ETtech Deals Digest: Startups raise $400 million this week, up 7x on-year

Startups raised around $400.4 million between January 17 and 23, a nearly seven-fold increase from the $59.5 million secured during the same period last year, according to data intelligence platform Tracxn.

This week’s tally was more than double the $190.7 million raised in the previous week, driven by investments across sectors such as electric vehicles (EVs), artificial intelligence (AI), financial services, robotics, and consumer brands.

Deal activity, however, remained largely flat, with 41 transactions this week compared to 42 in the same period last year.

Top deals of the week

GreenCell Mobility: Eversource Capital-backed electric bus operator GreenCell Mobility closed $89 million in funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), British International Investment (BII), and Tata Capital.

Emergent: AI coding startup Emergent raised $70 million in funding from Khosla Ventures and SoftBank, valuing the seven-month-old company at about $300 million.

Juspay: Digital payments startup Juspay raised $50 million from WestBridge Capital at a valuation of about $1.2 billion. This made Juspay the first Indian startup to attain unicorn status in 2026.

Unbox Robotics: Warehouse automation startup Unbox Robotics raised $28 million in a round led by ICICI Venture, with participation from InfoEdge subsidiary RedStart Labs, F-Prime, 3one4 Capital, Navam Capital, Force Ventures, and existing investors.

Escape Plan: New-age travel accessories platform Escape Plan raised $25 million in a funding round led by Jungle Ventures, with participation from Fireside Ventures and IndiGo Ventures.