This week in Indian startups: 12 January 2026 to 18 January 2026

By Abha Lohia

The five stories that mattered, then every other round of the week.

The five that mattered

1. Prosus acquires stake in Rapido from Swiggy and TVS Motor

   Rapido is a ride-hailing app operating in India, offering bike taxi, auto, and cab services

2. State Street invests Rs 580 crore in Groww AMC

   Groww AMC manages mutual funds for its parent company Groww

3. Pee Safe raises $32M from OrbiMed

   Pee Safe makes women's hygiene products like intimate washes and organic cotton tampons

4. Polygon Labs acquires Coinme and Sequence for over $250M

   Polygon Labs builds blockchain infrastructure for scaling and stablecoin payments

5. Dharana Capital raises $250 million for second fund to invest in tech and consumer startups

   Dharana Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in tech and consumer startups in India

Every other round

• Neeman's raises $4M in Series B2 round Neeman's: Sustainable footwear brand
• Carrum raises Series A from Uber Carrum Mobility: Fleet management and B2B mobility More on Carrum Mobility
• Hexalog raises $4m seed round to expand global logistics platform Hexalog: AI logistics orchestrator for cross-border trade
• Manam Chocolate in talks for maiden VC round Manam Chocolate: Bean-to-bar craft chocolate maker More on Manam Chocolate
• Kalam Labs gets Rs 2 crore on Shark Tank Kalam Labs: Near-space aerial vehicle developer
• PumPumPum raises ₹18 crore in pre-Series A PumPumPum: Corporate mobility solutions provider
• Good Farmer raises $1.5m for cafe expansion Good Farmer Food Concepts: Coffee and burger brand operator
• Bluecopa raises $7.5 million in Series A Bluecopa: AI-native finance operations platform More on Bluecopa
• Edgistify raises $1.4M pre-Series A Edgistify: E-commerce and quick-commerce fulfilment platform
• CtrlB raises $2.5 million seed round led by Chiratae Ventures CtrlB: Data observability platform for enterprises
• Secret Alchemist raises $3m seed round led by Unilever Ventures Secret Alchemist: Clean perfume brand with ingredient transparency More on Secret Alchemist
• Misochain Technologies raises ₹18 crore seed funding led by Capital-A Misochain Technologies: aerospace deep-tech startup
• BillionElectric raises $25 Mn for electric truck fleet BillionElectric Mobility: Electric mobility-as-a-service for commercial logistics More on BillionElectric Mobility
• Dazzl raises $3.2M seed round for quick beauty services Dazzl: On-demand at-home beauty services
• GreenTech raises ₹30 Cr from Transition VC GreenTech: Wind turbine asset management More on GreenTech
• Drickle raises INR 6 crore in seed round Drickle: Coffee-first beverage QSR brand More on Drickle
• Atomgrid raises $7 million in pre-Series A funding to expand global exports and R&D Atomgrid: Full-stack specialty chemicals platform integrating distribution, R&D, and proprietary product development
• Sukino raises $31 million in Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners Sukino: out-of-hospital recovery centres
• Liquidnitro Games raises $19.1m in series a Liquidnitro Games: AI game production studio
• Save Sage raises ₹4 crore on Shark Tank India Save Sage: Personal finance platform for credit cards More on Save Sage
• HandyPanda raises Rs 2 crore pre-seed from AJVC HandyPanda: Construction materials ecommerce platform
• RISA Labs raises $11.1M Series A for oncology AI RISA Labs: AI operating system for oncology
• Wint Wealth raises ₹250 Cr in Series B funding to expand bond offerings Wint Wealth: online bond portfolio platform More on Wint Wealth
• CloudSEK raises $10 Mn extended Series B CloudSEK: AI-powered cybersecurity startup More on CloudSEK
• GrowthPal raises $2.6M to scale AI-driven M&A copilot for faster deal sourcing GrowthPal: AI-powered M&A platform
• Aule Space raises $2 Mn pre-seed round Aule Space: In-orbit satellite servicing and docking
• Truva raises $9 million for resale home platform Truva: Resale home marketplace More on Truva
• Emversity raises $30 million in Series A funding led by Premji Invest Emversity: higher-education embedded training and employability platform More on Emversity
• Net Zero raises INR 4.15 crore seed funding for carbon platform Net Zero Initiative Private Limited: Carbon credit standard and registry
• Gully Labs raises Rs 30 Cr in Series A led by Saama Capital Gully Labs: Premium sneakers brand More on Gully Labs
• Tagbin raises $10 million in funding round Tagbin: Holographic and AI technology firm
• Ethereal Exploration Guild raises $20.5M Series A Ethereal Exploration Guild: Reusable medium-lift launch vehicles
• EtherealX raises $20.5M for reusable rocket EtherealX: Reusable launch vehicle developer More on EtherealX
• CurlSek raises seed funding for AI security platform CurlSek: AI-driven security intelligence platform More on CurlSek
• Magicdecor raises ₹5 crore for tech and AI MagicDecor: Customisable wallpaper and home décor brand More on MagicDecor

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