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This week, 17 Indian startups raised $61.8 million across one growth-stage deal, 14 early-stage deals, and two undisclosed rounds. The week also saw 15 key appointments and one merger and acquisition. In contrast, 23 startups had collectively secured about $356.8 million in the previous week. [Growth-stage deals] Growth-stage startups raised $40 million across only 1 deal this week. Bengaluru-based AI interactive content startup Flam has raised $40 million in a Series B round led by QED Investors. The round also saw participation from Claypond Capital, Martin Chavez, Olivier Pomel, Venky Harinarayan and Shah Rukh Khan, alongside existing investors RTP Global and Dovetail. [Early-stage deals] Early-stage startups raised $21.8 million across 14 deals this week. AI-native semiconductor verification startup VerifAIX raised $5 million in a seed round co-led by Endiya Partners and Bluehill VC, while deeptech startup DheyaTech secured Rs 43 crore in a pre-Series A round led by Avaana Capital. Gurugram-based beauty quick commerce startup Firi also raised $3 million in a round led by 360 ONE Asset. D2C fashion startup UniqYou raised Rs 15.8 crore in a seed round led by Arkam Ventures and Antler. Metal procurement platform Enlight Metals secured $1.5 million from Exar North Group at a $10 million valuation, while aesthetic surgery platform TRUE ARTIS raised Rs 11.4 crore in a seed round led by Zeropearl VC. Other funded startups included baby-focused quick commerce platform Kiddo, gaming startup 1312 Interactive, industrial workforce platform Factrika, and five others. Digital physiotherapy platform Physioplus Healthcare and eye beauty brand Peep Beauty also raised funding this week, but did not disclose the amounts. [City and segment-wise deals] Bengaluru again led the funding charts with seven startup deals during the week, followed by Delhi-NCR with six deals. Mumbai, Chennai and Jaipur also recorded deals. E-commerce startups led the sectors with eight deals, followed by healthtech, with two deals, while AI, semiconductor, deeptech, gaming and other sectors also saw funding activity. [Series-wise deals] Seed rounds led the week with nine deals, followed by pre-seed and pre-series A with four deals and two deals respectively. Series B and angel funding recorded one deal each. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding dropped over 82% to $61.8 million from $356.8 million raised in the previous week. The average weekly funding over the past eight weeks stood at around $219.6 million across 21 deals. [Key Hirings] Bluestone has appointed CarDekho co-founder and CEO Amit Jain as a Non-Executive Non-Independent Director. Info Edge appointed former Adobe Systems India MD Naresh Chand Gupta as an independent director and Himanshu Agarwal as its new CFO. Fintech platform super.money has appointed Rohan Khara as Chief Product Officer. Practo elevated founder and CEO Shashank ND Singh as Managing Director and Executive Chairman, while former COO Jagnoor Singh has been appointed CEO. OTPless elevated co-founders Satyam Nathani and Tanmay Sagar as CEO and COO, respectively. Avendus Wealth Management appointed Umang Papneja as Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, while BikeWo Green Tech named Sumanth Badiga to its Advisory Board. RTP Global announced the elevation of Smita Goel to Chief Operating Officer (COO) of its Asia operations. PointAI appointed Afshan Banu as Global Head of Fashion & Beauty, while Leverage Edu named former KPMG and IASB executive Prabhakar Kalavacherla as an Independent Director and Chair of its Audit Committee. [Mergers and Acquisitions] Unstop has acquired talent assessment platform PerspectAI, with its founders and team joining Unstop. The deal will add PerspectAI’s AI and game-based assessment capabilities to Unstop’s hiring platform. [New launches and partnerships] ▪️ Swiggy introduces on-demand “Early Cashout” feature for its delivery partners Swiggy has rolled out an ‘Early Cashout’ feature for its food delivery partners across India, allowing them to withdraw their earnings anytime instead of waiting for weekly payouts. Delivery partners can request a payout through the Swiggy Partner app, with the amount credited within an hour. The feature aims to provide partners with greater liquidity for day-to-day expenses and emergencies. ▪️ Puresta launches EVERQ with ‘diagnose first, treat later’ approach to skincare Puresta Lifestyle has launched EVERQ, an AI-powered skin health platform that combines skin assessment, dermatologist consultations, personalised treatment and ongoing skincare. Built around a ‘Diagnose First. Then Treat.’ approach, the platform uses AI-led skin assessments followed by dermatologist-led care and personalised recommendations. [News flash this week] ▪️ Neeman’s eyes Rs 1,000 Cr revenue in three Years, plans 500-store retail expansion Neeman’s is targeting Rs 1,000 crore in revenue over the next three years, with plans to expand its offline footprint to 500 stores across India. The sustainable footwear brand, which crossed Rs 185 crore in revenue last year, expects to reach Rs 350 crore by March 2027. ▪️ IPO-bound Zetwerk eyes three new facilities to scale its ‘universal factory’ model IPO-bound Zetwerk is expanding its owned manufacturing footprint, with three new facilities under construction as of March 2026. The technology-led manufacturing platform operated 26 facilities across four countries, including 15 acquired and 11 set up organically. Zetwerk follows a ‘universal factory’ model, which combines its owned facilities with a network of third-party suppliers through its proprietary Zetwerk OS platform to manage production, quality control and logistics. ▪️ NSE raises Rs 6,746 Cr from anchor investors ahead of IPO The National Stock Exchange (NSE) raised Rs 6,746 crore from 189 anchor investors ahead of its IPO, which opened for public subscription on September 17. The exchange allotted 3.78 crore shares at Rs 1,785 apiece, the upper end of its price band. The anchor book included LIC, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, ADIA, GIC Singapore, Fidelity and Societe Generale, among others. ▪️ Kissht parent OnEMI’s board approves Rs 832 Cr fundraise Kissht parent OnEMI Technology Solutions has approved a fundraise of up to Rs 832.2 crore through a preferential issue. The company plans to issue up to 2.64 crore shares at Rs 314.11 apiece to 34 non-promoter investors, including Axis Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, MIT, WhiteOak, 360 One, Groww Mutual Fund and Bandhan Mutual Fund. ▪️ RentoMojo makes stock market debut at 19% premium Furniture and appliance rental platform RentoMojo made its stock market debut on September 17, with its shares listing at a nearly 19% premium to the IPO price of Rs 404. The stock opened at Rs 482.45 on the NSE and Rs 480 on the BSE, following strong investor demand for its Rs 1,256 crore IPO. ▪️ PhonePe crosses 11 Bn monthly UPI transactions in August; G-Pay nears 8 Bn PhonePe crossed 11 billion monthly UPI transactions in August, processing 11.19 billion transactions with a 45.64% market share by volume. Google Pay followed with 7.91 billion transactions and a 32.26% share, while Paytm remained third with 1.97 billion transactions and an 8.03% share. ▪️ NPCI sets 0.4% MDR on UPI above Rs 2,000, caps fee at Rs 300 for Rs 75,000 and higher transactions NPCI has introduced a 0.4% MDR on select merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, effective October 15, 2026. The charge will be capped at Rs 300 for transactions of Rs 75,000 and above, while payments up to Rs 2,000 will remain free. The MDR will be borne by merchants, with no charges for consumers. ▪️ India’s wealthtech funding frenzy continues in 2026 as investment crosses $300 Mn According to data compiled by Entrackr, Indian wealthtech startups raised around $317 million across 26 deals in the first eight months of 2026. Only four rounds crossed the $30 million mark, led by Veriqus Group, Neo, Sahi and Centricity, while none exceeded $50 million. This could change soon, with Sahi reportedly in talks to raise around $80 million.
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