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This week, 28 Indian startups raised $115 million across 4 growth-stage deals, 24 early-stage deals including one undisclosed round. The week also saw 6 key appointments and a departure. In contrast, 15 startups had collectively secured about $133.9 million in the previous week. [Growth-stage deals] Growth-stage startups raised $42.34 million across four deals this week, led by Simplismart and Live2.ai, which secured $14 million each. E-commerce brand Troovy raised $11.5 million in a Series B round led by Sharrp Ventures with participation from Info Edge, WaterBridge and Better Capital. [Early-stage deals] Early-stage startups raised $72.25 million across 24 deals this week, led by healthtech startup Cent, which secured $15 million in a Series A round led by Blume Ventures and South Park Commos. Gaming startup Matiks raised $10 million in its pre-Series A round led by General Catalyst. E-commerce platform Ace Blend raised $9.91 million in Series A round from 3one4 Capital. Luxury watch brand Rotoris raised Rs 70 crore (about $7.4 million) in a Series A funding round led by Blume Ventures. Other startups that raised funding this week included fintech brand Mochatrade, gaming startup Let’s Game Now, manufacturing firm Venttup, healthtech startup Jagruti Rehabilitation Centre, QwikBuild and others. [City and segment-wise deals] Bengaluru led startup funding activity with 14 deals during the week, followed by Delhi-NCR with five deals and Mumbai with three deals. Chennai, Pune, Rourkela, Kerala and Hyderabad also recorded funding this week. E-commerce startups led the sectors with 8 deals, followed by AI startups which grabbed 6 deals. Meanwhile healthtech, gaming, deeptech, fintech and spiritual tech startups also saw funding activity. [Series-wise deals] Seed rounds led the week with 8 deals, followed by pre-seed startups which grabbed 7 deals. Series A, pre-Series A, and pre-Series B also recorded deals this week. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding declined 14% to $115 million from $133.9 million raised in the previous week. The average weekly funding over the past eight weeks stood at around $210 million across 23 deals. [Key Hirings] Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani will take over as MD and Group CEO of the company from December 3, 2026, as Hitesh Oberoi steps down. Shoonya, the trading and investment platform of Finvasia Group, has appointed Basant Dhawan as its Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). CheQ appointed Rupal Rajal as head of human resources. Meanwhile, former Criteo executive Medhavi Singh joined Aleph as country head of India and Bellatrix Aerospace appointed Kiran U as CFO. [Financial results this week] [New launches and partnerships] ▪️ Air India and SBI card to launch co-branded credit card soon Air India, India’s leading global airline, and SBI Card, the country’s largest pure-play credit card issuer, have announced a partnership to develop a new Visa-powered co-branded credit card programme. The card will offer a range of travel and lifestyle benefits to members of Air India’s Maharaja Club loyalty programme. ▪️ Pronto founder Anjali Sardana sets up physical AI venture Provision Labs in US Anjali Sardana, founder of instant household services startup Pronto, has launched Provision Labs, a US-based physical AI venture focused on collecting real-world data to train and test AI systems for robotics and other applications. According to its website, the venture is backed by Lachy Groom, Glade Brook, General Catalyst and Bain Capital Ventures, all of whom have also invested in Pronto. The development comes as Pronto expands its wearable camera rollout through Pronto Verified, an opt-in service that records service sessions and uses anonymised footage for AI training. ▪️ Fibe partners with Hygge to expand rooftop solar financing in India Digital lending platform Fibe has partnered with Canadian cleantech fintech Hygge Energy to integrate loan financing with digital rooftop solar infrastructure. The collaboration aims to simplify access to solar loans and support the adoption of rooftop solar under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. Hygge Energy, which operates a peer-to-peer rooftop solar trading marketplace in Bengaluru, will extend its platform to connect customers with solar providers and financing options across India. ▪️ Bengaluru-based Pixxel sets up US subsidiary Pixxel Federal to serve defence, intelligence agencies Spacetech company Pixxel has set up a US subsidiary, Pixxel Federal, to expand its business with American government agencies, including those in defence and intelligence. The unit will offer Earth observation technology, software and satellite systems to federal customers. Pixxel’s hyperspectral imaging technology can identify materials based on how they reflect light, with applications across defence, mineral exploration, environmental monitoring and agriculture. The company already has contracts with NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). [News flash this week] ▪️ Jio Platforms lists at 21% premium, values company at Rs 12.5 lakh crore Reliance Industries-backed Jio Platforms made a strong stock market debut on Wednesday, with shares listing at Rs 1,358 on the NSE, a 21% premium over the issue price of Rs 1,119. The listing valued the company at around Rs 12.5 lakh crore, making it India’s second-largest listed company by market capitalisation. Its Rs 30,213 crore IPO was subscribed 22.19 times, led by QIBs at 70.55 times, while the non-institutional and retail portions saw 14 times and 2.72 times subscription, respectively. ▪️ Skydo secures final GIFT City PSP licence to expand cross-border payments business Cross-border payments platform Skydo has received final IFSCA authorisation to operate as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) at GIFT City, following in-principle approval in May 2026. The licence will allow it to expand into multi-currency accounts, merchant collections and payment infrastructure for exporters, overseas investment platforms and trade finance providers. ▪️ Ola Electric shares rally nearly 20% ahead of Q2 FY27 results Ola Electric shares surged 19.5% to Rs 35.78 on October 27, as its Rs 1,000 crore rights issue remained in focus. The issue closes on October 30, with Motilal Oswal and Calliope Capital applying for 2.39 crore shares. Meanwhile, SoftBank affiliate SVF II Ostrich reduced its stake from 12.9% to 11.7% through share and rights entitlement sales, according to a regulatory filing. ▪️ Entrackr takes The Spur D2C Community mixer to Bengaluru Entrackr’s D2C community initiative, The Spur, held its second edition in Bengaluru on October 23, bringing together over 30 founders and business leaders for informal discussions on building and scaling consumer brands. Hosted at The Bier Library and supported by PhonePe Payment Gateway, the event skipped panels and pitches in favour of candid conversations about business challenges and lessons from experience. The Bengaluru edition followed the inaugural gathering in Gurugram on September 25, which brought together over 40 founders and 10 investors from the NCR D2C ecosystem. ▪️ Virat Kohli raises stake in Agilitas Sports to 6.4% following one8 merger Cricketer Virat Kohli has increased his stake in Agilitas Sports to 6.4% from 1.8% following the merger of his sportswear brand one8 with the company, Agilitas said in a statement on October 29. Kohli had earlier invested Rs 40 crore in Agilitas at a valuation of Rs 3,100 crore and made no fresh investment to increase his stake. The merger of One8 Sports Pvt Ltd with Agilitas Sports Pvt Ltd was approved by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
document fetched 2026-11-01 02:57