Daily Indian Startup Funding Roundup & Key News – 17 June 2026: Xtovia Raises ₹6.9 Cr, Jio Set to File IPO Papers, Gameskraft Founders Walk Free
Wednesday, 17 June 2026, was a quiet day for startup funding, with two early-stage rounds closing in haircare and the creator economy space. The bigger headlines came from business and legal news. Reliance Jio is set to file its draft IPO papers for a $4 billion issue ahead of the company's AGM on Friday.
The Karnataka High Court ordered the immediate release of Gameskraft's three co-founders, ruling their arrest by the ED unlawful. Telegram moved the Delhi High Court to challenge the government's temporary restriction on the app in India, which has been pulled from app stores ahead of the NEET re-exam.
Daily Indian Startup Funding Digest – 17 June 2026
| STARTUP | SECTOR | FUNDING | ROUND | LEAD INVESTORS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xtovia | D2C / Haircare | ₹6.9 Cr | Pre-Seed | V3 Ventures |
| INFLUISH | Creator Economy / SaaS | Undisclosed | Pre-Seed | Angel Investors |
Xtovia Raises ₹6.9 Cr in Pre-Seed Round
Haircare startup Xtovia has raised ₹6.9 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by V3 Ventures, with participation from Consumer Collective by Atrium and a group of angel investors. The proceeds will be used to strengthen its intellectual property portfolio, build its core team, support its market launch, and accelerate growth initiatives.
Founded in 2025 by Navneet Misra and Dr. Madhu, Xtovia is developing premium haircare products focused on repairing structural hair damage through science-backed formulations, built around its proprietary TriLayerX Hair Tech. The technology is designed to strengthen the hair core, repair damaged cuticles, and restore the natural lipid layer, and is backed by more than 1,500 product iterations and over 35 clinical studies.
INFLUISH Raises Pre-Seed Funding at ₹25 Cr Valuation
Creator platform INFLUISH has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed round at a valuation of ₹25 crore from angel investors, including Pankaj Vermani, Jeetendra Tewani, and Sachin Harneja. The fresh funds will be used to accelerate product development, strengthen Meta API-powered capabilities, and expand creator workflow tools and monetisation offerings.
Co-founded in 2022 by Sankalp Nag, Tushar Jain, and Shivani Rajora, INFLUISH helps creators grow, learn, and earn through an integrated ecosystem covering audience growth, performance insights, education, and brand collaborations. The platform has onboarded over 5 lakh creators and is growing at approximately 50% month-on-month, targeting ₹100 crore in annual recurring revenue by December 2027.
Key Business News for 17 June 2026
Jio Set to File IPO Papers Before Reliance AGM on Friday: Report
Reliance Jio Infocomm is expected to file its draft red herring prospectus for a $4 billion IPO within this week, with the papers likely to be filed ahead of chairman Mukesh Ambani's address at Reliance Industries' AGM on Friday, June 19. The IPO, expected to be one of the biggest in Indian public market history, will consist solely of a fresh issue of shares, with the offer-for-sale component dropped after investors could not agree on an issue price.
Jio first announced its IPO plans during RIL's 2025 AGM, targeting a listing in the first half of 2026, and received regulatory clearance after SEBI eased public float norms for large issues. In April, Mukesh Ambani's son Akash Ambani was elevated to managing director of Jio Infocomm for five years. Jio's net profit rose 13% to ₹7,935 crore in Q4 FY26, with operating revenue up 12.6% year-on-year to ₹38,259 crore.
Karnataka HC Orders Immediate Release of Gameskraft Co-Founders
The Karnataka High Court has ordered the immediate release of Gameskraft co-founders Vikas Taneja, Deepak Singh, and Prithviraj Singh, declaring their arrest by the Enforcement Directorate illegal. The court directed prison authorities to set the three founders at liberty without delay.
The three had challenged their May 7 arrest in a money laundering case before the same court. A sessions court had earlier sent them to judicial custody till June 2. The ED had frozen assets worth ₹526.49 crore and alleged that Gameskraft's gaming platforms used bots to manipulate outcomes, causing user losses of around ₹1,154 crore.
Telegram Moves Delhi HC Challenging Temporary India Restrictions
Telegram has approached the Delhi High Court to challenge the government's temporary restriction on the platform in India, which remains in effect until June 22 ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on June 21. The matter was heard by a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia.
Telegram has been removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in India, and the app is now inaccessible across devices. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov said the ban unfairly punishes more than 150 million Indian users instead of targeting those responsible for leaking exam material, and separately accused Reliance of disrupting access to the platform through alleged BGP hijacking. The restriction follows allegations that Telegram channels were used to circulate leaked exam papers and spread misinformation around the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy.
Muskaan Kapoor
