Indian startups secured 14 deals from July 28^th to August 2^nd. This week, around $103.7 million in funding was raised from these deals, a 23 percent decline compared to last week. Funding activity decreased in India’s startup ecosystem this week, as it went from last week’s $134.4 million secured across 22 deals to $103.7 million from 14 deals. 

The funding raised is still a big deal, showing that Indian businesses are holding strong even during bad market conditions. From artificial intelligence technology to consumer products and other businesses, the startup world saw continuous growth. The interest from investors is growing around the tech sector. The article explores India’s startup world with a focus on funding and acquisitions this week. 

Standout sector: Which startup secured the most funding?

The enterprise tech sector received the most cash from investors for the second consecutive week. Two startups raised around 73.4 million USD, which is half of the total funds raised by startups across all sectors this week. The biggest investment secured in this sector was Safe Security. The Enterprise tech startup topped both the sectoral and overall funding lists for this week. 

Safe Security secured $70 million in its series C funding round from Avataar Venture Partners, NextEquity Partners, and others. This startup uses artificial intelligence technology to offer tools to help and protect businesses from online threats. The company aims to help companies go digital without any cyber threats. 

The Artificial Intelligence sector emerged as the second most funded sector with $11.7 million raised across three deals. The company offering an AI platform to help businesses operate smartly, Metaforms, led the Artificial Intelligence sector with 9 million USD raised during its series A funding round from Nexus Venture Partners, Together Fund, and Peak XV Partners. 

Funding across Seed-stage 

This week, around five seed-stage startups raised $6.3 million in seed stage. The total funding decreased by 66 percent this week compared to $18.1 million last week. The Artificial Intelligence firm, Drizz, secured 2.7 million USD in its seed funding round from Stellaris Venture Partners, Anuj Rathi, Shastra VC, and other investors. 

The startup offers an AI-based automated testing platform, allowing users to launch mobile tests and SDKs in real-time. The e-commerce startup, Littlebox, also raised $2.1 million in its seed funding round. The firm saw participation from Huddle Ventures and Prath Ventures. The seed funding sector saw a 66 percent decline this week, as it stood at 6.3 million USD, unlike last week’s $18.1 million from 7 startups. 

Other startups that grabbed investors’ attention

The gaming startup, STAN, led the funding list in the media and entertainment sector. The firm secured $8.5 million during its series A funding round from Bandai Namco, Google, Square Enix, and other investors. 

The e-commerce sector raised 3 million USD across two deals this week. Littlebox and Snooplay led the funding list for this sector this week. The D2C platform plans to launch its two proprietary innovative tech products while expanding its network. The startup secured 916k USD during its recent pre-series A funding round from Pravek Family Office.

Other major deals this week include. The edtech startup Arivihan secured $4.2 million during its pre-series A funding round from Accel, Prosus, and GSF investors. Enterprise tech startup Sharpsell.ai raised $3.4 million in its recent funding round from Equentis Angel fund, Mistry Ventures, and others.

Another Enterprise services firm, Heizen, contributed $500k this week, securing this amount in its recent pre-seed round from Titan Capital, Abhishek Goyal, and Varun Alagh. This B2B platform combines LLM-powered AI agents with engineers to accelerate the design and deployment of custom AI products. 

Active investors this week

From July 28^th to August 2^nd, many investors were active in the Indian startup ecosystem, contributing to $104 million raised across 14 deals. Avataar Ventures was the most active investor this week by backing cybersecurity startup, Safe Security. The investment firm invested 70 million USD in the enterprise tech startup in its series C round with other investors. 

Venture capital firm, Peak XV Partners, and Nexus Venture Partners are other notable investors; they led the series A round for Metaforms with a $9 million investment. GSF investors teamed up with Prosus and Accel to invest 4.2 million in Arivihan to help the Indian edtech market. Safe security had the biggest deal for the week, accounting for over 50 percent of the total funds raised. 

These investments highlight the investment firm’s focus on the high-growth enterprise tech and the cybersecurity sector. The funding also shows their confidence in the global market potential of Indian startups. Other investors, such as Titan Capital and Stellaris Venture Partners, were also active, but they invested smaller amounts compared to others. 

IPOs and Buyouts

The eyewear manufacturing firm, Lenskart, filed IPO papers with the SEBI to raise Rs 2,150 crore through the fresh issue of shares. The deal will include an Offer for Sale of Rs 13.2 crore shares from existing investors. The fintech firm, Jio Financial Services, plans to raise $1.8 billion in private placement of convertible warrants to members of its promoter group.  D2C mattress startup, The Sleep Company, to secure Rs 105 crore from Saffron Investments in its series D round.  

Overall funding report:

India’s startup ecosystem saw a 23 percent decline in funding this week to $130.7 million, suggesting a change in market conditions. However, the continuous success of the enterprise tech highlights India’s growing innovation. 14 deals were made by Indian startups from July 28^st to August 2^nd, securing over $103.7 million in funding. 

Safe Security secured the highest funding amount of $70 million from Avataar Venture Partners and other investors in its recent funding round. It dominated the funding trend in the enterprise tech sector. Some of the major investments made include Metaforms, which secured the most funds under the AI category with $9 million from its series A round of funding. The majority of these startups were from the enterprise tech, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce sectors.