Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News - 13 October 2026: Boldfit Raises ₹400 Crore, NPCI Defers UPI MDR Till After Diwali
Boldfit raised INR 400 crore in a Series B round and six more startups closed rounds, as NPCI put off the UPI merchant fee until after Diwali and Zoho froze salary hikes.
Seven funding rounds were announced on 13 October 2026, in sectors ranging from fitness gear to education and dental care. Bharat Value Fund, Dharana Capital and Singularity AMC were among the day's lead investors. NPCI also put off the UPI merchant fee until after Diwali.
Daily Indian Startup Funding Roundup - 13 October 2026
| Startup | Sector | Funding | Round | Lead Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boldfit | Fitness and Sportswear | ₹400 Cr | Series B | Bharat Value Fund |
| Mesa School of Business | Edtech | ₹110 Cr | Series A and Debt | Dharana Capital, Elevation Capital |
| MakeO | Healthtech | ₹90 Cr | Undisclosed | Singularity AMC |
| NuSynth Technologies | Deeptech (Chemicals) | ₹36.5 Cr | Seed | Avaana Capital, Shastra VC |
| ThinkMetal | Manufacturing Tech | ₹27 Cr | Undisclosed | IAN Alpha Fund |
| Clueso | AI Software | $10 Mn | Series A | Dharana Capital |
| wudhomes | Home Furnishing | ₹2.5 Cr | Pre-Seed | AJVC |
Boldfit Raises INR 400 Crore in Series B Round Led by Bharat Value Fund
Boldfit raised about INR 400 crore in a Series B round led by Bharat Value Fund, managed by The Wealth Company Alternates. Existing investor Bessemer Venture Partners also took part. The brand will use the money to open more stores, develop new products, strengthen manufacturing and explore acquisitions.
Founded in 2018 by Pallav Bihani, Bengaluru-based Boldfit sells sportswear, athletic footwear, sports equipment and fitness products. Its backers also include cricketer KL Rahul and former tennis player Sania Mirza. The company has now raised more than INR 510 crore in total.
Mesa School of Business Raises INR 110 Crore in Equity and Debt
Mesa School of Business raised INR 110 crore in equity and debt. About INR 85 crore came from a Series A round co-led by Dharana Capital and Elevation Capital. It also took INR 25 crore in venture debt from InnoVen Capital and Alteria Capital. The school will use the money to add AI to its courses and launch new programmes.
Founded in 2023 by Ankit Agarwal and Varun Limaye, Bengaluru-based Mesa runs residential programmes that prepare students for careers in startups. It has more than 550 students across three programmes. The company says the round values it at INR 385 crore.
Toothsi Parent MakeO Raises INR 90 Crore Led by Singularity AMC
MakeO raised INR 90 crore in a funding round led by Singularity AMC, with DSP family office, Genesis and Unispace Ventures also investing. The company will use the money to open more clinics in India and Southeast Asia, strengthen manufacturing and look at acquisitions.
Founded in 2018, Mumbai-based MakeO offers dental, skin and hair treatments, and runs the clear aligner brand Toothsi. It earlier acquired Singapore-based Zenyum to grow in Southeast Asia. The company says its combined revenue has crossed INR 500 crore and that it turned EBITDA positive this year.
NuSynth Technologies Raises INR 36.5 Crore in Seed Round
NuSynth Technologies raised INR 36.5 crore in a seed round co-led by Avaana Capital and Shastra VC. The startup will use the money for research, to build its first set of chemical processes and to grow its team.
Bengaluru-based NuSynth uses AI to find cheaper, safer and more efficient ways to make chemicals, starting with pharmaceutical and electronics chemicals. Its founders include Poorvank Purohit, former MD and CEO of Solara Active Pharma Sciences. The other co-founders are Dr Ramesha A R, Abhishek Deo and Dipak Bajaj.
ThinkMetal Raises INR 27 Crore Led by IAN Alpha Fund
ThinkMetal raised INR 27 crore in a round led by IAN Alpha Fund, with 3i Partners and existing investors also taking part. The startup will use the money to develop products, expand research and win more industrial customers.
Founded by Sabyasachi Ghosh and Arushi Sharma, ThinkMetal builds home-grown machines that 3D print precision metal parts. Its first commercial product, SistemT1, serves makers in sectors such as aerospace, defence and electric mobility. The company says its technology can make such parts up to 10 times faster at half the cost.
Clueso Raises $10 Million in Series A Round Led by Dharana Capital
Clueso raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Dharana Capital, with Founders Future and Neotribe Ventures joining as new investors. Existing investors Y Combinator and f7 Ventures also took part. The startup will use the money to grow its enterprise sales and improve its AI agents and video editing tools.
Founded in 2023 by IIT Madras alumni Akash Anand, Prajwal Prakash and Neel Balar, Clueso operates from California and Bengaluru. Its AI agents learn about a company's products and brand to create videos for different teams. More than 1,000 companies use the platform, including Atlassian and Zendesk.
wudhomes Raises INR 2.5 Crore in Pre-Seed Round Led by AJVC
wudhomes raised INR 2.5 crore in a pre-seed round led by AJVC, with Seekho co-founders and other angel investors also taking part. The startup will use the money to build its own supply chain and technology and improve its stores and operations.
Founded in 2025 by Vasu Arneja and Aditya Singh, Bengaluru-based wudhomes sells custom-made sofas, chairs and tables. It has furnished more than 200 homes and opened a store in Bengaluru. It also offers home visits, where consultants suggest furniture for a customer's space.
Muskaan Kapoor
Key Business News for 13 October 2026
NPCI Puts Off UPI Merchant Fee Until After Diwali
NPCI has put off the start of the merchant fee on select UPI payments until after Diwali, citing the festive season. The fee was due to start on 15 October, and NPCI said a new date will be announced separately.
Under the framework, merchants will pay 0.4% on eligible UPI payments above INR 2,000, capped at INR 300. Traders' groups had pushed for a delay, and reports last week said the rollout could move to January 2027. Merchants are not allowed to pass the fee on to customers.
Nilekani-Backed F2A Raises INR 3,000 Crore for AI and Deeptech Fund
Fundamentum Frontier Advisors has raised INR 3,000 crore for a fund that will back growth-stage AI and deeptech companies. Nandan Nilekani has joined as an anchor investor and mentor.
The fund plans to invest INR 100 crore to INR 200 crore each in 12 to 15 companies over the next two to three years. It will focus on AI-led consumer businesses, enterprise software and deeptech infrastructure. Investors approved a larger fund size after demand exceeded the original plan.
Freshworks Acquires Israeli SaaS Management Firm Torii
Freshworks has agreed to acquire Torii, an Israeli platform that helps companies manage their software and AI spending. The deal value was not disclosed, and it is expected to close in Freshworks' fourth quarter of 2026.
Torii tracks which software tools employees use, manages licences and flags unusual spending, including on AI tools. Freshworks plans to add these features to Freshservice, its IT service management platform. Torii was founded in 2017 and had raised $65 million.
Zoho Cuts Marketing Spend and Freezes Annual Salary Hikes
Zoho has cut its marketing budget and put annual salary hikes on hold this year, founder Sridhar Vembu said in a post on X. He apologised to employees for not being able to avoid the move.
Vembu blamed an uncertain outlook for the software industry and rising AI infrastructure costs, saying server prices have risen fourfold. He said Zoho has avoided major layoffs by keeping headcount flat for 18 months. He added that the company will do everything it can to prevent layoffs.
