India Deals Barometer Report: Three megadeals drive 49% rise in March startup funding

Venture funding in India once again crossed the psychologically significant $1-billion mark in March, thanks to three major deals in the fintech and software sectors, reflecting a shift in investor focus towards high-growth-potential startups.

Indian startups raised $1.408 billion across 105 private equity and venture capital transactions last month, a 49% increase in value from the $943 million (raised from 108 deals) in February, according to proprietary data collated by DealStreetAsia.

There were nine transactions in March that did not disclose their funding size.

After a strong start to the year in January, fundraising momentum slowed in February as no megadeals—or transactions worth at least $100 million—were recorded, pushing startup funding below the $1-billion mark for the first time in six months. There were four megadeals in January.

The decline in February was seen as a temporary setback, with industry experts attributing the dip to various factors, including cautious investor sentiment and a wait-and-see approach in response to global macroeconomic conditions.

March’s rebound, however, signals renewed investor confidence in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Startup fundraising in India by month

On a year-on-year basis, too, fundraising saw a 34% increase from $1.051 billion in March 2024.

There were three major deals in March that exceeded $100 million each. These high-value transactions collectively raised $491 million, representing nearly 35% of the total funding raised by startups during the month.

Top 10 funding deals in March 2025

The largest round in March was the $251 million raised by cross-border financial services platform Zolve in a debt-equity mix funding round led by Creaegis. The funding also saw participation from names like HSBC and SBI Investment. The startup offers credit facilities to students and professionals moving to the United States from other countries.

The other two megadeals in the month were closed by end-to-end enterprise HR software Darwinbox ($140 million) and student education financing platform Leap Finance ($100 million).

Financial services secures the top spot

Financial services emerged as the most funded industry with total proceeds worth $549 million from 18 deals. Zolve led the pack, followed by Leap Finance, which raised a $100 million debt facility from HSBC’s ASEAN Growth Fund. Other prominent deals within financial services were sealed by Smallcase ($50 million), PayMate ($30 million), Incred Finance ($30 million), Nivara Home Finance ($28.2 million), and M1xchange ($18 million).

Software, which was the top industry in February, slipped to the second spot in March with funding proceeds worth $216.5 million from 10 deals. Within software, end-to-end enterprise HR software startup Darwinbox raised the biggest round of $140 million co-led by private markets investor Partners Group and global investment firm KKR, with participation from Gravity Holdings.

Enterprise contract management platform Icertis made it to the second place with funding worth $50 million. Other deals announced in the month include MaxIQ ($7.8 million), Beacon.li ($7 million), BetterPlace ($3.8 million), and Phot.AI ($2.7 million).

Meanwhile, retail retained the third spot with $81.8 million in funding across 11 deals. Purple Style Labs, the parent company of luxury ethnic wear platform Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop, raised $40 million in its Series E funding round led by SageOne Flagship Growth OE Fund, with participation from Alchemy Long Term Ventures Fund, Bajaj Holdings & Investment and Minerva Ventures Fund. Other deals within retail were sealed by Apna Mart ($25 million), CityMall ($6.3 million), XYXX ($3.6 million), and Slikk Club ($3.2 million).

In March, the top three industries—financial services, software and retail—collectively raised $847.3 million, or roughly 60% of the month’s deal value.

Big-ticket deals fuel growth-stage funding surge

A spurt in megadeals signalled a potential revival in funding sentiments during the month.

Companies in Series B or post-Series B rounds (including private equity and pre-IPO) collected an aggregate of $635.9 million across 17 transactions in March, marking a growth of 31% in value from $485.9 million in February. The share of growth-stage deals in total funding, however, dropped to 45% in March from 50% in February.

Startups that closed growth-stage deals in the month include Purple Style Labs ($40 million Series E), Country Delight ($25 million Series E), Smallcase ($50 million Series D), InsuranceDekho ($70 million Series C), Truemeds ($44 million Series C), Infinite Uptime ($35 million Series C), Zolve ($251 million Series B), and Scimplify ($40 million Series B).

The deal value of pre-Series A and Series A transactions dropped to $104.8 million in March, down 25% from $139.8 million in February. Their volume, however, increased to 21 in March from 20 in the previous month. In the largest Series A deal, 10-minute food delivery startup Swish secured $14 million in a Series A funding round led by UK-based fund Hara Global and existing investor Accel. The round also saw participation from angel investors like Kunal Shah (CRED), Gaurav Munjal (Unacademy), and Sumer Juneja (Softbank).

Other prominent Series A deals include Navadhan Capital ($12.8 million), Hakimo ($10.5 million), Pluckk ($10 million), Protectt.ai ($8.7 million), Beacon.li ($7 million), Nuuk ($5 million), and AmpereHour Energy ($5 million).

Breaking it up further, pre-seed and seed rounds scooped up $58.5 million across 29 transactions in the month, up about 13.4% from $51.6 million in February. In the largest seed round, Everhope Oncology, a joint venture between Narayana Health and a venture capital firm, secured $10 million.

Debt deals also surged in March with total funding proceeds worth $166.5 million from eight deals as against $23.9 million from four deals in February.

Top investors

Venture capital firm Accel was the top investor in March with six investments in total—Zolve ($251 million), Truemeds ($44 million), Scimplify ($40 million), Apna Mart ($25 million), Swish ($14 million), and Nabhdrishti Aerospace ($3 million).

3one4 Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), Mumbai Angels, Venture Catalysts and Vertex Ventures occupied the second place with three investments each.

Other top investors in the month included Sauce.VC, Anicut Capital, Blume Ventures, Chennai Angels, Faad, Lightspeed, Rainmatter, SIDBI Venture Capital, and Saama Capital.