Startups
Funding, launches, acquisitions
Nua raises $50 million for women's wellness products
Nua, a Mumbai-based startup making wellness products for women, just raised $50 million in Series C funding. Peak XV Partners and Filter Capital led the round. Nua says they've grown their yearly revenue fivefold in two years, hitting about ₹500 crore, and stayed profitable. The new money will go to expanding their product range, boosting distribution, and investing in R&D. Several early investors took partial exits.
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Pixxel raises $100M to boost satellite imaging
Pixxel just raised $100 million in Series C funding, led by Temasek and Seraphim, bringing its total backing to $195 million. That’s now the biggest single investment round an Indian space startup has pulled in, according to Pixxel. The company says it’ll use the funds to expand its imaging satellites, improve its Aurora earth intelligence software, and ramp up manufacturing at its Bangalore plant.
Félix raises $200M for WhatsApp remittance tool
Félix, which lets Latino immigrants send money home via WhatsApp, just raised $200 million in Series C funding. Andreessen Horowitz put in $87 million of equity; General Catalyst gave $113 million in growth debt. The Miami startup says it’s handled over $8 billion in payments so far, serving U.S. users with families in 11 Latin American countries. Félix plans to expand into new markets with the cash.
Venture-backed startup IPOs surge past $110 billion in 2026
So far in 2026, private startups have raised $110.8 billion from IPOs—almost nine times last year’s haul for the same stretch, thanks mostly to SpaceX’s $86 billion debut in June. Crunchbase flags more to watch before year-end, including Anthropic, which could go public as soon as September or October and reportedly may raise up to $100 billion if it does.
Sugar Cosmetics gets $15 million, valuation drops 80%
Sugar Cosmetics just raised about ₹145 crore (around $15 million) from its existing backer, A91 Partners, but what's catching eyes is the new price tag. The company's valuation now stands at roughly ₹550-600 crore—down 75-80% from the nearly ₹3,000 crore it was worth at its peak in 2022. This comes after Sugar's revenue dropped and losses widened last year.
Ola Electric board approves ₹1,500 crore fresh fundraising
Ola Electric’s board just signed off on raising up to ₹1,500 crore (about $180 million) by selling shares or convertible securities. This move is waiting for shareholder and regulatory approval. It comes three months after Ola raised ₹780 crore and as the company faces falling sales, big debts over ₹1,600 crore, and a pivot to a dealer network for its electric scooters and battery storage products.
Comet raises ₹100 Cr to double store count and models
Comet, an online-first sneaker brand from India, just raised ₹100 crore ($10.6 million) in Series B funding led by Verlinvest, with previous investors and angels joining in. The money will fund expansions: Comet plans to double its retail stores from 10 to 20 and its sneaker portfolio from four to eight models by end of FY27. The company reported a loss of ₹4.4 crore in FY25 against revenue of ₹29.1 crore.
NoPaperForms Files for IPO Worth Over ₹375 Crore
NoPaperForms, which owns education SaaS brand Meritto, has filed updated IPO plans aiming to raise at least ₹375 crore by selling new shares. Investor Info Edge will sell up to 3.8 crore shares in a separate offering. The company saw operating revenue grow 25% year-over-year to ₹115.6 crore in FY26, while profits jumped over 500% to ₹11.9 crore. Most of the money will go to tech upgrades, customer growth, and possible acquisitions.
Biotech startup funding holds steady amid AI surge
Even as startup investment set new records—driven by generative AI—biotech funding has stayed steady, sticking between $36 and $40 billion globally for several years. AI-focused biotechs raised a notable $6 billion so far this year, with London’s Isomorphic Labs landing the largest biotech round at $2.1 billion. Most biotech funding still goes to early-stage startups, and several, like Kailera Therapeutics, have gone public early.
Global proptech funding in 2026 lags 2019 peak
Proptech startups globally have raised about $8.7 billion so far in 2026, well below the $24 billion reached in 2019 and short of last year’s $12.3 billion. Higher interest rates mean investors are more selective, backing startups using AI to cut costs and speed up real estate transactions. Deal numbers are sharply down—794 so far this year, compared to over 2,400 in 2019. Most of the biggest 2026 deals happened outside the US.
Venture funding hits $42 billion in August, up 122% year-on-year
Startups landed $42 billion from venture investors worldwide in August, according to Crunchbase. That’s 122% more than last August but down 25% from July’s $56 billion. Seven companies scored deals of $1 billion or more—Databricks led with a $5 billion round at a $190 billion valuation. IPOs and acquisitions also kept pace, including Unitree Robotics’ $9 billion debut and Nvidia’s planned $12.9 billion Hugging Face buy.