From Arya.ag To Knight Fintech — Indian Startups Raised $104 Mn This Week

With the onset of new year and festive celebrations, the funding flow remained flat with merely two startups raising capital between December 29 to January 2. After the new year’s day celebration, agritech startup Arya.ag and fintech Knight Fintech announced their respective funding rounds on January 2.

These were the only two deals announced between Monday and Friday. 

Funding Galore : Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Dec 29 – Jan 2]

Agritech startup Arya.ag raised $80.6 Mn in its Series D funding round in a mix of primary and secondary transactions. Meanwhile, fintech SaaS startup Knight FinTech raised $23.6 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Accel. 

Both the funding rounds were on the higher end, amounting a total capital infusion of $104.2 Mn in the startup ecosystem.

This marked a 112% increase from $49.2 Mn raised by seven startups last week.

While the number of deals may appear muted, it is worth noting that startup funding activity typically tapers off in the final week of the year. For context, during the last week of December 2024, Indian startups raised just $25.9 Mn across six deals, reflecting the seasonal slowdown in capital deployment.

This adds to the total capital raised by Indian startups during 2025, which, according to Inc42’s Annual Indian Startup Trends Report, 2025, stood at over $11 Bn raised by Indian startups across more than 936 deals.

While this marked an 8% decline from the $12 Bn raised across 993 deals in 2024, the numbers need to be read in the context of a strong IPO cycle during the year. For comparison, startup funding had slipped to $10 Bn in 2023 at the height of the funding winter.

Looking ahead to 2026, funding is expected to rebound selectively, favouring high-conviction plays in AI, fintech infrastructure, real-economy and category-defining consumer and B2B startups, with IPOs and secondaries jointly shaping liquidity.

Startup IPO Updates This Week

• B2B seafood brand Captain Fresh withdrew its confidential DRHP due to unanticipated delays in getting regulatory clearances for an acquisition it made in the European market. 
• Taking a third stab at a public listing, OYO parent PRISM pre-filed its DRHP to raise INR 6,650 Cr via fresh issue as a part of its anticipated IPO this week. The public issue is also expected to comprise an offer-for-sale (OFS) component. 
• Quick commerce Zepto pre-filed its draft papers for an over $1.3 Bn IPO with markets regulator SEBI last Saturday.

M&A Updates This Week

• Delhi NCR-based meat delivery startup Zappfresh’s board has approved the acquisition of a 51% stake in Avyom Foodtech Private Limited (AFPL) with a capital infusion of INR 7.5 Cr via private placement. The acquisition allows the company to enter the ready food solutions segment, including ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-cook (RTC) categories, along with expansion into overseas export markets.
• Ecommerce major Flipkart announced that it will sell its entire stake in clothing brand Flying Machine’s parent Arvind Youth Brands Pvt Ltd (AYBPL) to Arvind Fashion in an INR 135 Cr deal.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Honasa Consumer cofounder and CEO Varun Alagh has raised his holding in BPC company by acquiring 18.52 lakh shares worth INR 50 Cr in a secondary transaction from early investor Fireside Ventures.
• SBI Mutual Fund sold 45.09 Lakh shares worth INR 108 Cr in listed gaming major Nazara Technologies through a block deal on the exchanges.