Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News - 5 October 2026: Scooter Raises ₹1.5 Crore, AceVector Lists 11.5% Below IPO Price

One funding round was announced on 5 October 2026, as Pune-based Scooter raised INR 1.5 crore in a pre-seed round led by AJVC. Snapdeal parent AceVector made a weak stock market debut, while Razorpay partnered with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT ads to Indian brands.

Daily Indian Startup Funding Roundup - 5 October 2026

Scooter Raises INR 1.5 Crore in Pre-Seed Round Led by AJVC

Scooter raised INR 1.5 crore in a pre-seed round led by Aviral Bhatnagar's AJVC. The sales hiring startup will use the money to build its product and make hiring simpler for both candidates and hiring managers.

Founded in 2024 by Kartik Mandrekar and Saumya Seth, Pune-based Scooter helps startups hire salespeople. It tests candidates through real sales scenarios rather than relying on CVs, and gives hiring managers a shortlist of three to five people. The startup works with more than 50 companies and has a pool of over 10,000 sales candidates.

Key Business News for 5 October 2026

Snapdeal Parent AceVector Lists 11.5% Below IPO Price

AceVector, the parent of Snapdeal, listed at INR 28.32 on the NSE on 5 October, 11.5% below its IPO price of INR 32. The shares fell further during the day and closed at INR 26.08 on the NSE, 18.5% below the issue price.

The INR 420 crore IPO had a fresh issue of INR 287 crore and an INR 133 crore offer for sale. SoftBank and Nexus Venture Partners sold shares in the offer. AceVector also runs e-commerce tools such as Uniware and Shipway, and owns consumer brands under Stellaro Brands. Its total income rose 32% to INR 538 crore in FY26, while its net loss narrowed to INR 45 crore.

PhysicsWallah's FinZ Finance Sells INR 95.8 Crore Loan Book to Auxilo

PhysicsWallah's lending arm FinZ Finance has sold its INR 95.79 crore loan book to Auxilo Finserve, an RBI-registered NBFC. The move marks a partial exit from direct lending for the edtech company.

FinZ got its NBFC licence in September 2025 and began lending in February 2026, mostly to PhysicsWallah students. The company now plans to work with outside lenders instead of carrying student loans on its own books. PhysicsWallah's revenue rose 24.4% to INR 1,054 crore in Q1 FY27.

Razorpay Partners With OpenAI to Help Brands Advertise on ChatGPT

Razorpay has partnered with OpenAI to help Indian brands run ads on ChatGPT through its Razorpay Engage platform. The service helps businesses prepare product catalogues, launch campaigns and track results, with an AI agent managing campaigns under Razorpay's oversight.

Early users include Fastrack, Traya, Tata Neu and Shaadi.com. ChatGPT ads let people discover products by describing what they need in a conversation, rather than through a traditional search. The tie-up comes after Razorpay confidentially filed IPO papers with SEBI in June 2026.

Nykaa Shares Rise 5.4% After Q2 FY27 Business Update

Nykaa shares closed 5.4% higher at INR 340.90 on the BSE on 5 October, after rising as much as 6.1% during the day. The rise followed a business update in which Nykaa said it expects Q2 FY27 net revenue growth in the late twenties per cent.

Nykaa expects fashion to be its fastest-growing business, with net revenue rising in the early forties per cent. Its beauty arm added 14 stores in the quarter, taking its total to 338. The company also said some festive demand had moved from Q2 to Q3.