MFs up startup ante; Rupeek's new raise

Happy Tuesday! Exposure of domestic mutual funds to new-age stocks significantly increased in 2025. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.

Also in the letter:
■ Indian data firms on tax holiday
■ Dream Sports’ FY25 numbers
■ An AIdentity crisis

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Domestic mutual funds (MFs) have nearly doubled their exposure to new-age companies over the past year, piling into consumer internet stocks at a blistering pace.

Driving the news: According to shareholding pattern data analysed by ET, domestic MFs held stock in about two dozen new-age companies worth Rs 1.77 lakh crore as of December 31, nearly double from the Rs 95,000 crore as of a year earlier.

• These funds have snapped up stakes in consumer internet companies such as Eternal, Swiggy, Nykaa, and PB Fintech over the past year.
• They now also hold positions in Lenskart, Groww, Meesho and PhysicsWallah, all of which listed on the exchanges last year.

Details:

• MFs participated in Swiggy’s Rs 10,000 crore share sale to institutional investors in December.
• Eternal’s stock ended flat in 2025 after a zigzag ride, but the Zomato and Blinkit parent accounted for more than 40% of the total mutual fund holdings in new-age companies.
• Even excluding companies that listed in 2025, MF holdings jumped more than 60% to Rs 1.53 lakh crore.

Outlook: Ownership by domestic institutions, particularly mutual funds, will only climb as more new-age companies gear up to go public, analysts and industry executives said.

Expert take: Fund houses are backing both winners and stocks that have taken a beating. “Mutual funds have adopted a contrarian stance on select names, backing the long-term growth of the underlying categories at current valuations,” a Mumbai-based analyst at a global brokerage firm said.

Also Read: Big burst of new-age startup IPOs lined up for 2026; issues worth Rs 50,000 crore planned

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Sumit Maniyar, founder, Rupeek

Gold loan startup Rupeek is seeking to raise $50 million in fresh funding at a higher valuation than its last round in 2024, sources told us.

Deal details:

• The Peak XV Partners-backed startup is now meeting investment bankers for the deal.
• Rupeek was valued at over $600 million in 2022. The firm raised funding in 2024 at a 40-50% discount.
• It wants the funds to capitalise its own non-banking finance company (NBFC), which currently accounts for a tiny slice of its current AUM.

Playing their strength: The Bengaluru-based startup is pitching improved financials as a turnaround story to justify its higher valuation demand. The company has turned profitable in its core lending business, and the next round would be based on its profitability.

Yes, and: The company needs fresh funds to secure higher ratings and stay competitive with other large gold loan players like Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance.

Also Read: VC-backed wealth management startups see revenue rise, losses widen


(L-R) Vineet Khanna, Aman Tekriwal and Varun Sadana, founders, Supertails

Petcare startup Supertails has raised $30 million in a round led by Singapore-based investment firm Venturi Partners with participation from Nippon India Alternative Investments, Titan Capital, and existing investors Fireside Ventures, RPSG Capital Ventures, Sauce VC, and Saama Capital.

Tell me more:

• The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the funds to strengthen its end-to-end pet care ecosystem and expand its services to new geographies, cofounder Vineet Khanna said.
• ET reported last November that Supertails was in talks to raise capital in a round led by Venturi Partners, with participation from existing backers.

(L-R) Saran S, Aniket Shah, Ujjwal Sukheja, cofounders, Swish

Two-year-old startup Swish is discussing a $30-35 million fundraise with Bain Capital Ventures and existing investors, including Accel, sources told us.

Details:

• Swish’s latest round will value the startup around $100-120 million.
• The valuation is almost double the $60 million at which it last raised capital.
• Potential investors are currently conducting due diligence on the company’s operating and financial metrics.

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Indian data centre firms breathed a sigh of relief after the government clarified that domestic and foreign investors will be treated equally for the 20-year tax holiday announced in the Union Budget.

On one side: Sunil Gupta, chief executive of Yotta Data Services, called the clarification “an important and reassuring signal” that helps correct the initial perception that foreign hyperscalers were getting a special leg up.

Yes, but: Piyush Somani, chairman of ESDS Software Solution, said the issue is not merely perceptual. “The economics tell a different story,” he said, pointing out that Indian cloud companies pay the full corporate tax rate on all revenues, while foreign hyperscalers serving global markets from India could remain tax-free until 2047.

Anuj Bairathi, chief executive of Cyfuture India, said the government’s clarification does not automatically guarantee parity in value creation.

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Harsh Jain, cofounder and CEO, Dream Sports

Dream Sports swings to loss in FY25: Dream Sports, the parent of fantasy sports platform Dream11, reported a net loss of Rs 478.9 crore for the fiscal year ended March 2025, compared with a net profit of Rs 1,295 crore in FY24.

An AIdentity crisis: Over the past year, actors such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, along with filmmaker Karan Johar, sought legal relief against the misuse of their identities in online content and advertising.

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