After a significant drop in funding trends leading into the month of October, investor sentiment picked up slightly in the second week of the month. Indian startups raised $114 Mn via 22 deals during October 7-12, up 32% from $86.4 Mn raised last week across 16 deals. 

This was the second week when no mega funding rounds materialised. This came after a quarter filled with heightened funding interest. In the third quarter of calendar year 2024, Indian startup funding doubled year-on-year to $3.4 Bn from $1.7 Bn in the same period last year. Late-stage investments surged 115% to surpass the $2.1 Bn mark in the September quarter this year from $984 Mn in Q3 2023. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding This Week [Oct  7-12]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Artificial intelligence (AI)-based robotics startup Haber bagged the biggest cheque this week, securing $38 Mn (INR 317 Cr) by issuing Series C CCPS to venture capitalist (VC) firms Accel India, Beenext Capital, and Creaegis.
• On the back of Haber’s funding round, deeptech toppled enterprise tech to emerge as the investor favourite sector this week. Deeptech startups raised $45.4 Mn across three deals this week.
• However, enterprise tech saw the most number of deals materialise this week. Startups in the sector raised $7.2 Mn across four deals this week. Trailing it were deeptech and cleantech, with both the sectors seeing a similar number of three deals.
• Beenext and Lumikai emerged as the most active investors this week, backing two startups apiece. While Beenext invested in Haber and Nayan Tech, Lumikai backed Framer AI and Deftouch.
• Seed funding picked up this week to $17.8 Mn from $1.9 Mn last week.

Fund Launches This Week

• Lighthouse Canton and Nueva Capital’s joint venture LC Nueva Investment Partners announced the launch of a new fund with a target corpus of INR 150 Cr (nearly $18 Mn), with an additional greenshoe option of INR 100 Cr ($12 Mn).
• Recently listed non-banking financial company (NBFC) Northern Arc announced the launch of its category-II alternative investment fund (AIF) Finserv Fund, with a target corpus of INR 1,500 Cr (around $178.5 Mn).

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Over three months after filing its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), logistics startup BlackBuck received market regulator SEBI’s go ahead for its INR 550 Cr IPO.
• B2B marketplace unicorn Zetwerk has initiated initial discussions with investment banker JP Morgan for its IPO, sources told Inc42 this week. The startup is eyeing a public listing in the next two years.
• Shortly after raising $210 Mn, edtech startup PhysicsWallah has roped in Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan as the bankers for its IPO. 

Other Developments Of The Week

• Fresh to the unicorn club, ride hailing major Rapido is eyeing raising $60 Mn from Prosus in a mix of primary and secondary share sales.
• In a bid to capitalise on the fintech investment boom, offline mobile payments startup ToneTag is looking to bag $50 Mn from investor Iron Pillar and others in a mix of primary and secondary share sale.
• VC firm Z47 (erstwhile known as Matrix Partners) is looking to sell shares of unicorns Ola, OfBusiness, Razorpay, and DailyHunt, cumulatively worth between $150 Mn and $180 Mn.
• Hyperlocal services startup Urban Company is likely to see a $30 Mn secondary transaction with its investor Prosus buying shares from Bessemer Venture Partners.
• The Good Glamm Group announced the complete acquisition of D2C feminine hygiene startup Sirona for INR 450 Cr this week.
• Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Consumer has sought approval from investors to turn into a public entity.

The post From Haber To Urja Mobility – Indian Startups Raised $114 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Investment activity across the Indian startup ecosystem saw a dip this week after bucking upward trends. In the week between September 30 and October 5, startups managed to raise $86.4 Mn via 16 deals, more than 80% drop from $432.2 Mn raised across 24 deals in the preceding week.

It is pertinent to note that the week was sans mega funding and further marks the beginning of festivity in India. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Sep 30 – Oct 5 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• On the back of the week’s top funding round, which saw Mstack raising $40 Mn, entrerprisetech retained its top spot as the most funded sector.
• Ecommerce witnessed the most number of deals materialise this week. Startups in the sector raised $6.7 Mn via 4 deals.
• Seed funding dipped this week, with startups at this level only managing to raise $1.9 Mn as against $44.5 Mn raised last week.

Startup Fund Launches Of This Week

• Angel investment network ThinKuvate marked the first close of its maiden India fund, ThinKuvate India Fund – I, at INR 25 Cr. The firm is targeting a total corpus of INR 100 Cr for the fund.
• Early-stage focused venture capital firm Trillion Dollar Ventures (TDV) floated its second fund with a target corpus of NR 50 Cr ($5.9 Mn). The fund will back 10-12 pre-seed and seed stage startups annually with an average ticket size of INR 1-2 Cr.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Enroute to its initial public offering (IPO), foodtech major Swiggy received approval from its shareholders to increase the size of the fresh issue in its IPO to INR 5,000 Cr from INR 3,750 Cr earlier.
• Ahmedabad-based coworking space provider DevX filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) this week. Its proposed IPO will consist solely of a fresh issue of 2.47 Cr equity shares.
• CarDekho is in advanced talks with bankers for a $500 Mn IPO, which it plans to file by March 2025.

Mergers and Acquisitions This Week

• Edtech startup Adda247 has bought placement preparation platform PrepInsta to foray private and public sector jobs test prep space.
• Listed cybersecurity startup TAC Infosec acquired US-based cybersecurity firm CyberSandia to strengthen its presence in the US and expand its global footprint. It also acquired WOS to strengthen its position in the UAE market.
• Fruits and vegetables platform Pluckk acquired D2C nutrition brand Upnourish for $1.4 Mn.
• FirstCry’s rollup startup arm Brainbees’ completely acquired  D2C brand The Butternut Co by investing an additional INR 8 Cr for a 100% stake in the startup.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Angel investment firm BizDateup’s cofounders Jeet Chandan and Meet Jain picked up an undisclosed stake in Swiggy.
• Peak XV Partners pared the size of its $2.85 Bn fund by 16% or $465 Mn more than a year after it split from Silicon Valley-based Sequoia Capital.
• Ratan Tata partially exited broking platform Upstox with 10X returns after the startup concluded a buyback of 5% of Tata’s stake in it.
• Fabless semiconductor startup FermionIC Design is looking to raise $6 Mn in a funding round led by Lucky Investment Managers’ Ashish Kacholia and his associates. The startup has already raked in $2.5 Mn as part of the investment round.
• Belgium-based VC firm Verlinvest is looking to double its annual investment in India in three years. Its managing director and head of Asia Arjun Anand has invested over $110.3 Mn annually in India over the last few years and aims to double this in the next two-three years.

The post From Mstack To Waycool – Indian Startups Raised $86 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Funding momentum across the Indian startup ecosystem continued to remain strong throughout the ongoing month. Between September 23 and 28, startups cumulatively raised $432.2 Mn across 24 deals, marking a 3% drop from the $447.5 Mn raised via 22 deals in the preceding week.

This week, the uptick in investment activity was largely driven by two large-sized deals, which include enterprisetech startup Whatfix bagging $125 Mn and M2P Fintech securing $101 Mn, with both nearing the unicorn status.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Sep 23 – Sep 28 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Buoyed by Whatfix’s mega funding round, enterprisetech emerged as the investor favourite sector of the week. Besides, the sector witnessed the highest nine deals materialise via which startups raised $188.4 Mn.
• Fintech was a distant second, seeing M2P Fintech raising $101 Mn only.
• Venture Capital firm Peak XV was the most active investor this week, backing two startups.
• Seed funding picked up dramatically this week. Startups at this stage raised $44.5 Mn as against the $2.3 Mn raised during the past week.

Startup Fund Launches Of This Week

• SaaS startup Kissflow’s founder and CEO Suresh Sambandam launched a new VC firm MudhalVC, which aims to invest around INR 125 Cr in 25 to 50 early stage startups, with average ticket size ranging between INR 25 Lakh and INR 1 Cr.
• VC firm Tribe Capital has partnered with investment firm Oister Global to launch ‘Oister Tribe Ace Fund 1’. With a target corpus of $500 Mn, the fund will serve as the  first alternative investment fund dedicated to secondary transactions.
• Bengaluru-based AIF Optimistic Capital rolled out a maiden fund INR 200 Cr (around $23.9 Mn) to invest in India’s microbrewery space.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Fintech unicorn MobiKwik secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its INR 700 Cr initial public offering (IPO). The offer will entirely comprise a fresh issue of equity shares, with no offer for sale component.
• Foodtech major Swiggy filed updated IPO papers with the SEBI for an INR 3,750 Cr ($450 Mn) IPO. Swiggy’s public issue will comprise a fresh issuance of shares worth INR 3,750 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of 18.53 Cr equity shares.
• Online furniture rental startup RentoMojo’s founder and CEO Geetansh Bamania will be looking to file its IPO within the next 18 months.
• SaaS unicorn Fractal is considering filing papers for a $500 Mn IPO with SEBI in November. The IPO will value the startup at $3.5 Bn.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Seekho is eyeing to raise $8-10 Mn in its Series A round to be co-led by Lightspeed and Elevation Capital.
• Fintech SaaS startup Zaggle announced the acquisitions of two companies this week— Span Across IT Solutions and Mobileware Technologies. It bought 98.32% stake in Span Across IT Solutions and 26% in Mobileware.
• CCI approved Singapore-based TIGA Investments’ proposal to acquire a stake in real money gaming major Dream11’s parent Dream Sports Inc. The transaction is likely to see Tencent Holdings divest its entire stake in Dream Sports.
• Home interior solutions startup HomeLane acquired its smaller rival DesignCafe in a share-swap transaction this week.

The post From Whatfix To HomeLane – Indian Startups Raised $432 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Continuing the momentum on a recently gained volatility, funding trends picked up this week after a slight dip. Between September 16 and 21, Indian startups cumulatively raised $447.5 Mn across 22 deals, up 97% from the $227 Mn with the similar number of deals in the preceding week. 

It is pertinent to note that the week also saw one mega deal materialise in the form of the $210 Mn raised by edtech unicorn Physics Wallah in its Series B funding round led by Hornbill Capital at a valuation of $2.8 Bn. This marked only the second fund raise for the edtech startup, after it raised $100 Mn in its maiden funding round at a valuation of $1.1 Bn back in 2022.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Sep 16 – Sep 21 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Solely at the behest of the mega funding round raised by Physics Wallah, edtech emerged as the sector which saw the most funds pouring in.
• Trailing edtech in terms of funding at a sectoral level was enterprisetech. Startups in the space raised $46.3 Mn via three deals.
• Fintech also saw a similar number of deals materialise, with startups raising $45.6 Mn via three deals.
• However, ecommerce saw the highest number of deals materialise this week with startups raising $18.1 Mn via five deals.
• WestBridge Capital and Venture Catalysts emerged as the most active investors this week, backing two startups apiece.
• Despite the increase in overall funding, seed funding plunged during the week. Startups at this stage raised $2.3 Mn, a fraction of the $24.9 Mn raised during the past week.

Startup Fund Launches Of This Week

• Early-stage venture capital (VC) firm Capital A launched its Fund II with a target corpus of $48 Mn (INR 400 Cr) to back 17 to 20 startups.
• Early stage VC firm z21 Ventures launched its second fund with a target corpus of $40 Mn. It announced the first close of the fund at $20 Mn (INR 167 Cr).

Mergers and Acquisitions This Week

• Listed travel tech startup EaseMyTrip will be acquiring 30% stake in healthcare services provider Rollins International Private Limited for INR 60 Cr ($7.15 Mn) and 49% stake in Pflege Home Healthcare Center LLC for INR 30 Cr ($ 3.5 Mn).
• Fintech startup Stockal has bought fintech company Acru in a stock deal to offer a complete solution for cross-border investments.
• BSE SME-listed fintech startup Veefin Solutions acquired a 26% stake in EpikInDiFi in a share swap deal which valued the latter at INR 125 Cr.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Ahead of its IPO, Madhuri Dixit and Innov8’s founder Ritesh Malik have picked up stakes worth INR 1.5 Cr apiece. Besides, insulators manufacturer Modern Insulators also purchased stakes by investing INR 5 Cr in Swiggy.  The startup is likely to reveal its IPO papers to the public this weekend.
• B2B ecommerce platform Infra.Market is eyeing a fresh fundraise of $150-200 Mn from existing investors, including Tiger Global, Foundamental and Evolvence.
• B2B fintech startup M2P Fintech is in talks with Helios Investment Partners to pick $80 Mn in new funding round at a valuation of $800 Mn.
• Healthtech startup Qure.ai is looking to raise around $50-60 Mn in a funding round expected to be led by Lightspeed.
• Ayurvedic nutrition brand Kapiva is eyeing the raise of $40 Mn from existing investor OrbiMed to expand its operations and enhance market presence.
• Deeptech startup Proxgy is in advanced stages of discussion to raise around $5 Mn in its Series A funding round from Gruhas Capital, actor Suniel Shetty and Manish Patel.

The post From Physics Wallah To iBUS – Indian Startups Raised $447 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Funding across the Indian startup ecosystem entered slow lane in the mid week of September after a brief uptick in momentum. Between September 9 and 14, startups cumulatively raised $227.1 Mn across 22 deals, marking a 34% decline from the $348 Mn raised via 19 deals in the preceding week. 

Despite the marginal decline, the week saw one mega funding round materialise when IPO-bound startup InMobi bagged a debt of $100 Mn from Mars Growth Capital. 

Besides, the week also saw fintech startup Moneyview becoming the sixth Indian startup this year to vault into the coveted unicorn club after scooping up $4.6 Mn from Accel and Nexus Ventures at a valuation of $1.2 Bn. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Sept 9– Sept 14]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Buoyed by InMobi’s mega funding round, enterprisetech emerged as the leader in terms of funding at a sectoral level.
• Fintech trailed enterprisetech at a sectoral funding level with startups in this space securing $80.1 Mn via four deals.
• Seed funding went up tremendously this week to $24.9 Mn, zooming over 2X from last week’s $10.7Mn secured by startups at this level. The bump in the seed funding numbers came primarily due to the $20 Mn bagged wealthtech startup Centricity.
• Nandan Nilekani’s Fundamentum, Nexus Venture Partners, and IAN group emerged as the lead investors this week, backing two startups apiece.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Electric two wheeler major Ather Energy filed its DRHP with market regulator SEBI to raise more than INR 3,100 Cr via an IPO. The proposed public offer comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 3,100 Cr and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 2.2 Cr equity shares.
• IPO bound foodtech major Swiggy is reportedly mulling to increase the fresh issue size of its public offer to cumulatively raise INR 5,000 Cr.

Mergers and Acquisitions This Week

• Ecommerce enabler GoKwik acquired global returns management app Return Prime to foray into overseas markets, including US, UK and Europe among others.
• Continuing its acquisition spree, gaming major Nazara announced this week that it will be acquiring 15.86% stake of STAN for $2.2 Mn and 47.7% Pokerbaazi parent Moonshine Technology for $99.1 Mn.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Ex- Jio President Vikas Choudhary announced the launch of his new fund Playbook Partners, a SEBI-approved Category II alternative investment fund. Announcing the first close of the fund at $130 Mn, the firm looks to close the fund at $250 Mn in the near future.
• Listed lending tech startup Moneyboxx announced that it is looking to raise $20.9 Mn via issuance of equity shares on a preferential basis and warrants.
• Fintech startup Finova Capital is reported to be on the verge of raising $95.3 Mn from new and existing investors in a mix of primary capital infusion and secondary share sale.

The post From InMobi To Centricity – Indian Startups Raised $227 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The month of September started relatively in a high spirit as far as the startup funding is concerned. In the first week of the ongoing month, i.e., between September 2 and 7, Indian startups collectively managed to secure $348 Mn in funding across 19 deals, 25% lower than $466 Mn raised by 16 startups in the closing week of August. 

The week further saw two mega deals with Drip Capital bagging $133 Mn, and Rapido finally announcing its massive $200 Mn funding from WestBridge Capital. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Sept 2– Sept 7 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Bike taxi startup and now a cab aggregator Rapido entered the unicorn club with $200 Mn from WestBridge Capital.
• Fuelled by Rapido’s fundraise, the traveltech sector became the funded sector with an investment of $204 Mn deals
• In terms of number of deals, the ecommerce sector bagged the most with five deals, raking $9.4 Mn
• The seed funding soared to $10.7Mn this week across eight deals, an over 200% higher than $3.05 Mn reported last week. 

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Alternative credit provider Blacksoil Capital and impact investment lender Caspian Debt have got unanimous approval from their boards of directors to merge via a share swap agreement.
• Ather Energy is looking to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) next week for an INR 4,500 Cr IPO in a mix of a fresh issue and offer for sale (OFS).
• Mumbai-based venture debt firm VentureSoul Partners has marked the first close of its INR 600 Cr maiden fund, raising INR 146.5 Cr ($17.4 Mn).
• Mumbai-based lendingtech startup SarvaGram is reportedly in discussions to raise a fresh funding of around $50 Mn from both new and existing investors.
• OfBusiness has begun preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) of up to $1 Bn and is close to finalising the bankers for its public listing in the second half of 2025.
• LetsVenture has launched LV Debt, a marketplace designed to educate founders and offer debt financing tailored to the specific requirements of startups.
• Money View is looking to raise INR 250 Cr (around $29.8 Mn) from unidentified investors through private placement of non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
• Hindustan Composites said it has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a stake in IPO-bound foodtech major Swiggy for INR 5.175 Cr. 

The post From Drip Capital To Rapido – Indian Startups Raised $348 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Funding momentum across the Indian startup ecosystem gathered steam in the final week of the ongoing month. Between August 26 and 31, startups cumulatively raised $466.1 Mn across 22 deals, a 75% jump from $265.2 Mn secured via 16 deals in the preceding week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Aug 26 -31 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• After weeks of speculation, quick commerce major Zepto announced that it has bagged $340 Mn in a ‘follow-on financing’ round, led by General Catalyst, at a valuation of $5 Bn. 
• Buoyed by Zepto’s mega funding round, the consumer services sector emerged as a sectoral leader this week with startups in the segment raising $340.1 Mn via two deals.
• Fintech and ecommerce sectors trailed consumer services at a sectoral level. While ecommerce sector saw startups raising $45.8 Mn via five deals, fintech startups bagged $44.9 Mn across seven deals.
• Venture Capital firm Antler was the most active investor this week, backing two startups.
• Seed funding zoomed in the week to $8.3 Mn from the $1 Mn raised by startups at this level last week.

Mergers and Acquisitions This Week

• VerSe Innovation acquired digital marketing solutions firm Valueleaf Group in an undisclosed deal during the week.
• SaaS unicorn BrowserStack acquired enterprise tech platform Bird Eats Bug in a $20 Mn deal. With this acquisition, the startup will leverage the enterprise tech platform’s tech stack to streamline bug reporting processes. 

Other Developments Of The Week

• Early stage VC fund Whiteboard Capital marked the final close of its second fund at INR 300 Cr, doubling the initial target of INR 150 Cr.
• Actor Amitabh Bachchan’s family office reportedly bought a minority stake in foodtech major Swiggy ahead of its IPO.
• D2C meat delivery startup Zappfresh’s parent, DSM Fresh Foods Ltd, filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for listing on the SME platform of BSE, BSE SME.
• Startup incubator T9L QUBE roped in cricketer Virender Sehwag as an investor.
• VC firm Aroa Venture Partners secured an investment commitment of INR 40 Cr ($4.8 Mn) from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
• Edtech startup Eruditus is in talks to raise $150 Mn in a fresh funding round led by Texas-based private equity firm TPG at a likely valuation of $2.3 Bn. 

The post From Zepto To Blue Tokai — Indian Startups Raised $466 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Funding momentum across the Indian startup ecosystem took a blow in the third week of the ongoing month after bucking an uptick trend in investment activity. Between August 19 and 24, startups raised $265.2 Mn across 16 deals, a 33% decline from the $395.63 Mn raised via 20 deals in the preceding week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Aug 19-24 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week saw lone mega fundraise with omnichannel jewellery startup Bluestone bagging $107.2 Mn (INR 900 Cr) in its pre-IPO round from Peak XV Partners, Prosus, Steadview Capital, Think Investments and Pratithi Investments.
• Buoyed by Bluestone’s funding round, ecommerce emerged as a sectoral leader this week. as startups raised $148.7 Mn via 4 deals in the week.
• Fintech sector trailed behind ecommerce at a sectoral level, with startups in the sector securing $61.5 Mn via 5 deals. Notable deals in the sector included Aye Finance’s $25 Mn loan from Goldman Sachs (India) and axio’s $20 Mn fundraise from Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund.
• Enterprise tech sector hogged the limelight with the maximum number of deals this week with startups raising $55.06 Mn via six deals.
• JM Financial Private Equity, Inflection Point Ventures and Venture Catalysts emerged as the most active investors this week, backing two startups each.
• However, seed funding continued to move in a downward trajectory this week with LLUMO AI bagging $1 Mn cheque.

Startup Fund Launches Of This Week

• Gujarat-based micro venture capital firm Volt VC launched its early-stage focused maiden fund with a target corpus of INR 45 Cr. With this, it will focus on pre-seed investments in consumer-focused businesses across sectors like D2C, B2C and B2B2C models.
• Ex-Venture Highway lead investor Aviral Bhatnagar launched a new venture capital fund called AJVC, which will focus on pre-seed investments. AJVC’s first fund received SEBI approval last week.
• Titan Capital Winners Fund, backed by Snapdeal cofounders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, has raised a target corpus of INR 200 Cr to invest in follow-on rounds of breakout startups from its seed portfolio. Bahl and Bansal will anchor the fund as its largest investors.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Flipkart backer Chiratae Ventures announced the third cohort of its flagship seed investment programme Chiratae Sonic. The initiative targets early-stage startups  looking to raise up to $2 Mn in funding.
• IPO-bound meat delivery startup Zappfresh acquired Mumbai-based meat and seafood delivery brand Bonsaro in an all-cash deal. The acquisition sees Zappfresh take over Bonsaro’s entire operations and business, including all the assets, to expand its presence in the western pocket.
• VC firm Ankur Capital’s fund III, which aims to raise a target corpus of INR 1,200 Cr, has received commitments from two existing limited partners (LPs).

The post From BlueStone To Livpure — Indian Startups Raised $265 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In the week when startups were seen making a beeline for the bourses, investment activity across the ecosystem also managed to pick up the momentum. Between August 12 and 17, Indian startups cumulatively raised $395.63 Mn via 20 deals, a 250% increase from the $112.9 Mn raised across 22 deals in the preceding week.

Amid a notable uptick in the startup funding this week, SaaS startup Unicommerce and omnichannel retail startup FirstCry made their debuts on the stock exchanges on August 13. Further, logistics major Ecom Express, coworking startup Smartwork and construction  marketplace ArisInfra filed their draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in the week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Aug 12 – 17 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• After weeks of anticipation, travel tech major OYO finally closed its funding round at $175 Mn. The round was led by OYO founder’s Ritesh Agarwal floated Singapore-based entity Patient Capital, along with J&A Partners and ASK Financial Holdings. It also saw OYO go through a massive valuation cut. The down round saw OYO’s valuation cut to $2.37 Bn, down 76% from its peak valuation of $10 Bn.
• Bolstered by OYO’s mega funding round, travel tech emerged as the investor favourite this week. The sector saw three deals materialise via which startups raised $180.43 Mn.
• Venture capital firms Alteria Capital and Elevation Capital emerged as the most active investors this week, backing two startups each.
• Seed funding declined in the week. Startups managed to raise only $8.85 Mn, close to 32% cut from last week’s $13 Mn.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• FirstCry’s parent Brainbees Solutions opened at INR 651 on the NSE, a premium of 40% over its issue price of INR 549. Similarly, on the BSE, it listed at INR 625, reflecting a 34.4% premium.
• Shares of Unicommerce listed at INR 235 per share on the NSE, a premium of 117.59% over its issue price of INR 108. Similarly, on the BSE, it listed at INR 230, reflecting a 112.96% premium.
• Logistics startup Ecom Express filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an IPO worth INR 2,600 Cr. The startup’s intended IPO comprises a fresh issue of INR 1,284.5 Cr and an offer for sale component of INR 1,315.5 Cr.
• Coworking startup Smartworks filed a DRHP for an IPO that comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 550 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) of 67.49 Lakh equity shares by promoters.
• B2B ecommerce platform ArisInfra Solutions filed its DRHP with the SEBI to raise INR 600 Cr via an IPO. The startup’s public offer will comprise only a fresh issue.
• Logistics services startup ShadowFax has initiated discussions with merchant bankers for an IPO worth INR 2,500 – 3,000 Cr at a valuation of INR 5,000 – 8,000 Cr.
• B2B marketplace unicorn OfBusiness has reportedly roped in five investment banks, including  Kotak Investment Banking, for an IPO in August 2025.

Other Developments Of The Week

• OYO acquired Paris-based premium rental homes company Checkmyguest for INR 230 Cr in a cash and stock deal. The startup issued 7.92 Cr Series G CCPS for the acquisition.
• Veefin Group bought Nityo Tech to expand its digital services in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. With the acquisition, Veefin will leverage Nityo Tech’s AI and machine learning solutions across 15 verticals.
• Fashion Entrepreneur Fund has roped in Karan Johar as an investor and promoter to help provide focused mentorship and financial resources.
• Early stage investor 35 North Ventures marked the first close of its CAT-1 AIF India Discovery Fund II at INR 100 Cr. The fund has total corpus of INR 500 Cr, with an additional greenshoe option of INR 100 Cr.
• Weeks after closing a mega $665 Mn funding rounding, quick commerce major Zepto’s has finalised a deal to raise a funding of $340 Mn. The deal will reportedly see the startup’s valuation jump up to $5 Bn.

The post From OYO to Ather Energy- Indian Startups Raised $395 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amid mounting global geopolitical tensions, funding momentum in the Indian startup ecosystem took a significant hit. Between August 5 and 10, startups cumulatively raised $112.9 Mn via 22 deals, down almost 50% from $222.2 Mn secured through 25 deals in the preceding week.

While startups failed to see traction with investors at a broader level, Ola Electric made its public market debut this week. Besides, FirstCry and Unicommerce are also set to get listed in the first half of next week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Aug 5 – Aug 10]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Fuelled by this week’s largest funding round of Visit Health, healthtech emerged to dominate sectoral funding trends. Three healthtech startups cumulatively bagged $35.1 Mn in the week.
• Enterprise tech continued to reign as the investor favourite this week, with startups bagging the maximum number of cheques this week. Enterprise tech startups bagged $17.9 Mn via six deals in the week.
• Delhi based venture capital fund Omnivore VC and CRED’s founder Kunal Shah emerged as the most active investors this week, backing two startups each.
• Seed funding continued its upward streak this week, with startup’s at this stage raising $13 Mn, 2.5X from the previous week’s $5.1 Mn.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Instawork bought Bengaluru-based hiring platform Able Jobs for an undisclosed deal to scale up its global job market with new tools and offerings
• India Inflection Opportunity Fund manager Pantomath Capital Management launched its second AIF, Bharat Value Fund (BVF), this week. It will invest in companies with an intent to make an exit via an initial public offering within three years with an average ticket size of INR 75 Cr.
• VC firm Sauc.vc marked the final close of its third fund at INR 365 Cr (nearly $43.6 Mn). 95% of its capital was raised from domestic investors, and include top consumer focused family offices, fund of funds, corporates and HNIs.
• Continuing with its expansion spree, listed gaming major Nazara has got the letter of intent to acquire bankrupt Smaaash Entertainment this week, and will also be acquiring UK-based IP gaming studio Fusebox Games for INR 228 Cr ($27.2 Mn) in an all-cash deal.
• SoftBank said that it was sitting on a gross gain of $285 Mn from its investment (via Vision Fund I) in listed logistics unicorn Delhivery at the end of June 2024.
• Dalmia Group Holdings’ chairman Gaurav Dalmia has joined Fashion Entrepreneur Fund as investor and promoter.

The post From Visit Health To Country Delight — Indian Startups Raised $112 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Funding momentum across the Indian startup ecosystem made a strong recovery in the final week of July after a significant slump during the budget week. Between July 29 and August 3, startups raised $222.2 Mn via 25 deals, a 416% increase from $43.1 Mn raised via 12 deals in the preceding week.

While the week saw a major uptick in the funding trends, it also saw the crowning of India’s 116th unicorn Rapido. Meanwhile, three entities from the startup ecosystem, Ola Electric, Unicommerce and FirstCry, finally reached the doorsteps of the public markets this week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [July 29 – Aug 3]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Rapido’s unicorn minting round was the biggest fundraise this week. It bagged a funding of $120 Mn from existing investor WestBridge Capital at a post-money valuation of a little over $1 Bn.
• Bolstered by Rapido’s funding round, travel tech emerged as the investor favourite at a sectoral level. Fintech trailed travel tech at a sectoral level, with three fintech startups bagging $39.4 Mn.
• Enterprise tech saw the greatest number of deals this week, with startups raising $9.3 Mn via seven deals.
• Seed funding revived in the week, with startup’s raising $5.1 Mn as against nil in the last week.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• The initial public offering (IPO) of electric vehicle (EV) maker Ola Electric opened on August 2 and received 35% subscription on the first day of bidding on Friday. A day prior, the startup raised INR 2,763 Cr from anchor investors.
• Kidswear brand FirstCry’s public offering is set to open on August 6 and conclude on August 8. It has fixed a price band of INR 440-465 per equity share for its IPO and is expected to raise INR 4,193 Cr at the upper price band via its IPO.
• SaaS startup Unicommerce’s IPO will open on the same date as FirstCry. It has set a price band of INR 102-108 per equity share for its IPO, which will see the selling shareholders bag INR 276.57 Cr at the upper end of the price band.
• Education focused non-banking financial company (NBFC) refiled its IPO papers on July 31 after addressing the issues flagged by the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) earlier. The public offering will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,000 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of shares worth up to INR 2,500 Cr.
• SaaS unicorn Fractal plans to file DRHP for a $500-$600 Mn IPO by the end of this month or early September. The enterprise tech startup is looking to list on the Indian bourses at a valuation of around $3 Bn.
• B2B ecommerce platform Infra.Market is looking to initiate the process for a $300-$400 Mn IPO by appointing a syndicate of four to five investment banks.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Venture capital firm Trifecta Capital launched its fourth fund with a total corpus size of INR 2,000 Cr (around $240 Mn), including a green shoe option of INR 500 Cr.
• IIMA Ventures has launched an Venture Investing Accelerator programme for new investors and those interested in venture investing through family offices, micro VCs or corporate venture offices.
• Stock broking platform Dhan’s parent Raise Financial Services is in early stage of discussions to raise around $100 Mn in a new funding round at a unicorn valuation.
• Fintech SaveDesk has acquired a 90% stake in Fairexpay for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will enable SaveDesk to expand its footprint in the cross-border remittance and fund collection market.
• Troubled startup Dunzo’s cofounder and former CTO Mukund Jha is in discussions to rake in $6-10 Mn from Together Fund for his new GenAI venture.
• Micro VC firm Gemba Capital has floated its second fund with a target corpus of INR 250 Cr, including a green shoe option of INR 50 Cr. It is looking to back 30 early stage fintech, consumer tech and B2B startups via the fund.
• IIFL Fintech Fund has invested an undisclosed amount of funding in Vitra.ai to pick up a 10% stake in the Gen AI startup.
• Mumbai-based trade financing startup Vayana Network is raising $20 Mn in its Series D funding round led by new investor SMBC Asia Rising Fund

The post From Rapido To BharatPe- Indian Startups Raised $222 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Investment activity across the Indian startup ecosystem redacted to an all year low in the budget week. Between July 22 and 27, startups managed to cumulatively raise a meagre $43.1 Mn via 12 deals, down 365% from $200 Mn raised across 25 deals in the preceding week. 

It is pertinent to note that seven of the deals materialised this week didn’t disclose the financial terms of their transactions. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ July 22- July 27]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Despite the plunge in overall funding aggregated, fintech emerged as an investor favourite in the week. The week’s top two fund rounds, Stable Money’s $14.7 Mn Series A round and NeoGrowth’s $11 Mn debt, took fintech to the top spot at a sectoral level.
• The week saw FAAD Capital backing four agritech startups with an infusion of over $121K. The firm’s investment turned agritech as the sector with the maximum number of deals and FAAD as the most active investor in the startup ecosystem.
• The week saw no seed funding deal materialise.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• During the budget speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the setting up of an INR 1,000 Cr venture capital (VC) fund. She said that the government has increased its focus on the space economy and private sector-driven research and innovation at the commercial scale.
• Packaged food startup Wingreens Farms is eyeing the raise of $4.3 Mn debt from investors including S Gupta Family Investments, Saket Agarwal, Reena Singhal, Sanjeev Agarwal, among others
• In an exchange filing, beauty ecommerce major Nykaa said that it is looking to raise INR 125 Cr (about $15 Mn) via non-convertible debentures (NCDs) from an undisclosed foreign portfolio investor. Its board has approved and authorised the issuance of up to 12,500 NCDs at a face value of INR 1 Lakh each to raise the amount.
• Adtech unicorn InMobi-owned mobile content provider Glance is in advanced talks with existing investors, including Google, to raise $250 Mn. The talks are expected to materialise in the coming weeks.
• Former defence secretary Ajay Kumar led venture capitalist firm MountTech Growth Fund has marked the first close of its fund Kavach at INR 250 Cr (around $29.9 Mn). The VC is targeting a total corpus of INR 500 Cr for Kavach. 
• Electric mobility startup Kazam is raising $5 Mn in a funding round led by Licious and Vertex Ventures. It plans to use the capital to fuel its growth and expansion plans.
• PharmEasy-owned diagnostics platform Thyrocare Technologies is acquiring the Punjab-based pathology diagnostic business of Polo Labs to expand its presence in northern India.
• EV major Ola Electric is looking at a public listing as early as in the first fortnight of August. It plans to raise around $740 Mn via a combination of a fresh issue and an offer for sale.
• Captain Fresh is looking to acquire Poland-based food and beverage manufacturing company Koral to expand its footprint in the European market.

The post From Stable Money To Incuspaze – Indian Startups Raised $43 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Funding momentum across India’s startup ecosystem has seen a slight revival three weeks after a slump in investment activity. Between July 15 and 20, startups cumulatively raised $200.16 Mn across 25 deals, a 45% jump from $138.04 Mn raised last week via 15 deals.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ July 15- July 20]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week’s biggest fundraise was fintech unicorn slice’s $30 Mn debt funding from Neo Asset Management’s Credit Opportunities Fund. Hefty deals also materialised for major startups like BluSmart, Lenskart and Newme this week.
• Propelled by Lenskart’s $19.1 Mn funding round and Newme’s $18 Mn round, the ecommerce sector continued to be the major traction to investors this week. Startups in the space cumulatively raised $48.6 Mn via six deals this week.
• BluSmart’s $24 Mn funding round and Namma Yatri’s $11 Mn round made the travel tech sector the second favourite sector for investors this week. Startups in this sector raised $40.48 Mn via four deals this week.
• For the second consecutive week, seed funding grew 17% to $9.78 Mn from last week’s $8.33 Mn.

Startup Acquisitions This Week

• Talent management and influencer marketing firm Collective Artists Network has acquired AI-based platform galleri5 to expand its creator and content ecosystem. The acquisition will allow the firm to expand its tech-based integrated solutions ranging from talent management, creator tech, influencer marketing and consultancy.
• Listed gaming major Nazara has fully acquired Paper Boat Apps Pvt Ltd after picking up 48.42%  from its promoters Anupam and Anshu Dhanuk for INR 300 Cr. It will allow the company access to PBA’s healthy cash flows that can be reinvested for organic as well as inorganic growth.

Fund Launches This Week

• Real estate investment management firm Altern Capital launched its maiden CAT-II Alternative Investment Fund, named Jiraaf Au India Real Estate Fund – I, with a target corpus of INR 250 Cr. It will have an additional greenshoe option of INR 100 Cr, the company said.
• Launching a new venture capital firm called PROMAFT Partners, ex-investment head of Alibaba Group India, Raghav Bahl, and former partner at 9Unicorns (now 100Unicorns), Soham Avlani, floated an  INR 1,000 Cr maiden fund. The fund will be sector agnostic and plans to invest in 10-12 startups.
• Yali Capital launched an early stage fund worth INR 810 Cr to back startups operating in the deeptech sector. The fund will focus areas, including chip design, robotics, genomics, smart manufacturing, aerospace and AI, among others, in the deeptech space.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Unicorn India Ventures has announced a partial exit from neo diagnostics startup Sascan Meditech. The exit from Sascan has generated 6X returns for the fund as UIV continues to hold a substantial stake in the company.
• Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek plans to invest $10 Bn in India over the next three years. The sovereign wealth fund pumped in a record $3 Bn in the country in FY24 and plans to increase its headcount in India from 20 currently.
• Excitel cofounder Vivek Raina, along with other startup founders and executives, launched an incubator to foster startups in Jammu & Kashmir called “Launchpad Kashmir”. The incubator will take in incubate 24 early stage startups based out of the union territory by March 2025.
• Listed lendingtech startup Moneyboxx is looking to raise $32.4 Mn through a mix of preferential issue and warrants. It will deploy the fresh funds to fuel its growth plans and expand its reach in rural India.
• AdTech unicorn InMobi is looking to get listed in the Indian public markets at a $10 Bn valuation. For this, it is planning to relocate its headquarters from Singapore to India in the coming months.
• Beer Bira 91 maker B9 Beverages is eyeing to make its public markets debut by 2026. It has tapped investment banking firm Morgan Stanley for its pre-IPO process.
• Urban Company raised $50 Mn this week from Bengaluru-based VC firm Dharana Capital via a secondary share sale. The secondary stake sale, which saw the startup’s employees as well as other stakeholders participate, allowed Snapdeal cofounders Rohit Bansal and Kunal Bahl’s venture capital (VC) firm Titan Capital to exit the company with INR 111 Cr, 195X of their INR 57 Lakh investment in 2015.
• Kalpavriksh Fund exited D2C beauty and health brand The Ayurveda Experience (TAE) with over 6X return. It first invested in the D2C startup in 2019 in its Series A fundraise when it was a part of Centrum Group.
• Deeptech-focused venture studio IndusDC has set aside INR 100 Cr for FY25 and FY26 to identify and help co-build tech startups across industrial and energy sectors. It plans to build five startups in the next two years and more than 50 new companies globally over the next decade.
• The Central government is working on setting up an INR 750 Cr Category-II AIF named ‘Agri Fund For Startups and Rural Enterprises’ to help startups operating in the agriculture and allied sectors.

The post From slice To BluSmart – Indian Startups Raised $200 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Investment activity across the Indian startup ecosystem continued to remain subdued in the second week of the ongoing month. Between July 7 and 13, startups raised $138.04 Mn across 15 deals, a nearly 22% drop from the $176 Mn raised via 16 deals in the preceding week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [July 7- July 13]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Fintech startup Dezerv scored the biggest cheque this week, bagging $32 Mn in its Series B funding round from investors Premji Invest, Elevation Capital, Matrix Partners, and Accel Partners.
• Propelled by hefty funds secured by Infra.Market and GOAT Brand Labs, ecommerce emerged as the investor favourite sector this week. Startups in the space cumulatively raised $49.3 Mn via five deals.
• From a sectoral funding lens, fintech trailed ecommerce this week. Fintech startups managed to pocket $34.6 Mn via two deals this week.
• Seed funding jumped 173% this week to $8.33 Mn from last week’s $3.05 Mn this week.

Mergers and Acquisitions This Week

• Listed dronetech startup ideaForge bought an undisclosed stake in spacetech startup GalaxEye Space for INR 8.28 Cr. The acquisition will help it develop drone-based sensors for fog and foliage penetrations.
• AI-led fintech startup CASHe bought Centcart Insurance Broking Services to foray into the insurance broking vertical. This acquisition enables CASHe to offer a wider range of products from multiple insurance partners.
• Construction giant L&T will be acquiring semiconductor design startup SiliConch Systems for INR 183 Cr by September 15. The deal will comprise an upfront amount of INR 133 Cr payable at the time of closing the transaction.
• Astrology SaaS platform Melooha bought language translation and astrological guidance startup Munitalks in a cash and stock deal pegged at INR 70 Lakh. Melooha seeks to leverage Munitalks’ multilingual support and astrology consultation services to boost its astrological offerings. 
• Edtech startup Schoolnet acquired quiz-based learning app Genius Teacher in an all-stock deal. With this, Genius Teachers’ cofounder and chief executive Advitiya Sharma will join Schoolnet as chief growth officer.
• Edtech major Adda247 acquired Ekagrata Eduserv for an undisclosed amount to foray into the CA test preparation segment. Ekagrata’ founder Anshul Agrawal will now lead Adda24’s CA category as director.
• Continuing its acquisition spree, Nazara Technologies-backed NODWIN Gaming has now picked up an additional 43.49% stake in Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH for INR 212.9 Cr. This extends its shareholding in the gaming marketing services company to 57%. 

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Logistics unicorn BlackBuck submitted its IPO papers to the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). As per its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), the startup’s public issue will comprise a fresh issuance of shares worth INR 550 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of up to 2.16 Cr shares.
• Jaipur-based D2C men’s grooming brand Menhood will list on the NSE Emerge on July 16 and plans to raise INR 19.5 Cr via its IPO. It has set its price brand in the range of INR 71-75.
• As per reports, D2C furniture brand Pepperfry has deferred its IPO plans after engaging with bankers over the past year to enter the public market. The company will increase its focus on growth and profitability in the current financial year.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Goldman Sachs is looking to invest $30-50 Mn in software as a service (SaaS) provider MoEngage. As per reports, it has decided to buy shares of MoEngage from some of its early investors.
• Former Premji Invest partner Atul Gupta has launched a venture capital firm Trident Growth Partners (India). The VC will make growth-stage equity investments in startups operating across consumer, financial services, enterprise software and technology, industrial and manufacturing and healthcare sectors.
• Debt financing platform Anicut Capital marked the final close of its maiden pre-IPO equity fund, named as Equity Continuum fund, at INR 300 Cr. It will write cheques in the range of INR 50 Cr to INR 60 Cr and will back 5-6 late stage companies.
• Early-stage VC firm Orios Venture Partners has postponed the closure of its third fund for the second time. As per reports, the firm is expected to now mark the fund’s final close in December. Earlier, the close was pegged at $150 Mn. 

The post From Dezerv To Infra.Market – Indian Startups Raised $138 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After a massive week-on-week drop in funding last week, the month of July started relatively on a somber note. Between July 1 and 6, the Indian startups collectively mopped up around $176 Mn in funding across 16 deals. This is 10.3% lower than $196.4 Mn raised by 17 startups in the last week of June. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ July 1 – July 6 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Beauty ecommerce platform Purplle bagged $120 Mn from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, making it the biggest fundraise of this week. Besides this funding, the startup further an ESOP liquidation exercise worth INR 50 Cr for its employees.
• Fuelled by Purplle’s fundraise, the ecommerce sector became the funded sector with an investment of $129.6 Mn. Besides, the sector also witnessed the most number of deals this week – six. 
• The seed funding dipped to $3.05 Mn this week across three, an almost 50% lower than $6.9 Mn reported last week.
   

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Bengaluru-based logistics and distribution startup Ripplr is all set to raise $4.7 Mn in a debt from IPO-bound Northern Arc. 
• Listed Nazara Technologies’ subsidiary Nextwave Multimedia will be completing the acquisition of casual freemium card game UTP- Ultimate Teen Patti in a month.
• Shelving its IPO plans, Hospitality unicorn OYO is now raising $50 Mn (about INR 415 Cr) from financial services provider InCred. 
• Delhi NCR-based agritech startup Arya.ag is raising $29 Mn (about INR 242 Cr) in a fresh funding round from a new investor – Blue Earth Capital
• Peak XV Partners MD Rajan Anandan has said that the VC firm has a dry powder of INR 16,000 Cr to invest in Indian startups.
• CoinCDX has acquired Dubai-based virtual assets trading platform BitOasis, marking its overseas expansion
• Next Bharat Ventures IFSC Private Limited, a subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, has launched an INR 340 Cr social impact investment fund.

The post From Purplle To Matter – Indian Startups Raised $176 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After a big funding week, investment activity across the Indian startup ecosystem has entered into the slow lane again. Between June 24 and 29, startups cumulatively bagged $196.47 Mn across 17 deals, a 75% decline from $800.5 Mn raised across 21 deals in the preceding week.

However, it would be unfair to say that funding trends plunged drastically this week. Of the $800.5 Mn secured last week, around $665 Mn was raised by quick commerce unicorn Zepto alone. Hence, the rest of the startup ecosystem only saw $135.5 Mn capital infusion in the week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ June 24 – June 29 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week’s largest funding round saw NBFC Northern Arc bagging a debt funding of $75 Mn from FMO. On the back of this, fintech emerged as the investors’ favourite this week. Startup’s in the space cumulatively raised $77.4 Mn across three deals.
• The highest number of deals materialised for ecommerce startups this week as players in the space raised $48.3 Mn via five deals.
• However, seed funding dipped this week by 69% to $6.9 from last week’s $22.7 Mn. 

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Moving towards a public market debut, electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy’s board passed a resolution to convert the startup into a public company from private. The startup’s name has changed to Ather Energy Ltd from Ather Energy Pvt Ltd earlier, its regulatory filings revealed.
• Within a week of raising big bucks, quick commerce major Zepto has initiated conversations with multiple investors to raise $400 Mn at a likely valuation of $4.6 Bn. This will be 25% higher than the $3.6 Bn at which it raised $665 Mn last week.
• UK-based private equity (PE) firm Finnest has invested $160 Mn to acquire a majority stake in cloud kitchen startup Kitchens@. The fresh capital will be utilised to fuel the startup’s business operations and expand its footprint.
• Gold loan provider Rupeek is close to bagging $24 Mn in another down round. The funding is expected to be a mix of primary and secondary transactions and will be raised at a valuation of $250 Mn, a 60% cut.
• US-based ecommerce giant Amazon has infused $72 Mn in its Indian fintech arm Amazon Pay India. Amazon Pay allotted 59.99 Cr shares to Amazon Corporate Holdings and 59,952 Cr shares to Amazon.com for INR 10 apiece.
• Nazara-owned gaming company NODWIN has completed the acquisition of marketing services company Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH through a share swap valued at up to INR 271 Cr.
• Edtech unicorn upGrad is planning to allot 25 Lakh NCDs and 3.75 Lakh OCDs to EvolutionX Debt Capital to raise a debt of $34.4 Mn. The capital will be used to fuel growth and fund operating expenses.

The post From Northern Arc to Bluestone – Indian Startups Raised $196 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After months of speculations, quick commerce unicorn Zepto finally announced the close of its mega funding round this week. The startup raised $665 Mn at a $3.6 Bn valuation, making it one of the largest cheques bagged by a company in recent history. For context, Zepto’s funding alone exceeds the cumulative $512 Mn raised by Indian startups in January 2024.

Overall, Indian startups cumulatively raised $800.5 Mn across 29 deals this week. This was a 296% increase from the $201.8 Mn secured by the startups last week across 21 deals. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ June 17 – June 22 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Zepto’s funding round took the consumer services to the top of the sectoral funding charts.
•  Trailing consumer services was the fintech sector, which saw startups raise $50.3 Mn across nine deals.
• Peak XV Partner, IndiaQuotient, Matrix Partners India, and Dr. Vaidya’s Arjun Vaidya were the most active investors this week, backing two startups apiece.
• Seed funding shot up again this week, zooming 141% to $22.7 Mn from last week’s $9.4 Mn .

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Education-focussed non-banking financial company (NBFC) Avanse Financial Services has filed its DRHP with the SEBI for an INR 3,500 Cr public issue. The IPO will comprise a fresh issuance of shares worth INR 1,000 Cr and an OFS component of INR 2,500 Cr.
• Fintech unicorn Pine Labs is deliberating a public offer of $1 Bn at a valuation of over $6 Bn, a couple of years after shelving its $500 Mn IPO plan.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has cleared the IPO of Ola Electric Mobility. The markets regulator issued its observation letter to the company on June 10.
• With plans to go public this fiscal, logistics unicorn BlackBuck converted into a public company. The company’s name has been changed from Zinka Logistics Solutions Private Limited to Zinka Logistics Solutions Limited. It is now seeking to raise $300 Mn.
• Online travel aggregator (OTA) ixigo made a stellar debut on the bourses. The stock listed at INR 135 apiece on the BSE, a 45.16% premium from its issue price of INR 93. Similarly, the shares opened at INR 138.10 per share on the NSE, a premium of 48.5%.

Startup Acquisitions This Week

• Picking up an additional 49% stake for INR 98 Lakh, NSE listed OTA Yatra Online agreed to acquire Adventure and Nature Network Private Limited (ANN). The transaction raised its shareholding from 50% to 99%.
• Zomato is looking to acquire Paytm’s movie ticketing and events business, Paytm Insider. While the talks are in preliminary stages and no binding agreement is signed as of now, reports speculate the deal size to be about INR 1,500 Cr.
• Venture capital (VC) firm Ananta Capital’s beauty and wellness arm Guardian acquired a 55% stake in D2C personal care startup Anveya Living in an undisclosed deal. Guardian plans to increase its stake in the startup in the near future.
• Supply chain financing startup Veefin Solutions picked up a 26% stake in GST compliance startup Regime Tax Solutions. The stake acquisition integrates Regime’s GST compliance and accounts automation solutions, TaxGenie and PayInvoice, with Veefin’s platform.
• Aditya Birla Group’s fashion arm TMRW acquired a 16% stake in the Virat Kohli-backed WROGN for INR 125 Cr in an all-cash deal. The fresh funds will be used to expand WROGN’s offline footprint.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• NBFC UGRO Capital raised INR 1,265 Cr ($151.6 Mn) by allotting compulsory convertible debentures (CCDs) worth INR 258 Cr and warrants worth INR 1,007 Cr to investors.
• Omnichannel jewellery brand Bluestone is looking to raise $100 Mn from Peak XV Partners, Steadview Capital and Think Investments in its pre-IPO round. The deal will value the startup at $900 Mn.
• US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst will soon be merging with Delhi NCR-based early stage investment firm Venture Highway to expand its presence in India. Post the merger, the Venture Highway brand will cease to exist, creating a combined entity named General Catalyst India
• Logistics startup Ecom Express is in talks with existing investors Warburg Pincus, CDC Group, and Partners Group to raise INR 350 Cr -INR 400 Cr ($41 Mn-$47 Mn) at a unicorn valuation.
• Shortly after withdrawing its IPO papers, hospitality major OYO is about to raise around INR 1,000 Cr from family offices of Mankind Pharma’s promoters Ramesh Juneja and Rajeev Juneja and stock market expert Anand Jain.
• SoftBank-backed B2B SaaS startup Whatfix is looking to raise $100-150 Mn in a mix of primary and secondary transactions. The round is expected to be led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
• VC firm GVFL has marked the first close of its seed stage fund, Prarambh Fund, at INR 100 Cr. It will be backing 25-30 seed startups across B2B SaaS, healthtech, agritech, climate tech and deeptech sectors with an average ticket size of INR 1-3 Cr.
• 8X Ventures announced the first close of its INR 200 Cr DeepTech Fund with commitments for INR 60 Cr. It aims to back 18-20 early stage deeptech startups with an initial ticket size of INR 2-5 Cr each and total investments of up to INR 20 Cr each in 8-10 startups.
• VC firm VentureSoul Partners launched its maiden debt fund, VentureSoul Capital Fund I, with a target corpus of INR 600 Cr. It will primarily focus on investments in tech startups in diversified sectors, including fintech, B2C, B2B and SaaS.

The post From Zepto to Bira 91 – Indian Startups Raised $800 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shortly after a lacklustre investment activity across the Indian startup ecosystem, funding started picking up momentum in the middle of the ongoing month. Between June 10 and 15, startups cumulatively bagged funding of $201.8 Mn across 21 deals, which marks over 2X jump or 107% uptick from $97.3 Mn raised across 10 deals in the preceding week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ June 10 – June 15 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Battery-swapping startup Battery Smart’s $65 Mn Series B funding round was the week’s biggest funding round. The equity round is a mix of primary and secondary investments and saw participation from a mix of new and existing investors, including MUFG Bank, Panasonic, Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), Blume Ventures and British International Investment (BII). The round also saw its initial backer Orios Venture Partners making a partial exit with 29X returns. 
• Battery Smart’s funding round propelled the cleantech sector to top funding chart at a sectoral level. The sector saw startups raking in $71 Mn via three deals.
• Interestingly, deeptech tied cleantech in terms of the secured number of deals. Startups in the space netted $53 Mn via three deals. However, the ecommerce sector witnessed the highest number of deals materialising this week, with startups bagging $51.9 Mn through six deals. 
• Blume Ventures, Matrix Partners India and Venture Catalysts emerged to be the most active investors this week, backing two startups each. 
• Seed funding levels also improved significantly this week, going up 214% from last week’s $3 Mn to $9.4 Mn this week.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• About six months after filing its DRHP, two-wheeler electric vehicle manufacturer Ola Electric got the approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its  initial public offering (IPO). The company will be looking  to make its public market debut within a month.
• Online travel aggregator ixigo’s public issue received bids for 430.40 Cr shares against the 4.37 Cr on offer, implying a 98.34X oversubscription rate. QIBs led the charts as they oversubscribed their quota by 106.73X.

Startup Acquisitions This Week

• 360 One has signed an agreement to buy ET Money from Times Internet for INR 365.8 Cr in a cash and stock deal. Of this, the wealth and asset company will pay INR 85.8 Cr in cash to the company.
•  Continuing its acquisition streak, listed gaming Nazara Technologies’ subsidiary NODWIN Gaming International Pte Ltd, bought middle eastern esports and gaming production company Ninja Global FZCO (Ninja) for $3.57 Mn in a cash and stock deal.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Beauty ecommerce marketplace Purplle reportedly raised $100 Mn in a mix of primary and secondary investments led by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund ADIA. The fundraise valued the startup at $1.2-1.3 Bn, a 15% increase from its erstwhile fundraise. 
• Fintech startup KreditBee’s NBFC arm bagged a $32 Mn Debt from Yubi, Dzerv, Neo Group, and OfBusiness, among others between April and June. The debt is likely to fuel its working capital needs and business expansion plans.
• Ola Electric is eyeing a $12 Mn debt raise from venture debt fund Alteria Capital. Its board has approved the issuance of 10,000 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) with face value of INR 1 Lakh each to the investor. 
• D2C personal care startup 82°E will see a $6 Mn infusion as part of its extended seed funding round by its founder Deepika Padukone and her father Prakash Padukone’s investment entity, Ka Enterprises. The infusion is expected to be completed by June 20.
• Amid ongoing speculations about Zepto’s upcoming funding round, reports now found out that  the round could be the tune of $650 Mn. The round will see the quick commerce unicorn’s valuation soar to $3.5 Bn, 2.5X its erstwhile valuation of $1.4 Bn. 
• D2C wearables major boAt’s parent Imagine Marketing India is in talks with three investors to raise an undisclosed amount. Its cofounder and CEO Sameer Mehta said the fundraise will be “strategic” in nature instead of just raising capital. 
• Pavestone VC’s maiden fund Pavestone Technology Fund raised $1.8 Mn from Colruyt Group India, the engineering arm of Belgian food and grocery retailer Colruyt Group. The VC has set a target corpus of $107.7 Mn for the fund.
• Early-stage VC firm Huddle Ventures’ Fund II has been oversubscribed by 20% ahead of its final close. The VC firm has activated the green shoe option following the oversubscription and is aiming for a final close at INR 150 Cr in the next four to eight weeks.
• Fintech Neo group’s asset management arm Neo Asset Management has marked the final close of its maiden special credit opportunities fund at $308 Mn. Neo claims to have backed 12 companies and made two exits within a time span of 15 months via the fund
• VC firm Unifi Capital has floated two new funds in GIFT City, Gujarat. While the first fund will focus on Indian growth businesses benefiting from demographic shifts and sectoral reforms, the second will aim to assist Indian HNIs in diversifying their portfolios. 
• Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture fund South Park Commons (SPC) has entered India in collaboration with Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal and has opened its first international outpost in Bengaluru.

The post From Battery Smart to Foxtale- Indian Startups Raised $201 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

During the week of the Indian elections, funding momentum in the world’s third largest startup ecosystem saw a significant decline. Between June 3 and 8 startups raised a total of $97.3 Mn across 10 deals. This represents a nearly 55% decrease from the previous week, when startups secured $217.84 Mn across 31 deals.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ June 3 – June 8 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week’s largest funding round saw lending tech startup Fibe (erstwhile EarlySalary) raise $90 Mn in its Series E funding round led by TR Capital, Trifecta Capital and Amara Partner. In this, the startup bagged only $65.5 Mn in primary capital and the rest came through secondary transactions. 
• Buoyed by Fibe’s funding, the fintech sector topped the funding charts in terms of amount raised. The lending tech startup’s funding was the lone deal in the sector this week.
• Enterprisetech saw the highest three deals materialise this week. Startups in the segment bagged $12 Mn via three deals. 
• Continuing on its downward trajectory of the past few weeks, seed funding went down by 67% this week to $3 Mn.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Despite the lagging primary funding infusion of the week, the period was rich in terms of secondary transactions. Peyush Bansal-led Lenskart saw Temasek and Fidelity buy $200 Mn worth stakes from undisclosed stakeholders. With the investment, Temasek effectively doubled down its investment in the startup. On the other hand, Fidelity now joins the startup’s cap table. 
• The week saw Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal completely exit two-wheeler electric vehicle maker Ather Energy. He sold his 2.2% of his shareholding in the EV major to Hero MotoCorp for $14.8 Mn, while Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath lapped up his remaining 5.3% stake for $33.7 Mn.
• CarDekho’s insurance arm InsuranceDekho is looking to acquire a majority stake in the wealthtech startup BankSathi in a share swap deal. The move will help the insurtech platform build its credit products portfolio.
• In a bid to become one of the leading sports and entertainment focus publishers in the US market, Nazara Technologies’ subsidiary Absolute Sports (parent of Sportskeeda) will be acquiring all the assets of Pennsylvania-based entertainment news site Soap Central for $1.4 Mn in an all-cash deal.
• Amazon’s acquisition of MX Player from Times Internet is in its final stages, Inc42 has learnt. The ecommerce giant has confirmed that it has signed an agreement to purchase some assets of the video streaming platform. 
• Adding on to the string of initial public offerings (IPOs) coming out of the Indian startup ecosystem this year, online travel aggregator ixigo is set to make its public debut on June 10. At a price band of INR 88-93 per equity share for its public issue, it is expected to raise a total of INR 740 Cr at the upper end. Ahead of its IPO, it raised over INR 333 Cr from 23 anchor investors at INR 93 per equity share. 

The post From Fibe To Astrotalk- Indian Startups Raised $97 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After muted funding trends over the past two weeks, investment activity in the Indian startup ecosystem picked up pace during the final week of May. Between May 27 and June 1, startups raised $217.84 Mn across 31 deals, a 273% increase from last week’s $58.36 Mn bagged across 16 deals. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [May  27 – Jun 1]

[Note: This week’s funding galore also includes deals from last Saturday (May 25).]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• With startups like TechnoSport and Libas bagging funds to the tune of $25 Mn and $18 Mn respectively, the ecommerce sector emerged to be the investor favourite this week. Startups in the space netted $56.2 Mn across five deals.
• Real Estate Tech unicorn Infra.Market raised $50 Mn in an additional funding round from Liquidity Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s MARS Unicorn Fund. The funding round drove real estate tech to become the second most funded sector this week.
• Further, the cleantech and fintech sectors, each saw the highest six deals materialise this week. Startups in the sector bagged $40.8 Mn and $22.7 Mn, respectively.
• Venture Catalysts was the most active investor this week, backing four startups.
• Seed funding tumbled down this week, with startups at this stage securing $7.7 Mn. This was a 41% decline from last week’s $13.12 Mn.

Startup Fund Launches Of This Week

• Venture Capitalist (VC) firm Sauce.vc Floats has floated an $30Mn (INR 250 Cr) fund, its third largest till date. With this, the investment firm will back 15-16 early stage consumer brands.
• Homegrown financial services firm Avendus launched its late-stage ‘Future Leaders Fund (FLF) III’ with a total corpus of $350 Mn (INR 3,000 Cr), along with a green shoe option of up to INR 1,500 Cr. It will look to make 10-12 investments with an average ticket size of $25 Mn to $35 Mn.
• 360 ONE Asset announced the launch of its late stage secondaries fund,‘Special Opportunities Fund-12’, with a target base corpus of $480 Mn (INR 4,000 Cr). The private equity (PE) firm has already made six investments from the new fund with an average ticket size of $18- $30 Mn (INR 150-250 Cr).
• Early stage consumer VC fund RPSG Capital Ventures has marked the final close of its second fund, Fund II at INR 550 Cr. Through the fund, it claims to have already invested in four direct-to-consumer (D2C) startups Supertails, Perfora, Rabitat and Headway.
• Former KKR India head Sanjay Nayar’s VC firm Sorin Investments marked the final close of its maiden fund at INR 1350 Cr. Under the fund, it has made 5 investments till date in Uniqus Consultech, Venwiz, Litestore, Freed and Shivalik SFB with a few more nearing closure.

Startup Acquisitions This Week

• Broadcasting giant Times Network bought technology media portal Digit.in from 9.9 Group via an undisclosed deal. The company will look to leverage its digital publishing capabilities to expand its footprint in the technology and gaming sectors.
• Fintech startup BharatX has forayed into the healthcare lending space with the acquisition of the healthcare startup Zenifi. As part of the deal, Zenifi’s cofounder Padam Kataria will join BharatX to spearhead its healthcare vertical.
• Parent of D2C unicorn Mamaearth, Honasa Consumer Ltd, has acquired the assets of Thane-based skincare company CosmoGenesis Labs for $480K (INR 4 Cr). With the buyout, it seeks to strengthen its research and development and manufacturing capabilities.
• Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath, Capri Global Family Office, Sumeet Kanwar from Verity and Abhijeet Pai-led Wear Steels, have bought 10% stake in Infra.Market’s subsidiary RDC Concrete for $20 Mn.
• B2B marketplace IndiaMART InterMESH has acquired a 10% stake in fraud detection startup Baldor Technologies for INR 89.7 Cr (about $10.7 Mn) via a secondary transaction. The investment aligns with its long-term objective of providing various software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for businesses.
• US-based ecommerce giant Amazon is in the final stages of acquiring Times Internet-owned video streaming platform MX Player. Sources told Inc42 that the ecommerce major is acquiring MX Player in an all-cash deal for a little over $100 Mn.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Shares of the coworking space provider Awfis were listed at INR 432.25 on the BSE, a premium of 12.8% from its issue price of INR 383. On the NSE, its shares were listed at INR 435 apiece, 13.5% higher than the issue price.
• Travel tech startup Atlys is in talks with existing investor Peak XV Partners and others to raise $15-18 Mn in its Series B round. It is said to be eyeing the fresh infusion at a valuation of $70 Mn.
• Electric two wheeler maker Ather is looking to raise $34 Mn (INR 286.5 Cr) in a mix of equity and debt as part of its latest funding round. It plans to raise INR 200 Cr in debt from Stride Ventures while the founders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain are looking to infuse the rest of the capital.
• VC firms Xponentia Capital Partners, A91 Partners, and 360 ONE Asset have acquired stakes in deeptech startup SEDEMAC Mechatronics through a secondary transaction , giving full exit to the company’s early investors, Nexus Venture Partners, TR Capital and Montane Ventures. While the size of the round was $100 Mn, it included a primary infusion of around $9 Mn into the startup at a valuation of $260 Mn.
• Ratan Tata-backed omnichannel jewellery startup BlueStone is in discussions to secure close to $100 Mn in a pre-IPO funding round at a unicorn valuation. This would translate to a more than 2X jump from its erstwhile valuation of $450 Mn.
• As part of its ongoing Series A round, D2C kidswear brand Kidbea has seen Innov8 founder and angel investor Ritesh Malik, Nazara Technology founder Nitish Mittersain, and cardiovascular surgeon Dr Shriram Nene join its captable.

The post From Infra.Market to Zypp Electric- Indian Startups Raised $218 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Investment activity across the Indian startup ecosystem saw a significant decline throughout May. While funding momentum started slipping right from the get-go of the month, it fell to the lowest in the week between May 20 and 25. During the week, startups bagged $58.36 Mn across 16 deals, a 52% drop from $121.8 Mn raised across 21 deals in the preceding week.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [May  20 – May 25]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Buoyed by the $18 Mn funding secured by lendingtech startup Navi Finserv, the biggest paycheck of the week, the fintech sector emerged as the sweet spot for investors this week. Startups in the sector secured $23.9 Mn across 4 deals, the highest number of deals secured at a sectoral level.
• Startups in the ecommerce space also secured a similar number of deals, raising $3.5 Mn across 4 transactions. 
• Seed funding jumped more than 4X this week to $13.12 Mn from last week’s $3.5 Mn. 

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• With eyes on raising $450 Mn through the sale of dollar bonds, hospitality unicorn OYO officially deferred its plans to make a debut in the public markets. According to documents from the market regulator SEBI, the company officially withdrew its IPO papers on May 17. 
• Coworking startup Awfis’ public issue received 9.84 Cr bids as against the 86.29 Lakh shares on offer, resulting in an oversubscription of 11.4X. Retail investors led the pack as the quota was subscribed 21.1X.
• Online travel aggregator (OTA) ixigo public listing plans are now in high gear as it received a go-ahead from SEBI for its over INR 120 Cr IPO. The offer will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 120 Cr and an OFS component of 6.66 Cr shares.
• Insurtech unicorn Go Digit General Insurance’s (Digit) Go Digit made an underwhelming public market debut this week. Its shares were listed at INR 286 per share on NSE, a 5.1% premium of than the issue price of INR 272. 

Startup Acquisitions This Week

• Audio tech startup Noise acquired AI platform SocialBoat for an undisclosed amount. The startup will look to harness SocialBoat’s AI capabilities to bolster health and fitness features for its wearable devices.
• B2B fintech startup CashFlo acquired GST compliance platform Logitax for an undisclosed amount to fortify its accounts payable automation and supply chain financing platform .

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• Home furnishing startup Vaaree is looking to raise $2.5 Mn as part of a Pre-Series A funding round from Capier Investments and Peak XV’s Surge. The company’s board passed a resolution to allot 3,063 CCPS to the new backers.
• Fashion brand Rare Rabbit is close to securing over $60 Mn in its maiden funding round. The round will be led by A91 Partners, which will invest $42 Mn and will see participation from Manyavar’s family office and Zerodha’s cofounder Nikhil Kamath
• Venture capital (VC) firm Caret Capital has launched Caret360 Accelerator, a 100-day outcome-focussed programme for early-stage startups. Under this programme, selected startups will receive up to INR 3 Cr in investment as well as an opportunity to secure further follow-on capital from the VC. 
• IVY Growth Associates launched Arigato Capital fund with a target corpus of around $29 Mn. With the Category I AIF fund, it will invest in startups across agritech, cleantech, GenAI, fintech, consumer brands and software-as-a-service (SaaS) sectors.
• EV cab-hailing startup BluSmart is looking to raise $25 Mn in its Pre-Series B round  in equity preference. The fundraise will see participation from major new and existing investors.
• D2C skincare brand WOW Skin Science is in talks with existing and new investors to raise $65 Mn-$75 Mn in primary capital at a valuation of $400 Mn. Besides existing investors like GIC and ChrysCapital, it is also in Japanese and Middle East-based funds for the round.
• Google has picked up a minority stake in Flipkart in a funding round led by the platform’s parent Walmart. The investment is likely a part of the ecommerce major’s larger $1 Bn fundraise.
• VC fund YourNest Venture Capital has partnered with deeptech enablement platform SanchiConnect to launch an accelerator for deeptech startups, Velocity Fast Track Startup Funding Program. It will invest INR 30 Cr in eight startups. 

The post From Navi Finserv to Portl- Indian Startups Raised $58 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Funding activity in the world’s third largest startup ecosystem saw a decline for the second consecutive week in May. Indian startups raised $121.8 Mn across 21 deals between May 13 and 18, a 45% decline from last week’s $220.2 Mn raised across the same number of deals.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [May  13 – May 18]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week’s biggest cheque was secured by fintech startup Propelld. Buoyed by its $25 Mn fundraise, fintech dominated the funding trend at a sectoral level. Startups in the space raised $33.1 Mn across three deals, the highest number of deals secured at a sectoral level.
• Gruhas Proptech and Venture Highway were the most active investors this week, backing two startups each.
• Seed funding continued to tumble down this week as well, with startups at this stage securing $3.5 Mn. This was a 58% decline from last week’s $8.4 Mn.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Making a bumper debut on the bourses, shares of B2B travel portal TBO Tek listed at INR 1,426 on the NSE on Wednesday, a 55% premium over its issue price of INR 920. Similarly, the company listed at INR 1,380 on the BSE at a premium of 50%.
• D2C meat delivery startup Zappfresh has set the ball rolling for its initial public offering (IPO). The Delhi NCR-based company transformed itself into a public company this week, marking its first major milestone in preparation for its public offering.
• Insurtech unicorn Digit’s public issue received 50.76 Cr bids against 5.28 Cr shares on offer, resulting in a 9.6X subscription. Its IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,125 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) element of 5.47 Cr shares.
• Global retail giant Walmart is currently exploring the “right time” for the ecommerce giant Flipkart’s IPO. Walmart International president and CEO Kath McLay said that the IPO plans stem from Flipkart’s growth trajectory as the company has been EBITDA positive for the last two quarters. 

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• US-based ecommerce giant Amazon has invested $199 Mn in its Indian Arm. Its local subsidiary, Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd, has allotted 160 Cr equity shares to at least two overseas entities.
• Early stage venture capitalist fund 9Unicorns has rebranded itself to 100Unicorns and launched its second fund that will have a corpus of $200 Mn and a green shoe option of $100 Mn. The fund will invest in 200 early stage startups.
• Battery-swapping startup Battery Smart is raising $45 Mn as part of a Series B round, which will see participation from Acacia Inclusion, Japan’s MUFG Bank, Blume Ventures, among others.
• Global investment firm KKR is looking to divest a 10% stake in NBFC startup InCred to Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group. The deal is expected to peg the fintech startup’s valuation 30-40% higher than its last valuation of $1.2 Bn.
• Enterprise tech startup Orbod is selling its AI platform focussed on the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector, SuperScan, to listed fintech company Niyogin Fintech Ltd. Niyogin’s board has approved signing definitive agreements to acquire SuperScan.  
• London-based private equity firm Apax Partners is mulling investments in Indian pharmaceuticals, consumer, and consumer derivative markets. The firm has deployed a India-focused team to scout buyout opportunities and is also working on multiple deals at different stages across sectors.
• After launching an INR 200 Cr Category I Alternative Investment Fund, angel investing platform BizDateUp Technologies bought a 20% stake in waste management startup Duro Green for an undisclosed amount. 
• With an eye on beefing up its AI investments in India, Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is now mulling investing in Indian data centre and industrial robotics companies.

The post From Propelld To RED.Health — Indian Startups Raised $122 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Investment activity in the Indian startup ecosystem was a low-key affair this week as compared to the previous six-day period. Between May 6 and 11, startups cumulatively raised $220.2 Mn across 21 deals, a 30% decline from last week’s $316.4 Mn secured in 23 deals. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [May  6 – May 11]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Despite the muted funding trends in the week, one mega deal materialised in the week for SaaS startup Atlan. The data collaboration software provider bagged $105 Mn in its Series C funding round, co-led by GIC and Meritech Capital. The round also saw Atlan’s post-money valuation climbing to $750 Mn.
• Buoyed by Atlan’s mega funding, enterprisetech rose to dominate funding trends at a sectoral level. Startups in the space raised $113.2 Mn across 5 deals, the greatest number of deals secured at a sectoral level.
• Peak XV Partners, Endiya Partners, Nitin Gupta, and Inflection Point Ventures were the most active investors this week, backing 2 startups a piece.
• Seed funding continued to tumble down this week, with startups at this stage securing $8.4 Mn this week. This is a 32% decline from last week’s $12.3 Mn. 

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• After raising INR 696.5 Cr from 47 anchor investors, B2B travel portal Travel Boutique Online or TBO Tek floated its initial public offering (IPO) on May 8. Its public issue got oversubscribed 86.7X on the final day for bidding on May 10, with investors bidding for 80.5 Cr shares as against 92.85 Lakh shares on offer. 
•  Taking its second stab at the public market, insurance tech unicorn Digit Insurance is set to float  its IPO on May 15 and close on May 17. The startup’s IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,125 Cr and an offer for sales (OFS) component of 5.47 Cr. It has set a price band in the range of INR 258 to INR 272 per equity share.

Startup Acquisitions This Week

• Digital solutions provider Hexaware Technologies has acquired data consulting firm Softcrylic for an undisclosed sum. It has bought the US-based firm to strengthen its data and analytics capabilities.
• Private equity firm KKR announced that it will acquire medical devices company Healthium Medtech Ltd from an affiliate of funds advised by Apax Partners LLP for an undisclosed amount.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

•  Lending tech startup Niro is eyeing $4.3 Mn in a pre-Series B funding round. It is looking to raise the funds from Marui Group, along with existing investors like Elevar Equity, GMO Venture Partners, Rebright Partners, among others, at a valuation of $55 Mn.
• InCred Capital’s Incred Alternative Investments marked the first close of its maiden private equity fund with capital commitments of over INR 330 Cr. The Vivek Singla-led venture capitalist (VC) firm is targeting to close the fund at INR 500 Cr.
• Wealth management firm Client Associates announced the first close of its maiden Category II alternative investment fund (AIF) at INR 300 Cr. It will look to back 12-15 consumer tech startups at the Pre-Series A to Series B stages with cheque sizes in the range of INR 10 Cr – INR 50 Cr per deal.
• Murugappa Group’s EV arm TI Clean Mobility (TICMPL) will be raising INR 580 Cr in a mix of equity and compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS). PE firm GEF Capital will back the company via its two funds, GEF South Asia Growth Invest III and GEF South Asia EBT Trust III.
• Among CarTrade’s bull run on the bourses, Goldman Sachs Asset Management has increased its stake in the startup to 5.15%, becoming a substantial shareholder. It now possesses 2.4 Mn shares in the company, up 4% from the erstwhile 2.3 Mn.
• Ex-BharatPe CBO Pratekk Agarwaal-led VC firm GrowthCap is looking to close its maiden fund at INR 50 Cr in the next two months. It will be investing in fintech, SaaS, and deeptech startups.
• Pune-based software company Icertis is looking to raise $150 Mn via a secondary share sale, a deal that could see an increased investment from SoftBank.

The post From Atlan To Lendingkart — Indian Startups Raised $220 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After a significant drop in the capital raised by Indian startups in the last week of April, funding picked up in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem in the first week of May. Between April 29 and May 4, Indian startups cumulatively raised $316.4 Mn across 23 deals, up 83.3% from last week’s $172.6 Mn secured across 21 deals.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Apr 29 – May 4]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Digital pharmacy PharmEasy bagged $216.2 Mn as part of its rights issue at a 90% valuation cut compared to its peak valuation of $5.6 Bn in October 2021. This was the lone mega deal for the week as well as the biggest cheque secured by a startup.
• Buoyed by PharmEasy’s mega funding, healthtech knocked off fintech to become the most funded sector this week. Healthtech startups raised $236.2 Mn across three deals this week. 
• Ecommerce maintained its streak of securing the most number of deals. Startups in the space netted $8.2 Mn across five deals this week. 
• Z21 Ventures and JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF) were the most active investors for the week, backing two startups apiece.
• Despite the positive upturn in the funding trends overall, seed funding dropped significantly this week. Startups at this stage were able to bag only $12.3 Mn this week, down 64% from last week’s $33.9 Mn.

Startup Acquisitions This Week

• Momspresso founders Vishal Gupta and Prashant Sinha’s new venture Pravis has picked up a stake in adtech gaming platform StreamO. The growth marketing firm will leverage StreamO’s 300 Mn subscribers to target GenZ communities.
• Non-banking finance company (NBFC) UGRO Capital has initiated the acquisition process of  lending tech startup MyShubhLife in a mix of equity (64%) and cash (36%) at an enterprise value of INR 45 Cr.
• SaaS major Freshworks announced the acquisition of Delaware Corporation’s Device42 for $230 Mn. The purchase price would be paid in the form of $215 Mn of cash and an equity rollover of $15 Mn. 
• Chennai-based SaaS metering and pricing platform Togai is in the process of getting acquired by California-based Zuora. The subscription management software company is looking to enhance its monetisation with the Togai’s acquisition
• PB Fintech, the parent company of insurtech platform Policybazaar, is set to acquire 100% stake in UAE-based Genesis Group. It will also be divesting stakes in two subsidiaries, Visit Health Private Limited and Visit Internet Services Private Limited 

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• BharatPe’s ex-COO Druv Dhanraj Bahl has rolled out his maiden venture capital (VC) fund, Eternal Capital, with a target corpus of $14.3 Mn. The fund is looking to back 40 early stage startups over the next three years.
• Venture debt firm Stride Ventures announced the final closure of its Stride Ventures India Fund III at $165 Mn. The firm will look to back startups across consumer brands, financial services and cleantech sectors
• VC firm IvyCap Ventures marked the final close of its third fund at $251 Mn. The fund will invest in 25 startups with an average ticket size of INR 30-50 Cr. 
• Tribe Capital is looking to invest $75 Mn in Shiprocket through its newly-launched special purpose vehicle (SPV). The transaction is expected to be completed in a few weeks. 
• Digital consulting company Brillio is looking to expand its India footprint with an investment of $240 Mn over the next five years.
• Investment firm Oister Global has floated an INR 440 Cr fund, Oister India Pinnacle Fund (OIPF), to fuel emerging technology-led innovations and various sunrise sectors in the country. 
• Thyrocare founder Arokiaswamy Velumani has joined hands with Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) and Magnifiq Capital Trust to invest up to INR 50 Cr in Indian startups. 
• Healthtech unicorn Innovaccer is in talks with health major Kaiser Permanente to raise a funding in the range of $200 Mn-$250 Mn in a mix of primary and secondary funding. 
• Anthill Ventures is looking to launch a hybrid fund targeting consumer experiences, wellness and entertainment startups. It will raise $100 Mn for a hybrid private credit and equity fund.
• UGRO Capital’s board approved raising INR 1,332.66 Cr through compulsorily convertible debentures (CCDs) and warrants. 
• Gold loan startup Rupeek has initiated funding discussions with Claypond Capital and Axis Bank. The startup is looking to raise an undisclosed amount of funding at a substantially reduced valuation of $200-$250 Mn from its 2022 valuation of $600 Mn. 
• Private equity (PE) firm ChrysCapital closed its $700 Mn ‘Continuation Fund’. The fund was anchored by US-based HarbourVest Partners and European funds LGT Capital Partners and Pantheon Ventures.

The post From PharmEasy To Portea — Indian Startups Raised $316 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.