Daily Indian Startup Funding Roundup & Key News - 4 May 2026: Fireside Backs CHOSEN and Kisah, Aurm Raises ₹42 Cr, upGrad Eyes Unacademy at 90% Valuation Cut

Monday, 4 May 2026, was a strong day for Indian startup funding, with capital flowing across skincare, menstrual health, bank locker infrastructure, semiconductor AI, ethnic wear, food, and personal data. Fireside Ventures made two separate Series A bets in CHOSEN and Kisah in a single day, signalling continued conviction in brand-led consumer plays. On the business front, the biggest story was upGrad inching closer to acquiring Unacademy at a valuation of around ₹2,055 crore, a steep 90% cut from its 2021 peak. Epigamia also made news with a CEO appointment following a year of leadership transition.

Aurm Raises ₹42 Cr in Series A Round

Bank locker infrastructure startup Aurm has raised ₹42 crore in a Series A round co-led by Earth Fund and Sattva Ventures, with participation from angel investors. The startup had earlier raised $10.3 million in the same round from Prime Venture Partners and Magnifiq Capital Trust.

Co-founded in 2023 by Vijay Arisetty, Suraj HS, Pratap Chandana, and Ganesh Balakrishnan, Aurm provides fully automated, high-security private safety deposit lockers for residential gated communities and corporate clusters. The proceeds will be used to scale tech-enabled vaulting solutions and expand secure storage through automation and enhanced accessibility.

HealthFab Raises ₹20 Cr in Series A Round

Menstrual hygiene startup HealthFab has raised ₹20 crore in a Series A round led by Atomic Capital. Founded in 2019 by Kiriti Acharjee, Sourav Chakrabarty, and Satyajit Chakraborty, HealthFab is best known for its GoPadFree reusable period underwear, which holds India's only dual BIS certification for 50-wash durability and anti-bacterial performance.

The brand has grown 3x in revenue year-on-year, and ranks number one on Amazon India in its category. The fresh capital will be used to expand its product portfolio into adjacent period wellness categories, scale quick commerce distribution, and increase manufacturing capacity.

CHOSEN Raises $5 Mn in Series A Round

Skincare brand CHOSEN has raised $5 million in a Series A round led by Fireside Ventures, with participation from BOLD (L'Oreal's CVC fund), Alkemi Growth Capital, and angel investors including CaratLane co-founder Avnish Anand and several dermatologists. The Chennai-based brand, launched in 2020 by Renita Rajan, develops science-led skincare for melanin-rich Indian skin.

The brand has built its formulations on insights from over 1,50,000 consultations and currently offers around 58 SKUs prescribed in more than 2,000 clinics. Around 70% of its revenue comes from repeat customers. The proceeds will strengthen R&D, expand its clinically validated product pipeline, and scale its Centre of Excellence.

Kisah Raises ₹35.9 Cr in Series A Round

Men's and kids' ethnic wear brand Kisah has raised ₹35.9 crore in a Series A round led by Fireside Ventures, with several individual investors also participating. The raise values the company at around ₹211 crore post-money, a 70% jump from its pre-Series A round valuation.

Co-founded in 2018 by Yash Sarawagi and Yashwi Ladasaria, the Kolkata-based brand targets Gen Z and millennials with high-fashion ethnic wear at accessible price points. Revenue grew 65% year-on-year to ₹41.8 crore in FY25, and the company turned profitable with a net profit of ₹2 crore in the same year.

Tsavorite Raises $5 Mn in Series A Round

AI computing solutions provider Tsavorite has raised $5 million in a Series A round led by Pavestone. The proceeds will be used for product development and future growth initiatives. The startup had previously raised $17.9 million in a seed round in February 2025.

Founded in 2023 by Shalesh Thusoo, Tsavorite is building an Omni Processing Unit (OPU) that integrates CPU, GPU, memory, and connectivity into a single device, designed for AI inference, training, and reinforcement learning across edge, enterprise, and data centre applications.

Rosier Foods Secures Angel Investment from Aman Gupta

A2 Gir cow ghee and organic pantry brand Rosier Foods has secured investment from boAt co-founder Aman Gupta through his venture fund SailThru Ventures. Founded by content creator Gaurav Taneja (Flying Beast), Ankur Tyagi, and Sumit Mishra, the brand prepares its flagship ghee using the traditional bilona method.

The company is currently running at an ARR of ₹100 crore and is targeting ₹150 crore in FY27, with a net profit margin of 5 to 6%. The capital will be used to strengthen sourcing, expand the farmer network, and invest in product innovation across the health and wellness food segment.

Banza Raises $1 Mn in Pre-Seed Round

AI-driven data-sharing startup Banza has raised $1 million in a pre-seed round led by Campus Fund, with participation from Avalanche and angel investors. Founded in January 2026 by Mehdi A and Aditya Vijayakumar, Banza is building a personal AI Twin that learns from a user's digital behaviour to offer personalised recommendations across food, entertainment, travel, and shopping.

The Bengaluru-based startup believes current digital services create fragmented, siloed experiences. Its platform aims to unify user data, allowing the AI to understand users more deeply over time. The funds will be used for product development, team expansion, and strengthening the foundation for its personal AI category.

Key Business News for 4 May 2026

upGrad Nears Unacademy Acquisition at 90% Valuation Cut

Edtech major upGrad is nearing the acquisition of Unacademy in an all-stock deal at a valuation of around ₹2,055 crore (~$218 million), representing a 90% cut from Unacademy's peak valuation of $3.4 billion during the 2021 funding boom. upGrad is expected to seek Competition Commission of India approval for the deal this week, with Unacademy expected to have ₹900 to ₹950 crore in cash on its books at the time of closing.

This is upGrad's second acquisition in 2026, following its buyout of Internshala in February. Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal is expected to continue as CEO, with AI playing a key role in the platform's next phase. The deal marks one of the most significant consolidation moves in India's edtech sector, which has been adjusting to a sharp slowdown following the Covid-led boom.

Epigamia Appoints Ritesh Gauba as CEO; Ankur Goel Elevated to Co-Founder

Healthy food brand Epigamia has appointed Ritesh Gauba as its CEO, while elevating Ankur Goel to the role of co-founder and COO. Goel had been leading the company as acting head since December 2024, following the death of co-founder Rohan Mirchandani.

Gauba brings experience from Pladis, Mars, and Britannia. The leadership changes come after a strong FY26 for Epigamia, which reported over 50% revenue growth alongside improved profitability. The Verlinvest-backed company has raised around $60 million to date and operates across Greek yoghurt, smoothies, and protein snack categories.