Venture capital and private equity investments in Indian startups surged nearly 82% month-on-month to $1.87 billion in September 2026, after a relatively subdued August when investments stood at $1.03 billion, according to proprietary data compiled by DealStreetAsia.
Our monthly tracker of startup funding trends in India shows that deal activity remained nearly flat at 95 transactions in September compared with 96 in August, pointing to a sharp increase in average deal sizes during the month. The month’s largest deal was electric two-wheeler startup Simple Energy’s $180-million Series C round.
Enterprise AI company Brahma AI was the only startup to enter the unicorn club in September 2026, raising $150 million in a funding round led by Multiples Alternate Asset Management at a post-money valuation of $2 billion.
Moving on to the other top headlines from the week.
LP-GP corner
Malaysian state fund-of-funds Jelawang Capital has named two more managers under its Emerging Managers’ Programme (EMP)—Superscrypt, an early-stage blockchain-focused venture capital firm; and TNB Aura, a VC focused on companies in the Series B and earlier stages in Southeast Asia. These two GPs join Vynn Capital, First Move, and Kairous Capital as the first five managers under the EMP.
Temasek-owned Seviora Holdings is planning to integrate three wholly-owned managers—Azalea Investment Management, SeaTown Holdings International and Seviora Capital—under a single operating model from January 2027.
In our PE-focused newsletter, Beyond the Buyout, we took stock of Seviora’s consolidation and why it matters for Asia’s private markets. We also examined the continued interest in the Japanese PE market and Jio Platforms’ proposed IPO in India, which looks less like an exit route for investors and more like a tool to boost the balance sheet.
Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund Danantara and upstream oil & gas company Energi Mega Persada have committed a combined $450 million to US oil producer HighPeak Energy.
Nuveen Real Estate has secured more than $700 million in commitments, including co-investment vehicles and transactions, at the first close of its latest Australian commercial real estate debt strategy. CPP Investments committed A$300 million to the strategy alongside Temasek.
Endeavor Catalyst has closed its fifth vehicle at $320 million, lifting its assets under management to more than $850 million. Endeavor Catalyst Fund V lets the firm sharpen its focus on Asia and other emerging startup markets.
ASK Alternates has raised nearly $52 million for its second private credit fund, reaching half of its target corpus within five months of the fund’s launch.
MDI Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Indonesia’s state-owned telecom giant Telkom, is turning to Singapore to tap new investment opportunities in Southeast Asia.
US healthcare investment firm TCGX said it has secured $600 million in commitments for TCGX Asia Life Sciences Fund I, its first biotech fund that will invest in life sciences companies in Asia.
The IFC is weighing an equity investment of up to $10 million in private equity fund ECF Fund III, which is seeking to raise $150 million in aggregate commitments.
ESR has announced plans to expand into the Middle East, targeting logistics and data centre projects with a potential end value of more than $10 billion.
Exclusives
Korea Investment Corp. is evaluating offers for a portfolio of private equity fund stakes worth over $1 billion, as it seeks to sell holdings in the secondaries market.
Investors including a unit of Indonesian investment firm Saratoga, Saison Capital, ACV Capital, Quona Capital, and Skystar have been allotted new preference shares in fintech lender JULO.
A vehicle comprising the management of Singaporean pre-school operator Star Learners Group has acquired all shares in the company owned by French childcare group people&baby, returning ownership after several years. DealStreetAsia reported in February this year that Deloitte was appointed to help sell stakes in Star Learners.
Indonesian insurtech PasarPolis is exploring strategic partnerships with insurance companies, including a potential merger, as insurers across the country race to strengthen their capital base ahead of a regulatory deadline.
Diversified Indonesian group Indika Energy’s plan to sell a controlling stake in Kideco Jaya Agung, one of the country’s largest thermal coal mines and the company’s main cash source, is progressing. A front-runner has emerged in the race, and at least two global companies have engaged in talks.
Funding updates
Singapore-based enterprise AI company OneByZero has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round anchored by Jungle Ventures.
Singapore fintech startup IPID has raised $16 million in a Series A funding round led by Foundation Capital and backed by Citi and HSBC.
V-Key, a Singaporean digital identity and mobile application security provider, has made a strategic investment in Singapore-based CloudsineAI.
Indonesian fintech firm Cicil is set to acquire a 30% stake in listed financing company Pool Advista Finance.
Myca, an India-based agentic AI startup focused on agribusiness operations, has raised $1.3 million in a pre-seed round led by Kriscore Capital and Eximius Ventures.
Analyses and interviews
Private wealth investors are now more knowledgeable about the private markets, with a better understanding of their illiquid nature and the range of investment strategies available to them, Sueann Yeo, a senior executive at EQT, told DealStreetAsia. While individual investors are generally accustomed to frequent and predictable cash distributions, private market investments are typically designed around longer holding periods and value creation over time.
“The volatility in Indian public markets could make IPO pricing more challenging and prompt companies to reconsider their listing plans unless they are confident of getting the valuations they seek,” according to Ritesh Chandra, Managing Partner at Avendus Future Leaders Fund.
Harsh Agrawal, Senior Partner, Asia, at US-based infrastructure manager I Squared Capital, spoke to DealStreetAsia about the broader exit opportunities he sees in APAC, particularly for the platform model. “We have pursued both platform investments and opportunistic buyouts, and we continue to do both. But the platform-oriented strategy is particularly well suited to Asia,” said Agrawal.
The AI boom is the biggest potential risk to financial markets, said senior executives from Temasek and Mubadala at the Milken Institute Asia Summit 2026. “If you’re asking me what can go wrong, I mean, I think unwinding of the AI trade is the biggest risk. We don’t see that as imminent. But will you have bumps in 2027? Possibly yes,” said Rohit Sipahimalani, Chief Investment Officer at Temasek.
Insights from Asia PE-VC Summit 2026
We continued to bring takeaways and perspectives from our oversubscribed 11th Asia PE-VC Summit that concluded in Singapore last month.
Malaysian sovereign investor Khazanah Nasional‘s Dana Impak programme, which has mobilised 2.6 billion ringgit as of Dec 31, 2025, remains focused on commercial discipline, said Kayse Foo, the head of the programme. “First risk does not mean blind risk for us; we chart it out,” she said during a fireside chat session.
Southeast Asia’s technology ecosystem is emerging from a painful funding correction that has forced investors and founders to rethink growth-at-all-costs strategies. Executives from Tin Men Capital, BVARTA, Asia Partners, CARSOME and Cento Ventures shared their views.
Startups seeking their next phase of growth in Southeast Asia will need to reach consumers beyond the major cities that powered their rise, with local partnerships proving more important than incentives in building lasting demand. Executives from Tyme Group, Kickstart Ventures, Waresix, and RuralNet Incorporated shared their views.
Sovereign investors in the GCC have evolved from being mere capital providers to looking at strategic cross-border investment mandates and expanding trade corridors with Asia. Speakers from Investcorp, Dubai Future District Fund, and Growth Catalyst Investment Company shared the stage to discuss the Gulf-Asia private capital relationship.
China is reaching near parity with the US in key areas, including AI. Yet, global capital remains under-allocated to its booming tech market, said top executives from 01VC, Argo Venture Partners, InnoVision Capital, and Galaxea.
Global investors are recalibrating their playbooks to selectively capture opportunities in a maturing Chinese PE market, according to speakers from Neuberger, CICC Capital, HOPU Investments, and StepStone.
Developed Asian markets are on course to become private equity’s next control-deal engine thanks to robust deal supply and market-specific tailwinds. Executives from LGT Capital Partners, Sunrise Capital, Invictus Private Equity Asia and A2Z Private Capital shared their insights.
Speakers from August Global Partners, Neuberger, TPG Asia and Collyer Capital discussed the growing role of AI across the investment lifecycle. The technology can augment investment decision-making, but it does not replace the human judgement, relationships and sector expertise in private markets investing.
