Year-in review: startups that raised big from VCs in 2025

In 2025, venture capital (VC) firms were loading up ammunition, with major players like Accel and Nexus Venture Partners closing new funds. However, the overall funding activity remained subdued during the year, weighed down by a slowdown in growth- and late-stage investments. Despite the dip, 22 companies managed to raise funding above $100 million this year, data from Tracxn shows.

This figure, however, is less compared to 2024 when around 35 startups crossed the $100 million mark, boosted by Zepto’s $1.3 billion funding spree. Zepto continued to raise funds this year as well, bagging millions in a series of rounds that saw its valuation touch $7 billion. 

Despite thinning deal flow in the climate-tech sector, electric vehicle (EV) companies continued to attract significant capital from VC firms in 2025. Electric vehicle manufacturer Erisha E Mobility walked away with a $1 billion cheque in Series D funding in March from an undisclosed UAE-based industrial investor. 

The company said it will use the newly-raised funds to expand globally, manufacture EVs, and support green energy projects. This deal constituted 41.6% of the total funding Delhi NCR region saw in the first nine-months of 2025, according to a report by Tracxn. 

Zepto’s capital raise continued. In October, the quick commerce unicorn raised $459 million in a round led by US-based pension fund California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). The company’s valuation stood at $7 billion as of October. 

This was not Zepto’s only capital raise this year. In August, the Aadit Palicha-led firm raised Rs 400 crore (~$44 million) from Motilal Oswal Financial Services. In July, the company raised Rs 7.5 crore (~$0.9 million) in funding from Elcid Investments Ltd. 

While quick commerce funding heated up, investors also favoured electric fleet solutions companies. The recent rise in quick commerce and ecommerce has increased demand for clean mobility solutions for last and first mile mobility. 

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Zepto team with CEO Aadit Palicha (R) and CTO Kaivalya Vohra (L)

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Investments in India’s growing electric fleet operations saw global investment banking firms eyeing for a piece of the pie. In April 2024, Australia-based Macquarie Asset Management, one of the world’s largest infrastructure asset managers, set up Vertelo, a fleet electrifications solutions platform in India. By August, the company pumped in $405 million, marking the third biggest deal in India’s EV ecosystem, according to Tracxn.

The fourth largest funding round this year also came from the sustainable sector. In April, real estate investment firm PATRIZIA and Mitsui & Co made a strategic investment of $350 million in Kaer, a sustainable cooling-as-a-service provider. The company said it plans to use the funds to expand its low-carbon cooling solutions across Asia. 

Following this, multinational conglomerate company Essar Group’s sustainable transport solutions arm GreenLine Mobility Solutions raised $275 million in April, marking the fourth biggest funding this year. Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath participated in the funding round with a $20 million cheque. 

The company said it will use the funds to expand infrastructure for green logistics, including the deployment of 10,000 new LNG and EV trucks, along with 100 LNG refuelling stations, EV charging, and battery swapping facilities. 

These marked the top funding deals in the clean mobility and EV ecosystem. 

Several pre-IPO rounds also made it to the list of top funding deals this year. Building and construction materials platform Infra.Market raised about $222 million in multiple tranches this year. The company confidentially filed for a Rs 5,000 crore IPO with Securities and Exchange Commission of India (SEBI). 

The fundraise was used to prepare the company to file for this offering and to get its affairs in order before applying to list on public bourses. 

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Groww’s Co-founder and CEO, Lalit Keshre

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Meanwhile, online trading platform Groww raised $202 million in a Series F round. The company had filed its initial draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI in May this year and received the watchdog’s stamp of approval in October to list on public bourses. The company listed on Indian stock exchanges on November 12. 

Other significant funding deals this year included Spinny’s $131 million Series F round in March. The company expanded this to raise about $170 million in June. According to reports, the online marketplace for used cars is raising another $160 million as it gears to acquire GoMechanic, TechCrunch reported. The Series G round will value the company at about $1.8 billion post-money, similar to its previous valuation. 

Jumbotails raised $120 million in June this year, marking its entry into the unicorn club in a round led by SC Ventures. The round also helped its acquisition of B2B fintech platform Solv to help boost its financial services for Kiran’s stores. 

As 2025 draws to a close, early-stage activity showed signs of revival, while Series B and later rounds remained muted, according to The CapTable. 

However, as VCs load up on dry powder, led by firms like Accel, Nexus Venture Partners, and A91, among others, fund deployment is expected to pick up in 2026.