Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News - 16 February 2026: Neysa Unicorn Raise, C2i Semiconductors $15M, Leads Funding Highlights

StartupTalky News

16 Feb 2026 — 3 min read

Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News - 16 February 2026

India’s startup ecosystem saw significant action on 16 Feb 2026, featuring multi-million and billion-dollar funding rounds across AI, semiconductors, wealthtech and accelerator platforms. Gen-AI infrastructure player Neysa emerged as a unicorn after a Blackstone-led $1.2 billion funding, while C2i Semiconductors secured $15 million Series A for AI-centric power solutions.

On the business news front, Ola Electric shares tumbled to record lows, ValleyNXT Ventures launched a ₹400 crore early-stage fund, and AI leader Anthropic expanded with a new Bengaluru office and India partnerships, reflecting broader shifts across capital markets and AI adoption in India.

Daily Indian Startup Funding Digest - 16 Feb 2026

Company	Amount	Round	Lead investor(s)	Sector
Neysa	$1.2 Bn	Growth / Mega Round	Blackstone (+ co-investors)	Gen-AI & AI Infrastructure
C2i Semiconductors	$15 M	Series A	Peak XV Partners (+ Yali Deeptech, TDK Ventures)	Deeptech / Semiconductor
LocalHost	$2.5 M	Funding	InVideo, Red Bull India, others	Startup Accelerator
Otto Money	$1.3 M	Pre-seed	Pravega Ventures (+ angels)	Wealthtech / Fintech

Neysa Turns Unicorn with $1.2 B Funding

Mumbai-based AI acceleration cloud platform Neysa has secured over $1.2 billion in funding, led by private equity firm Blackstone with participation from Teachers’ Venture Growth, TVS Capital Funds, 360 ONE Asset and Nexus Venture Partners. The raise involves $600 million in equity and up to $600 million in planned debt financing, making it one of the largest capital infusions in India’s AI infrastructure space to date. The fresh funding will be used to scale GPU capacity nationwide, deepen AI acceleration offerings, and expand enterprise and government use cases, marking a significant milestone for India’s AI ecosystem and earning Neysa unicorn status.

C2i Semiconductors Raises $15 M Series A

Semiconductor startup C2i Semiconductors, backed by Intel leadership, has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Peak XV Partners, with additional participation from Yali Deeptech and TDK Ventures. The Bengaluru-based deeptech company builds power management semiconductor solutions for AI data centres and cloud infrastructure, aiming to improve energy efficiency from the electrical grid to processor cores. The new capital will support global expansion, including a US office and further engineering team build-outs in Asia.

LocalHost Raises $2.5 M to Accelerate Founder Labs

Startup accelerator LocalHost has secured $2.5 million from a group of strategic investors, including InVideo, Red Bull India, Orangewood Labs and Eros International. The Bengaluru-based platform will use the funds to grow its founder labs, expand into international markets like the US and Japan, and strengthen its support for early-stage startups. LocalHost focuses on helping founders scale with mentorship, capital connections, and programming across verticals.

Otto Money Secures $1.3 M Pre-Seed Funding

Otto Money, an AI-powered wealth guidance platform founded in 2025, raised $1.3 million in pre-seed funding led by Pravega Ventures, with contributions from angel investors such as Rishi Kohli (Jio BlackRock AMC), Amit Gupta (InMobi/Yulu), Amit Agarwal (NoBroker) and Mohit Aron (Nutanix/Cohesity). The capital will be deployed to strengthen AI models, enhance personalised guidance features, expand goal-based advisory capabilities, and scale operations in Tier-1 cities. The platform aims to deliver holistic, multi-asset investment guidance to digitally savvy retail investors.

Key Business News for 16 Feb 2026

Ola Electric Shares Plunge to All-Time Lows After Weak Q3

Shares of Ola Electric Mobility Ltd fell sharply on 16 Feb 2026, hitting new record lows below ₹30 following the company’s Q3 financial results that showed substantial revenue declines and ongoing losses, prompting brokerages to flag continued downside risks and downgrade the stock outlook. The share slump reflects investor concern as the EV maker navigates structural resets and competitive market pressures in India’s electric two-wheeler segment.

ValleyNXT Ventures Launches ₹400 Cr Bharat Breakthrough Fund-I

Early-stage investment firm ValleyNXT Ventures has unveiled Bharat Breakthrough Fund-I, a ₹400 crore SEBI-registered VC fund aimed at backing seed to pre-Series A startups across deeptech, AI/ML, robotics, cybersecurity, biotech, sustainability and consumer innovation. The fund blends capital with accelerator support, intending to bridge the early-stage funding gap and accelerate entrepreneur success journeys in India’s burgeoning startup landscape.

Anthropic Opens Bengaluru Office, Expands Partnerships in India

Global AI research company Anthropic officially inaugurated its Bengaluru office, reinforcing its commitment to the Indian market, now the company’s second-largest user base for its Claude AI assistant. Alongside the office opening, Anthropic announced partnerships across enterprise, education and agriculture sectors to support responsible AI adoption and alignment with local innovation strategies.