Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News - 6 May 2026: Ecofy Gets $15 Mn Green Debt from Mirova, Freshworks Cuts 500 Jobs, and More
Indian startups attracted capital across deep tech, climate finance, medtech, enterprise AI, fintech, and employment infrastructure on Tuesday. The day's largest raise came from fabless semiconductor startup BigEndian Semiconductors, which secured $6 million (~₹51 crore) in a pre-Series A round led by IAN Alpha Fund. Climate-focused NBFC Ecofy also secured $15 million in debt from Mirova to scale its green lending portfolio.
On the business front, the day was dominated by layoff news. Freshworks cut around 500 employees, or 11% of its global workforce, as AI reshapes its operations, and Accel and Peak XV-backed Apna Mart laid off around 10% of its workforce as part of a restructuring linked to AI adoption and a relocation from Bengaluru to Gurugram.
Daily Indian Startup Funding Roundup - 6 May 2026
BigEndian Semiconductors Raises $6 Mn in Pre-Series A Round
Fabless semiconductor startup BigEndian Semiconductors has raised $6 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by IAN Alpha Fund, with participation from existing investors Vertex Ventures SEA and India, IvyCap Ventures, and strategic angel investors. Prior to this, the Bengaluru-based startup had secured $3 million in a seed funding round from Vertex Ventures in August 2024.
The proceeds will be used to commercialise its first system on chip (SoC), scale product engineering, and strengthen partnerships across foundries, IP ecosystems, and OEMs. Co-founded in March 2024 by Sunil Kumar, Renuka Prasad, Dinesh Annayya, Kanagaraju Ponnusamy, and Jansen Cheng, BigEndian Semiconductors is a fabless semiconductor startup building secure, high-performance SoCs designed in India for global applications.
Ecofy Secures $15 Mn Debt from Mirova
Non-banking financial company focused on climate change solutions, Ecofy, has secured $15 million in debt from Mirova. The Mumbai-based NBFC had earlier raised Rs 380.5 crore (approximately $42 million) in a Series B equity round co-led by British International Investment and Finnfund in March this year, and Rs 90 crore from FMO, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, in January 2024.
The fresh funds will be utilised to support onward lending and finance residential and commercial & industrial rooftop solar installations, as well as electric mobility solutions across India. Co-founded in 2022 by Rajashree Nambiar and Govind Sankaranarayanan, Ecofy provides financing for economically sustainable climate initiatives, including electric vehicles, rooftop solar systems, energy-efficient equipment, energy storage, e-mobility, waste recycling, and water management.
MedVital Raises ₹18 Cr Led by Alkemi Growth Capital
MedVital, a medtech startup focused on wound care and regenerative aesthetics, has raised Rs 18 crore ($1.89 million) in a growth funding round led by Alkemi Growth Capital. The round also saw participation from Sanjay Arora, Shubhan Ventures, and existing investors. The firm had previously raised funding from 4point0 Health Ventures and other angel investors.
The proceeds will be used to expand operations, accelerate product development, and strengthen capabilities across devices, biomaterials, and biologics. Founded in 2024, MedVital develops medical technologies across advanced wound care, regenerative aesthetics, and chronic skin conditions.
MochaTrade Raises Pre-Seed from Y Combinator and Pioneer Fund
MochaTrade, a global trading platform focused on perpetual futures linked to US stocks, commodities, and indices, has raised an undisclosed pre-seed round from Y Combinator and Pioneer Fund as part of Y Combinator's Spring 2026 batch. The funds will be used to build the trading engine and risk infrastructure, complete regulatory and compliance work, and support go-to-market efforts.
Founded by Utkarsh Sinha, Chetan Manda, and Parth Maheshwari, the startup is building a mobile-first platform that aims to offer eligible users leveraged exposure to assets such as Apple, Tesla, gold, and the S&P 500 through perpetual futures products.
AI Library Raises $560K Pre-Seed at $7.5 Mn Valuation Cap
Outcome-based AI-native software delivery company AI Library has raised $560K in a pre-seed funding round at a $7.5 million valuation cap from prominent investors. The fresh funds will be used to enhance product development, expand market presence, and invest in R&D, enabling AI Library to accelerate agent-driven software delivery for enterprises across functions such as finance, operations, sales, and support.
Launched in November 2023 by Arani Chaudhuri, AI Library is an outcome-based AI-native software delivery company building autopilots for software delivery that enable enterprises to move from AI adoption to real business outcomes by automating the software delivery lifecycle using AI agents with human oversight.
JobsUPI Raises $250K Pre-Seed from IIMA Ventures
JobsUPI, a multilingual and multimodal employment platform, has raised $250K in a pre-seed funding round from IIMA Ventures along with participation from angel investors, including Alok Bansal, Anshoo Sharma, Amit Jain, and Manoj Sinsinwar, among others. The proceeds will be used to strengthen product capabilities, scale distribution, and expand into new geographies.
Co-founded in 2025 by Shrey Bansal and Shubham Periwal, JobsUPI is a multilingual, multimodal, Voice AI-powered employment platform built to improve access to jobs across India. The platform is building a "quick commerce for jobs" model with the goal of enabling hiring in as little as 30 minutes by making job discovery, matching, and applications seamless.
Key Business News for 6 May 2026
Meesho Q4 FY26: Loss Narrows 88% to ₹166 Cr, Revenue Jumps 47%
E-commerce marketplace Meesho trimmed its consolidated net loss by 88% to ₹166.3 Cr in Q4 FY26 from ₹1,391.4 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Loss also dipped 66% quarter-on-quarter from ₹490.7 Cr. Operating revenue zoomed 47.1% to ₹3,531.2 Cr during the quarter under review from ₹2,400 Cr in the year-ago quarter, while sequentially it rose marginally from ₹3,517.6 Cr. Including other income, Meesho's total income for the quarter stood at ₹3,647 Cr.
Urban Company Faces ₹8.7 Cr GST Demand Over FY23 Discrepancies
Home services marketplace Urban Company has received a show cause notice (SCN) from GST authorities over alleged discrepancies in its tax filings for FY23, according to a regulatory filing with the stock exchanges. The notice, issued by the Commercial Tax Officer in Chennai on May 4, 2026, pertains to discrepancies between the turnover reported in GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filings, as well as claims of excess input tax credit (ITC). The total demand raised stands at Rs 8.7 crore, including interest and penalties, for the period between April 2022 and March 2023.
Urban Company argues that, as an e-commerce operator, certain transactions under Section 9(5) of the CGST Act have been wrongly treated as its own turnover, which has led to a higher tax demand. The company clarified that the SCN is not expected to have any material impact on its financials, operations, or overall business activities at this stage.
Apna Mart Lays Off 10% of Workforce, Relocates Base to Gurugram
Accel and Peak XV-backed grocery delivery startup Apna Mart has laid off around 10% of its workforce, approximately 35-40 employees across functions, as part of a restructuring exercise linked to AI adoption and a relocation of its base from Bengaluru to Gurugram. This is the first reported layoff at the quick commerce company. The company said some roles became redundant due to AI-led automation, while certain employees were affected as relocation was not feasible. Apna Mart has moved its product and technology teams to Gurugram, while operational teams continue to work from cities where it currently operates.
Freshworks Cuts 500 Jobs as AI Reshapes Operations
Freshworks has laid off around 500 employees, or 11% of its global workforce, as the Nasdaq-listed SaaS company restructures operations amid rapid adoption of artificial intelligence across the software industry. The layoffs will affect teams globally and are expected to result in one-time restructuring charges of nearly $8 million. Freshworks had around 4,500 full-time employees as of December 31, 2025.
CEO Dennis Woodside said the move was partly driven by the company's increased use of AI across product development and internal operations, noting that more than half of Freshworks' code is now generated through AI tools, which has shortened development cycles and reduced routine manual work. Freshworks plans to deploy savings from the restructuring into its Employee Experience (EX) vertical, including Freshservice, its IT service management platform. This marks the second major layoff round at Freshworks in less than two years. Alongside the layoffs, Freshworks reported Q1 2026 revenue rising 16% year-on-year to $228.6 million, surpassing analyst estimates.
Muskaan Kapoor
