SUMMARY
- Indian startups raised $188.49 million across 17 startups (Sep 21-26), over 3X the previous week’s $61.8 million, per Entrackr.
- Ultraviolette’s $85 million and Ema’s $77 million made up about 86% of the total. Twelve early-stage rounds shared just $26.49 million.
- Benchmark against the eight-week average, not the headline: this week’s $188.49 million sits about 19% below Entrackr’s $232.88 million mean.
Indian startups raised $188.49 million across 17 companies between September 21 and 26, according to Entrackr’s weekly count. That’s a little over 3X the $61.8 million raised the week before.
Two rounds did almost all the work. Ultraviolette’s $85 million and Ema’s $77 million add up to $162 million, roughly 86% of the week’s total. Twelve early-stage startups split just $26.49 million between them.
The headline is accurate. It’s also incomplete, and the missing part is the useful bit for anyone raising money right now.
A 3X jump, but off a very low base
Last week’s $61.8 million was the weakest of the past eight weeks in Entrackr’s data, so a rebound was close to guaranteed. This week’s $188.49 million is the third-lowest of that stretch and sits about 19% below the eight-week average of $232.88 million.
Weekly totals in this run have swung between $61.8 million and roughly $380 million, and the swing tends to follow whether one or two large rounds landed. Keep that in mind the next time a single week gets read as a verdict on investor mood.
| Week (2026) | Startups funded | Total raised |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 3 – 8 | 25* | ~$383.5M* |
| Aug 10 – 15 | 14 | $151.5M |
| Aug 17 – 22 | 21 | $198.33M |
| Aug 24 – 29 | 24 | $218.69M |
| Aug 31 – Sep 5 | 25 | $303.7M |
| Sep 7 – 12 | 23 | $356.8M |
| Sep 14 – 19 | 17 | $61.8M |
| Sep 21 – 26 | 17 | $188.49M |
Source: Entrackr weekly funding reports. *Aug 3-8 is the sum of Entrackr’s growth-stage ($273.7M, six deals) and early-stage ($109.8M, 19 deals) figures.
Weekly startup funding, last eight weeks ($M)
Indian startup funding by week, Aug 3 to Sep 26, 2026. This week is highlighted in red.
Source: Entrackr weekly funding reports. *Aug 3-8 total is the sum of Entrackr’s growth-stage ($273.7M) and early-stage ($109.8M) figures. StartupIndiaX
When Indian startups raise $188 million in a week, read the split
Bengaluru EV maker Ultraviolette raised $85 million in a round led by Yali Capital and TDK Ventures. Walden International chairman Lip-Bu Tan also invested and joined as an adviser, and existing investors took part. Inc42 lists the round as a Series E.
The company says the money goes into scaling production of the F77 and X-47 motorcycles, new EV platforms and a US launch targeted for 2027. It sells in India and 20 European countries, and Business Standard reports international sales are about 15% of volumes, expected to reach 25%. EVSHIFT adds that this round follows $66 million raised earlier in the same Series E, taking disclosed funding since August 2025 to $151 million.
Read More: Ultraviolette Funding: $85 Million From Yali Capital, TDK Ventures and Lip-Bu Tan
Deep tech keeps pulling large cheques. Pixxel’s $100 million Series C, announced on September 7 and co-led by Temasek and Seraphim, pointed the same way.
Ema is the odd one out. It’s a US-based enterprise AI startup, founded in 2023 by former Google and Coinbase executive Surojit Chatterjee and ex-Okta executive Souvik Sen. Entrackr still counts it in India’s numbers, and its lead investor, Creaegis, is Bengaluru-based. The $77 million Series B also saw Accel, S32 and Prosus add to their stakes, taking total funding to $140 million.
Read More: Awais Ahmed Pixxel: Karnataka Village to ₹900 Cr Space Firm
Ema says the round more than quadruples its valuation but hasn’t disclosed the figure. Chatterjee’s line in the announcement: “Enterprises do not need more software. They need outcomes.” The fresh capital goes to sales and expansion into APAC and EMEA.
| Startup | Sector | Round | Amount | Led by | Also in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultraviolette | Electric mobility | Series E | $85M | Yali Capital, TDK Ventures | Lip-Bu Tan, existing investors |
| Ema | Enterprise AI | Series B | $77M | Creaegis | Accel, S32, Prosus |
Source: Entrackr, Inc42, YourStory.
Biggest deals of the week ($M)
Two growth-stage rounds dwarf the four largest early-stage rounds.
Source: Entrackr. *Disha raised Rs 43.88 crore; the dollar figure is an estimate using Entrackr’s rupee-dollar conversions on similar deals. StartupIndiaX
What twelve early-stage rounds looked like
Below the two big rounds, the week was small-cheque. Twelve early-stage deals raised $26.49 million, an average of about $2.2 million. The four largest sat close together: Drivn’s Indian entity raised Rs 45 crore ($4.7 million) in a seed round led by Avaana Capital, Disha (formerly Curelink) raised Rs 43.88 crore in a Series A led by General Catalyst, and Rio Health raised Rs 43.08 crore ($4.5 million) at pre-Series A led by Version One Ventures. Sol raised $4 million from General Catalyst, Nexus Venture Partners and others, so General Catalyst backed two of the four.
Seed was the most common stage with six deals, followed by four pre-Series A rounds and three pre-seed. Series A, Series B, Series E and angel rounds recorded one each. The small end leaned D2C: lab-grown diamond jeweller ONYA, betterhood and frozen food brand Protein Pantry raised between about $0.9 million and $1.3 million each, per Inc42’s figures.
Bengaluru led on geography with eight deals, and Delhi-NCR followed with six. Pune, Goa and Hyderabad also recorded deals. AI led the sectors with four deals, while healthtech and e-commerce had three each.
| Startup | What it does | Round | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drivn (India entity) | Electric commercial mobility | Seed | Rs 45 Cr ($4.7M) | Avaana Capital (lead) |
| Disha (ex-Curelink) | AI health coaching | Series A | Rs 43.88 Cr | General Catalyst (lead), Elevation Capital |
| Rio Health | Medicine quick commerce | Pre-Series A | Rs 43.08 Cr ($4.5M) | Version One Ventures (lead), Xeed Ventures, Good Capital, Amplify |
| Sol | Proactive AI | n/a | $4M | General Catalyst, Nexus Venture Partners, others |
| Definedge | Fintech and brokerage | Pre-Series A | $2.3M | Angel investors |
| ONYA | Lab-grown diamond jewellery | Pre-Series A | $1.3M | Divisa Family Office, Zeropearl VC |
| betterhood | Consumer brand | Seed | $1.2M | Sauce.VC, Kairon Capital |
| Protein Pantry | High-protein frozen food | Seed | $939K | Sharrp Ventures (lead), angels |
Source: Entrackr for deal list and larger rounds; Inc42 for Definedge, ONYA, betterhood and Protein Pantry amounts. TimBuckDo, MyRx and Indian Walker also raised but did not disclose amounts.
Deals by funding stage, Sep 21-26
Number of deals per stage across the week’s 17 funded startups.
Source: Entrackr. Counts include the three deals with undisclosed amounts. StartupIndiaX
Deals by city, Sep 21-26
Bengaluru led with eight of the week’s 17 deals.
Source: Entrackr. Pune, Goa and Hyderabad are combined; the count of 3 is derived from the 17-deal total. StartupIndiaX
Beyond venture rounds: a PE logistics deal, a new fund and a beauty tie-up
The week’s single merger and acquisition entry was private equity, not one startup buying another. Samara Capital agreed to acquire stakes in Associated Road Carriers and Calyx Container Terminals to build an integrated logistics platform. Financial terms weren’t officially disclosed. Mint reported an investment of about Rs 1,200 crore, with the promoters and Samara holding nearly equal stakes, and the deal needs CCI approval. The two businesses reported roughly Rs 2,140 crore in FY26 revenue. They’re established logistics companies, so read this as a consolidation signal, not a startup exit.
On the fund side, Lavni Ventures closed its second deep-tech impact fund at its Rs 200 crore ($21 million) target, with a Rs 100 crore green-shoe option, to back health and climate deep tech. Nykaa and L’Oréal’s venture fund BOLD also teamed up to take minority stakes in Indian beauty and personal care brands, with founders keeping operational and creative control. Inc42 separately reports the Centre is weighing a Rs 15,000 to 20,000 crore anchor investment in a proposed National Frontier AI & Compute Fund. That one is under consideration, not announced.
The bigger money moved in public markets. Mastercard sold its entire 4.31% Pine Labs stake for Rs 933.5 crore, and PB Fintech shares fell more than 30% on September 24 after IRDAI proposed tighter insurance commission rules.
Why three trackers give three totals
Search for the same week and you’ll find three different numbers.
| Tracker | Window | Total | Deals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entrackr | Sep 21 – 26 | $188.49M | 17 startups |
| Inc42 | Sep 21 – 25 | $203.4M | 21 |
| YourStory | Sep 19 – 25 | $382M | 21 |
Inc42’s list includes Rivet’s $10.5 million seed round led by Peak XV, plus Dextr AI and GalaxEye at $6.7 million each. Entrackr’s early-stage total of $26.49 million doesn’t appear to include them. YourStory’s window starts two days earlier and its total includes DMI Finance’s Rs 1,455 crore debt raise. The big named rounds match across sources, so the gaps look like windows and inclusion rules, not conflicting deal data. We use Entrackr’s count throughout.
What founders can take from a week like this
Averages tell you more than spikes. A raise conversation built on one big week, or written off after one weak one, is built on noise. The eight-week average of $232.88 million is a steadier reference.
The cheque-size picture matters just as much. When the top four early-stage rounds land between roughly $4 million and $4.7 million, and the average is about $2.2 million, a founder pitching a seed round has a realistic range to test against. The Founder Toolkit’s Startup Valuation Calculator and Funding Round Dilution Calculator help you turn that range into ownership numbers.
Read More: Founder Toolkit: free tools for Indian founders
Three things to carry into next week:
- Compare any week’s funding to the eight-week average of $232.88 million before drawing conclusions about investor mood.
- Early-stage cheques averaged about $2.2 million this week. Treat that as one week’s reference point, not a target for your own round.
- Consider strategic and corporate investors, like TDK Ventures in Ultraviolette or Nykaa and BOLD in beauty, if your product depends on hardware or distribution.
Which of this week’s deals surprised you most? Tell us in the comments, and follow StartupIndiaX for next week’s funding report and the tools founders use to size their rounds.
FAQs
How much did Indian startups raise between Sep 21 and 26, 2026?
Entrackr counted $188.49 million across 17 startups, made up of two growth-stage deals, 12 early-stage deals and three undisclosed rounds. That is more than 3X the $61.8 million raised the previous week.
Which startups raised the most last week?
Ultraviolette raised $85 million in a round led by Yali Capital and TDK Ventures. Ema, an enterprise AI startup, raised $77 million in a Series B led by Creaegis. Together they accounted for about 86% of the week’s total.
Why do different trackers report different totals?
Trackers use different date windows and inclusion rules. Entrackr’s window is Sep 21-26 with $188.49 million, Inc42 counted $203.4 million for Sep 21-25, and YourStory reported $382 million for Sep 19-25, including a large debt raise.
Was there an acquisition last week?
Yes, one. Private equity firm Samara Capital agreed to acquire stakes in Associated Road Carriers and Calyx Container Terminals to build a logistics platform. Mint reported an investment of about Rs 1,200 crore; terms were not officially disclosed, and CCI approval is needed.
What did early-stage startups raise?
Twelve early-stage deals raised $26.49 million, roughly $2.2 million each. Seed was the most common stage across the week’s 17 deals, with six, followed by four pre-Series A rounds. Drivn, Disha and Rio Health each raised between Rs 43 and Rs 45 crore.
Which cities and sectors led?
Bengaluru led with eight deals, followed by Delhi-NCR with six, according to Entrackr. Pune, Goa and Hyderabad also recorded deals. AI startups led by sector with four deals, ahead of healthtech and e-commerce with three each.