Indian Startups Raised $115 Million Across 29 Deals in Late October

Indian startups closed 29 deals worth $115 million in the last week of October, and not one of them came close to a nine-figure cheque. According to YourStory's weekly funding roundup for October 24-30, the largest transaction of the week was a $15 million Series A in healthtech startup Cent — a telling number when the ecosystem hasn't produced a single deal above $100 million all month.

The weekly total did tick up from $96 million in the prior week (October 17-23). But that's a modest gain, not a recovery. Weekly funding has stayed below $200 million throughout October, and the data points to a structural issue rather than a bad month: India still lacks a strong AI investment story, and without one, large-value capital isn't showing up.

What does this change for founders raising now?

In practice, it means the mid-market is where the action is. Cheques in the $10-15 million range dominated the week, and the deal mix leaned toward early and growth stages rather than late-stage mega-rounds. If you're a founder targeting a big round, the message from October's data is blunt: the buyers at that end of the market are largely absent, and 2026 as a whole is unlikely to finish materially different from 2025 in total VC inflows.

There's one bright spot. Two of the week's 29 deals involved pure-play AI startups, and YourStory expects that number to grow in the coming months. The broader expectation, per the report, is that 2027 could bring a turnaround.

The week's key transactions

Here's where the $115 million actually went, per YourStory:

• Cent — The healthtech startup raised $15 million in a Series A from Blume Ventures, South Park Commons, and angel investors. Largest deal of the week.
• Simplismart — The AI inference infrastructure startup pulled in $14 million from Dallas Venture Capital, NVIDIA, Accel, Shastra VC and Micromax. A strategic stamp from NVIDIA, notably, in one of the week's two pure-play AI deals.
• Live2 ai — The AI-led social commerce platform raised Rs 130 crore (approximately $14 million), led by IvyCap Ventures.
• Troovy — The food and snacks brand secured Rs 100 crore (roughly $10.4 million) in a Series B from Fireside Ventures, Sharrp Ventures and other investors.
• Matiks — The social gaming platform raised $10 million in a pre-Series A from General Catalyst, Ronnie Screwvala, Info Edge Ventures, Tanglin Venture Partners, and Untitled Ventures.
• Ace Blend — The nutrition products company raised $9.91 million from 3one4 Capital and Fireside Ventures.
• Rotoris — The luxury watchmaker took in Rs 70 crore (about $8.5 million) from Blume Ventures, 9Unicorns, Centricity and angel investors.

Reading the pattern

Two things stand out. Blume Ventures appears twice on the list — in Cent and Rotoris — which suggests active deployment despite the subdued headline numbers. Fireside Ventures also shows up twice, in Troovy and Ace Blend, both consumer-facing brands.

The other signal is the AI cluster. Simplismart and Live2 ai together account for roughly $28 million, about a quarter of the week's total. For a category YourStory says is set to grow, that share is already meaningful.

The bottom line for practitioners: October confirmed that India's funding drought at the top end persists, with the ecosystem's totals tracking 2025 levels. The bets being placed now — especially in AI infrastructure and applications — are the ones positioned to define the turnaround that investors hope arrives in 2027.