(Weekly funding roundup Aug 8-14) Tepid VC inflow but Yulu provides relief

Venture capital (VC) funding into Indian startups witnessed a sharp drop in the second week of August, with the only consolation being the $93 million fund raised by Yulu.

The fund raise of $323 million last week gave some hope of revival in capital inflow but once again it slipped back into the familiar territory of $100-200 million range.

The total funding raised this week totaled $146 million across 15 deals. Except for the one large deal from Yulu, none were considerable.

In fact, since the start of this year, VC funding on a weekly basis has crossed the $300 million level in just 10 weeks. This actually reveals the challenges that the ecosystem continues to face raising substantial amounts of capital.

In 2025, the total fund raise was $12.1 billion and going by the current trends it is most likely that this year’s funding may match this level or may be marginally higher.

This week the level of activity remained quite limited in terms of deals and there was no spread from the investors across sectors. However, the Indian startup ecosystem continues to remain vibrant going by the fund raise by various VC firms.

The year so far has generally witnessed VC funding hovering around the $100-200 million range on a weekly basis with an occasional burst of large deals. Unless, there is a revival in large deals momentum, the needle of fund raise is unlikely to see big momentum.

Key transactions

Electric mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) startup Yulu raised $93 million led by GEF Capital Partners.

Wealth management startup Centricity raised Rs 280 crore ($29.3 million approx.) from SMBC Asia Rising Fund, Lightspeed India Partners, Burman Family Office, RAAY Investments, Kuldeep Rathi Family Office, Stride Venture, and Innoven Capital.

FA Gifts, the Gurugram-based company behind online gifting platform FlowerAura and bakery brand Bakingo raised nearly Rs 100 crore ($10.4 million approx.) from Faering Capital.