Indian Startups Raise $383.5 Million This Week, Led by River Mobility

Indian startup funding jumped 4.7 times this week, with 28 startups raising nearly $383.5 million between August 3 and August 8. The surge comes after a quiet week when startups had secured only about $82.2 million.

Growth-stage deals lead the week

Growth-stage startups raised nearly $273.7 million across six deals. River Mobility led with a $120 million Series C round from Elev8 and Claypond Capital. The Bengaluru-based electric two-wheeler maker is building a strong play in the mobility segment.

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Leap India raised Rs 371.3 crore in a pre-IPO placement from GIC subsidiary Gamnat Pte Ltd. AI unicorn Sarvam secured $74 million in an extension of its Series B round, led by NVIDIA.

FundingIndian Startup Funding This Week: 15 Startups Raise $133.9 Mn, Down 56%FundingIndian Startups Raised Over $469 Million From August 17 To August 22, Wispr Flow Tops The …

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BlissClub raised Rs 160 crore in Series B funding from Singularity AMC. Matel Motion and Energy Solutions bagged Rs 130 crore from UC Impower, while Mintoak raised Rs 80 crore in acquisition financing from BlackSoil.

Early-stage momentum

Early-stage startups raised $109.8 million across 19 deals. InRisk Labs led with a $27 million Series A round co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Northpoint Capital. HomeRun followed with a $12 million Series A from Nexus Venture Partners.

Mitti Labs raised $9.5 million and Pinegap secured $8 million. Vaaree, GetVantage, Kaapi Machines, Solinas Integrity and Benne were among the other startups that raised funds.

Bengaluru tops the charts

Bengaluru led with 16 deals during the week. Pune and Delhi-NCR recorded four deals each, while Mumbai and Chennai also saw activity. AI led the segments with six deals, followed by fintech and deeptech with four deals each.

Seed rounds topped the series charts with 11 deals, followed by eight Series A rounds.

M&A and fund launches

The week also saw three M&A deals. Imarticus Learning acquired Singapore-based BELLS Institute of Higher Learning, Mintoak bought ICC Loyalty, and Times Network acquired fintech startup OpiGo.

Piper Serica announced the first close of its Rs 800 crore Bharat Tech Fund at Rs 300 crore. The fund will invest in Indian deeptech startups across semiconductors, defence, spacetech, fintech, robotics and biosciences.

What it means

Startup funding is picking up pace after a slow start to the year. The average funding over the last eight weeks stands at around $316 million, with an average of 21 deals per week. With River Mobility’s mega round and more IPOs on the way, the momentum looks set to continue.