Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [Oct 26- Oct 31]


Indian startups raised $258.1 million across 20 funding deals during November 2–7, more than double the previous week's $115 million. Major growth-stage investments included GIVA ($100 million), EloElo Group ($80 million) and Peppermint Robotics ($10.5 million). Early-stage funding was led by Clinics On Cloud ($12.5 million), altM ($10.3 million), Two Point O Capital ($10 million) and PowerUp Money ($10 million), alongside investments in several other startups.

Bengaluru led funding activity with six deals, followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai with five each. AI and e-commerce startups attracted the highest number of investments. Seed-stage rounds dominated the week with eight deals, followed by Series A and pre-seed funding.

The week also saw several leadership changes across Indian companies. Porter appointed Gaurav Jain as CFO, while MathCo, Avendus, Fulcrum Digital and UiPath announced senior appointments. Fireside Ventures co-founder Vinay Singh also announced his departure after nearly a decade.

On the investment front, Daksham Growth Ventures raised ₹125 crore for its first consumer-focused fund, while ValueQuest Tristar Fund secured more than ₹2,100 crore in commitments. Provision Labs acquired Mumbai-based hardware startup Basilisk Industries for an undisclosed amount.

Employee liquidity programmes also gained attention, with Leverage Edu launching its third ESOP buyback and GoKwik offering ₹7.57 crore in combined payouts to 69 employees. GoKwik also reported becoming Adjusted EBITDA positive in October.

Several companies announced new products and partnerships. Cashfree introduced AI-powered payments through Checkout for Agents, super.money launched digital gold, InMobi secured naming rights for Bengaluru's Ibbaluru Metro Station, and Procol announced its AI-powered procurement platform Clara 2.0.

Other major developments included Scripbox preparing for a potential IPO and Razorpay receiving SEBI approval for its proposed listing. TVS Motor retained its leadership in electric two-wheeler registrations, while Ather recorded growth and Ola Electric saw a decline. UPI also reached a record 25.47 billion transactions worth ₹31.53 lakh crore in October. Meanwhile, Angel One overtook Zerodha to become India's second-largest stockbroker by active clients, with Groww retaining the top position.