Venture capital news

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

Bengaluru-based managed care startup Even Healthcare has raised $50 Mn (about ₹475 Cr) in a Series B funding round led by existing investor Khosla Ventures, with participation from Alpha Wave. The all-equity primary round takes its total funding to over $120 Mn, the startup said in a statement. Even will use the proceeds primarily to expand its hospital network in Bengaluru. It plans to open another hospital by the end of 2026, followed by three more by the end of FY27. It currently operates two multispeciality hospitals on Race Course Road and in HBR Layout. The startup plans to enter other cities after strengthening its Bengaluru presence. “We want to make sure that Bengaluru patients and members are pretty well served,” cofounder Mayank Banerjee told Inc42. Even said its valuation had tripled since its previous fundraise 18 months ago, without disclosing its latest valuation. The startup last raised $20 Mn earlier this year to expand its hospital network and launch new facilities. Founded in 2020 by Banerjee, Matilde Giglio, and Alessandro Ialongo, Even offers an integrated managed care model combining preventive care, outpatient consultations, diagnostics, insurance access, hospitalisation, and post-discharge recovery. The startup aims to reduce healthcare costs by managing patients’ health beyond individual hospital visits.

Read the full story at Inc42 (opens in a new tab)Published 19 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

Hiring thousands of frontline workers (employees who directly provide goods and services to communities) across multiple cities is a coordination-heavy cumbersome task for HR managers. Recruiters have to call prospective employees, follow up on applications, schedule interviews and keep workers informed through onboarding and training. When hiring volumes spike during festive seasons or business expansion, these tasks can quickly become more difficult to solve manually. Bengaluru-based conversational AI startup Hunar.AI is building AI agents to automate these HR workflows. The startup today announced the raise of ₹40 Cr ($4.2 Mn) in its Series A funding round led by Blume Ventures. Other investors like Hyderabad Angels Fund, Together Fund, Seedstars, AVNM Ventures, PhysicsWallah cofounders Prateek Maheshwari and Alakh Pandey, and MediaMint cofounder Aditya Vuchi also participated in the round. Founded in 2022 by Krishna Khandelwal and Shantanu Bhattacharyya, Hunar.AI automates frontline workforce management via its conversational AI agents. These agents help ease various frontline workforce management issues — including hiring, onboarding, training and retention. It is targeting businesses that need to recruit and manage large numbers of workers, often across several locations and regional languages.

Read the full story at Inc42 (opens in a new tab)Published 19 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

The Pant Project, a premium menswear label specialising in trousers and other bottomwear, has raised Rs 109 crore in a Series B funding round led by Mirae Asset Venture Investments. Existing investor Sorin Investments also participated, alongside family offices and angel investors including Anisha Saraf, B&K Securities, MGA Ventures and B2V Ventures. The company has also secured venture debt from Alteria Capital, with IndigoEdge advising on the equity transaction. Founded by brothers Dhruv and Udit Toshniwal, The Pant Project began as a digital-first business focused on fit, fabric performance and comfort for Indian men. Its products include Malai Pants and Inklock No Fade Black Jeans, and it sells through its website, Myntra, Amazon and physical stores. Sorin partner Mandar Dandekar said revenue had grown “more than 5x” since its Series A, alongside what he described as “industry-leading repeat rates.” The new capital will help the company expand from 25 exclusive stores to more than 150 over the next two to three years. It also plans to widen its range to jeans, athleisure, meaning clothing suited to exercise and everyday use, and casualwear, while investing in retail technology to connect online and in-store shopping.

Read the full story at YourStory (opens in a new tab)Published 19 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

Menswear brand The Pant Project has raised ₹109 Cr (about $11.5 Mn) in a Series B funding round led by Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India) to expand its offline presence and broaden its apparel portfolio. Existing investor Sorin Investments also participated in the round, alongside family offices and angel investors, including Anisha Saraf, B&K Securities, MGA Ventures, and B2V Ventures. The latest round takes the startup’s total funding to over $15.75 Mn. It previously raised $4.25 Mn in a Series A round led by Sorin Investments in 2024, following four years of bootstrapping. Separately, The Pant Project secured venture debt financing from Alteria Capital for an undisclosed amount. The startup plans to increase its exclusive brand store network from 25 to 150 over the next two to three years. It will also deploy the fresh capital to broaden its menswear portfolio, with a focus on jeans, athleisure, and casualwear. While it already sells jeans and products such as sweatpants, joggers, and shorts, the startup said it intends to build a broader menswear business beyond its core bottomwear offering. Founded in 2020 by brothers Dhruv Toshniwal and Udit Toshniwal, The Pant Project started as a digital-first brand specialising in bottomwear for Indian men. Its portfolio includes products such as Malai Pants and Inklock No Fade Black Jeans.

Read the full story at Inc42 (opens in a new tab)Published 19 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

Premium menswear brand The Pant Project has raised Rs 109 crore in a Series B funding round led by Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India), with participation from existing investor Sorin Investments and new investors Hyperscale Ventures, B&K Securities, MGA Ventures and B2V Ventures, as per the company’s press release. The company plans to use the fresh capital to expand its offline retail network, enter new product categories and strengthen its omnichannel presence. Founded by brothers Dhruv and Udit Toshniwal, The Pant Project started as a digital-first brand focused on bottomwear for Indian men. Its product portfolio includes Malai Pants and Inklock No Fade Black Jeans. The company currently operates 25 exclusive brand stores across India and plans to increase the count to over 150 in the next two to three years. It also plans to expand into adjacent menswear categories, including jeans, athleisure and casualwear. Commenting on the fundraise, Dhruv Toshniwal, founder and CEO of The Pant Project, said the company is now looking to expand its offline presence after building its business as a digital-first brand. He said its stores allow customers to experience the fabric and fit of its products in person, helping the company build stronger relationships with customers. The latest fundraising follows its $4.25 million Series A round in 2024, led by Sorin Investments.

Read the full story at Entrackr (opens in a new tab)Published 19 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

Battery-swapping startup Battery Smart has raised close to Rs 100 crore from an existing investor as it looks to expand its network for electric two- and three-wheelers. The fresh capital will support the company’s expansion plans as it continues to scale its battery-swapping network. According to its regulatory filings accessed by Entrackr , the company allotted 18,000 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of Rs 54,407 per share, aggregating to approximately Rs 98 crore from Ecosystem Integrity Fund. The round appears to be ongoing, with the Gurugram-based company likely to raise additional capital in tranches. In August 2026, Battery Smart had raised Rs 185.5 crore ($19.5 million) in a Series C funding round led by existing investor Rising Tide Ventures, with participation from Ecosystem Integrity Fund and Blume Ventures. As per Entrackr’s the company is valued around Rs 4170 crore or $440 million post money valuation. Battery Smart plans to use fresh proceeds to support business expansion, capital expenditure, working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes, the filings added. Founded in 2020, Battery Smart operates a battery-swapping network for electric two- and three-wheelers.

Read the full story at Entrackr (opens in a new tab)Published 17 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

B2B manufacturing startup CapGrid has raised Rs 46.28 crore, or $4.87 million, in a pre-Series B funding round led by new investor Hero Enterprise Partner Ventures, with participation from existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Anicut Capital, and others. The board at CapGrid passed a special resolution to issue 2,888 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of Rs 1,60,263 per share to raise fresh capital, according to its regulatory filings accessed by Entrackr . Hero Enterprise Partner Ventures led the round with an investment of Rs 38.30 crore, while Axilor Technology Fund and Anicut Capital are investing Rs 3 crore each. Nexus Venture Partners and Amit Jain will contribute Rs 1 crore each. As per Entrackr’s estimates, the company’s post-money valuation surged over 50% to Rs 430 crore ($46 million), compared with its previous Series A round of $5 million led by Anicut Capital in February 2025. Following the pre-Series B allotment, Nexus Venture Partners remained the largest external shareholder, with an 18.08% stake, followed by Anicut Capital with 16.40% and Axilor Ventures with 11.94%. Co-founders Dheeraj Kumar Tiwari and Himanshu Singh Raghuvanshi each hold an 18.63% stake in the company. According to the filings, CapGrid will use the funds for expansion and growth, as well as to meet its additional capital requirements.

Read the full story at Entrackr (opens in a new tab)Published 16 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

Sifted shares only the headline in its public feed. The full story is on its site.

Read the full story at Sifted (opens in a new tab)Published 15 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

While helping another founder build an app that collected information about class-action settlements, Zim Hang came to learn how challenging it can be for consumers to seek compensation from companies they believe wronged them. He also discovered mass arbitration, a way to pursue individual claims when companies’ contracts prevent customers from joining class actions. At the same time, he also realized that relatively few law firms were set up to manage thousands of those claims at once. Zim Hang, founder and CEO of Chariot Claims. (Courtesy photo) That gap became the basis for Chariot Claims , which has raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Silverton Partners to help consumers pursue claims over alleged privacy violations, hidden fees and subscriptions that are difficult to cancel. Indicator Ventures , Lightbank , Neon Fund , ZVC , Rosecliff Ventures , Alumni Ventures , FJ Labs , Graph Ventures and Vermilion Ventures also participated in the financing. The New York-based startup works with law firms to identify potential cases, find affected consumers and gather information needed to pursue compensation. The round brings its total funding to $15.7 million, which includes a $3.6 million seed investment in April 2025 and an earlier pre-seed round. Chariot’s latest round comes amid a surge in investment across legal tech.

Read the full story at Crunchbase News (opens in a new tab)Published 15 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.

In plain words: A startup raised money. It shows which kinds of company investors are backing right now.

Jessica Herrin was pregnant with her first child and working at Dell when she began testing jewelry trunk shows in Austin on nights and weekends. The venture became Stella & Dot , a business that sold more than $2 billion in products through a network of independent sellers. Two decades later, Herrin is building a business around the marketing problems she encountered along the way. She started Marklo in 2025 to help consumer brands decide which products to promote and prepare their campaigns. The startup has now raised $5 million in seed funding, it tells Crunchbase News exclusively. Jessica Herrin, CEO and founder of Marklo AI. (Courtesy photo) Forerunner led the round, joined by Freestyle Capital and angel investors including former Klaviyo and current Shopify leaders. Marklo helps consumer brands plan marketing campaigns using their sales, inventory and past marketing data. Its software shows which promotions drove sales, suggests what products to promote next and uses AI to draft campaign briefs and organize tasks. While Marklo is still pre-revenue, more than 100 brands are already using its software in a pilot, according to Herrin. Those brands include Away , Clare V. , Monica + Andy , Maya Brenner and Latico Leathers . The Burlingame, California-based company is now opening its software to the public ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Read the full story at Crunchbase News (opens in a new tab)Published 14 Oct 2026. This is the publisher’s own feed excerpt.