ETtech deals digest: Startups raise $1.9 billion in March, up over two-fold on-year

Startups raised about $1.99 billion in funding between March 1 and 28, marking a more than two-fold increase from the same period last year, when they had raised a total of $859 million across 212 rounds during the same month last year.

This month, startups, primarily in the early and late stages, secured funding through 82 rounds, according to data from market intelligence platform Tracxn.

In February 2025, startups raised around $795.7 million from 94 rounds.


Last week—from March 22 to 28—startups raised around $440 million.

Top deals of the month

Erisha E Mobility: Electric vehicle manufacturer Erisha E Mobility raised $1 billion in investment from a UAE-based industrial investor to establish smart manufacturing hubs.

Zolve: Cross-border financial services platform Zolve secured $251 million in a debt-equity mix funding round led by Creaegis.

Darwinbox: Software-as-a-service (SaaS) unicorn Darwinbox, which specialises in human resource (HR) services, has closed a $140 million funding round co-led by global private equity firms Partners Group and KKR. The round—largely secondary with a small primary component—also saw participation by Gravity Holdings.

Nexthop AI: Nexthop AI, a startup building artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for cloud companies, raised $110 million in funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.