In October 2025, startup funding in India surged to $1.73 billion, marking it as the second-highest funded month of the year, just behind January’s $1.76 billion. The month also saw a decline in layoffs within the startup ecosystem compared to previous months. Indian startups surpassed the $1 billion funding mark five times in the first ten months of the year, with October ranking as the second-highest October for funding in the past five years.
The increase was largely attributed to major funding rounds, including Zepto’s $450 million, Uniphore’s $250 million, and over $100 million each for Snapmint and Dhan. E-commerce led the sectors with $527.4 million raised across 18 deals, making up over 30% of the total capital. Fintech and AI startups followed, securing $410.5 million and $395.2 million respectively, together accounting for nearly half of the month’s total funding. Healthtech and Deeptech saw less activity, raising $31.6 million and $16.3 million, respectively.
Bengaluru remained the top city for startup funding, attracting $1.02 billion across 48 deals, about 59% of the total capital. Mumbai followed with $441 million from 14 deals, while Delhi-NCR reported 28 deals worth $160 million. Pune and Hyderabad showed modest activity, drawing $46.9 million and $24.6 million respectively.
October was also notable for IPO activities, with companies like Lenskart and Groww preparing to list, while others like boAt and Curefoods moved closer to public offerings. M&A activity slowed significantly, with only three deals compared to September’s eight. Notable acquisitions included Groww’s purchase of Fisdom, TBO Tek’s acquisition of Classic Vacations, and TCC Concept’s majority stake in Pepperfry.
The gaming sector, previously marked by significant layoffs, saw only two companies, Zepto and Simpl, reducing their workforce by about 380 employees combined. Additionally, Hike and Mypickup announced the cessation of their operations.
