Published on: 04/30/2025
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April 2025 has been an exciting month for the Indian startup scene, with plenty of action in funding and acquisitions. Pre-seed funding continues to play a vital role in helping new startups get off the ground, especially in booming sectors like health tech, AI, fintech, retail, and wellness. Investors are keen on backing early-stage companies, giving them the resources they need to grow and innovate.
In addition to funding, startup mergers and acquisitions are shaping the market, with larger companies acquiring promising startups to strengthen their positions. In this blog, we’ll dive into some of the key funding deals, startup acquisitions, and mergers that have taken place in April 2025, and how pre-seed capital is helping new businesses take their first big steps toward success.
Pre-seed funding is the first round of investment that a startup receives, usually before launching its product or service. This early money helps entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality. It’s used to develop products, do market research, build a team, and set up the business.
Startups often use pre-seed funding to create prototypes or a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to test their idea. It also helps with market research, where founders collect feedback from customers to see if their product has potential. Additionally, this funding helps startups hire their first employees or contractors and cover basic costs like office space and software.
Pre-seed funding is essential because it helps startups move from just an idea to a functioning business. While the startup might not yet have a proven track record, pre-seed funding allows them to begin operations and show the potential of their idea.
Investors in pre-seed rounds are usually angel investors, family and friends, accelerators, or seed-stage venture capital firms. The amount raised can vary, but this funding is key to getting a startup off the ground and setting it up for future growth.
Rimigo is a travel planning startup based in Bengaluru, India. It was founded in 2024 by Aditya Shirole, Sahil Sharma, and Shubham Chintalwar. The company offers an easy, end-to-end vacation planning service. Users just need to enter their travel destination and preferences, and Rimigo’s AI tool creates a personalized travel itinerary for them.
Rimigo has raised $550K pre-seed funding from Raizon Holdings. It competes with 399 other companies, including 27 that are funded and 5 that have already exited. Some of its top competitors are Travefy, Tummoc, and Key Concierge.
Stance Health, a startup focused on musculoskeletal (MSK) care, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding. The funding round was led by General Catalyst, with support from Antler, DEVC, EX Capital, and several angel investors. This investment will help Stance Health expand its tech-driven MSK care model across India, improve its technology platform, and grow its physical care centers.
Stance Health aims to become a leader in the healthtech space in India by using innovative technology to improve MSK care. The company’s ability to attract early-stage investment highlights the growing interest in healthtech startups and the role of pre-seed capital in helping such businesses grow.
Cura Care is a wellness brand that offers dental services at home. They recently raised ₹5 crore (around $585,573) in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Zeropearl VC and also included friends, family, and angel investors like Shripad Nadkarni and the late Rohan Mirchandani.
With this funding, Cura Care aims to fine-tune its product-market fit and improve customer experience. Their services include teeth cleaning, scaling, polishing, and whitening carried out by DCI-certified dentists using specially designed portable dental units.
LehLah, a content commerce startup, has raised ₹12.5 crore in seed funding. The round was led by Gruhas, the venture capital firm co-founded by Nikhil Kamath and Abhijeet Pai.
The startup plans to use the funds for product development, brand expansion, and growing its team. LehLah helps creators connect with brands, enabling influencers to earn by sharing curated product recommendations.
SatLeo Labs is a space tech startup from Ahmedabad. It was founded by Ranendu Ghosh and Shravan Bhati. The company is building advanced thermal and visible imaging systems to capture data from space. This data can help in areas like farming, energy, city planning, and security.
SatLeo recently raised $3.3 million in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Merak Ventures and Huddle Ventures, with support from GVFL, Java Capital, IIMA Ventures, PointOne Capital, and angel investors Manish Gandhi and Dheer Baldua.
The funding will be used to build SatLeo’s special thermal imaging technology, hire more people, get approvals, and improve infrastructure. Their goal is to create smart solutions for climate-sensitive sectors using high-resolution space imaging.
InnerGize is a mental health tech startup working on a wearable device to help manage stress. It was founded by Dr. Siddhant Bhargava, Shalmali Kadu, and Mitansh Khurana.
The company has raised a total of ₹6.5 crore in pre-seed funding. This came in two parts: ₹2 crore from government programs like the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme, and ₹4.5 crore from global early-stage VC firm Antler. Angel investors such as Arjun Vaidya (V3 Ventures), Sharan Hegde (Finance with Sharan), Ritesh Agarwal (OYO), and Aman Gupta (boAt) also joined the round.
The money will go towards manufacturing, research and development, clinical trials, and launching their first product the InnerGize Gen in April 2025.
Finodaya Capital is a non-banking financial company (NBFC) based in Madhya Pradesh. It recently raised $2.5 million in seed funding, led by White Venture Capital, at a post-money valuation of ₹50 crore. The round also saw participation from Gemba Capital and several angel investors.
Finodaya plans to use the funds to grow its operations, improve its credit assessment tools, and support financial inclusion. The company aims to provide fair and transparent loan options to micro and nano entrepreneurs who want to formalize and grow their businesses.
MyDesignation, a fashion and lifestyle D2C startup, has raised $1.25 million (₹10.7 crore) in seed funding. The round was led by Multiply Ventures, with support from Veltis Capital, Sattva Ventures, Dominor Investment Holdings, and Green Trunk Ventures.
According to the company, the funding will be used to grow the team, improve technology, expand into offline stores, and enter new markets.
V SAFE, a smart security startup based in Thanjavur, has raised $300,000 in seed funding. The round was led by UAE-based investment banker Priya Parthasarathy, with participation from IIT Delhi TBI (IHFC) and other global investors.
The company plans to use the funds to scale its smart security solutions, focusing on its patented smart lock technology designed to help prevent crime and protect property.
Bower School of Entrepreneurship has raised ₹11.5 crore ($1.33 million) in seed funding from High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs) and Astir Ventures.
The funding will be used to develop an AI-powered course builder, form new industry partnerships, and set up physical campuses in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the USA.
Bower aims to impact over 15,000 students and reach ₹15 crore in revenue across all its verticals by FY26. In the fourth quarter of FY25, the institution reported ₹1.5 crore in revenue.
These startups show how new ideas and smart technology can make a big difference in many industries from healthcare and insurance to retail and wellness. With support from pre-seed VC and early funding, these young companies are solving real problems and building strong businesses.
They also show how pre-seed venture capital firms are playing an important role by backing founders early and helping them grow. As these startups continue to expand, they are not just changing their own markets but also inspiring more entrepreneurs to take the leap and build something impactful.
Pre seed VC firms usually focus more on the founders than the product. They want to see a strong and committed team, a clear idea, early signs that customers are interested, and the ability to build and grow the business. They are not expecting big numbers or full products at this stage.
Yes, valuation still matters. But it is more about setting the tone for future funding than proving your company’s exact worth. At this early stage, the valuation is often based on the idea, the team, and how big the market is, rather than on revenue or users.
Yes, it is possible. Sometimes startups need extra time or funds before they are ready for the next stage. In that case, they can raise a second pre seed round, often called a pre seed extension. This helps them grow further before going for a full seed round.
Eximius Capital Ventures Private Limited is the investment manager of the funds licensed by SEBI under AIF categories CAT I – Eximius Trust I (IN/AIF1/20-21/0855) and CAT II – Eximius Fund (IN/AIF2/24-25/1566).
Eximius Capital Ventures Private Limited is the investment manager of the funds licensed by SEBI under AIF categories CAT I – Eximius Trust I (IN/AIF1/20-21/0855) and CAT II – Eximius Fund (IN/AIF2/24-25/1566).
