India Deals Barometer Report: Startup funding rebounds to $1.1b in Jan after year-end slump

Indian startup funding jumped 24% to $1.1 billion across 119 venture capital and private equity deals in January, after closing below the $1-billion mark in December last year, according to proprietary data compiled by DealStreetAsia.

In December, startups in the country collectively raised $896.4 million from 82 transactions. The deal volume surged 45% in January, indicating renewed investor interest after a relatively slower close to 2025.

On a year-on-year basis, however, the performance remained subdued. Compared with January 2025, total funding fell 39.3%, while deal volume dropped 4.8%, as investors continue to exercise caution amid global uncertainties.

Startup fundraising in India

There were no megadeals—defined as transactions worth at least $100 million—recorded in January 2026, marking the first such instance since February 2025.

Among the top two deals of the month were logistics startup Shadowfax Technologies and SaaS company Amagi Media Labs, which secured $95 million and $88 million, respectively, from anchor investors ahead of the launch of their initial public offerings.

Other notable deals in the month included agritech startup Arya.ag ($80.58 million), AI vibe coding startup Emergent ($70 million), payments infrastructure firm Juspay ($50 million), NBFC Namdev Finvest ($37 million), and food and snacking brand The Whole Truth ($34 million).

Top 10 deals in January 2026

Financial services regains top spot

Financial services rose to become the most funded sector, attracting $197.5 million across 13 transactions during the month—up 39% in value from December, when startups in the sector raised $142 million from an equal number of deals.

Payments infrastructure firm Juspay accounted for the largest round, securing $50 million in a Series D follow-on led by WestBridge Capital. The funding lifted Juspay’s valuation to $1.2 billion, making it the first startup unicorn of 2026.

Other prominent deals within financial services were NBFC Namdev Finvest ($37 million), home loan financing platform Easy Home Finance ($30 million), retail online bond portfolio platform Wint Wealth ($28 million), banking infrastructure startup Knight FinTech ($23.6 million), and wealthtech startup AssetPlus ($19.4 million).

Software startups ranked second, collectively raising $141.6 million across 16 deals. Emergent led the category with a $70-million Series B round backed by Khosla Ventures and SoftBank Vision Fund. The fundraise came just four months after the company closed its $23-million Series A round from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Prosus.

Within financial services, other notable transactions during the month included Liquidnitro Games ($19.1 million), SpotDraft ($8 million), Bluecopa ($7.5 million), Spector.ai ($6.7 million), Bolna ($6.3 million), and Ringg AI ($5.5 million).

Logistics and distribution emerged as the third most-funded sector, attracting $132.4 million across five deals. Shadowfax Technologies led the segment with a $95-million raise, followed by warehouse automation startup Unbox Robotics ($28 million), logistics tech startup Stackbox ($4 million), cross-border logistics platform Hexalog ($4 million), and AI-driven warehousing and fulfillment startup Edgistify ($1.4 million).

Together, the top three industries raised a total of $471.4 million, accounting for about 42% of the total deal value in the month.

Pre-seed to growth-stage funding surges

The value of pre-seed and seed-stage deals increased to $71.9 million in January 2026 from $24.5 million in December. Their volume also increased to 43 from 20 in the previous month. The largest seed deal in the month was closed by AI semiconductor startup Agrani Labs, which raised $8 million in a round led by Peak XV Partners, along with participation from several angel investors.

The capital raised by startups in the pre-Series A and Series A stages too increased almost 86% to $278.6 million across 38 deals in January from $149.8 million across 23 deals in December. The largest Series A round of $30 million was raised by edtech startup Emversity in its Series A funding round led by Premji Invest, with participation from Lightspeed and Z47.

Other Series A deals announced in the month included Escape Plan ($25 million), Knight FinTech ($23.6 million), Ethereal Exploration Guild ($20.5 million), Liquidnitro Games ($19.1 million), and Whizzo ($15 million).

Growth-stage deals, or companies in the Series B or post-Series B rounds (including private equity and pre-IPO), collectively raised $564.7 million, accounting for nearly 50.7% of the total capital raised in the month. In comparison, the share of growth-stage deals worth $473.3 million stood at 53% in December 2025.

Startups that raised growth rounds in January included Juspay ($50-million Series D), The Whole Truth ($34-million Series D), Pee Safe ($32-million Series C), Easy Home Finance ($30-million Series C), AssetPlus ($19.4 million Series B1), Emergent ($70-million9 Series B), Sukino Healthcare Solutions ($31-million Series B), JJG Aero ($30-million Series B), Wint Wealth ($28-million Series B), and Unbox Robotics ($28-million Series B), among others.

Debt funding escalated to $56.2 million across three transactions in January. Meanwhile, there were only two debt deals worth $24.6 million in December.

Top investors

Venture Catalysts, along with its accelerator fund 100Unicorns; and Rainmatter, the investment arm of Zerodha, emerged as top investors in January with six investments each. Venture Catalysts, along with 100Unicorns, invested in startups including RoadGrid, Meine Electric, FireAI, MiniPix, ScrapUncle, and 1Buy.AI.

Meanwhile, Rainmatter’s investments included PolyCycl, StepOut, AquaAirX, Zerocircle, Sukino Healthcare Solutions, and Wint Wealth.

Venture capital firms 3one4 Capital, Blume Ventures, Fireside Ventures, and Inflection Point Ventures ranked second with four investments each.

Among other prominent investors in the month were Accel, All In Capital, Antler, IAN Alpha Fund, ICICI Venture, India Accelerator, Kae Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and others.