Roshan Abraham

Lighthouse Learning Group, the Indian preschool and K-12 education company controlled by US-based private equity firm KKR, is strengthening its early childhood offerings by acquiring a Gurugram-based company.

Lighthouse said Thursday it has formed a “strategic partnership” with Early Learning Village (ELV), a Gurugram-based institution focusing on early education. It didn’t disclose the terms of the transaction.

The transaction comes a little more than three months after KKR made an additional investment in Lighthouse and brought on board Canadian pension fund PSP Investments as a new investor.

Lighthouse operates one of India’s largest private education networks across preschools and K-12 institutions. Its portfolio includes EuroKids, Kangaroo Kids, EuroSchool, Billabong High International, Centre Point Group of Schools, and the Heritage schools network. The company serves more than 190,000 students daily through over 1,850 preschools and 60 schools.

KKR acquired a majority stake in Eurokids in 2019 and since then has added several other schools to its network. In 2021, it acquired Nagpur-based Centre Point, a chain of K-12 schools. In 2023, the company took over the Gurugram-based premium school chain Heritage Xperiential Schools. The following year, it acquired Phoenix Greens School of Learning in Hyderabad.

ELV was founded by Pradeep Jolly, Priya Saxena, Heba Zaidi Khosla, and Priya Dhawan. Lighthouse said it plans to expand ELV’s small-group learning model into various cities, beyond Gurugram. “We look forward to supporting Priya and Heba as we extend ELV’s framework into new cities while preserving the quality, integrity, and intentionality that define the institution,” said Prajodh Rajan, co-founder and Group CEO, Lighthouse Learning.

LoEstro Advisors acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Early Learning Village on the transaction. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas was the legal advisor to Lighthouse while Ernst & Young LLP was the financial advisor.

Lighthouse Learning Group, the Indian preschool and K-12 education company controlled by US-based private equity firm ......

KKR-controlled EuroKids operator Lighthouse taking over Gurugram preschool

Consumer

Prithvi Durai

Lifestyle accessories brand DailyObjects will open more offline stores, including exclusive brand outlets, as it doubles down on a strategy that has helped it boost its revenue quickly, its founder and CEO told VCCircle.

The D2C brand, operated by Firki Wholesale Pvt Ltd and backed by venture capital firm Roots Ventures as well as 360 ONE Asset, will also raise fresh capital as it needs funds to expand, Pankaj Garg said.

DailyObjects sells around 50 stock-keeping units, ranging from mobile phone and laptop accessories, bags and wallets, to work accessories like stationery and organisers through its website and other e-commerce stores. Around 45% of DailyObject’s revenue comes from its tech accessories, followed by its range of bags.

“We do a lot of research and invest a lot in visual merchandising, electronics and design. Positioning of the brand is also very important,” Garg said.

Expansion plans

After opening its first airport store in Mumbai last year, the company now plans to launch more outlets in airports, high-street malls, and other premium locations.

As of now, DailyObjects derives around 70% of its revenue from its website. However, it plans to open 20 exclusive stores in the next 12 months and add more over the next few years. 

“We plan to expand to almost 150-160 stores in the next four to five years,” Garg said, adding that this will help the company grow both its revenue and the bottomline.

In addition to the Mumbai store, DailyObjects opened half a dozen physical outlets last year in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. These stores turned profitable from the first month itself, Garg claimed.

The firm also sells its products at around 200 mobile stores under a tie-up with iPhone maker Apple Inc. 

Fundraising plan

Garg said the company is receiving inbound interest from investors, including offshore ones, but refused to divulge any details about the size of the funding round, the timeline or the potential investors.

In June last year, VCCircle reported that the D2C brand was looking to raise Rs 100-150 crore ($10.9-16.3 million) just months after pocketing a cheque from Roots Ventures and 360 One Asset Management.

The company had initially raised funding from Seedfund, an early-stage investment firm started by Mahesh Murthy, Bharti Jacob and Pravin Gandhi. Seedfund, which is now defunct, invested in the company in 2012, 2014 and 2015, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle.

In 2016, DailyObjects raised Rs 9 crore from Ronnie Screwvala’s Unilazer Ventures, Lenskart founder Peyush Bansal, and RedBus CEO Phanindra Sama. Unilazer, Bansal and Sama exited in 2022 when Roots Ventures invested in the company. Roots Ventures, led by Japan Vyas, invested about Rs 15 crore at the time.

In September 2024, DailyObjects raised about Rs 77 crore from 360 One Asset in a Series B round. Around the same time, it raised another Rs 4.5 crore from Apar Corporation Pvt Ltd and NABS Vriddhii LLP.

Roots Ventures invested Rs 2 crore more in 2024 and another Rs 8 crore in February last year. After this capital infusion, Roots Ventures owned a stake of 31.25% in the company while 360 One held 21.07%. Co-founders Garg and Adlakha owned 26.39% and 16.62%, respectively.   

Financial performance

DailyObjects’ offline expansion, combined with its digital presence, is likely to increase its revenue to around Rs 230-244 crore in 2025-26, reflecting a 100% growth from about Rs 115 crore during FY25, Garg said.

According to VCCEdge, the company’s standalone revenue from operations stayed around Rs 20-24 crore for three years through March 2021 but more than tripled in the following three years through March 2024 to Rs 84.4 crore. The company posted an EBITDA loss of Rs 3.6 crore for FY24, per VCCEdge. The loss expanded in FY25, with Garg saying the EBITDA margin was around a negative 7%.

However, the company became operationally profitable in FY26, recording a single-digit positive EBITDA margin, Garg said, without disclosing any numbers. 

“A major share (of revenue) still comes from our own channel, which means things are in our control. And it's going to be the same or more because we are focusing on EBOs (exclusive brand outlets) more. So, it will bring a lot to the bottomline and topline as there is no marketing,” Garg said.

Garg foresees margins rising to double digits in the next four-five years with stronger brand recall and business expansion. “A stronger brand leads to higher margins because it can command a premium,” he said.

Lifestyle accessories brand DailyObjects will open more offline stores, including exclusive brand outlets, as it doubles......

VC-backed DailyObjects plans more offline stores to speed up growth, lift margins

Asha Menon

Kenro Capital, a Singapore-based alternative investment firm that focuses on growth-stage secondaries transactions, is firming up its strategy for its maiden India-domiciled fund that has hit the road seeking commitments from limited partners, VCCircle has learnt.

The firm, which was launched in 2024 and has so far bet on three Indian companies, has received the go-ahead from the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its India fund. VCCircle had reported last August that Kenro was considering such a fund in addition to its main vehicle based out of Singapore.

A person close to the development told VCCircle that Kenro is looking to raise $150 million (around Rs 1,374 crore) for the India-domiciled fund. It will retain the same investing strategy that it follows for its flagship vehicles. 

While it targets ticket sizes of $20-30 million, it remains open to larger deals through co-investment opportunities, VCCircle has learnt.

Kenro made its maiden India investment in December 2024 when it bet $40 million on education player K12 Techno Services. Since then, it has added two more companies to its local portfolio – fintech company Pine Labs and fine jewellery brand Giva.

The firm, founded by Piyush Gupta and Nobert Fernandes, has been targeting minority stakes in companies that have achieved revenue scale across various sectors, are profitable or near-profitable and are in the pre-IPO stage with listing two to three years away from the PE firm's investment.

Kenro didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment for this article but Gupta had previously said that several large institutional investors and large family offices in India had expressed interest in an India-based fund.

One of the persons cited above told VCCircle that a key reason for raising an India-based fund is to take more exposure in India’s multi-brand retail sector, which has a cap of 51% on foreign direct investment.

Kenro is also evaluating bets on the insurance sector, the person added. While earlier the 74% FDI cap in the insurance sector was also a consideration when planning to register an India-based AIF, that hurdle was cleared when the cap was lifted in the Union Budget 2025 and 100% FDI was allowed in the sector, the person added.

Kenro joins several other PE firms that have already carved out or are looking to raise secondaries funds in India. Homegrown private equity firm Gaja Capital rolled out its maiden secondaries fund last year.

Raj Dugar, a former Eight Roads Ventures executive, is setting up Ambit Arcadia Alternatives along with the Ambit Group to raise $300 million for an India-only vehicle to make PE secondaries deals.

Mumbai-headquartered financial services firm Systematix has launched the India Equity Opportunities Fund, an investment vehicle to bet on pre-IPO and secondary market opportunities with a target corpus of Rs 1,000 crore.

Kenro Capital, a Singapore-based alternative investment firm that focuses on growth-stage secondaries transactions, is ......

Peek into Kenro Capital’s strategy for maiden India-domiciled secondaries fund

Finance

Malvika Maloo

Seafood provider Captain Fresh, which has been on an acquisition spree to expand internationally in the last couple of years, has bought Spanish tuna processor and distributor Frime SAU, in what is its fifth overseas takeover.

While Captain Fresh did not disclose the size of the deal, it said the transaction involves 60% cash and 40% stock. It didn’t say how it is financing the cash portion.

The deal helps the Bengaluru-based startup to expand its multi-species portfolio in the European markets and acquire 20% share of Europe’s yellowfin tuna market. Captain Fresh previously made multiple inorganic bets in the US and Europe. These include its acquisition of Poland-based salmon company Koral in July 2024, which followed its takeover of French shrimp cooker and distributor Senecrus and Illinois-based CenSea.

“We have built a strong market presence in crustaceans through CenSea, Ocean Garden, Senecrus, and Ocean Edge, and in salmon through Koral. Tuna ranks as the next most significant commercial category after crustaceans and salmon, with broad demand across retail and foodservice channels,” said Utham Gowda, Group CEO, Captain Fresh. “With Frime, we enter tuna in a leadership position consistent with our approach in other categories.”

Frime, headquartered in La Roca near Barcelona, is a specialist in premium yellowfin tuna. It was started in 1977 and serves retail and foodservice markets across 33 countries. It has a retail division that is supported by partnerships with European supermarket chains and its consumer brand Køldfin. It boasts of revenue exceeding €180 million.

Captain Fresh had confidentially filed its preliminary papers for an initial public offering last August. But it withdrew the papers in December amid unanticipated delays in getting regulatory clearances for the acquisition.

Frime leadership, including chairman Salvador Ramon Mateo and CEO Pablo Múgica, will continue in their roles within the Captain Fresh group to ensure its customer relationships and market expertise are preserved. 

“What makes this more powerful is the strategic flywheel it creates. Bringing the three largest categories on one platform transforms our go-to-market strategy,” said Gowda. “We can scale Frime’s tuna through our US network while simultaneously introducing our crustacean (shrimp, lobsters) and salmon portfolio deeper into Southern Europe. This multiplies customer share without incremental infrastructure, speeds up product innovation, and unlocks synergies across the Captain Fresh group ecosystem.”

Captain Fresh was founded as a seafood marketplace in 2019 by Gowda. It sources multi-species seafood from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean regions to meet demand in the US, Europe, and the UAE. The startup is counting on cross-selling different products to fuel its growth going forward, as it consolidates its acquisitions.  

The company counts Evolvence Capital, Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India) and Ankur Capital among its investors. It raised Rs 250 crore ($28.7 million) in a round last year led by its existing investors Prosus Ventures, Accel and Tiger Global, while some new investors joined its cap table. It was valued at about $500 million then. 

Previously, in December 2024, it secured Rs 100 crore from Motilal Oswal Wealth Ltd. It had raised $25 million (Rs 209 crore) in a continuing Series C funding round in February 2024. 

The company also raised $20 million in its extended Series C round in September 2023. The round was co-led by SBI Investment and Evolvence and involved participation by a few existing investors, including Accel, Matrix, Prosus and Tiger Global. In 2022, it raised $50 million in its initial Series C round led by Prosus and Tiger Global, along with the participation of Accel, Matrix, Ankur Capital and Incubate Fund.

Seafood provider Captain Fresh, which has been on an acquisition spree to expand internationally in the last couple of ......

Prosus-backed Captain Fresh acquires Spanish tuna processor Frime

IIFL Finance is considering options for exit from its microfinance subsidiary, Oister Global is planning a third secondaries-focussed vehicle and Florida-headquartered I Squared Capital is exploring an exit from a portfolio firm with presence in India, as per various media reports. 

IIFL Samasta Finance

IIFL Finance is exploring options to exit its subsidiary IIFL Samasta, and has begun discussions with multiple interested suitors including Piramal Finance. EY is conducting due diligence for the microfinance unit, according to multiple media reports. 

The company, which holds a majority stake in IIFL Samasta, is reportedly in discussions with Piramal Finance and media reports indicate that the discussions are progressing but remain in the preliminary stage. However, Piramal Finance dismissed reports on such discussions through a stock exchange disclosure.

This is been part of IIFL Finance's long-term plan to bring new investors into the microfinance subsidiary, and the idea has been brewing since 2023. However, the plan was put on hold as the sector became volatile following severe asset quality stress.

According to a Moneycontrol report, IIFL Capital and DAM Capital are the bankers for the deal. The report added that the deal could conclude at a valuation of about 2.2 - 2.5 times the book value on a trailing twelve month basis. However, the parties have yet to agree on the transaction's valuation.

Oister Global

Financial services firm Oister Global, which focuses on secondaries, is expected to launch its third fund in the coming months, after investing more than Rs 1,000 crore (around $109 million) over the last two years to acquire stakes in startups such as BlackBuck, OfBusiness, Purplle, Shiprocket and BlueStone, business daily Mint reported.

The third vehicle is likely to have a corpus of Rs 500 crore (close to $55 million) and is expected to go live shortly, Oister’s co founder and co-chief executive officer Sandeep Sinha was quoted as saying in an interview with Mint. The first fund was about Rs 300 crore, followed by a second fund of Rs 400 crore.

Lightstorm

I Squared Capital, a Miami-headquartered global infrastructure investor, is reportedly weighing options to sell a partial stake in portfolio firm Lightstorm, a pan-Asia digital infrastructure platform with a presence in India, according to a Moneycontrol report.

The infrastructure investor is looking to offload a minority stake of around 20% in the company, which focuses on high-speed fiber and NaaS (Network-as-a-Service) solutions, Moneycontrol reported, citing industry sources. The report comes amid a growing demand for data centres in India and elsewhere.

The report states that the investment firm plans to tap private equity funds for the private trade and seek a valuation of up to $1.5 billion (around Rs 13,736 crore). I Squared Capital has also brought in an advisor and is likely to launch this proposed deal in March or April, though the report noted the plans are at an early stage. 

Moneycontrol quoted another source as saying that Lightstorm will be prepping for a stock market debut in the next 18-24 months, post completion of the transaction, targeting a potential valuation of up to $2.5 billion.

IIFL Finance is considering options for exit from its microfinance subsidiary, Oister Global is planning a third ......

Grapevine: IIFL Finance, Piramal Finance, Oister Global, I Squared Capital in news

General

RAS Luxury Skincare, a direct-to-consumer skincare brand, has secured $7.5 million (about Rs 69 crore) in Series B funding led by Dabur Ventures, the investment arm of the fast-moving consumer goods conglomerate Dabur Ltd.

Existing investor Unilever Ventures, the global corporate venture capital arm of Unilever, doubled down on its investment in the round, RAS Luxury said in a statement. 

Dabur Ventures plans to invest Rs 60 crore in the company, the FMCG company said in a separate stock-exchange filing.

RAS Luxury said it plans to use the capital in accelerating the brand’s omnichannel expansion across digital and offline retail formats, including its D2C platform, e-commerce and quick commerce marketplaces, exclusive brand outlets, partnerships with hotels and restaurants, and curated retail presence.

It will also use a part of the funds to strengthen its R&D capabilities, focusing on deepening active botanical science. 

Raipur, Chhattisgarh-based RAS Luxury was founded in 2017 by sisters Shubhika Jain and Suramya Jain and their mother Sangeeta Jain. It claims to offer farm-to-face natural, high-performance luxury skincare products through a fully vertically integrated model. Its products include face elixirs, serums, moisturisers, skin tints, lip oils, and sunscreens among others, infused with essential oils and nature-derived actives.

“Shubhika and her team have built a unique skincare proposition that encapsulates natural, science and luxury in one place. The Indian luxury beauty segment is evolving fast and a category-defining brand like RAS is poised to be at the forefront of this evolution,” said Abhinav Dhall, head of Dabur Ventures. 

This is the first investment by Dabur Ventures, which was launched in October 2025 with a corpus of Rs 500 crore. The firm intends to invest in personal care, healthcare, wellness foods, beverages, and ayurveda segments.

The Series B funding comes about a year after RAS raised $5 million in a Series A funding round in January 2025, led by Unilever Ventures, with participation from Amazon’s Smbhav Venture Fund. It also counts Sixth Sense Ventures and angel investors such as Keki Mistry’s family among its backers.

RAS Luxury says it has focused on building a brand with clean, sustainable sourcing through its in-house R&D and manufacturing capability. It has grown about 75% annually in the last three years and has an annual recurring revenue rate of Rs 100 crore.

“This investment will enable us to accelerate our omnichannel presence, deepen our R&D capabilities, and invest in brand and team building, all in pursuit of our longer-term goal of making RAS a leading name in Indian luxury skincare, at home and globally,” said Shubhika Jain.

RAS Luxury Skincare, a direct-to-consumer skincare brand, has secured $7.5 million (about Rs 69 crore) in Series B ......

Dabur’s investment arm leads Series B funding in RAS Luxury Skincare

Home-services platform Pronto has secured $25 million (around Rs 230 crore) in its Series B round of funding at a valuation of $100 million (around $918 crore), which is more than double its last valuation when it raised capital less than seven months ago. 

Its valuation in the Series A round was pegged at $45 million.

The latest round was led by domestic growth-stage investment firm Epiq Capital. It also saw participation from its existing investors Glade Brook Capital, General Catalyst and Bain Capital Ventures. 

The fresh funds will be used for hiring and training more professionals, and deepening operations across existing markets and service categories over the next 12 to 18 months, the startup said in a statement. 

“The way Indian households find and manage domestic help hasn't really evolved. It's still referrals, uncertainty and a lot of frustration on both sides. We are very early in solving this problem and under no illusion about how much work lies ahead. But we know exactly where we are headed,” said Anjali Sardana, founder and chief executive of Pronto. 

Pronto, founded in 2024 by Sardana, offers a 10‑minute, shift‑based model for on‑demand home services for urban households. The platform connects households with trained, background‑verified professionals for everyday tasks such as cleaning, laundry, utensil washing and basic meal prep. It operates on a hyperlocal hub‑and‑spoke model.

It bagged $11 million (around Rs 96 crore) in Series A funding last August, led by General Catalyst and Glade Brook Capital, with participation from existing investor Bain Capital Ventures. 

The Bengaluru-based startup claims to have grown from roughly 1,000 to over 18,000 over the last seven months and is growing 20% week-on-week. It works with about 3,000 professionals it calls ‘Pros’ and has a core team of 60 people.   

"Pronto is turning a fragmented market into dependable home-services infrastructure, and it starts with Anjali's founder approach - deep in the problem, grounded in customer and supply realities and decisive in execution," said Rishi Navani, founder and managing partner of Epiq Capital. 

Pronto competes with the likes of Snabbit and Urban Company that also provide instant house help within minutes. Snabbit raised $30 million in Series C round led by Bertelsmann India Investments in October that pushed its valuation to $180 million. 

Meanwhile, Urban Company, which listed on the bourses earlier this year, forayed into the vertical about a year ago and crossed 50,000 daily bookings in February, its chief executive Abhiraj Singh Bhal said last month. 

Home-services platform Pronto has secured $25 million (around Rs 230 crore) in its Series B round of funding at a ......

Pronto raises Series B, valuation surges to $100 mn

Nitesh Kumar

Early- to mid-stage venture capital firm Blume Ventures has consistently picked a thesis and stayed with it long enough for the market to test it. Nowhere is this more evident than in fintech, where the firm has backed around 30 companies riding India’s digital finance transformation.

The headline numbers, however, tell only part of the story. Of more than 20 active bets, over 10 portfolio companies have filed their FY25 financials. While a healthy number are growing, roughly a third are showing early signs of stress. As these are mostly vintage bets, five to 10 years old, their performance offers a clearer view of how Blume’s long‑term fintech thesis has played out. 

The firm currently lists about 28 startups in its fintech portfolio, of which it has exited six. Four exits came through acquisitions, while two happened quietly without making it to the headlines.

Emails sent to the VC firm remained unanswered till the time of publishing this article.

A three-phase thesis

Blume's fintech journey can be divided into three distinct phases, each tracking a broader inflection point in India's digital finance evolution.

The first phase, roughly pre-2015, was focused on infrastructure. IDfy, an identity verification firm, from which Blume is now in talks to exit via a secondary route, best represents this. At the time, fraud detection and KYC infrastructure were invisible layers, and backing them early was a contrarian call.

The second phase, from 2015 to 2019, was distribution. UPI had launched and Jio had made data free. Demonetization had its impact on businesses and fintechs were no exception. The consumption wave was real and Blume rode it by backing Slice (youth credit), Turtlemint (insurance distribution), Smallcase (retail investing), Servify (device finance), Kaleidofin and Jai Kisan (financial inclusion). Multiple follow-on rounds in the same companies signalled high conviction.

The third phase started from 2019 and sharpened after COVID. The NBFC crisis had shown that distribution without underwriting is a liability masquerading as an asset. During this time, Blume backed Bureau (fraud analytics), BlueCopa and Aerem (cashflow-based lending), and DPDZero (delinquency management). 

Notably, these were not consumer playbooks. They were bets on the infrastructure of risk itself. 

Blume’s more recent bets, including Mysa, Opticap, PowerUp Money, and Zoven, extend this logic into structured credit models and AI-led risk layers.



The distress cluster maps largely to consumer‑facing, distribution‑heavy bets made during the high‑growth years. 

Of the roughly 13 fintech companies that have filed FY25 numbers, Zopper, Stellapps, Jai Kisan and DPDZero appear to be entering a test of time. VCCircle also dug deeper to assess the firm’s underwater bets, including Finvolve and Instamojo, which it recently exited without public disclosure.

Zopper is the most alarming on paper. The insurance and retail brokerage group, which has raised $125 million (Rs 1,136 crore) to date, including a $75 million round in 2022, saw its finances hit by a GST investigation spanning December 2023 to February 2025.

The probe alleged ineligible input tax credits claimed on marketing services from vendors with inactive registrations. A mid-year shift to a new SAP system was done without switching on a feature that tracks changes in the database, which concerned auditors. The company eventually reversed the tax credits and paid roughly Rs 24 crore in taxes and penalties, VCCircle has learnt. 

Zopper’s consolidated revenue fell 18.6% to Rs 357 crore, while net losses nearly doubled to Rs 203 crore. Its subsidiary Blink Fix’s standalone revenue also collapsed from Rs 289 crore in FY24 to Rs 67 crore in FY25, as per the annual statement. Zopper Insurance Brokers’ standalone revenue dropped from Rs 396 crore in FY24 to Rs 275 crore in FY25, according to VCCEdge, the data and research platform of VCCircle.

The prolonged investigative overhang has materially damaged the company’s core business.


Stellapps also faces questions. The dairy-tech and farm digitization platform saw service exports, which had contributed over Rs 12 crore in FY24, fall to near zero in FY25.

Consolidated revenue dropped from Rs 357 crore to Rs 206 crore, though net losses narrowed to Rs 55.45 crore from Rs 70.61 crore. A Rs 121 crore ($13.3 million) fundraise during the year provides a cash buffer, but does not fully explain the disappearance of what had looked like a foundational revenue stream. 

Meanwhile, Vipatra Technologies-operated DPDZero reported zero employees, zero physical assets, and eliminated all rent, power, and utility expenses in FY25, VCCircle has learnt.

The company’s revenue fell 34% to Rs 5.2 crore and total expenses declined to roughly Rs 5 crore, yielding a Rs 29 lakh profit before tax. It is, on one reading, a successful pivot to an asset-light outsourcing model. However, the company had raised $7 million last year in a Series A round to develop its multilingual AI collection agent and fuel the launch of a network of professional field collection agents.

Among other struggling bets, Jai Kisan stands out, having already made a strategic pivot that could become a model for portfolio companies still trying to sail through the maze.


Jai Kisan’s FY25 numbers look weak in isolation, with standalone operating revenue falling sharply from Rs 39 crore to Rs 9 crore, and technology fee income collapsing from Rs 12.6 crore to Rs 1.8 crore. 

However, it is important to note that in June 2024, the company acquired a 73.11% stake in NBFC Kushal Finnovation Capital, fundamentally altering its business. Jai Kisan is no longer a tech‑enabled distribution facilitator for third‑party lenders, but a full‑stack financing group with its own balance sheet. 

While consolidated revenue still declined year-on-year, the shift reflects a broader industry logic: distribution-only fintechs are being squeezed by rising acquisition costs, shrinking fee pools, and compliance burden of working with regulated lending partners. Owning or controlling the NBFC layer internalizes margins and builds defensibility. 

Underwater bets

Instamojo underscores the risks of regulatory‑dependent business models. The digital payments firm had been posting operating losses since years before reporting about Rs 16 crore in standalone revenue in FY24. However, when the RBI returned its payment aggregator/payment gateway licence application, the business unravelled. VCCircle reported in 2023 that Instamojo was seeking to raise fresh funding to give an exit to early backers.

Instamojo’s standalone revenue collapsed 84% to Rs 2.5 crore. A Rs 14.4 crore write‑off followed after the company had spent heavily on building a new platform tied to the licence it ultimately never received. All the work and investment that went into the platform became stranded assets that had to be written off the books, VCCircle has learnt.

Regulatory filings show the company’s going‑concern status now depends on support from its US parent Instamojo Inc.

Finvolve also appears to be in survival mode. Revenue dipped from Rs 21 crore to Rs 19 crore, but the company narrowed its losses by cutting employee expenses by 25%, indicating it likely reduced headcount. 

The cost‑cutting, combined with declining revenue, points to early signs of distress. Blume converted its CCPS into equity shares during FY25, but no new investors came  on board. On its website, Blume has recently marked the company as an exit, even though it first invested in 2013, indicating the firm may have written off its position.

Against these red flags, Blume has two cleaner exits in sight. IDfy, which it backed in the early years, is in secondary-route discussions, while insurtech firm Turtlemint is gearing up for an IPO. Both are businesses with structural moats, IDfy in KYC infrastructure and Turtlemint in insurance distribution, that were less exposed to the unit economics churn that hurt several consumer fintech bets.

Blume Ventures got the macro call right. India's digital finance transformation has been large and fast. What proved harder to forecast was which layers of that transformation would generate durable returns. Infrastructure and selective distribution held up; growth-first consumer fintechs, regulatory-dependent models and international revenue assumptions were put to the test. 

Whether Blume’s newer bets, focused on risk intelligence and structured credit, reflect lessons learnt from earlier investments, a thesis evolution, or simply the fashions of the post‑2021 funding market is something that will take another three-five years to determine.

Early- to mid‑stage venture capital firm Blume Ventures has consistently picked a thesis and stayed with it long ......

Spotlight: How Blume Ventures\' fintech portfolio is faring

Inamo, a full-stack quick commerce enablement platform, has raised $8 million (around Rs 73.2 crore) in a Series A round led by Prime Venture Partners. The round involves $6 million in equity and $2 million in venture debt. 

Its current investors Shastra VC, Antler India and Gemba Capital also participated in the round. 

The startup will use the fresh capital to expand its dark store network, accelerate brand onboarding and support its foray into new categories as it enters its next phase of growth. 

Inamo, founded in 2024, works with some brands and quick commerce platforms, providing a modular full-stack solution that solves fulfillment constraints such as inventory duplication, fragmented demand and operational complexity. 

Bounce

Electric-scooter maker Bounce, which primarily caters to gig workers, has closed $5 million (around Rs 46 crore) from its existing investors in an internal round, its founder Vivekananda Hallekere said in a post on X. 

While Hallekere didn’t disclose the names of the investors, Bounce has previously raised capital from Accel, B Capital, Peak XV, Chiratae, Falcon Edge, Omidyar Network and Qualcomm Ventures among others. 

“25x growth in under a year. Turns out owning a full stack--manufacturing to running your own fleet–is a pretty good combo,” said in the post. 

Inamo, a full-stack quick commerce enablement platform, has raised $8 million (around Rs 73.2 crore) in a Series A round......

Quick-commerce enabler Inamo, EV-maker Bounce raise capital

Debjyoti Roy

Dubai-headquartered investment firm Pulsar Capital and a South India-based restaurant chain have called off negotiations for a proposed deal due to a disagreement over valuations, two people aware of the development told VCCircle.

Last August, VCCircle reported that Pulsar Capital, floated by former TPG partner Vish Narain, was in an advanced stage to invest in Bengaluru-based restaurant chain Nandhana Palace, which specialises in Andhra cuisine. The deal size was estimated to be around Rs 400 crore (around $44 million) and likely included diluting a majority stake in the company.

Nandhana Palace, which has revenue of over Rs 400 crore and EBITDA of about Rs 80 crore, was seeking a 3x revenue multiple as its valuation. However, the investment firm was not willing to pay the price to salvage the deal, the people cited above said, asking not to be named.

Email queries sent to Nandhana Palace and Pulsar Capital remained unanswered till the time of publishing this article.

Nandhana Palace, operated by Nandhana Foods Pvt Ltd, was founded over two decades ago by Dr. Ravichandar. Under its dine-in, take away and delivery menu, it offers vegetarian and non-vegetarian starters, soups, Andhra meals, and the flagship Andhra biryani. According to reports, the restaurant chain currently has over 20 outlets in Bengaluru and in Chennai.

In 2020, Ravichandar’s daughters Ramya and Shweta co-founded RNR Donne Biryani Cloud Kitchens, from where they supplied the Andhra specialty donne biryani to customers. 

In August 2025, VCCircle had reported that Pulsar Capital had acquired the master franchise for US pizza giant Papa John’s retail expansion plans in India in collaboration with PJP Foods India. PJP Foods runs the exclusive mandate for developing the US-based pizza chain’s restaurants across India. 

VCCircle had also reported in 2024 that some other brands that Pulsar Capital was eyeing included quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain Biryani By Kilo, a Lebanese chain based out of Dubai, and a dessert brand in India, among others.

Other notable prior investments by Pulsar include UAE-based telehealth and virtual care provider TruDoc; Bengaluru-headquartered Assiduus Global; and an AI-powered cross-border e-commerce accelerator, along with ventures such as Ambrosia Foods and Athena SPAC.

Dubai-headquartered investment firm Pulsar Capital and a South India-based restaurant chain have called off negotiations ......

Pulsar Capital\'s talks to invest in restaurant chain fall through over valuation mismatch

VC_Desk_Section_Masthead

VC_Desk_Section_A_300x250

VC_Desk_Section_B_300x250

VC_Desk_Section_C_300x250

VC_Desk_Section_D_300x250

VC_Desk_Section_E_300x250

VC_Desk_Section_A_Skyscraper

VC_Desk_Section_B_Skyscraper

VC_Desk_Section_A_Billboard

VC_Desk_Section_B_Billboard

VC_Desk_Section_C_Billboard

VC_Desk_Section_D_Billboard

VC_Desk_Section_E_Billboard

VC_Desk_Section_Footer

Reuters

The southern Indian state of Karnataka, home to the tech hub of Bengaluru, banned the use of social media by ......

Karnataka becomes first Indian state to ban social media for children under 16

Aman Rawat

Bengaluru-based audio platform Kuku FM is betting on short-form video and artificial intelligence (AI) to expand beyond ......

IPO-bound Kuku FM bets on AI, short-form video for growth

Manufacturing

Hi-Q Electronics Pvt Ltd, a domestic printed circuit boards (PCBs) maker, has added a private equity investor to its ......

PCB maker Hi-Q Electronics pockets maiden PE funding cheque

Rozana, an omnichannel retail platform focused on rural areas, has raised Rs 290 crore (around $31.6 million) in its ......

Bertelsmann India Investments, Fireside top up bets on Rozana in Series B round

Aman Malik

Infrastructure

“Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are no longer optional. Every project going forward will come with storage,” ......

KKR-controlled EuroKids operator Lighthouse taking over Gurugram preschool

VC-backed DailyObjects plans more offline stores to speed up growth, lift margins

Peek into Kenro Capital’s strategy for maiden India-domiciled secondaries fund

Prosus-backed Captain Fresh acquires Spanish tuna processor Frime

Grapevine: IIFL Finance, Piramal Finance, Oister Global, I Squared Capital in news

Dabur’s investment arm leads Series B funding in RAS Luxury Skincare

Pronto raises Series B, valuation surges to $100 mn

Spotlight: How Blume Ventures' fintech portfolio is faring

Quick-commerce enabler Inamo, EV-maker Bounce raise capital

Pulsar Capital's talks to invest in restaurant chain fall through over valuation mismatch

Most Popular

TMT

Karnataka becomes first Indian state to ban social media for children under 16

TMT

IPO-bound Kuku FM bets on AI, short-form video for growth

Manufacturing

PCB maker Hi-Q Electronics pockets maiden PE funding cheque

Consumer

Bertelsmann India Investments, Fireside top up bets on Rozana in Series B round

Infrastructure

Mahindra Susten's Avinash Rao on growth plans, BESS adoption, and InvIT strategy

Consumer

KKR-controlled EuroKids operator Lighthouse taking over Gurugram preschool

Google News