August 18, 2025: Indian startups ecosystem is seeing a steady revival in funding activity as investors cautiously re-engage with emerging businesses. In the second week of August, venture capital inflow reached $324 million across 27 deals, reflecting a growing appetite among VCs even amid macroeconomic uncertainties.
This marks a striking improvement from the $214 million raised the previous week and significantly higher than the average weekly funding in July, which hovered around $100 million.
What’s driving this momentum in Indian Startups ? A mix of high-value transactions, renewed investor interest in consumer and enterprise sectors, and continued fundraising by VC firms appear to be reinforcing confidence in India’s startup space.
Big Deals in Indian Startups Signal Return of Growth-Stage Confidence
Three Indian startups led the charge this week with large funding rounds:
- Truemeds, a telehealth and epharmacy platform, secured $85 million from Accel, Peak XV Partners, WestBridge Capital, and Info Edge Ventures.
- Zepto, a quick commerce unicorn, raised approximately $45.6 million from Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
- Darwinbox, a SaaS-based HR tech platform, brought in $40 million from Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG).
These deals are particularly notable as they surpass the $40 million mark — a threshold not frequently seen in recent months. The last deal to cross $100 million was in June, when Udaan raised $114 million.
Diverse Sectors, Steady Inflows
While healthcare and enterprise tech drew large cheques, other sectors also saw healthy interest:
- Aragen Life Sciences attracted about $36 million from Avendus Future Leaders Fund III.
- EV manufacturer Ultraviolette Automotive raised $21 million, with investments from TDK Ventures, Zoho, and Lingotto.
- D2C wellness brand Kimirica raised $15 million, led by Carnelian Asset Management LLP.
- Quick service platform Pronto pulled in $11 million from General Catalyst, Glade Brook Capital, and Bain Capital Ventures.
In the lifestyle and consumer space, Elivaas, a luxury vacation rental platform, raised $10.4 million, while hardware startup Brandworks Technologies secured $7 million.
Fintech and Consumer Brands Attract Early-Stage Bets
Smaller rounds dominated the fintech and consumer goods segments:
- Seeds Fincap: ₹50 crore (~$5.7 million)
- TplusA India: $5.5 million led by Livspace
- FincFriends: ₹41.5 crore (~$4.7 million)
Venture Firms Gear Up With New Funds
Three new funds were announced this week, signaling that investor confidence is gradually returning:
- Lavni Ventures,
- Atomic Capital, and
- Speciale Invest
…all disclosed fresh fundraising efforts, adding fuel to the investment pipeline.
IPO Interest Remains Steady
On the public markets front, Bluestone’s IPO received full subscription, while Fractal Analytics revealed plans to raise capital through an upcoming issue. This continued IPO interest suggests that despite cautious capital deployment, both private and public investors are closely tracking scalable startup stories.
