Inc42

Where is startup funding flowing in India? Q1 2026 data shows that while capital is becoming more selective, activity remains concentrated in key hubs. Bengaluru continues to lead with the highest deal activity and funding, followed by Delhi and Mumbai, reinforcing their position as India’s core startup ecosystems. At the same time, emerging hubs like Hyderabad and Chennai are steadily gaining traction, signalling a broader distribution of startup activity beyond the top three cities. The takeaway is clear: funding isn’t disappearing - it’s consolidating around strong ecosystems while gradually expanding into new markets. 🔗 To download our full report “Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q1 2026”: inc42.com/reports/indian… @myspinny @PeeSafe @shop_wishlink @wholetruthfood @EcofyDC @justswishin @Supertails_IND @CornerBonkers @captainfresh_in @we_are_cult @bluecopahq #StartupFunding #IndianStartups #StartupEcosystem #IndiaTech #VentureCapital #VCTrends #FundingReport #Q12026 #StartupInsights

After a slow start to 2026, April kicked off with a bang as lending tech startup KreditBee entered the unicorn club with a $280 Mn Series E round, driving a sharp rebound in funding activity.👇 🔷 Indian startups raised $360.5 Mn across 23 deals, marking a 174% jump from last week 🔷 Fintech emerged as the top-funded sector, led by KreditBee and GoSats 🔷 AI and ecommerce recorded the highest deal activity with six deals each 🔷 Seed funding surged 940% to $22.9 Mn, signalling renewed early-stage momentum 🔷 IAN Group and Unicorn India Ventures were the most active investors 🔷 On the IPO front, Leverage Edu and CureFit made key pre-listing moves 🔷 In M&A, Exotel acquihired Dubverse leadership to boost AI capabilities #Inc42 #StartupFunding #IndianStartups #FundingNews #VentureCapital #StartupEcosystem #BusinessNews #AI #Fintech #Ecommerce

3/3

2/3

AI is the buzzword of the year! But when it’s time to write big cheques… investors pause 👀 🔹 48% say AI is the most investment-ready sector 🔹 Only ~7% are ready to pay a premium 🔹 92% are being highly selective So where is the money actually going? Not hype. Not flashy demos. But real use cases, strong moats, and founders who can adapt fast. Swipe to see how smart capital is really betting on AI #AI #IndianStartups #VentureCapital #Inc42 #trending

D2C fashion brand Snitch closed FY26 with an operating revenue of ₹900 Cr, up about 80% from ₹498 Cr in the previous fiscal year, founder and CEO Siddharth Dungarwal (@siddharth916)said. As per the unaudited numbers, the brand’s EBITDA stood at about 2-3% of its revenue, translating to about ₹18-27 Cr, the CEO told Inc42. Snitch had posted a net loss of ₹1.7 Cr in FY25. Founded in 2019, Snitch started as an offline fashion brand. It pivoted to online sales during the Covid-19 pandemic. The brand sells a range of men’s fashion products, including shirts, jackets, hoodies, co-ords, sweaters, innerwears, among others, via its own website, stores, and ecommerce marketplaces. 🔗 Read the full article here: 4-2.co/4sWti3Q #Inc42 #news #Startups #Startupfundings #FaishonBrands

Swiggy cofounder Lakshmi Nandan Reddy Obul has resigned from the company’s board. Reddy, who held the post of whole time director and head of innovation, resigned to “pursue other professional interests”, the company said.👇 At the same time, Roger Clark Rabalais, a nominee director of investor MIH India Food Holdings (Prosus), also stepped down from the board. He will be replaced by Renan De Castro Alves Pinto. The company has also appointed cofounder Phani Kishan Addepalli and CFO Rahul Bothra as executive, non-independent, additional directors on the board for a period of five years. Both of them will join the board with effect from June 1. 🔗 Read the full article here: 4-2.co/4mj5Dbc #Inc42 #news #Swiggy #LeadershipExit #LeadershipChange

India’s unicorn story didn’t arrive in a single wave; 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐦, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ From early pioneers like Flipkart and Paytm to the new-age cohort of Zepto, Cred, and beyond; every phase reflects a shift in where capital, innovation, and ambition are flowing⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ What started as a few breakout successes has evolved into a broad, multi-sector ecosystem - spanning fintech, SaaS, ecommerce, mobility, and more⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 📊 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫:⁣⁣ Each year didn’t just add unicorns — it redefined the kind of companies India builds⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 👉 A visual timeline of how India’s billion-dollar startup ecosystem scaled over the years⁣⁣ @Paytm @kreditbee @porterit_ @juspay @Meesho_Official @myspinny @vedantu_learn @sharechatapp @letsdroom @zetwerk @EaseMyTrip @CarDekho @zerodha @MyNykaa @bharatpeindia @ZetaChain @cars24india @bigbasket_com @Netradyne @DroolsIndia #Inc42 #trending #unicorn #soonicorn #startups #ecommerce #D2C #retail #valuation

6/6

5/6

“Organic” is no longer enough - proving it is. As global supply chains grow more complex, trust is shifting from labels to data. Fragmented records, manual processes, and rising regulatory scrutiny have made it increasingly difficult for businesses to verify sourcing, compliance, and sustainability claims. Bengaluru-based TraceX is solving this by building a verifiable data layer for supply chains. Using AI and blockchain, the platform enables enterprises to capture, connect, and validate data across every stage - from farm to final product. With over 30 enterprise clients, 2.3 lakh farmers onboarded, and expansion into compliance-driven markets like Europe, TraceX is positioning itself as core infrastructure for the next generation of supply chains. Read the in-depth article here: inc42.com/startups/how-t… @StarAgriGroup #Inc42 #Business #SupplyChainTech #SupplyChain #FoodTraceability #Sustainability

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (@ONDC_Official) has appointed @jainvibhor as its MD and CEO, with effect from April 7. Jain was serving as the platform’s acting CEO and MD since the past year. He has been with ONDC for almost five years now.👇 “Going forward, we are concentrating on what open, interoperable infrastructure can uniquely enable – things that no single platform has the incentive or the architecture to do,” Jain told ET. Founded in 2021, ONDC is a section-8 company aimed at democratising digital commerce and enabling smaller businesses to connect with buyers through digital platforms. It counts the Quality Council of India and Protean eGov Technologies as founding members, while the likes of Kotak Mahindra, Axis Bank, SIDBI, ICICI are among its investors. 🔗 Read the full article here: 4-2.co/41ZmPt0 #Inc42 #news #Startups #Leadershiupdate #CEOAppointment

Quick commerce apps generate rich first-party signals around basket size, buying patterns and locality demand. @NitroCommerce helps brands turn this data into real-time campaigns and measurable growth across quick commerce platforms. Read more @umair_zo inc42.com/startups/how-q…

Selling furniture online was never the endgame; it was just the starting point 🛋️ From Wakefit ditching the 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬-𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐨 100+ 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬, to Furlenco turning sofas into subscriptions; India's furniture brands aren't just selling pieces anymore, they're selling entire living experiences 🏠 Omnichannel, Rental, B2B, Custom. The playbook has been completely rewritten! ✓ The brands that survived didn't just adapt, they reinvented ✓ Which model do you think wins the decade? @WakefitCo | @Pepperfry | @IKEAITALIA | @Boingg_India | @HomeCentreIndia | @FurlencoSupport | @Wooden_street | @GodrejInterio4U #Inc42 #trending #furniture #D2C #startups #IndianStartups #business #ecommerce

🌱 Vegan isn't just a dinner-table debate anymore; it's a $5.2 𝐁𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 India's vegan leather economy is growing at 4.03% CAGR through 2033 and everyone from homegrown hustlers like 𝐙𝐨𝐮𝐤 & 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐢 to old-money giants like 𝐆𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐢, 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐦è𝐬 & 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐚 is already in the room. 👜🌿 Clearly, 𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘶𝘹𝘶𝘳𝘺 Would you make the switch? 👇 @MATT_AND_NAT | @WillsVeganStore | @StellaMcCartney | @noizeoriginal | @naeveganshoes | @VessiFootwear | @bhavastudio | @Save_the_duck | @BeyondSkinTweet | @zoukbrand | @ShoesPaio | @BATA_India | @HidesignHQ | @allensolly | @newbalance | @gucci | @adidas | @Hermes_Paris | @drmartens #Inc42 #trending #luxury #leather #vegan #D2C #IndianD2C #B2B

Former OYO senior executive Abhinav Sinha’s AI startup Nava, earlier known as Kluisz.ai, has raised $22 Mn (about ₹204 Cr) in its Series A round led by Greenoaks, with participation from existing investors RTP Global and Unicorn India Ventures.👇 Along with the fundraise, the startup announced its rebranding to Nava. In a statement, the startup said it has set up Singapore as its regional headquarters to be closer to key APAC markets and global talent Founded in 2025 by Sinha, ex-McKinsey Partner Vamshidhar Reddy, and ex-VP of cloud at Jio Abhijeet Singh, Nava is building a full-stack neocloud platform. Neocloud platforms essentially provide GPU-as-a-service, enabling businesses to run AI, machine learning, and other compute-heavy workloads without managing their own infrastructure. 🔗 Read the full article here: 4-2.co/48Drrsu #Inc42 #news #Startups #Startupfundings #AI

EV asset management and leasing startup Astranova Mobility (previously known as Electrifi Mobility) has secured ₹60 Cr (about $6.4 Mn) in its Series A funding round led by IvyCap Ventures, with participation from Trucks Venture Capital.👇 The funding round also saw participation from existing investors Asian Development Bank and Advantedge Founders.The startup plans to use the capital to invest in its engineering capabilities, data stack, and AI capabilities, and expand its team, Astranova cofounder and CEO @KunalMundra4 told Inc42. Founded in 2023 by ex-Cars24 CEO Mundra and Grip Invest cofounder Nikhil Aggarwal (@nikhila310), Astranova Mobility offers leasing, maintenance, post-sales support, refurbishment, and redeployment of EV assets to fleet operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). 🔗 Read the full article here: 4-2.co/4tFcPRK #Inc42 #news #Startups #ElectricVehicles #Startupfundings