source: Clever Girl Finance
Indian startups in areas including AI, cleantech, agri-tech, education, and electric mobility drew an impressive amount of investor interest this week. Bengaluru, New Delhi, Gurugram, and Ahmednagar were the prominent cities of activity with significant global and domestic investors backing tech-enabled startups.
Emergent: A No-Code Platform using AI
Emergent, located in Bengaluru, has successfully raised a total of $23 million to further its AI-based no-code platform. Co-founded in 2025 by Mukund Jha and Madhav Jha, Emergent enables individuals to build and scale applications instantly without having to code. The independently agent-driven platform handles coding, testing, payments, server deployment, and scaling in real time.
Emergent raised funding from Lightspeed, Together Fund, Y Combinator, Prosus Ventures, and several angel investors including Jeff Dean, Devendra Chaplot, and Balaji Srinivasan.
Chakr Innovation: Cleantech Solutions
Also based in New Delhi, Chakr Innovation secured $23 million. This company, established in 2016 by founders Kushagra Shrivastava, Arpit Dhupar and Bharti Singhla, develops emission reduction technology and promotes cleaner energy generation. The company’s product portfolio includes Chakr Shield (an emission control solution), Chakr Dual Fuel Kit (intended to convert diesel generators to natural gas) and Chakr DeNOx (designed to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions). Additionally, Chakr is developing aluminum-air batteries using local feed stocks. The funding was led by Iron Pillar, SBI Cap Ventures, ONGC, IAN and Inflexor.
Handpickd: Delivery for Farmers to Consumer
Handpickd, an agritech startup based out of Gurugram, raised $15 million. Co-founded in 2024 by Anant Goel, Nitin Gupta, and Sahil Madan, Handpickd connects farmers directly to consumers. It offers customers home delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables in under six to seven hours after placing their order, while eliminating the need for warehouses or dark stores. The funding round featured participation from Bertelsmann India Investments and Titan Capital Winners Fund.
Growth of Hybrid Learning with Vedantu
Edtech company Vedantu from Bengaluru raised $11 million. Co-founded in 2014 by Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, and Anand Prakash, Vedantu provides live tutoring for school learners, exam preparation, coding, and public speaking. Its platform, W.A.V.E., uses artificial intelligence to enhance personalization, while hybrid centers and home teaching create different ways to serve students. ABC World Asia, Accel, and Omidyar Network were investors.
Simple Energy: Growth in the Electric Two-wheeler Space
Bengaluru-based Simple Energy secured $10 million for the expansion of its electric two-wheeler business. The company was founded in 2019 by Suhas Rajkumar and Shreshth Mishra (Ankit Gupta later joined). Simple Energy makes scooters with long-term warranties (eight years), and importantly, with motors that do not use rare earth materials. Simple ONE Gen 1.5 and Simple One S have ranges of up to 248 km over a single charge. The company is currently operating 53 outlets in India. The investors included Dr. Arokiaswamy Velumani and family office, Balamurugan Arumugam, as well as the Haran Family Office.
KisanKonnect: Empowering Farmers
KisanKonnect, based in Ahmednagar, secured $8 million. Launched in 2020 by Vivek Nirmal and Nidhi Nirmal, KisanKonnect connects over 5,000 farmers directly to consumers using apps and farm stores. Products include fresh produce, dairy, flour, oils, snacks, and ready-to-eat meals. This round was led by Bajaj Finserv Group and included Mistry Ventures, Desai Foods, Dhanuka Agritech, and Action Tessa Family Office.
