Daily Indian Startup Funding Roundup & Key News - 18 June 2026: Rusk Media Bags ₹100 Cr, L'Oréal Acquires Innovist, Nykaa Hits 52-Week High
Thursday, 18 June 2026, brought a busy mix of funding and consolidation news in Indian consumer tech. Digital entertainment startup Rusk Media raised ₹100 crore from Nazara Technologies, while pet healthcare platform Vetic secured a hefty $40 million round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.
The day's biggest story came from beauty and personal care, where French giant L'Oréal signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Innovist, the parent of Bare Anatomy, in a deal that could be one of the largest in India's D2C beauty space. Elsewhere, Nykaa shares surged to a 52-week high after the company unveiled an ambitious FY30 growth roadmap, and Ola Consumer's troubles deepened with a six-month aggregator licence suspension in Chandigarh.
Daily Indian Startup Funding Digest - 18 June 2026
| STARTUP | SECTOR | FUNDING | ROUND | LEAD INVESTORS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rusk Media | Digital Entertainment / OTT | ₹100 Cr (~$10.6 Mn) | Pre-Series C | Nazara Technologies |
| Vetic | Pet Healthcare | $40 Mn | Growth | Bessemer Venture Partners |
| Karo Sambhav | CleanTech / Recycling | ₹56 Cr (~$6 Mn) | Pre-Series A | Rainmatter (Zerodha) |
| Tringbox | Music Tech / AI | ₹5 Cr | Seed | Nikhil Gandhi (GIPL) |
Rusk Media Raises ₹100 Cr in Pre-Series C Round
Digital entertainment startup Rusk Media has raised ₹100 crore (~$10.6 million) in a pre-Series C round led by Nazara Technologies, with participation from Info Edge Ventures, IvyCap Ventures, and a consortium led by Audacity VC. With this round, the company has raised around $32 million to date.
Founded in 2019 by Mayank Yadav, Rusk Media creates and distributes mobile-first content across social media, OTT platforms, and its owned platform Alright! TV. The fresh capital will be used to expand its content portfolio, scale Alright! TV, and launch new sports and audio-first formats targeting Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences, alongside investments in AI-driven production tools.
Rusk Media's revenue grew 43.1% to ₹81.38 crore in FY25 from ₹56.85 crore in FY24, while losses narrowed 11.7% to ₹25.33 crore.
Vetic Raises $40 Mn Led by Bessemer
Pet healthcare startup Vetic has raised $40 million in a fresh funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors Greenoaks Capital, Lachy Groom, and JSW Family Office. The proceeds will be used to expand its clinic network, scale its veterinary workforce, deepen insurance and wellness offerings, and roll out its Vet at Home services nationally.
Founded in 2022 by Gaurav Ajmera, Vetic operates an integrated pet healthcare platform combining clinics, emergency care, diagnostics, at-home services, insurance, and pharmacy. The Gurugram-based company runs more than 65 clinics across 11 cities and 15 emergency care facilities, serving over 60,000 subscribed members.
Vetic's operating revenue grew 2.5x to ₹62.9 crore in FY25, while losses rose 63% to ₹65.6 crore amid rapid expansion.
Karo Sambhav Raises ₹56 Cr in Pre-Series A Round
Circular economy and recycling company Karo Sambhav has raised ₹56 crore (~$6 million) in a pre-Series A round led by Rainmatter by Zerodha. The proceeds will be used to expand recycling infrastructure for the recovery of critical, precious, and high-value materials.
Founded in 2017 by Pranshu Singhal, Karo Sambhav operates across e-waste, batteries, glass, and other end-of-life material streams. The Gurugram-based company operates two recycling facilities, has channelised over 150,000 metric tonnes of waste, and has worked with over 50 corporations including Apple, Dell, and Cisco.
Tringbox Raises ₹5 Cr in Seed Round
Mumbai-based music-tech startup Tringbox has raised ₹5 crore in a seed round led by Nikhil Gandhi through GIPL, with participation from MGB Family Office and Paytm CBO Narendra Singh Yadav, among other angel investors. Founded by former Paytm executive Amandeep Singh Chawla, Tringbox is building an AI-powered in-store music intelligence platform for commercial spaces such as cafés, gyms, and hotels.
At its core is a proprietary Hybrid Neuro-Symbolic Music Engine that dynamically adjusts music based on venue type, weather, and time of day. The startup has deployed across more than 30 commercial venues and is backed by NVIDIA Inception and AWS startup credits worth ₹1 crore.
Muskaan Kapoor
Key Business News for 18 June 2026
L'Oréal Acquires Majority Stake in Bare Anatomy Parent Innovist
French beauty giant L'Oréal has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in personal care startup Innovist, with earlier media reports suggesting the deal could value the company between $350 million and $450 million. Founded in 2019 by Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana, and Vimal Bhola, Innovist operates science-led brands including Bare Anatomy and Chemist at Play.
As part of the deal, the founding team will continue to lead the business and retain a minority stake, with Innovist's brands integrated into L'Oréal's Consumer Products Division. If completed at the upper end of the reported valuation, the transaction would surpass HUL's acquisition of Minimalist to become one of the largest deals in India's D2C beauty segment.
Nykaa Surges to 52-Week High as Investors Cheer FY30 Roadmap
Shares of Nykaa climbed 7.1% to touch a 52-week high of ₹301.30 on the BSE, after the company outlined its FY30 growth strategy at its Annual Investor Day, targeting a beauty and lifestyle business with over $5 billion in gross merchandise value by FY30. The company expects revenue to grow 2-3x and EBITDA to rise 4-5x by FY30, with plans to expand its beauty retail footprint to over 600 stores and scale its House of Nykaa portfolio to more than ₹5,000 crore in net sales value.
On the financial front, Nykaa's consolidated net profit grew 182% to ₹203.9 crore for FY26, while operating revenue increased 26% year-on-year to ₹10,022.4 crore.
Ola Consumer Banned in Chandigarh for Six Months
Chandigarh's State Transport Authority has suspended Ola Consumer's aggregator licence for six months after the platform allegedly failed to provide drivers with mandatory health and term insurance and violated notified fare structures by requiring prepaid recharges. The authority also found that Ola had ignored multiple show-cause notices and abandoned its registered Chandigarh office over a year ago without notifying the administration.
The suspension comes amid broader turbulence for Ola Consumer, whose early backer Vanguard recently marked down its valuation to just $70 million — a near 99% cut from its $7.3 billion peak. The company is reported to have turned free-cash-flow positive and profitable in Q4 FY26 following a series of cost-cutting measures.
