From R For Rabbit To House Of Biryan — Indian Startups Raised $62 Mn This Week

The third week of August brought a slump for the Indian startups, as ongoing disruptions in the gaming industry dampened investor confidence. Only nine startups managed to raise $62.2 Mn between August 18 and 23, marking a 77% decline from the $272.1 Mn across 18 deals in the preceding week.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Aug 18 – 23 ]

Date	Name	Sector	Subsector	Business Model	Funding Round Size	Funding Round Type	Investors	Lead Investor
19 Aug 2025	R For Rabbit	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$27 Mn**	Series B	Filter Capital, 3one4 Capital	Filter Capital, 3one4 Capital
20 Aug 2025	Kiwi	Fintech	Lending Tech	B2C	$24 Mn	Series B	Vertex Ventures, Nexus Ventures, Stellaris Venture Partners, Omidyar Network	Vertex Ventures
19 Aug 2025	Beyond Appliances	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$4 Mn	Series A	Fireside Ventures, Dharana Capital	Fireside Ventures
19 Aug 2025	House Of Biryan	Consumer Services	Foodtech	D2C	$3.6 Mn	–	Bestvantage Investments, MS Dhoni, MD Mohit Goyal, Abhineet Singh	–
21 Aug 2025	Mitra	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$1.6 Mn	–	Bestvantage Investments	Bestvantage Investments
21 Aug 2025	PeelON	Enterprise Services	–	B2B	$1 Mn	Seed	growX ventures, Boston Venture Group, Clean Energy Venture Group, Climate Angels	growX ventures
19 Aug 2025	Hexafun	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$512K	Seed	Prajay Advisors	Prajay Advisors
18 Aug 2025	Famyo	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$457K	Seed	IAN Angel Fund, Shivali Vij, Deepank Kumar, Pratik Mathurkar, Uday Sodhi	IAN Angel Fund
19 Aug 2025	ZenZebra	Consumer Services	–	B2C	–	Seed	Rukam Capital	Rukam Capital
Source: Inc42 *Part of a larger round ** Includes secondary transactions Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Ecommerce startups cornered the bulk of this week’s fresh funding, with five players raising $33.6 Mn.
• Even though marquee investors such as Filter Capital, Fireside Ventures and 3one4 Capital were active, none extended funding to more than one startup this week.
• Seed funding slipped 84% to $2 Mn across four deals.

 

Startup Fund Updates Of The Week

• Former Kae Capital partner Natasha Malpani launched her own INR 200 Cr maiden VC fund, Boundless Ventures, to back 20-30 startups with an average ticket size ranging from $200-400K.
• Fintech-focussed VC firm Cedar-IBSi Capital claims to have raised about INR 100 Cr for its maiden INR 175 Cr fund, which will back 15-20 startups in the B2B fintech ecosystem.
• IndigoEdge-backed PixelSky Capital raised INR 150 Cr for the first close of its INR 400 Cr secondaries fund and targets a final close in the next few quarters.
• Artha India Venturesmarked the final close of its follow-on fund, Artha Select Fund, at INR 432 Cr, exceeding its original target of INR 330 Cr.

 

Startup IPO Updates Of The Week

• After the closure of its IPO last week, jewellery brand BlueStone made a muted stock market debut this week, listing at a discount of INR 508.80 per share on the BSE, about 1.5% lower than its issue price of INR 517 apiece. However, the stock picked up pace subsequently, ending the week at INR 545.55, a near 8% gain from the listing price.
• Lending tech major Kisshtfiled its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI to raise up to INR 1,000 Cr via the fresh issue. Its IPO will also comprise an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of up to 88.8 Lakh shares.
• B2B seafood startup Captain Fresh also filed its DRHP via the confidential route for a $400 Mn (about INR 3,400 Cr) IPO, sources told Inc42. The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of $200 Mn (around INR 1,700 Cr) and an offer for sale of $150 Mn to $200 Mn (about INR 1,300 Cr to INR 1,700 Cr).
• In the run-up to its IPO, Hillhouse-backed Table Space removed the word private from its name andappointed three new independent directors, Inc42 has learnt.
• After receiving the go-ahead from its IPO from the SEBI, NBFC Avanse is now said to be weighing a delay in its planned public offer amid slowing loan demand due to stricter US visa rules. The Mumbai-based lender might wait for the overseas loan market to improve before resuming work on the potential share sale.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Debt collection platform Credgenics acquired rival service provider Arrise to leverage the latter’s pan-India network, expand its reach and become a “full-stack collections solutions” provider.
• Deeptech startup Armatrix is looking to raise $2.1 Mn in its seed round, which will be led by pi Ventures, Inc42 has learnt. The round will also see participation from Boost VC, Turbostart, Pharos Capital and gradCapital, among others.

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