Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News - 19 May 2026: ONO Bags $1.2 Mn, Kalpi Raises ₹3.75 Cr, Groww Promoters Offload ₹270 Cr Stake
Indian startup activity on 19 May 2026 was led by early-stage rounds in fintech and agri-finance, alongside notable secondary market action. Two funding rounds were announced, with agri-finance startup ONO leading the day at $1.2 million. In key business news, Groww's promoter group sold shares worth ₹270 crore in their first major liquidity event, while Unacademy cofounder Sumit Jain confirmed his exit ahead of the upGrad acquisition.
Daily Indian Startup Funding Digest - 19 May 2026
| Startup | Sector | Funding | Round | Lead Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ONO | Agri-Finance | ~₹10 Cr ($1.2 Mn) | Pre-Series A | Aeravti Ventures |
| Kalpi | Fintech | ₹3.75 Cr (~$0.45 Mn) | Seed | Rainmatter Capital |
ONO Raises $1.2 Million Pre-Series A
ONO is an agri-finance startup building a data and AI-led platform focused on post-harvest agriculture supply chains and lending for Agri-SMEs. Founded by Rama Rao Kancharapu and David Pokuri, the company serves farmers, traders, transporters, and buyers with market intelligence, pricing data, logistics support, and access to formal credit.
ONO has raised $1.2 million (~₹10 crore) in a pre-Series A round led by Aeravti Ventures, with participation from Tremis Capital and angel investors. This marks Aeravti Ventures' second cheque into ONO after leading the seed round.
The fresh capital will be deployed to strengthen the technology platform, expand into new markets, and deepen lending infrastructure. ONO currently operates across 12 states and over 125 districts, serving more than 1.3 lakh participants, with over 2,000 paid subscribers and ₹200 crore in payouts facilitated. The company has also acquired a significant stake in an NBFC to bolster credit access for Agri-SMEs.
Kalpi Raises ₹3.75 Crore Seed Funding
Hyderabad-based fintech startup Kalpi is building a rule-based systematic investing platform for retail and institutional investors. Founded in 2025 by Ashwar Gupta, the platform allows users to build, backtest, automate, and execute quantitative investment strategies across equities, ETFs, and mutual funds.
The startup has raised ₹3.75 crore (~$0.45 million) in a seed round from Rainmatter Capital. Kalpi operates two products: Kalpi.ai for retail investors and KalpiQuant.com for institutional clients such as PMS firms, AIFs, RIAs, brokers, and family offices.
The fresh capital will be used to strengthen the team, acquire datasets, improve product capabilities, and expand distribution across retail and institutional segments. The company claims its platform offers institutional-grade quant infrastructure that typically costs hedge funds ₹1-2 crore to build in-house.
Key Business News for 19 May 2026
Groww Promoters Offload Shares Worth ₹270 Crore
Stock broking firm Groww's promoter group entities sold shares worth around ₹270 crore between 12 and 19 May, marking the first major liquidity event for the founders. The combined sale amounted to roughly 0.22% of the company's market cap, with Golden Oak Trust executing the largest hive off of 71.22 lakh shares for ₹132.48 crore on 12 May.
The four cofounders: Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Ishan Bansal and Neeraj Singh, plan to use the proceeds to fuel startup investments and philanthropic initiatives. Institutional backers Peak XV Partners, Ribbit Capital and Y Combinator also sold shares worth ₹5,325.8 crore post the lock-in expiry.
Unacademy Cofounder Sumit Jain Exits Ahead of upGrad Deal
Unacademy cofounder and CEO Sumit Jain is exiting the edtech startup, with his last working day set for 30 June. Cofounder Gaurav Munjal will take charge of Unacademy post Jain's exit, while Jain will continue in an advisory capacity. The move comes as Ronnie Screwvala-led upGrad pursues an all-stock acquisition of Unacademy at a ₹2,055 crore (~$218 million) valuation – 90% below its 2021 peak of $3.4 billion – with CCI approval pending. upGrad is also reportedly in talks to raise an internal round of ₹375 crore from existing backers, including Temasek.
Zaggle Promoter RAN Ventures Hikes Stake Amid Stock Slide
RAN Ventures, a promoter group entity of fintech SaaS firm Zaggle, acquired an additional 1 lakh equity shares from the open market on 18 May, taking its stake to 44.23% from 44.15%. The promoter invested around ₹2.2 crore at the stock's closing price of ₹218.95. The buying comes amid a 13.4% slide in Zaggle's share price over the past six trading sessions following Q4 results, where the company posted a 30% YoY rise in net profit to ₹40.6 crore and a 50% YoY jump in operating revenue to ₹617.9 crore, but flagged near-term margin dilution from the Dice Enterprises acquisition.
Infosys Cuts Q4 Performance Bonus by 15 Percentage Points
Infosys has announced an average performance bonus of 70% for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026, a 15 percentage point drop from the previous quarter's payout. The reduction reflects ongoing challenges in the software services sector amid AI-related uncertainty and macro headwinds. Employees across different job levels received varying payouts, with the company's recent financial results also indicating slower-than-anticipated revenue growth.
Muskaan Kapoor
