Daily Indian Funding Roundup & Key News - 8 July 2026: Elevate Education Raises ₹170 Cr, Milo Drive Bags $2.4 Mn, Swiggy Turns Majority Indian-Owned
Seven funding rounds closed on 8 July 2026, spanning edtech, EV mobility, women's health, dairy, voice AI, and skincare, with Elevate Education's ₹170 crore Series D from WestBridge Capital topping the day's deals. Beyond the capital tables, Swiggy crossed a structural milestone as its foreign shareholding dipped below 50%, and Ola Electric moved to contain damage after insolvency petitions from two suppliers sent its shares down nearly 5%. Flipkart's decision to extend its zero-commission policy across all fashion products, regardless of price, added a significant competitive move to what was already a busy news day.
Daily Indian Startup Funding Digest - 8 July 2026
| Startup | Sector | Funding | Round | Lead Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elevate Education (Sunstone) | Edtech / Higher Education | ₹170 Cr (~$17.7 Mn) | Series D | WestBridge Capital |
| Milo Drive | EV Mobility | ~₹20 Cr ($2.4 Mn) | Seed | Caret Capital |
| Doodhvale Farms | D2C Dairy | ~₹84 Cr ($1 Mn) | Follow-on | Atomic Capital Fund I |
| Avni Wellness | Women's Health | ₹4 Cr (~$0.5 Mn) | Seed | Proteus Partners |
| Neothera | Skin Health | ₹9 Cr (~$1.1 Mn) | Pre-Seed | Blume Ventures |
| Edysor.ai | Voice AI / SaaS | ₹1.2 Cr (~$0.14 Mn) | Pre-Seed | Jasmine Sarupria (Angel) |
Elevate Education Raises ₹170 Crore in Series D
Elevate Education, formerly known as Sunstone, is a Gurugram-based higher education platform that partners with colleges and universities to deliver undergraduate and postgraduate programmes backed by technology, placement support, and student success services. It currently works with 22 campuses across 15 cities, supporting more than 25,000 active students.
Elevate Education has secured ₹170 crore in a Series D round from WestBridge Capital, which also led its Series C in August 2022. Founded by Ashish Munjal, Ankur Jain, and Piyush Nangru, Elevate Education targets ₹300 crore in revenue for FY27 and expects to reach profitability within the year.
The proceeds will go towards strengthening technology and AI capabilities, expanding the partner institution network, and building academic programmes aligned with industry demand. The company plans to scale its student base to 60,000 and grow to 40 partner institutions by FY29.
Milo Drive Raises $2.4 Million Seed Round for EV Mobility
Milo Drive is a Gurugram-based EV mobility platform founded in 2024 by Monil Jayeshkumar Khatri and Vishal Jewrajka. It operates an asset-light model combining vehicle access, multi-platform demand aggregation, charging intelligence, and data-driven automation for drivers, fleet operators, and mobility entrepreneurs.
The company has raised $2.4 million in a seed round led by Caret Capital, with participation from Antler India, Alteria Capital, IAN Capital, Climate Angels, and Aureolis Capital. Milo Drive claims to have powered over one million rides since launch.
Funds will be used to support EV adoption and formalise employment for India's driver workforce. The company says its driver app has helped increase driver incomes by 20%, and it cites India's EV ride-hailing market growing at a projected CAGR of 77% to reach $4.2 billion by 2030.
Doodhvale Farms Raises $1 Million Follow-On from Atomic Capital
Doodhvale Farms is a direct-to-consumer dairy and daily essentials brand founded by Aman J Jain. It operates a vertically integrated model and delivers products across Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Ambala, Karnal, and Meerut, while shipping items such as ghee and wood-pressed oils nationwide.
Doodhvale Farms has raised $1 million in a follow-on round from existing investor Atomic Capital Fund I. This follows a $3 million Series A co-led by Atomic Capital and Singularity Early Opportunities Fund in November 2024.
Fresh capital will go towards market expansion, deepening distribution in existing cities, product development, and investments in AI for demand forecasting and route optimisation. Doodhvale says its D2C business nearly doubled over the past year, with D2C now contributing roughly 90% of total revenue.
Avni Wellness Raises ₹4 Crore Seed Round for Women's Health
Mumbai-based Avni Wellness, co-founded in 2021 by Sujata Pawar and Apurv Agarwal, is a science-backed women's health brand focused on cycle care, hormonal health, and nutrition across every life stage from adolescence to menopause. Its portfolio includes a patented antimicrobial reusable pad and a liposomal iron supplement.
The company has raised ₹4 crore in a seed round led by Proteus Partners, with participation from angel investors including Puru Gupta, Sreejith Moolayil, A. Velumani, and Somya Nigam.
Proceeds will be deployed to strengthen its digital commerce presence, expand its cycle nutrition product line, scale its women-led micro-entrepreneur network, and grow marketplace distribution. Avni competes in the broader feminine wellness space alongside Pee Safe, Nua, and Plush.
Neothera Secures ₹9 Crore Pre-Seed Led by Blume Ventures
Neothera is a science-led skin health company reimagining treatment for chronic skin conditions such as acne. Founded by Radhika Agarwal, a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2023 honouree and former consumer-tech investor at Blume Ventures, the company launched after nearly 20 months of formulation development and beta trials with dermatologists and nutrition experts.
Neothera has raised ₹9 crore in pre-seed funding led by Blume Ventures, with participation from the Barbershop Fund (Bombay Shaving Company founder Shantanu Deshpande's syndicate), Consumer Collective, Veltis Capital, and angels including Arjun Purkayastha of Reckitt and Malika Sadani, founder of The Moms Co. Notably, the round was raised in August 2025 at the idea stage, before product launch.
Capital will fund further technology development, product portfolio expansion, R&D, and clinical infrastructure. Neothera's model combines root-cause diagnostics, personalised habit interventions, nutritional guidance, AI-powered support, and proprietary formulations built for sensitive and acne-prone skin.
Edysor.ai Raises ₹1.2 Crore Pre-Seed for Voice AI Sales Agents
Edysor.ai is a Udaipur-based voice AI platform that deploys intelligent agents for enterprise lead conversion. Co-founded in January 2020 by Atishaya Jain, Abhinav Jain, Gunjan Pancholi, and Fivos Radis, the startup pivoted into AI in 2024 and operates on an outcome-based pricing model, charging for results rather than runtime.
The company has raised ₹1.2 crore in a pre-seed round led by angel investor Jasmine Sarupria. It has added 15 customers in two months since going live, reached $3,000 in monthly recurring revenue, and grown voice minute consumption by 300% month-on-month.
Fresh funds will be used for product development, AI capability enhancement, team growth, and customer base expansion. Edysor.ai is currently deployed across real estate, BPO, D2C, automotive, EdTech, healthcare, and BFSI, with clients including Chanakya University, Ambuja, and Global Tree.
Muskaan Kapoor
Key Business News for 8 July 2026
Swiggy Crosses 50% Indian Ownership Threshold, Unlocking Potential Inventory Rights for Instamart
Swiggy has become majority Indian-owned after its foreign shareholding fell below 50%, a structural shift that carries real commercial implications. The change matters because an Indian-owned and controlled company (IOCC) classification would allow its quick commerce arm Instamart to hold inventory directly, improving margins and supply chain control.
In May, Swiggy's shareholders had failed to pass a resolution formally classifying it as an IOCC, making this organic threshold crossing the more significant route to that status. The development arrives as Swiggy competes intensely with Zomato's Blinkit in the quick commerce segment.
Ola Electric Contests Insolvency Petitions from Two Suppliers, Shares Drop 5%
Ola Electric is facing insolvency petitions at the National Company Law Tribunal from two suppliers, Anevolve Mando E-Mobility Pvt Ltd and Sterling E-Mobility Solutions Pvt Ltd, over alleged unpaid dues. The Bhavish Aggarwal-led company responded to a stock exchange query stating it had raised warranty and performance concerns about parts supplied by both vendors and had already initiated arbitration proceedings and approached the Commercial Court in Bengaluru before the petitions were filed.
Shares fell nearly 5% on the news, settling around ₹40.99 on the BSE, valuing the company at roughly ₹18,930 crore. Ola Electric described the claims as relating to "genuine pre-existing disputes" under arbitration, with no material impact on its business.
Flipkart Drops Commission on All Fashion Products, Covering 90,000 Sellers
Walmart-backed Flipkart has extended its zero-commission policy to all fashion products regardless of price, up from a previous threshold of ₹1,000. Around 90,000 transacting sellers, including MSMEs, homegrown brands, and D2C labels, will now retain the full sale price on fashion transactions. Flipkart says the move is designed to help sellers reinvest in product portfolios and brands, and is expected to improve selection in premium fashion segments.
The policy change follows Flipkart's earlier extension of zero-commission to all products on its hypervalue platform Shopsy, which it had claimed could reduce sellers' cost of doing business by up to 30%.
Dream Sports CTO Amit Sharma Exits After a Decade to Build AI Startup
Amit Sharma, Chief Technology Officer of Dream Sports, has resigned after nearly a decade to pursue his own AI venture, currently in stealth mode. Sharma joined in 2016 and built the company's technology team from scratch, having previously held engineering roles at Netflix and Yahoo in the US. His exit comes as Dream Sports navigates a significant pivot following the Centre's ban on real money gaming last year, which ended its flagship Dream11 fantasy product.
The company has since reorganised across eight verticals spanning fintech, content, and sports infrastructure, though two, including its wealthtech offering Dream Money, have already been wound up.
