Indian Startup Funding — Startups Raised $62 Mn This Week

SUMMARY

Only nine startups managed to raise $62.2 Mn between August 18 and 23, marking a 77% decline from the $272.1 Mn across 18 deals in the preceding week

Ecommerce startups cornered the bulk of this week’s fresh funding, with five players raising $33.6 Mn

Seed funding slipped 84% to $2 Mn across four deals

The third week of August brought a slump for the Indian startups, as ongoing disruptions in the gaming industry dampened investor confidence. Only nine startups managed to raise $62.2 Mn between August 18 and 23, marking a 77% decline from the $272.1 Mn across 18 deals in the preceding week.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Aug 18 – 23 ]

Date	Name	Sector	Subsector	Business Model	Funding Round Size	Funding Round Type	Investors	Lead Investor
19 Aug 2025	R For Rabbit	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$27 Mn**	Series B	Filter Capital, 3one4 Capital	Filter Capital, 3one4 Capital
20 Aug 2025	Kiwi	Fintech	Lending Tech	B2C	$24 Mn	Series B	Vertex Ventures, Nexus Ventures, Stellaris Venture Partners, Omidyar Network	Vertex Ventures
19 Aug 2025	Beyond Appliances	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$4 Mn	Series A	Fireside Ventures, Dharana Capital	Fireside Ventures
19 Aug 2025	House Of Biryan	Consumer Services	Foodtech	D2C	$3.6 Mn	–	Bestvantage Investments, MS Dhoni, MD Mohit Goyal, Abhineet Singh	–
21 Aug 2025	Mitra	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$1.6 Mn	–	Bestvantage Investments	Bestvantage Investments
21 Aug 2025	PeelON	Enterprise Services	–	B2B	$1 Mn	Seed	growX ventures, Boston Venture Group, Clean Energy Venture Group, Climate Angels	growX ventures
19 Aug 2025	Hexafun	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$512K	Seed	Prajay Advisors	Prajay Advisors
18 Aug 2025	Famyo	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$457K	Seed	IAN Angel Fund, Shivali Vij, Deepank Kumar, Pratik Mathurkar, Uday Sodhi	IAN Angel Fund
19 Aug 2025	ZenZebra	Consumer Services	–	B2C	–	Seed	Rukam Capital	Rukam Capital
	Source: Inc42 Part of a larger round * Includes secondary transactions Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

Ecommerce startups cornered the bulk of this week’s fresh funding, with five players raising $33.6 Mn.
Even though marquee investors such as Filter Capital, Fireside Ventures and 3one4 Capital were active, none extended funding to more than one startup this week.
Seed funding slipped 84% to $2 Mn across four deals.

Startup Fund Updates Of The Week

Former Kae Capital partner Natasha Malpani launched her own INR 200 Cr maiden VC fund, Boundless Ventures, to back 20-30 startups with an average ticket size ranging from $200-400K.
Fintech-focussed VC firm Cedar-IBSi Capital claims to have raised about INR 100 Cr for its maiden INR 175 Cr fund, which will back 15-20 startups in the B2B fintech ecosystem.
IndigoEdge-backed PixelSky Capital raised INR 150 Cr for the first close of its INR 400 Cr secondaries fund and targets a final close in the next few quarters.
Artha India Ventures marked the final close of its follow-on fund, Artha Select Fund, at INR 432 Cr, exceeding its original target of INR 330 Cr.

Startup IPO Updates Of The Week

After the closure of its IPO last week, jewellery brand BlueStone made a muted stock market debut this week, listing at a discount of INR 508.80 per share on the BSE, about 1.5% lower than its issue price of INR 517 apiece. However, the stock picked up pace subsequently, ending the week at INR 545.55, a near 8% gain from the listing price.
Lending tech major Kissht filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI to raise up to INR 1,000 Cr via the fresh issue. Its IPO will also comprise an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of up to 88.8 Lakh shares.
B2B seafood startup Captain Fresh also filed its DRHP via the confidential route for a $400 Mn (about INR 3,400 Cr) IPO, sources told Inc42. The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of $200 Mn (around INR 1,700 Cr) and an offer for sale of $150 Mn to $200 Mn (about INR 1,300 Cr to INR 1,700 Cr).
In the run-up to its IPO, Hillhouse-backed Table Space removed the word private from its name and appointed three new independent directors, Inc42 has learnt.
After receiving the go-ahead from its IPO from the SEBI, NBFC Avanse is now said to be weighing a delay in its planned public offer amid slowing loan demand due to stricter US visa rules. The Mumbai-based lender might wait for the overseas loan market to improve before resuming work on the potential share sale.

Other Developments Of The Week

Debt collection platform Credgenics acquired rival service provider Arrise to leverage the latter’s pan-India network, expand its reach and become a “full-stack collections solutions” provider.
Deeptech startup Armatrix is looking to raise $2.1 Mn in its seed round, which will be led by pi Ventures, Inc42 has learnt. The round will also see participation from Boost VC, Turbostart, Pharos Capital and gradCapital, among others.