7 Women-Led Indian Startups Raise Funding Despite May 2026 Slowdown

By: Meriya Sabu

May 2026 was a subdued month for startup fundraising in India; however, over seven women-led companies raised capital, indicating rising investor confidence in women-founded companies.

Overall funding across Indian startups fell by 27.2% month-on-month to $630 million in May 2026 as compared to $865 million raised in April as reported by Entrackr. Rapido’s $240 million fundraise was the biggest deal of the month and was the only $100 million-plus investment. On-demand home services startup, Pronto’s series B raise emerged as one of the strongest women-led startup funding stories of the month.

Key sectors in focus this month were fintech, e-commerce, AI, F&B and SaaS. Among women-led startups on-demand home services emerged as the strongest sector with Yes Madam and Pronto raising capital. May also saw increased focus on health food sector, with The Sweet Change and Wingreens raising capital.

A common thread among May funding activity was investors backing startups with solid market traction, scalable operating models, and long-term category viability. Versatility of women founders was also in focus with funded startups ranging from tech solutions for organizing household services, to the development of healthier food alternatives, to g quantum secure communication systems for the space sector.

Here’s a look at 7 Indian women-led startups that raised funding in May 2026 and how they plan to utilize the fresh capital for their next phase of growth.

1. CHOSEN rises INR 47.5 Crore in Series A Funding

Founder: Dr Renita Rajan, Founder

Sector: Skincare

Key Investor: Fireside Ventures

Chennai-based skincare brand CHOSEN has raised $5 million (approximately ₹47.4 crore) in Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures, with participation from BOLD, Alkemi Growth Capital, and a group of angel investors. The company had previously raised $1.2 million in an angel funding round in 2024.

The fresh capital will be used to strengthen research and development, expand its pipeline of clinically validated products, scale its Centre of Excellence, and invest in talent across key functions.

About CHOSEN: Founded in 2020 by Dr Renita Rajan, CHOSEN is a science-driven skincare brand focused on melanin-rich Indian skin. The company offers topical treatments and nutraceutical products through a dermatologist-led, clinic-to-consumer model.

CHOSEN currently offers around 58 SKUs and is prescribed in more than 2,000 clinics across India, while its digital platform serves customers nationwide.

The company plans to expand into international markets focused on “skin of color” including Latin America and East Asia, with nearly 70% of its revenue coming from repeat customers.

2. Kisah Raises INR 35.9 Crore in Series A Round

Founder: Yashwi Ladasaria, Co-founder & Director

Sector: Fashion

Key Investor: Fireside Ventures

Kolkata-based ethnic wear brand Kisah has raised INR 35.9 crore (approximately $3.8 million) in a Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures, with participation from several individual investors. Fireside Ventures contributed INR 34 crore in the round, valuing the company at a post-money valuation of INR 211 crore, nearly 70% higher than its previous valuation.

The fresh capital will be used to support Kisah’s expansion plans and strengthen its omnichannel retail strategy.

Founded in 2018 by Yash Sarawagi and Yashwi Ladasaria, Kisah is a contemporary ethnic wear brand focused on Gen Z and millennial consumers, offering affordable and fashion-forward designs for men and children.

The company reported strong growth in FY25, with revenue rising 65% year-on-year to INR 41.8 crore, while profits more than doubled to INR 2 crore.

Kisah is focused on expanding its digital and offline presence as it strengthens its position in India’s growing ethnic wear market.

3. Pronto Extends Series B Fundraise to approximately INR 427 Crore

Founder: Anjali Sardana, Founder & CEO

Sector: Home Service

Key Investor: Lachy Groom

Bengaluru-based instant household services startup Pronto has raised an additional $20 million from investor Lachy Groom, extending its Series B round to $45 million and doubling its valuation to $200 million within a month. Existing investors including General Catalyst, Bain Capital Ventures, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Epiq Capital, and Lachy Groom also participated, taking the company’s total funding to nearly $60 million.

The fresh capital will be used to expand services, strengthen its workforce network, enhance technology, and improve operational efficiency.

Founded in 2025 by Anjali Sardana, Pronto is an on-demand home services platform that connects users with trained and background-verified professionals for services such as house cleaning, laundry, dishwashing, cooking, car washing, and gardening.

The startup has seen strong growth, with daily bookings rising to 26,000 and its workforce expanding to around 6,500 workers.

Pronto plans to deepen its presence in existing markets while expanding into categories such as car washing, gardening, and home cooking services.

4. Wingreens raises INR120 crore in Series D Funding

Founder: Anju Srivastava, Founder & CEO

Sector: Packaged Food & Beverage

Key Investor: Ashish Kacholia

Packaged food and beverage company Wingreens has acquired pesticide-free food brand Safe Harvest through a share swap deal and also closed its INR 120 crore ($12.6 million) Series D funding round led by Ashish Kacholia, with participation from Alchemy Fund. With this round, Wingreens’ total capital raised has reached INR 556 crore.

The fresh capital will be used to expand the company’s product portfolio, strengthen distribution, integrate supply chains, and invest in innovation and farmer partnerships.

Founded by Anju Srivastava and Arjun Srivastava, Wingreens is a packaged food and beverage company with brands including Wingreens Farms, Raw Pressery, Wingreens Harvest, Saucery, and Safe Harvest.

Safe Harvest works with over 100,000 farmers through Self Help Groups and Farmer Producer Organizations, offering pesticide-free food products such as cereals, grains, pulses, millets, flours, spices, cold-pressed oils, natural sugars, and honey.

The acquisition strengthens Wingreens’ presence in the farm-to-consumer segment and expands its portfolio across health-focused food and beverage categories.

5. The Sweet Change Raises INR70 Lakh in Early-stage Funding

Founders: Manvi Agnihotri, Co-founder & CEO; Sheen Hitashi, Co-founder & CBO

Sector: Plant based sweetener

Key Investor: IAN Angel Fund

Clean-label natural sweetener brand The Sweet Change has raised INR 70 lakh in an early-stage funding round led by IAN Angel Fund, with participation from Udaan Angel Partners.

The fresh capital will be used to strengthen product development, expand distribution across e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms, increase brand awareness, and scale its team to support growth.

Founded in 2024 by Manvi Agnihotri and Sheen Hitashi, The Sweet Change offers natural, zero-calorie, zero-sugar, and zero-glycemic sweetener alternatives made without artificial ingredients. The brand was launched to help consumers reduce sugar intake without compromising on taste.

The startup has gained early traction, generating over INR 1.5 crore in revenue and completing more than 12,000 orders within a year of launch through its D2C channel.

The company plans to expand its presence across marketplaces and quick-commerce platforms while exploring opportunities in cafés, hospitality, and institutional partnerships.

6. Yes Madam raises INR 50 Crore in Series A Funding

Founder: Akanksha Vishnoi, Co-Founder & CMO

Sector: Home Service

Key Investor: Info Edge

Noida-based home salon and wellness services platform Yes Madam raised ₹50 crore (approximately $5.2 million) in its maiden Series A funding round led by Info Edge. The round was routed through Info Edge’s B8 fund, marking the only participation in this financing. The company’s post-money valuation was estimated at approximately INR750 crore ($79 million).

The fresh capital will be used to expand Yes Madam’s services to new cities, strengthen its partner network, invest in technology, and improve customer experience while driving operational efficiency and profitability.

Founded in 2016 by Mayank Arya, Aditya Arya, and Akanksha Vishnoi, Yes Madam is a home-based beauty and wellness services platform that enables users to book services such as haircuts, facials, waxing, and massages through its app and website.

Operating across 55 cities in India, the startup currently processes over 3 lakh bookings every month and has boarded more than 12,000 professionals.

The company reported INR 195 crore in revenue for FY25 and continues to scale its India’s growing personal care on demand sector.

7. Pramatra Space Raises Undisclosed Pre-Seed Funding

Female Founder: Richa Hukumchand, Founder & CEO

Sector: Deep-tech startup

Key Investor: Seafund Ventures

Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup Pramatra Space has raised an undisclosed pre-seed funding round led by Seafund Ventures, with participation from Rebalance, Magnivia Ventures, Peaceful Progress Fund, and several angel investors, including Pixxel Space founder Awais Ahmed.

The fresh capital will be used to advance its proprietary photonics integrated circuit (PIC) chip toward flight qualification and accelerate product development.

Founded by Richa Hukumchand and Vinay Hukumchand, Pramatra Space is developing hybrid satellite and terrestrial systems for quantum-secure communications. The startup focuses on Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology, enabling secure encryption key exchange for data centres and space infrastructure.

The company recently validated its proprietary PIC chip for quantum entanglement-based QKD at IIT Madras and has secured an in-orbit demonstration agreement for its payload scheduled for 2027.

Pramatra aims to strengthen quantum-secure communication infrastructure and support the future of sovereign space and cyber security technologies.

The Future of Women-led Indian Startups

Women make up roughly 15–20 percent of startup founders in India; however, they continue to receive a disproportionately small share of venture capital. The Arise Ventures Diversity Report 2026 highlights that women-led startups receive just ₹4 for every ₹100 invested in founders, underscoring a stark imbalance in access to funding within the Indian startup ecosystem.

Despite the gap, each deal indicates rising investor confidence in Indian women founders. Women entrepreneurs across diverse sectors such as health-tech, consumer services, fintech, and deep-tech are making their mark. This gradual rise in flow of capital is enabling women founders to scale operations, enhance innovation, and expand into new markets more effectively.

As investment flows continue to raise, women entrepreneurs are emerging as some of the strongest forces powering India's startup revolution.