A new wave of India-origin AI startups has attracted substantial early-stage capital, drawing in prominent global investors and commanding premium valuations. These ventures, built with a global-first mindset, are already demonstrating monetization potential, highlighting their scalability and relevance in international markets.
Among the key deals, Y Combinator-backed GigaML, which enables secure on-premise deployment of large language models for enterprises, raised $40 million from US-based Redpoint Ventures at a $350 million valuation while operating at $1–3 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). Atomicwork, positioned as an AI-native alternative to enterprise service desks, secured $25 million from Khosla Ventures at a $120 million valuation with a $1.2 million ARR.
Other major transactions include Y Combinator-backed Emergent, which raised $20 million from Lightspeed India at a $90 million valuation with $2.5 million ARR, and UnifyApps, which secured $50 million from WestBridge Capital at a $250 million valuation while operating at $4–5 million ARR. Confido Health attracted $9.3 million from Blume Ventures and DeVc at a $35 million valuation with $1 million ARR. Composio raised $25 million from Lightspeed India at a $120 million valuation with $400,000 ARR, while Metaforms brought in $10 million from Peak XV Partners at a $50 million valuation with $1 million ARR. Pre-revenue Weaver AI raised $10–12 million from First Round Capital at a $70 million valuation.
Manav Garg, managing partner at Together Fund, said valuations for Indian AI ventures are aligning with global benchmarks, with revenue multiples ranging from 10x to 50x ARR for frontier tech players. Beyond ARR, investors weigh factors like proprietary data, quality usage metrics, and speed to commercialization.
Global examples reinforce this trend. Thinking Machines Lab, founded by ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, raised $2 billion in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz at a $12 billion valuation. Cursor, a SaaS AI startup, generated $100 million revenue in 2024 and is expected to hit $200 million in 2025 after securing $105 million in Series B funding at a $2.6 billion valuation.
Metaforms CEO Akshay Tyagi said their fresh funding will support a New York expansion and the development of a full-stack operating system for research agencies, a market traditionally resistant to software adoption.
Garg predicts the sector could triple in startup activity over the next 3–5 years, driven by Gen Z founders, deeptech innovation, and competitive global AI products, though challenges like paid adoption, differentiation, and talent acquisition persist.
