Cybersecurity startup Neural Defend, upskilling firm Weskill and Amrut Energy, a maker of solar water pumps and renewable energy solutions, have secured early-stage funding, the companies said on Thursday.
Ahmedabad-based Amrut Energy said it has secured Rs 100 crore ($11.5 million) in Series A funding from existing investors Mascot Capital and Solboost Solutions LLP.
The company said in a statement it will use the capital to expand manufacturing capabilities, drive R&D, and scale its operations.
The round comes nearly seven months after the company raised seed funding from Mascot Capital, Solboost and others, according to VCCEdge.
Founded in 2016 by Arvind Patel, the company manufactures solar-powered water pumps to irrigate agricultural landscape. It claims that Amrut has grown to Rs 150 crore in size.
For the financial year ended March 2023, the company's revenue from operations rose roughly 26% to Rs 73.7 crore from Rs 58.4 crore in the preceding year, according to VCCEdge, the data intelligence platform of VCCircle.
The startup has raised over $600,000 (Rs 5.2 crore) in a pre-seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), with participation from Boston-based MIT SBXI, Techstars San Francisco, and Soonicorn Ventures.
Neural Defend, which operates in India and San Francisco, said the funds will be used to enhance its agentic AI capabilities for real-time, multimodal deepfake detection. Additionally, the capital will support the company’s research and development efforts, as well as its product development.
Founded in 2024 by Piyush Verma, Sivashankar Selvarajan, and Sumit Singh, Neural Defend focuses on deepfake detection and cybersecurity. The company currently has pilot projects underway in New York and Singapore.
Weskill
Upskilling startup Weskill has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round, with the company valued at Rs 40 crore. The funding was backed by high-net-worth individuals and strategic investors.
The Bengaluru-based company said it will use the capital to expand its AI-driven offerings, strengthen partnerships with universities and corporations, and pursue strategic acquisitions to solidify its market position.
Founded in 2023 by Prashant Prakash Dubey, Weskill leverages AI to bridge the gap between academic education and industry demands by providing career counseling and personalized training modules.
