Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News - 1 July 2026: Limelight Diamonds Raises ₹275 Cr, Phitku Acquired for ₹100 Cr, UPI Volumes Dip 2%
Nine funding rounds closed on 1 July 2026, spanning lab-grown diamonds, fintech infrastructure, nutrition, clean energy, and enterprise AI — with Limelight Diamonds' ₹275 crore strategic round topping the day's deals. Ananta Capital's ₹100 crore majority acquisition of D2C deodorant brand Phitku and Dovetail Capital's ₹100 crore Series A also stood out.
Away from the funding tables, NPCI data showed UPI transaction volume slipped 2.1% month-on-month in June, even as year-on-year growth held firm at 23%, and Dream Sports quietly shut its fintech arm Dream Money less than a year after launch.
Daily Indian Startup Funding Digest - 1 July 2026
| Startup | Sector | Funding | Round | Lead Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limelight Diamonds | Jewellery / Retail | ₹275 Cr (~$33 Mn) | Strategic | Bhathwari Group (promoters) |
| Phitku (Ananta Capital acquisition) | Personal Care / D2C | ₹100 Cr (~$12 Mn) | PE Acquisition | Ananta Capital |
| Dovetail Capital | Fintech / Asset Servicing | ₹100 Cr (~$12 Mn) | Series A | Elev8 Venture Partners |
| Celloraa Energy (StarlinePS investment) | Clean Energy / Solar | ₹160 Cr (~$19 Mn) | Strategic Investment | StarlinePS Enterprises |
| Supply6 | Nutrition / D2C | ₹48 Cr (~$5 Mn) | Growth | Unilever Ventures |
| Data Science Wizards | Enterprise AI / SaaS | ~₹42 Cr ($5 Mn) | Pre-Series A | Angel Investors |
| Spense | Fintech / Banking Infra | ~₹23 Cr ($2.8 Mn) | Seed | Arkam Ventures |
| Albatross Energetics | Deep Tech / CleanTech | ~₹9 Cr ($1.05 Mn) | Pre-Series A | Transition VC |
| Brekfuz | AI / Enterprise SaaS | ~₹4 Cr ($525K) | Seed | Pear VC, Pareto Holdings, Collective Global |
Limelight Diamonds Raises ₹275 Crore in Strategic Round
Founded in 2019 by Pooja Madhavan, Limelight Diamonds is a lab-grown diamond jewellery brand specialising in pure CVD lab-grown diamonds. It currently operates over 75 exclusive brand outlets across more than 45 cities, and claims the widest retail footprint for lab-grown diamond jewellery in India.
The company raised ₹275 crore (~$33 million) in a strategic funding round led by its core promoters, the Bhathwari Group, along with participation from key strategic partners in the jewellery industry. The capital was raised through a combination of equity and cash consideration.
Proceeds will be used to strengthen vertical integration, expand manufacturing infrastructure, enhance design capabilities, and accelerate retail expansion. Limelight targets adding 100 stores in 2026 and scaling to 200 stores by 2027, covering metro, Tier I, and Tier II markets.
Ananta Capital Acquires Majority Stake in Phitku for ~₹100 Crore
Phitku is a Mumbai-based D2C personal care brand co-founded in early 2025 by Neha Marda Agrawal, Sumit Marda, and Rahul Dokania. It sells alum-based, alcohol-free natural deodorants through its own platform and across e-commerce and quick-commerce marketplaces, and gained national visibility after appearing on Shark Tank India Season 5.
Private equity firm Ananta Capital acquired a majority stake in Phitku in a deal valued at approximately ₹100 crore (~$12 million), implying a valuation of around ₹200 crore, according to sources familiar with the matter. The transaction was structured as a combination of primary capital infusion and a secondary share purchase, providing partial liquidity to the founders, who will continue to lead the business.
The capital will be deployed towards product innovation, brand building, and selective international expansion. Phitku claims profitability within 14 months of launch, with over 6 lakh customers, and is targeting an ARR of ₹300 crore within two years.
Dovetail Capital Raises ₹100 Crore Series A Led by Elev8 Venture Partners
Dovetail Capital is a Mumbai-headquartered independent asset servicing firm co-founded in 2017 by Dev Sampat, Mahesh Shekdar, and Vivek Singhania. It provides third-party fund management, fund administration, derivative clearing, investment advisory, and compliance services to foreign portfolio investors, AIFs, family offices, and mutual funds.
Dovetail Capital raised ₹100 crore (~$12 million) in a mix of primary and secondary funding in a Series A round led by Elev8 Venture Partners. Dovetail has regulated entities in GIFT City, Mauritius, Dubai (DIFC), and Singapore, and is regulated by SEBI, IFSCA, and the DFSA.
Proceeds will be used to expand its global business, the company said. The round was led by Elev8 Venture Partners, a growth-stage venture firm founded by Navin Honagudi in 2022 that backs category-leading technology companies across fintech, consumer, and enterprise technology.
StarlinePS Invests ₹160 Crore in Celloraa Energy for 1.2 GW Solar Plant in Gujarat
Celloraa Energy is a Surat-based solar cell manufacturer building DCR-compliant solar manufacturing infrastructure in Gujarat. The company is positioning itself within India's push for domestic clean energy manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat framework.
StarlinePS Enterprises has made a strategic investment of ₹160 crore (~$19 million) in Celloraa Energy to establish a 1.2 GW Domestic Content Requirement-compliant solar cell manufacturing facility in Surat, Gujarat.
The investment is intended to strengthen India's domestic solar manufacturing ecosystem. The facility will contribute to India's renewable energy targets and support broader clean energy infrastructure ambitions.
Supply6 Raises ₹48 Crore Led by Unilever Ventures
Supply6 is a Bengaluru-based nutrition startup founded by Vaibhav Bhandari and Rahul Jacob. It offers daily supplements across vitamins, hydration, and fibre categories, with its flagship product Supply6 360 combining over 63 ingredients including probiotics, micronutrients, and adaptogens. The brand counts former cricketer AB de Villiers as ambassador and sells across D2C, Amazon, and Blinkit.
Supply6 raised ₹48 crore (~$5 million) in a funding round led by Unilever Ventures, with participation from existing investor Zeropearl VC and actor-entrepreneur Kriti Sanon. Supply6 had previously raised $1.1 million in a seed round in September 2024.
The proceeds will be used for product innovation, clinical research, supply chain expansion, and growth across D2C and quick-commerce channels. The company currently operates at an ARR of ₹75 crore and expects to reach ₹100 crore ARR within three to four months.
Data Science Wizards Raises $5 Million Pre-Series A for Enterprise AI Platform
Mumbai-based Data Science Wizards (DSW) was founded in 2019 by Pritesh Surendra Tiwari, Sandhya Oza, Sandeep Khuperkar, and Shivam Thakkar. The company has built UnifyAI OS, an enterprise AI operating system that enables organisations to build, deploy, govern, and operate AI and agentic AI applications across a unified layer. It serves clients in banking, financial services, insurance, and the public sector.
DSW raised $5 million (~₹42 crore) in a pre-Series A round from angel investors. The company had previously secured $1.4 million in a seed round at a valuation of $16.4 million in October 2024.
Funds will be used to accelerate product development, expand North American operations, strengthen engineering and customer success teams, and scale adoption of UnifyAI OS. DSW competes with global players including Palantir, Dataiku, and C3 AI.
Spense Raises $2.8 Million Seed Round to Build Asset-Backed Credit Infrastructure
Bengaluru-based Spense was founded in 2022 by Pawan Kumar and Srinivas Krishnamurthy. The company builds bank-native infrastructure that allows financial institutions to launch credit cards and credit lines backed by customer assets, including fixed deposits, mutual funds, equities, and real estate, without replacing existing technology stacks. It currently works with seven major banks and powers over 2 lakh active cards.
Spense raised $2.8 million (~₹23 crore) in a Seed round led by Arkam Ventures, with participation from Razorpay Ventures, GrowthCap Ventures, and Atrium Ventures. This takes total disclosed equity funding to approximately $4 million. Revenue grew 256% year-on-year in FY25 to ₹2.71 crore, and the company turned net profitable in the same year.
Capital will be deployed towards deepening banking partnerships, accelerating product development, expanding engineering teams, and launching Credit Line on UPI (CLOU), Spense's next product focused on asset-backed credit access.
Albatross Energetics Raises $1.05 Million Pre-Series A for Industrial Cooling Tech
Mumbai-based Albatross Energetics was founded in 2021 by Sudarsan M S and Srihari B. The deep tech startup develops energy-efficient air conditioning and dehumidification systems for industrial applications using proprietary liquid desiccant technology, serving sectors including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, electronics, and food processing.
The company raised $1.05 million (~₹9 crore) in a pre-Series A round led by Transition VC. It had previously secured ₹1.3 crore in 2024 from Social Alpha and SINE.
Fresh capital will fund pilot-scale manufacturing, commercial deployments across industrial sectors, and R&D expansion. Albatross plans to extend its technology to commercial buildings and broader global cooling markets.
Brekfuz Raises $525K Seed Round for AI Coordination Platform
Brekfuz is an AI-native coordination platform co-founded by Arhan Singhal and Sarthak Ahuja. It maps ownership, responsibilities, and domain expertise within organisations, allowing employees and AI systems to search across tools such as Slack, email, documents, meeting records, and GitHub using natural language.
The startup raised $525K (~₹4 crore) at a valuation of $7.5 million from investors including Pear VC, Pareto Holdings, Collective Global, and several angel investors.
The platform aims to serve as an infrastructure layer that makes organisational knowledge searchable and actionable, reducing reliance on individuals for process and decision information.
Muskaan Kapoor
Key Business News for 1 July 2026
UPI Transaction Volume Falls 2.1% MoM in June 2026 to 22.72 Billion
UPI transaction volume declined 2.1% month-on-month to 22.72 billion in June 2026, down from 23.20 billion in May, according to NPCI data. Total transaction value also fell 3.3% to ₹28.92 lakh crore. On a year-on-year basis, however, volume grew 23% from 18.4 billion and value rose 20% from ₹24.03 lakh crore, indicating the MoM dip is likely seasonal rather than structural. Average daily transaction count rose marginally to 75.7 crore in June from 74.8 crore in May.
Dream Sports Shuts Dream Money Fintech Platform Less Than a Year After Launch
Dream11 parent Dream Sports is discontinuing its fintech vertical Dream Money, which launched in August 2025, offering mutual funds, digital gold, fixed deposits, and loans. The platform will cease operations on 30 July 2026, with new registrations and fresh investments already halted. This follows Dream Sports shutting its AI sports analytics app Dream Play in June, marking a broader retreat from diversification. Existing customer assets will be transferred to or remain with respective banking, broking, and AMC partners.
Swiggy Instamart Appoints Ex-OYO International CEO Gautam Swaroop as CBO
Swiggy Instamart has named Gautam Swaroop as its new Chief Business Officer, replacing Hari Kumar who departed last week alongside COO Ankit Jain. Swaroop previously served as CEO of OYO's international business and has also held roles at McKinsey and Dr Reddy's Laboratories. Instamart has been losing ground to Blinkit and Zepto in the quick commerce segment; its adjusted EBITDA loss widened 2% year-on-year to ₹858 crore in Q4 FY26 even as adjusted revenue rose 48.7%. Swaroop is expected to lead category management, brand partnerships, and customer-centric growth.
