Indian start-ups raised more than $184 million (about ₹1,747 crore) across 17 deals between October 19 and 23, 2026, down 22% from $236.2 million (about ₹2,243 crore) across 25 deals in the previous week, according to Inc42’s weekly tally.
Deal count fell 32%, while artificial intelligence companies attracted $93.9 million (about ₹892 crore) across six deals, accounting for about half of the week’s total funding and representing the largest sectoral share for a second consecutive week.
Health-tech companies followed with $60.6 million (about ₹575 crore) raised across two deals.
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AI Companies Dominate Weekly Funding
Among the largest funding rounds, Even Healthcare raised $50 million (about ₹475 crore) in a Series B round led by existing investor Khosla Ventures, with Alpha Wave also participating.
The Bengaluru-based health-tech company, which operates two hospitals in the city, plans to open four more facilities, including one by the end of 2026 and three by the end of the 2026-27 financial year.
AI marketing company Different raised $48 million (about ₹456 crore) in a seed round led by General Catalyst, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners. The company, co-founded by Nutanix co-founder Ajeet Singh, develops software for planning, creating and running business-to-business marketing campaigns.
AuxoAI raised $20.7 million (about ₹197 crore) in a Series A round led by NTTVC, while Firstwork secured $15 million (about ₹142 crore) in Series A funding led by Earlybird Venture Capital.
The Pant Project raised $11.5 million (about ₹109 crore) in a Series B round led by Mirae Asset Venture Investments India, while CureBay secured $10.6 million (about ₹101 crore) in a pre-Series C round comprising equity and debt, led by IvyCap Ventures.
Seed-Stage Startups Raise $51.4 Million
Five seed-stage start-ups raised a combined $51.4 million (about ₹488 crore) during the week, accounting for about 28% of the overall funding.
Trifecta Capital and Blume Ventures were the most active investors during the period, participating in two deals each.
The overall funding decline came despite large individual rounds, highlighting a week in which capital was concentrated among a smaller number of companies and sectors.
For the year so far, Indian technology start-up funding stood at $10.3 billion (about ₹97,794 crore), while deal count was down 38%, according to Tracxn.
Tonbo and Zetwerk Make Market Debuts
The week also saw two start-ups enter the public markets.
Defence-tech company Tonbo Imaging, whose ₹852 crore initial public offering was subscribed about 136 times, listed at a 66% premium.
Zetwerk’s ₹5,012.3 crore issue made its market debut at a 5.5% premium.
Hunger Pangs, which operates the Burma Burma restaurant chain, also filed draft papers for an IPO involving a fresh issue of up to ₹150 crore.
In another notable deal, out-of-home advertising platform AdOnMo is set to merge with community application Mygate through a share swap. Eternal, the parent company of Zomato and an investor in AdOnMo, is expected to hold about 4.4% of the combined company, with the stake valued at ₹156 crore.
The merger is expected to be completed by December 5.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
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