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Startup Funding Slows: Tech Deals Hit $187 Million This Week, Down 28% YoY

Startup Funding Activity has Cooled, Reflecting Broader Market Caution Amidst Middle East Tensions

Written By : Soham Halder
Reviewed By : Manisha Sharma

Startups have raised $187 million this week, marking a 28% decline compared to last year. The drop highlights cautious investor sentiment and evolving funding trends in the global tech ecosystem.

Weekly Funding Snapshot

Startups raised around $187 million in the week to February 2, a decline of 28% from the $262.1 million secured during the same period last year, according to data intelligence platform Tracxn.

This week’s tally was down 39.8% from the previous week, when startups raised $310.7 million. The deal activity also slowed significantly this week, with 18 transactions recorded compared with 24 in the same week last year.

Funding This Week: Key Deals and Sectors

Company NameFunding AmountInvestorsFounders
OpenFX (Fintech)$94 millionAccel, Atomico, Lightspeed, Faction VC, M13, Northzone, and PanteraPrabhakar Reddy
Palmonas (D2C Jewellery Brand)$40 millionXponentia Capital, Vertex Growth Fund, and Vertex VenturesPallavi Mohadikar, Amol Patwari, and Shraddha Kapoor
Bachatt (Wealthtech)$12 millionAccel, Lightspeed, and InfoEdge VenturesAnkur Jhavery, Anugrah Jain, and Mayank Agarwal
Gnani.ai (Voice AI, Automation)$10 millionAavishkaar CapitalGanesh Gopalan and Ananth Nagaraj

India's Startup Economy: Growing or Declining?

Venture capital (VC) funding into Indian startups saw a sharp decline in the first week of April as the clear absence of high-value deals brought the value down. This decline also reveals the challenge the startup ecosystem continues to face in terms of capital inflow amidst the ongoing Middle East crisis. 

There is uncertainty about what the impact of this war will be and how long it will take for a recovery.

India's technology sector raised $10.9 billion in FY26, a drop of 23 per cent compared to FY25 (and a rise of 13 per cent compared to $9.7 billion in FY24), according to Tracxn 'India Tech 2025-26’ report

The activity of startup financing in Q1 2026 indicated that investors continued to support robust business models in various industries such as EV mobility, deeptech, fintech, quick commerce, healthcare, and manufacturing in India. 

“The capital deployment focus has increased towards early-stage startups,” said Neha Singh, co-founder of Tracxn, pointing to growing confidence in founders who can demonstrate stronger product-market fit, revenue visibility, and unit economics in a tighter funding environment.

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