Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [Aug 10 - Aug 15]

This week, 14 Indian startups raised $151.5 million across two growth-stage deals, 11 early-stage deals and one undisclosed round. The week also saw five key hires, one departure, five fund launches, two M&A deals and an ESOP buyback that turned a startup into a unicorn. In contrast, 28 startups had collectively secured about $383.8 million in the previous week. [ Growth-stage deals ] Growth-stage startups raised nearly $103.5 million across three deals this week. Electric mobility platform Yulu led the funding activity with $93 million in Series C, comprising $63 million in equity led by GEF Capital Partners and $30 million in debt, while online bakery startup Bakingo secured around $10.5 million in Series B funding from existing investor Faering Capital. [ Early-stage deals ] Early-stage startups raised $48 million across 11 deals this week, led by Gurugram-based wealth management firm Centricity, which raised Rs 280 crore ($30 million) in Series A funding from SMBC Asia Rising Fund. Deep-tech startup Discovered Materials followed with $9 million (Rs 85 crore) in seed funding led by Lightspeed India Partners. Gurugram-based home-cleaning products startup Scrubsy has raised Rs 27 crore (around $3 million) from V3 Ventures. Bengaluru-based medical technology startup Ayati Devices has raised Rs 15 crore ($1.5 million) in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Inflexor Ventures. Other startups that secured funding this week included children's technology startup Wippi, tech-enabl…