Indian startup funding dropped sharply during the week of April 20–25, 2026, with 19 startups raising approximately $47 million — a 64% decline from the roughly $129 million raised by 17 startups the previous week. The week recorded only early-stage activity, comprising 13 disclosed deals and 6 rounds with undisclosed amounts. The eight-week average stands at around $219.42 million across 23 deals per week.
Healthcare automation startup Coral led the week’s disclosed rounds, raising $12.5 million from Z47 and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Gaming studio LightFury Games followed with an $11 million pre-Series A backed by Blume Ventures, V3 Ventures, MIXI, and Times Internet, with participation from cricketers MS Dhoni, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya. AI textile startup STCH raised $5.5 million led by Omnivore, while mobile gaming firm Spill Games secured $3.1 million and cloud AI platform NudgeBee raised $3 million led by Kalaari Capital. Bengaluru led city-wise deal activity with 7 deals, followed by Delhi-NCR with 6.
On the acquisitions front, Raise Financial Services — parent of Dhan — acquired Stratzy in a cash-and-stock deal, and Emversity acquired Lanstitut Technologies for approximately $4.25 million. KRAFTON, Naver Corporation, and Mirae Asset Venture Investments launched a Rs 6,000 crore India-focused Unicorn Growth Fund targeting tech, AI, consumer, and deep tech sectors.
Acko laid off around 60 employees — roughly 5% of its workforce — citing AI-led restructuring, while SuperOps cut approximately 60 engineering roles in an efficiency-driven exercise. Zerodha shut down its creator content initiative Zero1, citing regulatory challenges after more than a year of operation.
In broader industry news, PhonePe crossed 10 billion UPI transactions in March 2026 for the first time, capturing approximately 46.4% market share. The Reserve Bank of India cancelled Paytm Payments Bank’s licence effective April 24, 2026, citing governance lapses detrimental to depositors and public interest. The Indian government also notified the Online Gaming Rules, 2026, bringing a new regulatory framework into effect from May 1.
Source: Entrackr : Latest Posts