On 10 August 2026, India’s startup ecosystem saw significant developments with Bakingo’s ₹100 crore Series B funding, AUM Ventures’ first close of a deeptech fund, and major AI launches by Cars24, highlighting a vibrant phase of growth, technological investment, and legal milestones.
India’s startup funding picture on 10 August 2026 was shaped by a mix of fresh capital, fund-building and corporate spin-outs, with Bakingo’s ₹100 crore Series B and AUM Ventures’ first close of a new deeptech fund standing out as the day’s main financing stories. The same roundup also carried a corporate AI launch from Cars24 and a courtroom development in the long-running dispute between Zostel and OYO parent PRISM, underscoring how funding news often sits alongside operational and legal milestones in the ecosystem.
Bakingo, the Gurugram-based online bakery founded in 2016 by Himanshu Chawla, Shrey Sehgal and Suman Patra, raised the new money entirely from existing backer Faering Capital, according to the company’s filing. The round values the business at ₹1,643 crore, well above the ₹627 crore valuation attached to its Series A, and follows Faering’s $16 million investment in November 2023. Bakingo said the proceeds will go towards growth and general business needs, after reporting ₹300 crore in operating revenue in FY25 and a loss of ₹16.5 crore.
The fresh round also extends a relationship that has already helped Bakingo expand its footprint. Economic Times reported in 2023 that Faering’s earlier cheque was meant to fund a wider dark-kitchen network, entry into new cities and investment in technology for production, supply chain and forecasting. Bakingo now says it operates more than 100 kitchens across over 30 cities and offers more than 400 cake designs, including cheesecakes, gourmet cakes and customised occasion cakes.
AUM Ventures, meanwhile, marked the first close of its India Innovation Fund II at ₹225 crore against a target of ₹750 crore, with more than 65% of commitments coming from international limited partners in the US and West Asia, according to the firm. The fund is expected to write initial cheques of $750,000 to $2 million and back 25 to 30 startups at pre-seed and seed stage, with follow-on capital reserved for later rounds. The firm, which has backed companies including Skyroot Aerospace, Azimuth AI, Cosmoserve Space and Sully.ai, is focusing Fund II on artificial intelligence, spacetech, semiconductors and defence technology.
Elsewhere, Cars24 launched Deployment Inc, an independent enterprise AI company seeded with $5 million and led by Cars24 executive Jayesh Gupta and former xAI engineer Aayush Gupta. The new venture says it will place forward-deployed engineers inside client organisations and has already named Cars24 its first customer, while also claiming that an internal version of the model cut service-request turnaround from 32 hours to 30 minutes. Separately, Zostel withdrew a plea in the Delhi High Court over OYO’s IPO disclosures, though the underlying ownership dispute remains unresolved.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
