StopDown

This week in Indian startups

12 October 2026 to 18 October 2026

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

By · Editor

The five that mattered

  1. Sarvam in talks for fresh $300M at $3B value

    Sarvam builds AI models and applications in Indian languages for government bodies, banks and insurers across the country

  2. BharatPe weighs rights issue at lower valuation

    BharatPe is a Delhi-based fintech company that offers payments and financial services to merchants across India

  3. Style Union in talks for ₹500 Cr round

    Style Union is a Mumbai-based fashion retail chain selling clothing for men, women and children through its own stores

  4. Zetwerk fixes IPO price band at ₹143-151

    Zetwerk runs a technology-led manufacturing network that links large buyers with a wide base of factories and suppliers

  5. F2A raises ₹3,000 crore for AI deeptech fund

    Fundamentum Frontier Advisors, called F2A, runs a growth-stage investment strategy focused on artificial intelligence and deeptech companies

Every other round

In the order they were reported35
Boldfit raises ₹400 Cr Series B12 October 2026Boldfit: Indian sports and fitness brandPeptris gets ₹86 crore government backing for AI drugs12 October 2026Peptris: AI drug discovery, BengaluruWhizzo in talks to raise $25 Mn12 October 2026Whizzo: Technical textiles manufacturing startupBower School raises ₹26.8 Cr pre-Series A13 October 2026Bower School: Entrepreneurship education institutionClueso raises $10M Series A led by Dharana13 October 2026Clueso: AI video creation platformEx-OpenAI researcher's startup eyes $15M raise13 October 2026Empirical Machines: AI for scientific discoveryGreenCell Mobility raises ₹330 crore for e-buses13 October 2026GreenCell Mobility: Electric bus operatorToothsi parent MakeO raises ₹90 crore13 October 2026MakeO: Toothsi dental aligner parentMesa School of Business raises ₹110 crore13 October 2026Mesa School of Business: Startup-focused business schoolNuSynth raises ₹36.5 crore seed funding13 October 2026NuSynth Technologies: AI chemical process R&DThinkMetal raises ₹27 Cr led by IAN Alpha Fund13 October 2026ThinkMetal: Metal 3D printing systemswudhomes raises ₹2.5 Cr pre-seed from AJVC13 October 2026Wudhomes: Home-furnishing startupCircle raises ₹25 Cr to grow beyond Bengaluru14 October 2026Circle: Pre-owned goods marketplaceConfido Health raises $12.5M led by Z4714 October 2026Confido Health: AI agents for healthcareEx-Dyson India head's Foundry raises ₹12 Cr14 October 2026Foundry: Premium home appliancesEx-Dyson India head launches Foundry with ₹12 Cr14 October 2026Foundry: Premium home appliancesHocco in talks for up to ₹400 Cr14 October 2026Hocco: D2C ice cream brandParallel Loop raises $6.6M seed led by 3one414 October 2026Parallel Loop: Enterprise AI operating partnerRevRag AI raises $2.5M seed round14 October 2026RevRag AI: AI agents for financial firmsRocketPay raises ₹10 Cr for lender recovery tools14 October 2026RocketPay: Collections platform for lendersScimplify raises $25M to grow in the US14 October 2026Scimplify: Specialty materials makerSpill Games lands $10.5M led by Elevation14 October 2026Spill Games: Casual mobile games studioGoogle.org commits $15M to The/Nudge for MSMEs14 October 2026The/Nudge: Poverty-alleviation nonprofitThe Stack raises ₹21.5 crore seed round14 October 2026The Stack: Clinically studied supplementsTraya in talks to raise ₹300 Cr14 October 2026Traya: Hair care startupBanaraswala raises $2M seed from Prax Impex15 October 2026Banaraswala: Banarasi food chainCosmochute raises $1.5M pre-seed for lunar robotics15 October 2026Cosmochute: Lunar robotics startupOrigin raises $20M for construction robots15 October 2026Origin: Construction robotics startupShamrock AI raises $5M seed round15 October 2026Shamrock AI: Enterprise AI assuranceCapGrid raises ₹46 crore pre-Series B16 October 2026CapGrid: B2B manufacturing sourcingMettle and Peak XV back Empirical Machines16 October 2026Empirical Machines: AI startup, ex-OpenAI founderRapidCanvas lands $29M Series B round16 October 2026RapidCanvas: Enterprise AI platformBattery Smart adds ₹98 Cr to Series C17 October 2026Battery Smart: Battery swapping networkKitchen Secret raises ₹1.14 Cr seed round17 October 2026Kitchen Secret: Preservative-free sauce brandVitonnix raises first seed round17 October 2026Vitonnix: Sublingual nutrition sprays