India’s startup ecosystem is buzzing with renewed energy as funding, innovation, and profitability milestones converge across sectors. During the week from August 11 to August 16, 2025, 29 Indian startups collectively raised a remarkable $340.55 million, marking a nearly 66% jump compared to the $205.31 million secured the previous week, according to Entrackr. This surge isn’t just a blip on the radar—it signals a broader shift in India’s technology and entrepreneurship landscape, where fintech, healthtech, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce are all vying for the spotlight.
Bengaluru, often dubbed India’s Silicon Valley, led the funding charts with 12 deals, followed by Delhi-NCR’s 7, as reported by Entrackr. Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, and other cities also joined the action. Segment-wise, fintech startups topped the list with four deals, while healthtech wasn’t far behind with three. AI, deep-tech, and e-commerce startups rounded out the week’s dynamic mix, reflecting the country’s diverse and fast-evolving tech ecosystem.
Growth-stage funding was particularly robust, totaling $244.11 million. Healthtech leader Truemeds spearheaded this trend, raising $85 million in its Series C round. Quick commerce unicorn Zepto followed, bagging $46 million in a round led by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, while SaaS company Darwinbox secured $40 million in its Series D. Other notable names included electric bike startup Ultraviolette, e-commerce platform Kimirica, and Shivalik Small Finance Bank, all contributing to the week’s buoyant numbers.
Early-stage startups also had their moment, collectively raising $96.44 million. Medical coding startup Jeh Arintra led the way with a $21 million Series A round, followed by AI entertainment platform Dashverse, home services provider Pronto, e-commerce tech player Graas AI, and electronics R&D company Brandworks Technologies. Retail tech startup ZenZebra and deeptech firm SecureMachines raised undisclosed sums, adding to the sense of momentum in the early-stage space.
The funding landscape’s vibrancy was further underscored by the number of deals at each stage. Series A led the pack with seven, while seed, Series B, and pre-Series A rounds followed closely with six, four, and three deals, respectively. This distribution highlights the continued appetite for investing in promising ventures at various stages of growth.
Leadership changes and fresh appointments added another layer of dynamism. Niyo welcomed veteran banker Amit Talwar as CEO of Niyo Forex, ProcMart brought Ashutosh Dhar on board as Chief Business Officer, FatakPay named Bikash Choudhary as CEO, and Namish Chaudhary joined Wow! Momo as CTO. Meanwhile, Abha Maheshwari stepped down as CEO of Allen’s digital business after two years, signaling transitions at the top as companies recalibrate for the future.
Investors also unveiled new funds to fuel the next generation of Indian entrepreneurs. Speciale Invest launched its Rs 600 crore Fund III, Atomic Capital and Astratinvest announced a Rs 400 crore fund, and Lavni Ventures introduced a Rs 200 crore deeptech impact fund. Astratinvest’s Quant Long Short Fund is targeting Rs 400 crore in 12 months, while All In Capital launched TorQLabs to back supply chain and logistics startups. These fund launches reflect growing confidence in India’s innovation pipeline and the potential for outsized returns.
On the product front, new launches and partnerships kept the ecosystem abuzz. Rapido’s food delivery app Ownly went live in parts of Bengaluru, Embee Software unveiled a state-of-the-art Cyber Defence Center to bolster enterprise security, and Myntra rolled out a festive Zero Commission model to support emerging made-in-India women’s ethnic wear brands. This initiative, part of Myntra’s Rising Stars program, aims to empower local labels with strategic support, faster onboarding, and access to key delivery networks, all while celebrating India’s rich tradition of craftsmanship.
Financial results for the quarter painted a mixed but generally encouraging picture. EaseMyTrip’s profit fell 98% in Q1 FY26, weighed down by acquisition costs, while Fractal crossed Rs 2,700 crore in revenue and regained profitability. FirstCry’s parent company posted Rs 1,863 crore in revenue and Rs 75 crore EBITDA, and Indiqube reported Rs 309 crore in revenue while managing to control losses. Unicommerce’s revenue rose 67% with profits up 9%, Nazara’s revenue and profit doubled, and Smartworks cut its losses by 82%, pushing its share to an all-time high. Nykaa’s profit soared 80% to Rs 24.5 crore, MamaEarth-parent Honasa posted Rs 595 crore in revenue with a 2.7% PAT growth, CashKaro hit Rs 350 crore in revenue, and Awfis saw its profit jump 3.5 times. These numbers, reported by Entrackr, underscore the resilience and adaptability of India’s startup sector.
In fintech, BharatPe made headlines by reporting its first-ever adjusted profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 6 crore for FY25, excluding ESOP expenses—a dramatic turnaround from a Rs 342 crore loss in FY24, according to Indian Startup News. Total revenue for the year reached Rs 1,734 crore, buoyed by growth across business segments. EBITDA, again excluding ESOP costs, swung to a profit of Rs 141 crore from a loss of Rs 209 crore, while UPI offline transactions rose 26% year-on-year. CEO Nalin Negi commented, “Becoming PBT positive marks more than just a financial milestone, it signals a successful turnaround. We’re no longer just scaling, we’re growing responsibly, with strong financial governance and a sharp focus on sustainable value creation. This performance reflects our disciplined execution, cost control, and focus on building scalable, revenue-generating businesses.”
BharatPe’s operational expansion included developing the UPI TPAP app and Invest BharatPe, and in April 2025, the company received final authorization from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as an online payment aggregator. BharatPe also increased its stake in Trillionloans to 74%, leveraging AI-based credit assessment models and serving as technology service provider for Unity Small Finance Bank. With over 1.7 crore registered merchants across 450 cities, BharatPe processes more than 450 million UPI transactions monthly, facilitating Rs 12,000 crore in monthly transaction value. Its lending arm has enabled over $2 billion in loans, and its POS business processes Rs 27,000 crore annually.
Artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is another area experiencing explosive growth. According to a NASSCOM report cited by News18, India’s Generative AI startup landscape has grown 3.7 times in the past year, reaching over 890 startups as of August 15, 2025. GenAI application startups now account for 83% of the total, and cumulative funding in the first half of 2025 reached $990 million—a 30% year-on-year increase, though still trailing global peers. Early-stage funding remains the ecosystem’s lifeblood as late-stage capital has become scarce, prompting venture capitalists to focus on startups demonstrating tangible progress and near-term viability.
Government initiatives, such as the IndiaAI Datasets Platform, IndiaAI Compute Portal, and the Rs 10,372 crore IndiaAI Mission, are helping early-stage GenAI startups overcome barriers like high compute costs and talent shortages. IT giants like Infosys, Wipro, TCS, and Hitachi are collaborating with startups to embed AI tools into their platforms, paving the way for enterprise-ready GenAI agents. Despite infrastructure gaps and reliance on foreign-owned models, India’s competitive edge lies in building domain-specific, cost-efficient AI for its mobile-first, multilingual population. By focusing on localized, high-impact applications, Indian startups are well-positioned to scale rapidly and export solutions to other emerging markets.
On the financial infrastructure front, UPI continues to break records, hitting 19.47 billion transactions worth Rs 25.08 lakh crore in July 2025. PhonePe led with 8.93 billion transactions, followed by Google Pay, together commanding over 81% market share in both volume and value, according to NPCI data reported by Entrackr.
As the week wrapped up, India’s startup ecosystem demonstrated not only its capacity for rapid growth but also its ability to adapt, innovate, and deliver results in a challenging global environment. With fresh capital, groundbreaking technology, and new leadership at the helm, the country’s entrepreneurs are charting a bold course into the future.
