Indian startups witnessed strong funding activity in May, with capital flowing into sectors ranging from dairy and speciality coffee to AI, fashion, automated lockers and menstrual care, highlighting continued investor interest across both growth-stage and early-stage ventures.
Seven Indian startups together raised more than Rs 1,000 crore in the month so far, with deal sizes ranging from a $1 million pre-seed round to a Rs 482 crore pre-IPO investment.
Milky Mist gets Temasek-linked backing before IPO
Erode-based dairy brand Milky Mist raised Rs 482 crore from Jongsong Investments, an indirect subsidiary of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings. The pre-IPO round valued the company at around Rs 9,300 crore.
The round included Rs 357 crore in primary capital and Rs 125 crore through a secondary sale by promoters. Milky Mist, known for products such as paneer, cheese, yoghurt, ghee and ice cream, reported FY25 revenue of Rs 2,349 crore, up 29 percent year-on-year. Its profit grew around 2.4 times to Rs 46 crore.
Blue Tokai brews another big round
Speciality coffee chain Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters is raising Rs 175 crore in a Series D extension led by Anicut Capital. A91 Emerging Fund, Verlinvest and 12 Flags also participated.
The round valued Blue Tokai at around $235 million. The company now runs more than 175 cafes in India and has also indicated expansion plans for Dubai and Japan. In FY25, its revenue rose 50 percent to Rs 325 crore, while losses reduced by around 21 percent to Rs 50 crore.
Kisah finds fresh capital for ethnic wear expansion
Kolkata-based ethnic wear brand Kisah raised Rs 35.9 crore in a Series A round led by Fireside Ventures. The company, founded in 2018 by Yash Sarawagi and Yashwi Ladasaria, targets Gen Z and millennial buyers.
Kisah is shifting from a marketplace-led model to omnichannel retail. Its FY25 revenue grew 65 percent to Rs 41.8 crore.
Tsavorite raises funds for AI compute platform
AI chip startup Tsavorite raised $5 million from Hyderabad-based Pavestone. The company is building an AI compute platform called the Omni Processing Unit, which combines CPU, GPU, memory and connectivity into one device.
Tsavorite says it has $100 million in pre-orders. The fresh funds will be used for product development and early customer acquisition.
Aurm bets on automated lockers
Mumbai-based Aurm raised Rs 42 crore in a seed round co-led by Earth Fund and Sattva Ventures. Founded in 2023, the startup installs automated safe deposit lockers in gated communities and corporate campuses.
The company plans to use the capital to expand deployments and strengthen its vaulting infrastructure.
HealthFab raises Series A for period care
Period care startup HealthFab raised Rs 20 crore in a Series A round led by Atomic Capital. The company is known for GoPadFree, its reusable period underwear brand.
HealthFab plans to use the money to widen its product range, grow its quick commerce presence and increase manufacturing capacity. Founded in 2019, the company says it serves over five lakh users and is targeting five million users over the next three years.
Banza enters with personal AI twin idea
Bengaluru-based Banza raised $1 million in a pre-seed round led by Campus Fund. Founded by Mehdi A, Suraj Mulla and Aditya Vijayakumar, the startup is building a personal AI twin that learns from user behaviour to make everyday recommendations.
The funds will go into product development and team building.
Indian Startups and May Funding: Mixed but Active Map
The May funding list shows that capital is still moving into very different kinds of Indian businesses. Mature consumer brands like Milky Mist and Blue Tokai are attracting larger rounds, while early-stage bets are emerging in AI, automation, fashion and women’s health.
The broader startup base remains large. Tracxn data says India has over 674,792 startups, making it the third-largest startup hub globally. Around 34,000 companies have collectively attracted $631 billion in venture capital and private equity. India also counts 89 unicorns, with 121,387 investors participating across 50,124 funding rounds.
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