October 21, 2025: In a strong shift from the past few months, venture funding in Indian startups picked up pace last week. A total of $763 million was raised across 30 deals, marking the highest weekly VC activity of the year so far. This comes after a relatively quieter few months where weekly investments had largely remained under the $300 million mark.
Zepto, the quick-commerce player, accounted for over half the week’s funding with a $450 million raise, making it the standout deal. Compared to the previous week’s $264 million, this is nearly a threefold increase in funding volume.
While it’s encouraging, investors and founders alike are viewing this with cautious optimism, given global macro uncertainties and the possibility that this could be an exceptional week rather than a long-term trend.
$763M Raised in 7 Days: Startup Funding Spikes
Here’s a snapshot of the most significant funding activity between October 14–20, 2025:
Zepto secures $450M
- Investors: CalPERS, Avenir, Lightspeed, Avra, Nexus, Glade Brook, Stepstone
- Stage: Late-stage
- Use: Expansion, operations, and market share consolidation
Kuku FM bags $85M
- Investors: Granite Asia, Vertex Growth, Krafton, IFC, Paramark
- Stage: Series C
- Sector: Audio content & vernacular media
EKA Mobility raises ₹500 Cr (~$56.7M)
- Investor: National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)
- Sector: Electric vehicle manufacturing
Dezerv pulls in ₹350 Cr (~$40M)
- Investors: Premji Invest, Accel, Elevation Capital
- Sector: Wealthtech
- Stage: Series B
Healing Hands Clinic gets $30M
- Investor: L Catterton
- Sector: Healthcare services
HouseEazy secures ₹150 Cr (~$17M)
- Investors: Accel, Chiratae, Antler
- Sector: Proptech
SpeakX raises $16M
- Investors: WestBridge, Elevation, Goodwater
- Sector: Edtech (English learning)
GoodScore gets $13M
- Investors: Peak XV, Stellaris, Saison Capital
- Sector: Fintech (credit management)
Two Brothers Organic Farms lands ₹110 Cr (~$12.5M)
- Investors: 360 ONE, Rainmatter, Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office
- Sector: Agritech / Organic foods
Airbound raises $8.65M
- Investors: Lachy Groom, Humba, Lightspeed
- Sector: Drones and automation
Chara Technologies bags ₹52 Cr (~$5.9M)
- Investors: Arkam, Exfinity, Kalaari, IIMA Ventures
- Sector: Electric motors / Deeptech
FS Life secures ₹50 Cr (~$5.6M)
- Investors: Fireside, Colossa Ventures, Rahul Garg
- Sector: Fashion and lifestyle
The sharp rise in funding this week signals a renewed momentum in the Indian startup landscape, even if it may turn out to be a one-off. It reflects that investor interest, particularly from institutional players, is still present and willing to back strong growth stories. However, the numbers also reveal a familiar trend: late-stage deals continue to dominate the charts, pushing overall funding higher while early-stage activity remains relatively measured.
At the same time, the variety of sectors attracting capital, from electric vehicles and healthcare to fintech and organic farming, indicates a healthy diversification in investor focus, pointing to long-term confidence across multiple areas of startup innovation.
