Statiq, Vervesemi, Peptris, others raise early-stage funding

Several Indian early-stage startups across electric vehicles, semiconductors, AI drug discovery, nutraceuticals and proptech have raised fresh capital, led by both domestic and international investors. Bengaluru-based EV charging platform Statiq raised about $18 million (around Rs 163.1 crore) in a mix of equity and debt in a round led by Tenacity Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, Shell Ventures and RCD Holdings. Fabless semiconductor firm Vervesemi secured $10 million in a Series A led by Ashish Kacholia and Unicorn India Ventures, while AI drug discovery startup Peptris closed a Rs 70 crore (about $7.7 million) Series A co-led by IAN Alpha Fund and Speciale Invest. Other deals include Kotak’s Rs 40 crore investment in Zeroharm Sciences, Earth Fund’s Rs 20 crore cheque into Truboard Partners, and an undisclosed strategic investment from Qualcomm Ventures into ToneTag.

"claims to have built one of the country’s largest charging networks," the Statiq announcement said, underscoring the firm's stated ambition as it plans international pilots and domestic scale-up.

Deal details and investor line-up

• Statiq: $18 million (equity + debt) — lead investor Tenacity Ventures; backers include Y Combinator, Shell Ventures and RCD Holdings. The company operates across more than 100 cities and aims for 20,000 charging points nationwide by 2026.
• Vervesemi: $10 million Series A — led by Ashish Kacholia and Unicorn India Ventures; participation from Roots Ventures, Caperize Fina, MAIQ Growth Scheme and several high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 2017, the Mumbai-based startup focuses on analog and mixed-signal ICs for industrial, smart energy, motor control and avionics applications.
• Peptris: Rs 70 crore Series A (~$7.7 million) — co-led by IAN Alpha Fund and Speciale Invest; participation from Tenacity Ventures and BYT Ventures. Founded in 2019, the Bengaluru firm runs a B2B model working with global pharma and biotech partners.
• Zeroharm Sciences: Rs 40 crore investment from Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd (Kotak Life Sciences Fund I). The D2C plant-based nutraceutical business, founded by Sachin Darbarwar in 2020, is expanding into the US, UK and Middle East.
• Truboard Partners: Rs 20 crore from Earth Fund. The AI-driven asset performance management platform has expanded from India into the US and European markets.
• ToneTag: undisclosed investment from Qualcomm Ventures to advance sound wave-based communication technology into edge AI and proximity-driven payments.

Statiq said it will deploy the funds to expand across tier I and II cities, add DC fast chargers along highways and strengthen hardware lifecycle management and telematics. The company also plans to "scale its franchise-owned company-operated model and build on early international pilots in the UAE by exporting hardware developed in India." Its growth target of 20,000 charging points by 2026 signals a rapid domestic roll-out backed by both venture and strategic capital.

Vervesemi intends to accelerate commercialization of a machine learning-enabled analog signal chain IC portfolio, move existing chips into production and qualification, expand engineering and applications teams, and bolster its intellectual property and R&D footprint as it builds go-to-market presence in Asia and the US. Peptris will use its Series A proceeds to advance programs toward clinical readiness and expand a pipeline that includes novel chemical entities as well as drug repurposing initiatives focused on rare diseases, oncology, inflammation and women’s health.

Looking ahead, the funding round-up highlights continued investor interest across hardware, deep-tech and life sciences. Startups from Statiq to ToneTag are positioning capital raises to move from prototypes and pilots into larger commercial deployments, international markets and closer integration with enterprise and consumer channels.