
Italy’s Poggipolini Group has acquired a majority stake in Aero Fasteners Pvt. Ltd., marking its entry into India’s aerospace and defence manufacturing market. The financial terms were not disclosed and Aero will continue under its current management. Poggipolini aims to...
StayVista Turns Profitable in FY25 with Rs 181 Cr Revenue
StayVista, a Mumbai‑based luxury villa and homestay platform, posted a profit of Rs 3.6 crore in FY25, reversing an Rs 8 crore loss from the prior year. Revenue grew 29% to Rs 181 crore, while total expenses rose 18% to Rs 179 crore. Material costs remained the dominant...
L’Oréal in Talks to Acquire Bare Anatomy Parent Innovist: Report
L'Oréal is in advanced talks to acquire a controlling stake in Innovist, the parent company of D2C beauty brands Bare Anatomy, Chemist at Play, Sunscoop and Vinci Botanicals. The transaction is expected to value Innovist between $350 million and $450...
Neuro-Rehabilitation Startup Rymo Technologies Secures Rs 10 Cr in Seed Round
Rymo Technologies, a Mumbai‑based neuro‑rehabilitation startup, raised Rs 10 crore in a seed round led by IAN Group’s evergreen fund, with additional angel participation. The capital will fund product innovation, expand manufacturing, and drive market entry across India, ASEAN and the Middle...
Enterprise Procurement Platform Aerchain Secures $13 Mn in Series A Round
Aerchain, an AI-native enterprise procurement platform, closed a $13 million Series A round led by Pavestone VC, with participation from IndiaMART and other investors. The Bengaluru startup plans to use the capital to accelerate global expansion and deepen its AI capabilities within...
Weaver Services Raises Rs 1,450 Cr Led by Premji Invest and Lightspeed
Weaver Services completed a two‑tranche fundraise of Rs 1,450 crore ($156 million), led by Premji Invest and Lightspeed Venture Partners. The capital will fund the acquisition of a 75.01% controlling stake in Centrum Housing Finance, consolidating Weaver’s position in the housing‑finance market. Weaver...
Prashant Pitti’s Optimo Capital Raises Rs 100 Cr From PNB
Optimo Capital, a technology‑driven NBFC serving MSMEs, secured Rs 100 crore of debt funding from Punjab National Bank and forged a co‑lending partnership with Godrej Finance to deploy Rs 200 crore over the next year. The deal follows a Rs 150 crore equity raise led by...
Exclusive: Credilio Kicks Off Series A; Valuation Jumps 2.7X
Credilio, a Mumbai‑based fintech platform that links advisors, lenders and consumers for credit cards and loans, closed a Rs30 crore ($3.3 million) Series A round. The round was led by Cornerstone Ventures with a Rs20 crore contribution and saw Ashra Private Equity Fund add...
BlackSoil Capital Raises Rs 200 Cr From Impact Fund Denmark
BlackSoil Capital secured Rs 200 crore (≈$22 million) in debt financing from Impact Fund Denmark, a Danish development finance institution. The capital will be deployed to expand climate‑aligned and inclusive lending across India’s MSME sector, especially in Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 markets. A significant...
Burger Singh Raises Rs 82 Cr in Series B Round at Rs 520 Cr Valuation
Burger Singh closed a Rs 82 crore Series B round, valuing the chain at Rs 520 crore ($56 million). The funding, led by Artal Asia Pte Ltd with participation from several funds, will finance the company’s franchise‑first growth platform. The QSR operator now runs over 200 outlets...
CometChat Raises $6.5 Mn From Run Ventures
CometChat announced a $6.5 million funding round led by existing backer Run Ventures, bringing its total capital raised to $21.1 million including a prior $10 million Series A. The infusion is earmarked for accelerating the company’s artificial‑intelligence roadmap while steering the core chat business...
MakeMyTrip Eyes India Listing to Tap Domestic Capital Markets
MakeMyTrip, the NASDAQ‑listed travel platform, is exploring an IPO for its India operations to access domestic capital markets. Its market cap has fallen from $10 billion to $4.5 billion in six months, while operating revenue rose 11% but profit plunged 74% year‑over‑year....
Visa Processing Startup Atlys Raises $36 Mn in Series C Funding
Visa‑processing startup Atlys announced a $36 million Series C round led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital, with participation from existing backers and new investor MakeMyTrip. The funding will fuel expansion into additional international markets and accelerate the company’s AI‑driven visa platform, covering...
FabHotels Parent Travelstack Tech Gets SEBI Green Light for IPO
FabHotels' parent Travelstack Tech has secured SEBI approval to launch its IPO, featuring a Rs 250 crore fresh equity issue and an offer‑for‑sale of up to 2.68 crore shares. Early investors such as Accel, Goldman Sachs, Qualcomm and founder Vaibhav Aggarwal will offload...
PhonePe Puts IPO on Hold as Iran–Israel–US War Rattles Public Markets
PhonePe, one of India’s largest digital‑payments platforms, has temporarily halted its planned initial public offering due to heightened geopolitical tensions involving Iran, Israel and the United States. The company cited volatility in global capital markets and said it will resume...
Pain Care Startup Betterhood Raises Seed Round Led by Kairon Capital
Preventive pain‑care startup Betterhood announced a Rs 5 crore seed round led by Kairon Capital, with participation from several angel investors. The funding will accelerate product development, expand the team, and scale both online and offline distribution. Founded in October 2024, Betterhood provides...
AGNIT Semiconductors Raises $2.6 Mn in Seed Extension Led by Shastra VC
Bengaluru‑based AGNIT Semiconductors secured a $2.6 million seed‑extension round led by Shastra VC, bringing its total funding to over $7 million. The capital will fund scaling of GaN component production to 100,000 units within two years and a push into telecom infrastructure...
Peak XV Alumni to Launch Ambition Capital Targeting $250 Mn Early-Stage Fund: Report
Former Peak XV Partners executives Shailesh Lakhani, Harshjit Sethi and Mayank Porwal are establishing Ambition Capital, a Bengaluru‑based venture‑capital firm. The new fund aims to raise $250 million to back seed and Series A startups across AI, fintech, deep‑tech and consumer technology....
WayCool Raises Rs 210 Cr From Lightrock India
WayCool, a B2B food and agritech platform, secured Rs 210 crore (~$22.7 million) through a rights issue with Lightrock India, its first major equity raise in nearly four years. The capital follows a Rs 110 crore debt raise last year, taking total funding...
PhonePe Continues to Rule UPI Transactions with over 45% Market Share in Feb
PhonePe remained the dominant player in India’s UPI ecosystem in February, processing 9.28 billion transactions worth Rs 13.10 trillion and capturing 45.5% of total transaction volume and 48.8% of value. Google Pay stayed second with 6.76 billion transactions, representing 33.2% of volume and 33.6%...
Exclusive: PhysicsWallah Co-Founder Prateek Boob Set to Invest in Newton School
Newton School, the Gurugram‑based certification platform, is raising roughly Rs 25 crore through an extension of its Series B round, issuing 72,738 preference shares at Rs 3,437 each. The fresh capital comes from Prateek Boob, co‑founder of PhysicsWallah, giving him about a 2.37% stake...
WheelsEye Posts Rs 243 Cr Revenue in FY25; Losses Remains Flat
WheelsEye, a logistics SaaS provider, posted FY25 operating revenue of Rs 243.4 crore, a 17% increase from the prior year. Subscription services drove the growth, contributing 62% of total revenue and rising 20% year‑on‑year. Hardware costs, especially GPS devices, surged 68%, while...
Emversity Buys Back Rs 6.5 Cr ESOPs From 20 Employees
Emversity has repurchased employee stock options worth Rs 6.5 crore from 20 staff members as part of a liquidity programme for employees who joined on or before 31 January 2024. The company now employs more than 700 people across 24 Indian states and over...
R for Rabbit Doubles Revenue in Two Years, Crosses Rs 250 Cr in FY25
R for Rabbit, a D2C baby‑products brand, nearly doubled its top line from Rs 128 crore in FY23 to about Rs 251 crore in FY25, a 47.6% YoY increase. The company’s expenses rose sharply, with material costs up 40% and marketing spend...
Slice Appoints Former SBI Executive Sreedevi Pillai to Bank Board
Slice, the Indian fintech‑to‑bank, has appointed former State Bank of India risk chief Sreedevi Pillai as an Independent Director on its bank board. Pillai brings 36 years of banking leadership, notably in operational risk and fraud‑detection frameworks. The move follows the...
Mosaic Wellness Raises Rs 200 Cr From 360 ONE; Spring Marketing Capital Partially Exits
Mosaic Wellness secured Rs 200 crore ($21 million) in primary capital from 360 ONE Asset, while early backer Spring Marketing Capital sold a portion of its stake. The funding brings the company’s total capital raised to $84 million and will fuel expansion across its digital‑first...
Exclusive: Eternal Infuses Rs 450 Cr Into Blinkit as Quick Commerce Rivalry Heats Up
Foodtech conglomerate Eternal has infused Rs 450 crore (≈$50 million) into its quick‑commerce arm Blinkit via a rights issue, marking the first 2026 capital injection after a Rs 2,600 crore investment in 2025. Blinkit reported Q3 FY26 revenue of Rs 12,256 crore and a...
Gupshup Appoints Ravi Dugar as Chief Financial Officer
Conversational AI platform Gupshup announced the appointment of Ravi Dugar as its new Chief Financial Officer, positioning the firm for its next growth phase. Dugar brings nearly two decades of finance leadership from Bharti Airtel, Livguard Energy, and most recently...
Seekho Spends Rs 134 Cr on Advertising for Rs 142 Cr Revenue in FY25
Seekho, the Bengaluru‑based short‑learning video platform, posted FY25 revenue of Rs 141.5 crore, a 12.3‑fold increase from the prior year. The surge was driven by subscription fees, but the company spent Rs 134 crore on marketing—75% of total expenses—pushing its loss to Rs 38.8 crore and...
Dream Sports Restructures Business as over 100 Executives Exit
Dream Sports, the owner of fantasy platform Dream11, has restructured its operations after the Indian government's ban on real‑money gaming, resulting in the departure of more than 100 senior staff. The company split its workforce of roughly 950 employees among...
Exclusive: Google-Backed Namma Yatri Raises Fresh Capital
Bengaluru‑based ride‑hailing platform Namma Yatri secured ₹39.75 crore (≈$4.4 million) in a pre‑Series A extension, led by Juspay founder Vimal Kumar with participation from Blume Ventures, Antler and other investors. The round follows a July 2024 $11 million raise and brings Vimal Kumar’s stake to...
Together Fund Leads $5 Mn Seed Round in Coreworks.AI
Fintech startup Coreworks.AI secured a $5 million seed round led by Together Fund. The company introduced AI SuperAnalyst, an autonomous agent suite that transforms raw business data into polished presentations and reports within minutes. Founded by the UNBXD team, which previously...
Basil Health Raises $1.5 Mn in Pre-Series A Round
Indian beverage startup Basil Health announced a $1.5 million pre‑Series A raise from Whiteboard Capital, Brigade REAP, Barbershop Fund and several angel investors. The capital will fund expansion of its IoT‑enabled kiosk and automated beverage machine network beyond Delhi NCR, Bangalore and...
Invention Engine’s Four Portfolio Startups Secure $2.5 Mn
Invention Engine, a founder‑led AI and deep‑tech accelerator, announced that four of its portfolio companies have secured roughly $2.5 million in new funding. Sonic Lamb raised about $1 million to scale its India‑designed headphones and expand into automotive and pro‑audio applications. Cheerio...