New Delhi, Aug. 12 -- At least nine Indian startups announced raising funding in early and growth rounds on Tuesday, led by luxury beauty firm Kimirica, entertainment startup Dashverse, and vacation rental startup Elivaas.

Other companies raised pocked cheques from investors include non-bank lender Seeds Fincap, space-tech startup Manastu Space, business-to-business startup Fairdeal and marketing analytics firm Spike AI.

Kimirica

Carnelian Asset Management LLP, led by market veteran Vikas Khemani, has invested around $15 million (Rs 131.5 crore) in luxury beauty company Kimirica. It invested in both units of the business-hotel amenities manufacturer Kimirica Hunter and luxury beauty brand Kimirica Lifestyle.

"Kimirica's foundation lies in a strong B2B legacy backed by strong manufacturing and infrastructure. This investment will allow us to strengthen our global hospitality ecosystem while opening new avenues for growth worldwide," said Rajat Jain, co-founder, Kimirica.

Founded in 2013 by Mohit, Rajat, Kimi, and Rica Jain, Kimirica is a bootstrapped startup that exports hotel toiletries to more than 70 countries and partners with more than 10,000 luxury hotels and airlines, including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Accor, Leela, and Air India.

The company has expanded into the direct-to-consumer (D2C) retail space covering skincare, body care, fine fragrances, luxury gifting, and home and wellness. It is also setting up a manufacturing facility in Indore, which will have the capability to deliver an annual output of Rs 1,500-2,000 crore.

Dashverse

Dashverse, an entertainment company developing platforms for mobile-first entertainment, has secured $13 million in a Series A funding led by Peak XV Partners with participation from returning investors Z47 and Stellaris Venture Partners.

The funding comes after the company launched a micro drama app which has surpassed 5 million downloads within a month of launch, the startup said.

"This funding fuels our mission to build the creative infrastructure for this shift where mobile-first, serialized content becomes the default, not the exception," said Sanidhya Narain, co-founder and CEO of Dashverse.

Founded in 2023 in Bengaluru by Sanidhya Narain, Lalith Gudipati, and Soumyadeep Mukherjee, Dashverse uses artificial intelligence to enable creators worldwide to develop, publish, and monetize original stories across comics and micro dramas.

Elivaas

Elivaas, a luxury vacation rental platform, has secured Rs 87 crore ($10.4 million) in its Series B funding round, led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India. Existing investors Peak XV Partners' Surge and 3one4 Capital also participated.

The company said it plans to deepen its market penetration by doubling down on its presence in high-potential leisure and business travel destinations across India.

Elivaas said it seeks to expand its global presence and strengthen brand visibility in India and international markets, invest in technology, boost operational performance, and improve the customer journey.

Founded in 2023 by Ritwik Khare and Karan Miglani, Elivaas specialises in curating luxury villa vacations across destinations in India by focusing on short-term luxury rentals. It offers a tech-driven platform to manage villa and luxury apartments, providing homeowners with solutions to monetise, monitor, and maintain vacation homes and travellers access to a portfolio of luxurious managed properties.

Seeds Fincap

Seeds Fincap Pvt Ltd, a non-banking finance company which offers credit to MSMEs, has bagged Rs 50 crore in a pre-Series B round led by existing VC investors Z47 and Lok Capital.

The round saw new investors Norinchukin Capital and Alteria Capital join the cap table. The company now plans to raise Series B funding and that it has appointed Unitus Capital as the advisor for the fundraise, it said in a statement.

Seeds Fincap, started in 2021 and led by Subhash Chandra Acharya and Avishek Sarkar, provides loans through 120 branches across eight states. The Gurugram-based company has disbursed over Rs 1,000 crore in loans and now manages over Rs 500 crore in assets.

Manastu Space

Manastu Space Technologies has raised $3 million in an extended Series A round led by Capital-A, marking the Bengaluru-based venture capital firm's first investment in a space-tech company.

Existing investors such as Capital 2B, IAN, E2MC, the Bhagnani family office, Jeet Chandan, and a few angel investors also participated in the round, the company said in a statement. It is currently in advanced discussions to close its full Series A round by mid-2025.

Lodha Capital acted as the exclusive investment banker for this transaction.

The startup said the funding will accelerate the commercial deployment of its green propulsion and debris-avoidance solutions and in-orbit refuelling technologies, while expanding its global footprint. It will also invest in the development of key technologies for in-orbit servicing, including satellite refuelling, deorbiting, and mission life extension.

Founded in 2017 by Tushar Jadhav and Ashtesh Kumar, Manastu Space is developing satellite propulsion with green technologies. Its team comprises experts in propulsion systems and advanced materials.

Fairdeal

Fairdeal.Market has secured $3 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Incubate Fund Asia and Waterbridge Ventures and angel investors.

The business-to-business (B2B) quick commerce platform said the funds will be deployed to expand into new zones in Delhi-NCR, and onboard more D2C and regional brands.

Founded by Prateek and Yash Bansal, Fairdeal allows micro-retailers and enables their transition into the digital retail economy. It provides cloud inventory of over 1,000 stock-keeping units and discovery of upcoming brands with better margins.

Spike AI

Spike AI has collected $1.9 million in pre-seed funding led by Sorin Investments, a VC firm founded by former KKR India chief Sanjay Nayar and Angad Banga, with co-investment from California-based Principal Venture Partners and GSI.

Founded in 2024 by Deepesh Kumar and Shrestha Pratik, Spike AI's MAGI platform analyzes channels, identifying friction, and deploying improvements in real-time by replacing marketing guesswork with autonomous intelligence.

Holiday Tribe

Travel-tech firm Holiday Tribe has closed a pre-Series A funding round with Rs 25 crore led by Powerhouse Ventures, GSF and some angel investors.

The funding was a combination of equity and debt. The startup plans to personalize travel experiences through deploying artificial intelligence and further strengthening supplier networks.

Since the startup's seed funding of Rs 5.4 crore in September 2024, it claims to have grown more than three times. In the next 18-24 months, the startup expects to hit Rs 500 crore annualized gross merchandise value (GMV).

Elever

Elever, a SEBI-registered wealth management firm, has raised $1.1 million in pre-series A funding from key executives of global companies, The Times of India Group's investment arm Brand Capital, along with existing investors and promoters.

Elever says its quantitative portfolio management services combine data-driven insights with a systematic investment process, with the aim of bringing institutional-grade portfolio management to a wider base of individual investors and family offices. The latest round brings its total funding to $4 million to date.

The funding will be used to scale the startup's PMS business, strengthen its brand presence, and deepen investor engagement, it said. It plans to raise a Series A round in the next 12 months.

Founded in 2020 by Anshul Sharan, Karan Aggarwal, Ram Subramaniam, and Santosh R, Bengaluru-based Elever provides wealth management services using machine learning to drive alpha generation.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.