October Sees This Year's Second-Highest Startup Funding of $1.73 Bn
Unlike the previous months marked by large-scale layoffs in the gaming sector, October saw only two layoffs, as Zepto and Simpl let go of around 380 employees combined. Additionally, Hike and Mypickup announced the shutdown of their operations.
Chennai: October saw the second-highest funding to startups in 2025. Layoffs in the startup ecosystem saw a noticeable decline in October compared to the previous months.
With $1.73 billion in funding, October became the second-highest funded month after January’s $1.76 billion. Overall, Indian startups crossed the $1 billion monthly mark five times in the first ten months of 2025. On a year-on-year basis, last month ranked as the second-highest October in the past five years.
The jump in capital inflow was driven by Zepto’s $450 million mega round, followed by Uniphore’s $250 million and two $100 million-plus fundraises by Snapmint and Dhan, says a report by Entrackr.
E-commerce emerged as the top-funded segment in October, attracting $527.4 million across 18 deals, accounting for over 30 per cent of the total capital raised. Fintech and AI startups followed closely, securing $410.5 million and $395.2 million respectively, together contributing nearly half of the month’s funding. Meanwhile, Healthtech and Deeptech saw limited activity, drawing $31.6 million and $16.3 million, respectively.
Bengaluru maintained its clear lead in startup funding activity during the month, drawing $1.02 billion across 48 deals, which made up nearly 59 per cent of the total capital raised. Mumbai followed with $441 million from 14 deals, while Delhi-NCR recorded 28 deals worth $160 million. Emerging hubs Pune and Hyderabad saw relatively modest traction, attracting $46.9 million and $24.6 million respectively.
October also turned out to be an active month on the IPO front, with Lenskart and Groww gearing up to list, while boAt, Curefoods, and Milky Mist moved a step closer to their public market debut. Meanwhile, layoffs saw a noticeable decline compared to previous months.
M&A activity in the Indian startup ecosystem witnessed a sharp slowdown in October, with only three deals compared to eight in September. The month saw Groww acquiring wealthtech platform Fisdom, TBO Tek taking over Classic Vacations, and TCC Concept buying a 95.18 per cent stake in Pepperfry.
Unlike the previous months marked by large-scale layoffs in the gaming sector, October saw only two layoffs, as Zepto and Simpl let go of around 380 employees combined. Additionally, Hike and Mypickup announced the shutdown of their operations.
