With the Centre’s flagship programme ‘Startup India’ entering into its tenth year this week, investors continue to remain bullish on the Indian startup ecosystem. Between January 13 and 18, startups cumulatively raised $308.1 Mn across 24 deals. While the deal count went up from last week’s 20 deals, funding dipped 28.7% from last week’s $432.4 Mn. 

Despite a decline in investment activity over the past week, several positive developments unfolded for startups. Notably, Netradyne became the first startup to join the unicorn club in 2025. Additionally, companies such as Zetwerk, InMobi, and Groww provided clearer timelines for their public listing plans, while multiple new fund launches also hogged the headlines.

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

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• After raising $90 Mn in its Series D funding round at a valuation of $1.34 Bn, logistics tech startup Netradyne entered the unicorn club this week. Solely, the funding round propelled the logistics sector to scoop up maximum capital infusion this week.
• With four startups, Bolt.Earth, WeVOIS, Euler Motors and BGauss, cumulatively raising $47.8 Mn this week, cleantech saw the largest number of deals materialising this week.
• Seed stage funding zoomed this week to $8.2 Mn, up 215% from the $2.6 Mn raised by startups at this stage in the previous week.

Funds Launches This Week

• Debt marketplace Recur Club has launched a $17.5 Mn fund to accelerate growth of D2C brands in the quick commerce space. It will provide financing to 80-100 D2C brands with ticket sizes ranging from INR 80 Lakh to INR 10 Cr.
• Equity management platform Hissa has announced the launch of Hissa Fund I, a $35 Mn investment vehicle to enable employees of growth-stage startups to convert their vested stock options into cash.
• Riceberg Ventures has launched a $20 Mn fund to back 25-30 deeptech startups with an average cheque size of $500K.
• Avendus marked the first close of its Future Leaders Fund III (FLF III) with INR 850 Cr commitments from leading domestic family offices and Indian institutions.
• SaaS-focussed VC firm Cornerstone Ventures announced the first close of its $200 Mn fund at about $40 Mn. 

Startup IPO Updates Of The Week

• B2B marketplace unicorn Zetwerk shortlisted Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, JM Financial, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Kotak Mahindra Bank as bankers for its upcoming $500 Mn IPO.
• Urban Company is set to file its draft papers for an INR 3,000 Cr initial public offering (IPO) before the end of March. It has reportedly appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as bankers for the IPO.
• Groww is reportedly looking to file for a public offering within 10-12 months. The startup is seeking a valuation between $6-8 Bn for its IPO.
• EV startup Ather is eyeing $2.4 Bn valuation for its upcoming IPO this year, about 80% premium from its last private valuation.
• IPO-bound Zepto has received National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval to reverse flip to India. The court has approved the merger of Mumbai-based Kiranakart Technologies with its Singapore-based affiliate, Kiranakart Pte Ltd.
• Adtech unicorn InMobi will be filing its IPO of more than $1 Bn in the next 2-3 months. The startup is eyeing a public listing by October this year. InMobi is targeting a valuation of $8 Bn to $10 Bn for the IPO.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Private equity firm Kedaara Capital made an investment of $350 Mn in California based enterprise AI solutions provider Impetus Technologies.
• Ecommerce major Flipkart is in talks to lead a $35-40 Mn funding round of fintech startup Super.money.
• EV fleet startup MoEVing bought Euler Motors’ mobility business to expand its fleet.

The post From Netradyne To Foxtale — Indian Startups Raised $308 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Indian startup ecosystem seems to be firing on all cylinders after an initial lull over the past two weeks. Over the past week, the fresh capital infusion in the world’s third largest startup ecosystem went up exponentially to $432.4 Mn across 20 deals, about 30 times the $14 Mn raised by startups in the first week of 2025 via a measly 5 deals. 

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

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week saw the first mega funding deal materialise for an Indian startup in the form of healthtech unicorn Innovaccer’s $275 Mn Series F fundraise. On the back of this, healthtech emerged as the most funded startup sector this week. Besides Innovaccer, BrainSinghtAI and Zoplar also raised $5 Mn and $3.4 Mn this week.
• Besides, sectors fintech, cleantech and ecommerce all saw three funding deals materialise this week, leading to fresh capital infusion of $48.9 Mn, $14.2 Mn and $13.3 Mn respectively.
• After months of speculations, Ritesh Agarwal increased his stake in his startup OYO with a capital infusion of $65 Mn via his venture capital firm Redsprig Innovation Partners. This funding round made travel tech the second most funded sector this week.
• This week’s most active investor was VC firm Alteria Capital, investing in BrainSightAI’s $5 Mn pre-Series A funding round and Pratilipi’s $1.2 Mn funding round.
• Seed stage funding zoomed this week to $2.6 Mn, up 225% from the $787K raised by startups at this stage last week.

Funds Launches This Week

• NBFC Avendus launched its third private credit fund with a target corpus of up to INR 4,000 Cr through its asset management arm Avendus PE Investment Advisors.
• Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched an Angel fund, ‘Telugu Angels’, dedicated to the state’s entrepreneurs’ bid to scale globally. 

Other Developments Of The Week

• Eyewear major Lenskart is said to have initiated talks with bankers for a $1 Bn IPO that could value it in the range of $7 Bn to $8 Bn. Its IPO could hit the Indian bourses toward the end of the next financial year.
• Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) in partnership  with IIMA Ventures have jointly launched the third cohort of women-focused fintech programme to benefit female entrepreneurs in the country.
• EV startup Zypp is looking to raise $35 Mn from investors like Nuvama Private Wealth and other Southeast Asia-based funds.
• Early-growth technology investor Z3Partners bought a stake worth $8.2 Mn in SaaS startup Mintoak from its early backers HDFC Bank and Pravega Ventures.
• National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has suggested setting up an INR 10,000 Cr fund for early-stage deeptech startups.
• BluSmart will be raising $50 Mn in its Series B funding round at a pre-money valuation of $335 Mn from some of its existing investors including responsAbility Investments AG, Sumant Sinha, MS Dhoni Family Office, among others.
• LEAP India has acquired logistics company CHEP India for an undisclosed amount to solidify its supply chain footprint in the country.
• Beauty and skincare startup WOW Skin Science is said to be on the lookout for a buyer at a reduced valuation of $250 Mn.
• Early-stage VC South Park Commons (SPC) is planning to raise $40 Mn for its India-focused fund over the six months after it entered the South Asian market.
• B2B manufacturing and supply chain enablement startup Groyyo is in talks to raise about $40 Mn, primarily in equity, from Tiger Global and other investors at a valuation of about $200 Mn.
• D2C startup The Whole Truth Foods is in talks to raise around $25 Mn in its Series C funding round at a valuation of $240 Mn from investors Peak XV Partners, Accel Partners, Matrix Partners, Sauce.VC. 

The post From Innovaccer To Beyond Snack Indian Startups Raised $432 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

While optimism is high when it comes to funding trends in the year 2025, the deals that materialised in the first week are indicative of an opposite year-long fate. Between December 30 and January 4, Indian startups managed to raise a meagre $14 Mn across five deals. This marked a 46% dip from the $26 Mn capital raised across six deals in the preceding week.

Pertinent to mention that a similar downturn in capital influx was seen in the first week of January last year. In the first week of 2024, startups raised just $58 Mn across just nine deals. 

As we enter the year, investors and founders both are projecting an upturn in funding trends in the world’s third largest startup ecosystem. According to Inc42’s Annual Investor Survey 2024 “The Pulse Of Tech”, 91% of over 75 investors surveyed expressed increased confidence in startup investments for 2025, surpassing the 82% optimism shown by about 100 founders.

With that said, let’s take a look at the grim funding week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Dec 30 – Jan 4 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• This week, IPO-bound non banking financial company Aye Finance raised $12.8 Mn in debt from a clutch of investors, including Northern Arc, ASK Financial Holdings. This was the largest funding round of the week.
• Edtech emerged as the most funded sector this week. While Klassroom secured an undisclosed amount in a Pre-Series A funding round led by ah! Ventures, NumberOne Academy also raised $350K from angel investor Santosh Nair.
• Two startups at a seed stage, CargoFL and Flo Mobility, raised $787K this week.

Other Developments Of The Week

• In what seemed to be a tumultuous week for hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo, the startup is reported to look for a distress sale as the company to address its financial woes as cofounder Kabeer Biswas looks to jump ship.
• US-based venture capital firm Accel raised $650 Mn for its eighth India fund from 131 undisclosed investors.
• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) cleared Ather Energy’s INR 3,100 Cr IPO this week.
• D2C brand Minimalist is likely to be acquired by FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in a deal that will value the startup at $350 Mn, about 5X its last private valuation.
• Healthcare unicorn Pristyn Care is reported to be in preliminary discussions to raise between $50 Mn to $100 Mn in a fresh funding round.

The post From Aye Finance To Klassroom – Indian Startups Raised $14 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

It’s the final few days of the year 2024! For the world’s third largest startup ecosystem, the final week of December marks the end of a period which was perhaps one of the best years for the ecosystem. 

From a high number of listings, controversies, pertinent regulatory developments, the year had it all. After a year-long hustle, investors and startup founders seemingly embraced a break in the past week. 

This was reflected in the weekly funding numbers as we witnessed perhaps the lowest number of startup investments in the week between December 23 and 28. 

In the final week of December, startups raised a mere $25.9 Mn across six deals, an 85% decline from the $171.2 Mn raised via 20 deals last week. 

This number adds on to the over $12 Bn raised by Indian startups across 933 in the year till December 21, an increment of 20% from the $10 Bn raised last year. 

As we turn the chapter on the year, investors are optimistic of observing a bump in the startup funding numbers in the coming year. 

With that said, let’s delve into the funding trends in the final week of 2024. 

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

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• This week, deeptech emerged as the most investor favourite on the back of semiconductor startup Mindgroves’ $8 Mn fundraise, Proxgy’s Series A round and Naxatra Labs’ seed funding round.
• Fintech startup Univest raised the largest cheque this week worth $10 Mn from Bertelsmann India Investments.
• Together, Zerodha cofounders Nithin and Nikhil Kamath were the most active investors in the last week of 2024. While Nithin backed edtech Sparkl Edventure, Nikhil participated in Proxgy’s $3 Mn funding round. Meanwhile, Zerodha’s Rainmatter participated in Naxatra Labs’s seed funding round.
• With two deals materialising, seed funding plunged to under $1 Mn this week. This marked a 89% cut from the $9.2 Mn raised by startups at this stage last week.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Office space provider IndiQube filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for an INR 850 Cr initial public offering (IPO) this week.
• Electric vehicle maker Greaves Electric Mobility (GEML) filed its DRHP for an IPO comprising a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,000 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) component of up to 18.93 Cr shares.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Fintech SaaS Zaggle raised about $70 Mn via its qualified institutional placement (QIP) this week. The company issued 1.13 Cr equity shares to eligible qualified institutional buyers who partook in the round.
• Gaming major Nazara Technologies raised its stake to over 82% in Sportskeeda parent Absolute Sports with an investment of $8.4 Mn on Friday.
• TVS Motors picked up about 40% stake in Narain Karthikeyan’s two-wheeler startup DriveX Mobility for around $11.5 Mn. It now controls 87.38% of the startup.
• Supply chain solutions provider Leap India plans to raise about $63 Mn in a funding round led by KKR. The round is also likely to see participation from Sixth Sense Ventures, FirstBridge India, Madhurima International, among others.
• B2B seafood startup Captain Fresh plans on bagging about $12 Mn in a funding round led by Motilal Oswal Wealth Limited.
• Logistics unicorn Shiprocket will be raising $26 Mn in a funding round led by US-based venture capital firm KDT Ventures. The list of other investors participating in the round will include from Japan-based MUFG Bank, SAI Global, among others.

The post From Univest To Mindgrove – Indian Startups Raised $26 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After seeing a massive resurge, funding across the Indian startup ecosystem in the third week of December took a hit. Between December 16 and 21, startups cumulatively raised $171.2 Mn via 20 deals, marking a 73% decline from the $635.8 Mn raised in the preceding week through 25 deals. 

The decline is a result of no mega funding rounds materialising in the week. However, things also went south in terms of fresh capital netted by early stage startups. 

Despite startups experiencing volatility in terms of investor interest, the IPO momentum continued to prevail in the week. While non banking finance company Aye Finance filed its draft red herring prospectus this week, edtech unicorn Physics Wallah took its first step towards turning into a public entity.

With that said, let’s take a look at the key funding trends of the past week. 

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

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Enterprisetech unicorn Zetwork raised $70 Mn this week, closing the year with $90 Mn in fresh capital. The IPO-bound startup bagged fresh funds from Indigo cofounder Rakesh Gangwal, Khosla Ventures, Greenoaks, Avenir Growth, among others this year.
• On the back of Zetwerk’s fundraise, enterprisetech emerged as the investor favourite sector this week. Startups in this sector raised $117.32 Mn this week via five deals.
• A same number of deals materialised in the fintech sector with five startups raising $23.7 Mn this week. Among this, BSE-SME listed Veefin bagged the biggest cheque in the sector this week, raising $16 Mn.
• In line with the substantial dip in the funding numbers this week, funding at the seed stage went down significantly. Startups at this stage raised $9.2 Mn, a 85% dip from last week’s $17 Mn.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Fintech Aye Finance filed for an INR 1,450 Cr IPO this week. Its public offer is expected to consist of  a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 885 Cr and an offer-for-sale (OFS) amounting to INR 565 Cr by existing shareholders.
• Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah set the ball rolling on its much anticipated IPO by turning into a public company this week. Following this, it is eyeing a public listing in 2025.
• In its Board meeting on December 18, SEBI decided on introducing profitability requirements as well as put a cap on shares to be sold through the offer for sale (OFS) route for NSE SME IPOs.
• Fintech unicorn InCred Financial Services set its public listing plans into motion, planning to raise INR 4,000 Cr (about $470 Mn) to INR 5,000 Cr (about $590 Mn) via its initial public offering (IPO) late next year. 

Fund Launches This Week

• Fintech platform Velocity launched a new fund worth INR 200 Cr (around $23.5 Mn) to boost growth of India’s restaurant and cloud kitchens selling on food aggregator platforms.
• Micro VC firm Warmup Ventures floated its second fund, with a target corpus of $35.3 Mn. It aims to back 25-30 early-stage startups operating in segments like deeptech, climate and sustainability with an average ticket size of INR 5-7 Cr.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Amid a bull run, listed fintech SaaS company Zaggle announced a fundraise of INR 950 Cr ($112 Mn) via a qualified institutional placement (QIP). The fund raising committee of its board approved the opening of the offer this week and set a floor price for the QIP at INR 550.73 per equity share.
• Nazara’ NODWIN Gaming completely acquired gaming and esports media company AFK Gaming for INR 7.6 Cr via cash and equity swaps.
• Info Edge’s Redstart Labs plans on investing INR 3 Cr in Sploot to increase its stake in the pet care startup to 26.40%.
• Cornerstone Ventures completely exited retail analytics startup Intelligence Node, following the company’s acquisition by global advertising conglomerate Interpublic Group (IPG).
• Early stage investor Athera Venture Partners netted an undisclosed funding from HDFC AMC’s Select AIF FoF I Scheme for its fourth fund this week. It targets the closure of the fund, via which it will invest in consumer internet, enterprise software, AI startups, in 2025.

The post From Zetwerk To Veefin – Indian Startups Raised $171 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As 2024 comes to an end, investor interest in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem has started picking up the pace. Startup funding in the second week of the year’s last month grew leaps and bounds on a week on week basis.

Between December 9 and 13, Indian startups cumulatively raised $635.8 Mn across 25 deals, marking a 155% jump from the $249.6 Mn secured via 18 deals in the preceding week.

With the funding trends gaining momentum, the ecosystem continued to show some signs of maturity. Already seeing a great number of listings coming out of the startup world this year, more startups began their bid to become public entities in the final month of 2024. 

With that said, let’s take a look at the happenings of the week. 

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

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week saw two mega funding deals materialise in the form of Rebel Foods and Mintifi.
• On the back of Rebel Food’s $210 Mn fundraise, consumer service emerged as the investor favourite this week. Startups in the space raised $218 Mn across two deals.
• Due to Mintifi’s mega fundraise announcement, fintech emerged as the second most funded sector this week. Startups in the sector raised $148.30 Mn across 5 deals.
• Pertinent to mention that the ecommerce sector also saw a similar number of funding rounds materialise to fintech this week. Startups like Wooden Street, Power Gummies, among others, cumulatively raised $106.20 Mn in the week.
• Premji Invest emerged as the most active investor this week, backing Mintifi and Wooden Street.
• Seed funding zoomed 246% to $17 Mn from $4.9 Mn last week.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Fintech MobiKwik’s initial public offering (IPO) closed with an oversubscription of 119.38X. The startup is expected to get listed on December 18.
• Omnichannel jewellery startup Bluestone filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for an IPO comprising a fresh issue of shares worth INR 1,000 Cr and an offer-for-sale component of up to 2.40 Cr equity shares
• Non-banking finance company Aye Finance’s board gave its nod to an IPO worth INR 1,450 Cr. The IPO will comprise a fresh issue of shares worth up to INR 885 Cr and an OFS component of INR 565 Cr.
• Coworking startup IndiQube turned into a public limited company from a private limited company, taking the first step to its IPO.
• According to reports, ecommerce major Flipkart received internal approvals to shift its domicile from Singapore to India for an IPO in the next 12-15 months.

Funds Launches This Week

• Deeptech venture capital firm growX ventures floated its second fund with a target corpus $47.12 Mn. The VC aims to deepen its focus on deeptech and enterprise tech via the fund.
• Stride Ventures launched its largest fund till date with a target corpus of $300 Mn. The VC plans on making investments across sectors with the fund.
• Amazon India will be investing $120 Mn in startups that digitise consumer goods manufacturing and cater to both domestic and global demand through its VC arm Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Ecommerce major Zetwork got board approval to raise $66.6 Mn. The round is expected to be led by Khosla Ventures, along with participation from The Schiehallion Fund and others.
• Listed fintech Veefin bought 50% stake in Singapore-based GenAI startup Walnut AI for $2 Mn.
• Edtech Veranda Learning Solutions will be raising $29.5 Mn through a preferential issue to fuel acquisitions, deferred consideration payouts and expanding its existing business operations,
• Recently launched ecommerce startup Worthy Cart is currently in discussions to raise $10 Mn its in Pre-Series A funding with investors.
• Mobile Premier League said that it has picked up a significant stake in gaming development tools provider CloudFeather Games this week.
• Dutch investor Prosus is reportedly in discussions to lead a $50 Mn funding round in fintech startup Jar.
• OTT platform STAGE will be raising $9.9 Mn from multiple investors via issuance of preference shares.

The post From Rebel Foods To CarDekho – Indian Startups Raised $635 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The last month of 2024 kicked off with a slew of interesting developments for the world’s third largest startup ecosystem. While Ecom Express and Smartworks received markets regulator SEBI’s nod for their initial public offerings (IPOs), fintech Mobikwik filed its red herring prospectus (RHP) within the first week of December.

The Indian startup ecosystem continued to show signs of maturity throughout the week propelled by an uptick in the funding momentum. Between December 2 and 7, startups cumulatively raised $249.6 Mn across 18 deals, marking a 72% surge from the $144.8 Mn raised across 14 deals in the preceding week.

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

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• One of the largest investors in the ecosystem, Prosus, said it infused fresh capital in two fintech startups, Mintifi and Vastu Housing Finance in October.
• Buoyed by large cheques, fintech took the top spot in terms of sector-wise capital infusion this week. Startups in the sector raised $185.4 Mn via four deals announced in the week.
• Peak XV was the most active investor through the week, backing RaptorX.ai, MasterChow and Enterpret.
• Seed funding revived this week with startups at this stage raising $4.9 Mn across five deals. This marked a 63% uptick from the $3 Mn raised by startups at seed stage in the previous week. 

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Fintech startup MobiKwik filed its RHP to raise INR 572 Cr via its IPO. It has fixed a price band of INR 265 to INR 279 for its IPO.
• Omnichannel jewellery startup Bluestone’s board has greenlit its INR 1,000 Cr IPO plans. The IPO is likely to see the startup’s valuation zoom to $1.4-$1.5 Bn.
• Markets regulator SEBI gave its go-ahead to IPOs of logistics startup Ecom Express and coworking space provider Smartworks.
• In its investor presentation, Prosus Ventures said that it sees PayU, Meesho and Bluestone go public in the next 18 months. 

Mergers & Acquisitions This Week

• Automation unicorn Uniphore acquired two data startups, ActionIQ and Infoworks, to bolster its AI-solutions stack.
• SaaS unicorn Amagi acquired California-based AI-driven SaaS startup Argoid AI to strengthen its content planning, distribution and monetisation offerings.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Venture capital firm Abyro Capital launched its maiden $25 Mn fund to back 12 to 15 early stage technology startups in India and the US over the next four years
• Gaming major Nazara announced plans to acquire additional stakes in three of its subsidiaries – NODWIN, Sportskeeda’s parent Absolute Sport, and adtech Datawrkz – and make investments in kids-play centre company Funky Monkeys and edtech Learntube.ai. Later in the week, it infused INR 64 Cr in NODWIN..
• Undergoing a cash crunch, edtech startup Unacademy is likely to get acquired by  Allen Career Institute at a likely valuation of $800 Mn.
• Founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal has pledged 4.83 Cr equity shares of Ola Electric to raise debt for his third unicorn, Krutrim.
• CCI has given a go ahead to Japan-based MUFG Bank and US-based KDT Venture Holdings for the acquisition of minority stakes in logistics unicorn Shiprocket.
• Captain Fresh is looking to raise fresh capital in the range of $50-100 Mn in a funding round which is expected to include both primary and secondary components. 
• D2C startup The Indus Valley is looking to raise about $2.7 Mn via its Pre-Series A funding round led by existing investor DSG Consumer Partners.

The post From Vastu To Ultraviolette – Indian Startups Raised $250 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

While the Indian public markets managed to beat a month-long downward slope in the final week of November, the investor interest in the private market took a plunge. Between November 25 and 30, Indian startups raised $144.8 Mn across 14 deals, down 75% from the $579.5 Mn raised across 18 deals in the preceding week.

However, one of the biggest fundraises in the Indian startup ecosystem materialised in the week. 

Foodtech major Zomato raised INR 8,500 Cr (slightly above $1 Bn) via its qualified institutional placement (QIP) round. The company opened the round for bidding on Monday (November 25) and announced the allotment of 33.64 Cr equity shares to qualified institutional buyers on November 28. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Nov 25 – 30]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The week’s biggest funding round saw publicly listed gaming company Nazara raising $101.3 Mn (INR 855 Cr) via a preferential share issue. Investors like SBI Mutual Fund, Caratlane founder Mithun Sacheti and Aamara Capital cumulatively bagged 89.59 Lakh shares via the round.
• Startups in enterprisetech and cleantech sectors bagged the highest amount of funds this week. While enterprisetech startups ShopDeck and Elchemy together bagged $13.6 Mn, Alt Mobility, Ukhi and Althion cumulatively raised $11.6 Mn.
• Ecommerce sector saw the highest investor activity during the week, with investors cumulatively infusing $7.6 Mn in four startups this week.
• Seed funding plunged this week to $3 Mn, down about 73% from the $10.9 Mn raised at this stage last week.

Other Developments Of The Week

• With plans to take the public market plunge next year, coworking space provider Incuspaze has initiated discussions with investors to raise $25 Mn in its pre-IPO funding round.
• Nazara Technologies’ subsidiary NODWIN bought gaming agency and platform Trinity Gaming for $2.8 Mn to bolster its content offerings.
• OYO-backed Innov8 is looking to raise about $12 Mn via a funding round that will value it at $142.2 Mn. The fundraising efforts will be led by InCred.
• Fintech startup Pine Labs has onboarded investment banks Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Jefferies to run the books for its $1 Bn IPO.
• Fintech company Univest is eyeing to raise $16 Mn as a part of its Series A funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), along with participation from Innoven Capital.
• Over a year after moving away from the Indian market, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital is looking to reenter India by backing fintech startup Vance.
• Ex-Peak XV MD Piyush Gupta launched secondaries-focussed VC firm, Kenro Capital, with plans to make investments in the range of $20 to $30 Mn in growth stage startups.
• AI-driven robotics startup Miko has got its shareholder nod to raise $3.3 Mn from IvyCap Ventures through issuance of preference shares.
• VC firm Stellaris Venture Partners announced the final close of its third India-focused fund at $300 Mn. It plans to lead seed and Series A funding investments across 25-30 startups over the next three years.
• Hero MotoCorp launched an accelerator programme, Hero For Startups, to fund promising automotive industry startups across India.
• Beauty and fashion ecommerce major Nykaa completed the acquisition of D2C skincare and beauty brand Earth Rhythm via a combination of primary and secondary transactions.
• Competition commission of India (CCI) approved the stake acquisition of Temasek in Rebel Foods and Google parent Alphabet in ecommerce major Flipkart this week.
• Fintech unicorn Yubi will be looking to raise fresh capital in the range of $150-$200 Mn next year to fuel its expansion into the MENA region as well as help acquire more businesses.
• Vineeta Singh-led SUGAR will be raising $4.5 Mn from its existing investors Anicut Equity Continuum Fund, Elevation Capital, Malabar Investment, L Catterton, among others.

The post From Nazara To OneCard – Indian Startups Raised $145 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After months of speculations, Zepto finally sealed its third mega funding deal of the year this week. The quick commerce unicorn’s $350 Mn funding round fuelled overall funding momentum in the Indian startup ecosystem during the third week of November.

Between November 18 and 23, startups cumulatively raised $579.5 Mn across 18 deals. This marked a 212% increase from the $185.8 Mn raised across 21 deals in the preceding week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Nov 18 – 23 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Quick commerce major Zepto reaffirmed its position as the most heavily backed startup of the year. Bagging a mega cheque of $350 Mn from investors like Motilal Oswal, Sachin Tendulkar, Mankind Pharma Family Office this week, Zepto’s cumulative fundraise for the year now stands at $1.3 Bn.
• On the back of Zepto’s fundraise, the consumer services sector emerged as the investor favourite sector this week. Startups in the space bagged $354 Mn across three deals.
• Besides Zepto, the week also saw another mega funding round materialise in the form of HealthKart’s $153 Mn fundraise. With this, the ecommerce sector saw the second highest capital infusion this week. Startups in the space raised $163 Mn across three deals.
• Venture capitalist firm Blume Ventures was the most active investor this week, backing fintech startup Zopper and Mayank Bidawatka’s latest venture Billion Hearts.
• Seed funding continued its upward movement this week, with startups at this stage cumulatively bagging $10.9 Mn. This marked an 85% jump from the $5.9 Mn raised by startups at this stage last week.

Mergers & Acquisitions This Week

• The Good Glamm Group completed the acquisition of D2C mom and baby care brand The Moms Co this week. However, it did not disclose the terms of the transactions.
• Moglix bought eco-friendly paper products manufacturer Khatema Fibres for $9.4 Mn to bolster its sustainable packaging portfolio.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Reports this week said that B2B marketplace startup OfBusiness has roped in Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Citigroup and Bank of America for a near $1 Bn IPO in 2025.
• With its public issue seeing an oversubscription of 1.86X, shares of logistics major BlackBuck got listed on the BSE and NSE this week at a premium of 2.9%.
• Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Consumer initiated its IPO journey this week by receiving its shareholder nod to drop the word “private” from the company’s name.

Other Developments Of The Week

• IN-SPACe’s chairman Pawan Goenka told Inc42 that the Centre-led INR 1,000 Cr spacetech fund is set to become operational by the first quarter of fiscal year 2025-26 (Q1 FY26).
• Solar solutions startup SolarSquare plans to raise $30 Mn at a $130 Mn valuation. This marks a 2.7X jump from its previous valuation of $47.7 Mn.
• A secondary share sale at omnichannel eyewear unicorn Lenskart is likely to value $6 Bn, up 20% from its last valuation of $5 Bn.
• Hospitality unicorn OYO’s founder Ritesh Agarwal is looking to infuse $65 Mn to increase his stake in the startup.
• Listed online travel aggregator MakeMyTrip will be acquiring fintech unicorn CRED’s expense management platform Happay in a bid to become the go-to platform for comprehensive corporate travel and expense management solutions.
• Former International Finance Corporations’s executive Sayan Ghosh launched his own VC firm Ortella Global Capital (OG Capital) this week along with a $36 Mn fund.
• IIT Bombay’s Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE) will be launching its maiden VC fund with a target corpus of $11.8 Mn. Through the fund, it aims to back 1,000 startups over the next 10 years with an average ticket size of INR 2-15 Cr.

The post From Zepto To HealthKart – Indian Startups Raised $580 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amid rumblings in the broader public markets in India, the startup ecosystem saw an increased investor interest. Between November 11 and 16, startups raised $185.8 Mn across 21 deals. This marks a 49% increase from the $125 Mn raised by startups across 18 deals in the preceding week. 

Despite a bearish sentiment in the broader market, foodtech major Swiggy transitioned to become a publicly listed company this week. Besides, the coming week will also see logistics unicorn BlackBuck making its public market debut. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Past Two Weeks [ Nov 11 – Nov 16 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Despite a windfall of funding at early stages, the Indian startup ecosystem saw one deal materialise at the late stage level. Fintech startup SarvaGram raised the biggest cheque this week, bagging $67 Mn in its Series D round.
• While SarvaGram’s fundraise solely took fintech to the top of funding trends at a sectoral level, enterprisetech saw the most number of deals materialise this week. Startups in the sector raised $46.7 Mn across seven deals in the week.
• The most active investor this week was Lightspeed, backing edtech Bhanzu, agritech Wheelocity and deeptech Airbound this week. Peak XV and Elevation Capital also backed two startups apiece.
• Seed funding remained flat in the week, rising 10% to $5.9 Mn from last week’s $5.4 Mn.

Funds Launches Of The Week

• Venture capital (VC) firm Pavestone VC marked the final close of its Pavestone Technology Fund at $97 Mn. It is looking to back 8-10 growth stage startups with an average ticket size of $5-10 Mn.
• Sandiip Bhammer-led VC firm Green Frontier Capital launched its Green Frontier Capital India Climate Opportunities Fund with a target corpus of INR 1,500 Cr.
• Orios Venture Partners’ managing partners Anup Jain and Rajeev Suri launched VC firm BlueGreen Ventures with a $75 Mn fund. The firm will back early-stage and IPO bound startups.  

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Swiggy made its public market debut on Tuesday ((November 13), with its shares listing at INR 420 on the NSE, a premium of nearly 8% from its IPO issue price of INR 390 per share.
• Shortly after its portfolio company Swiggy made a positive market debut, its largest stakeholder Prosus said that it is exploring an IPO for PayU in India in 2025.
• Amid the ongoing IPO boom, B2B marketplace Zetworks is looking to get listed by 2025 in an IPO that will see it raise over $1 Bn.
• D2C electronics major bOAt has reportedly finalised ICICI Securities, Goldman Sachs and Nomura as bankers for its $300-$500 Mn IPO slated for next year.
• Ahead of market close on Friday, BlackBuck’s IPO saw a muted subscription of 32% for its IPO. The issue will close on November 18.

Other Developments Of The Weeks

• Reliance Consumer Product is acquiring D2C snacking startup TagZ Foods for INR 28 Cr ($3.5 Mn).
• Fintech unicorn Razorpay joined forces with Peak XV Partners and Lightspeed to launch a venture investment programme. With this, the trio will be looking to back early stage B2B startups across sectors.
• Sanjeev Bhikchandani-led Info Edge will be investing INR 4 Cr in its portfolio company LegitQuest via its wholly owned subsidiary Startup Investments (Holdings) Ltd.
• Nazara Technologies and Nikhil Kamath’s WTFund will jointly invest INR 2 Cr in two gaming startups, Norian Games and Xigma Games.
• Zomato plans to launch its INR 8,500 Cr qualified institutional placement (QIP) in December, depending on market conditions.
• Proptech startup bought 11% stake of Mumbai-based real estate advisory Guardians for $12 Mn. It intends to increase its stakeholding to 50% in the coming three years.
• Unicommerce acquired 42.7% stake in Shipway for INR 68.4 Cr and plans on acquiring the remaining stake in Shipway within a year via a merger or stock swap.
• Coimbatore based SaaS startup Kovai.co announced the acquisition of US based Floik to enhance its Document360 knowledge management platform.
• Online travel aggregator EaseMyTrip’s board approved the acquisition of 49% stake in Planet Education Australia for INR 39.20 Cr and a 50% stake in Jeewani Hospitality Private Limited for INR 100 Cr.

The post From SarvaGram To Equal- Indian Startups raised $186 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

This year, festivities in India fuelled a mixed bag of funding trends for the world’s third largest startup ecosystem. After seeing a renewed vigour in investor interest between October 28 and November 2, the fresh capital infusion subsided in the first week of November.

Between November 4 and 9, Indian startups secured $125 Mn across 18 deals. This marked a 51% decline from the $256.9 Mn secured via 8 deals in the preceding week. Pertinent to note that funding trends have remained volatile in the final quarter of 2024. 

Note: This week’s funding galore also includes deals from the preceding week

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Past Two Weeks [ Oct 28 – Nov 9 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• While a mega deal materialised in the form of NBFC Finova Capital’s Series E funding round in the final week of October, no deals worth over $100 Mn took place in the first week of November.
• Fintech startup Easy Home Finance secured $35 Mn in its Series B funding round on November 6, making it the biggest cheque secured by a startup in the past week.
• On the back of Easy Home Finance and MODIFI’s funding rounds of $15 Mn, fintech topped the sectorial list with heaviest capital influx of the week.
• At a sectoral level, deeptech was close on the heels of fintech in the past week. Startups in the space cumulatively raised $33.9 Mn via the highest six deals in the week.
• Seed funding in the week stood at $5.4 Mn.

Mergers & Acquisitions From The Past Two Weeks

• Gladiators Esports bough gaming company Gods Reign for what the startup claims to be the biggest acquisitions in the Indian esports space. However, no details of the financial details of the transaction were disclosed.
• Marking its fourth acquisition in the fiscal year 2024-25, listed fintech company Veefin Solutions picked up a 50% stake in Singapore-based GenAI startup Walnut in an all-cash deal.
• Continuing its purchase streak, gaming major Nazara bought UK-based growth marketing agency Space & Time for around INR 52.3 Cr in a cash and stock deal via its subsidiary Datawrkz.
• Wealth management startup Wealthzi was acquired by Nivesh for INR 9 Cr.
• In what could be one of the biggest startup mergers in the insurance space, Inc42 learnt that InsuranceDekho and RenewBuy are looking at finalising a merger that would value the combined entity at $1 Bn.

Funds Launched In The Last Two Weeks

• Bipin Shah, who previously served as a managing partner for VC firm Titan Capital, floated his micro VC firm Zeropearl. The firm will look to back 12-15 high-stakes investments in a year.
• VC firm Inflexor Ventures announced the first close of its Opportunities Fund at $33.7 Mn on November 6.
• Listed NBFC Northern Arc disclosed that it has secured debt commitments of $65 Mn for its maiden climate focused fund. 

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Foodtech major Swiggy’s IPO closed with an oversubscription of 3.59X on November 8. The startup is scheduled to get listed on November 13.
• Logistics unicorn BlackBuck filed its RHP for an IPO consisting of fresh issuance of equity shares worth INR 550 Cr and an offer for sale of 2.06 Cr shares by several existing shareholders. The startup’s IPO will open on November 13 and close on November 18.
• NBFC Avanse Financial Services received approval from the SEBI for its INR 3,500 Cr public issue on October 23.

Other Developments Of The Weeks

•  VC firm First Cheque will likely back 15-20 startups with investments of up to $500Kapiece from its third cohort over the next 18 months.
• Agritech startup Arya.ag secured a debt commitment of $19.8 Mn from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to extend a debt facility for its agri commerce subsidiary Aryatech. The funding commitment is for .a period of seven year.

The post From Easy Home Finance To Boldfit – Indian Startups Raised $125 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After a rise in funding activity across the Indian startup ecosystem, investor interest again went down again in the past week. Between October 21 and 26, startups cumulatively raised $145.5 Mn across 10 deals, a 70% decline from $478 Mn raised in the preceding week.

Moreover, the deal count also went down sharply this week by about 65% from last week’s 29 deals.

It is pertinent to note that investor interest in the startup ecosystem has been volatile since the past month or so. The volatility comes as a result of the dearth in the mega funding deals. The month of October has seen only one mega funding round materialise with Eruditus securing $150 Mn last week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Oct 21 – Oct 26 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Healthttech startup Even Healthcare bagged the biggest cheque of the week, raising $30 Mn in its Series A round led by Khosla Ventures, along with Founders Fund, 8VC and Lachy Groom.
• On the back of Even Healthcare’s fundraise, healthtech emerged as the investor favourite startup sector this week. Besides, Healthify (formerly Healthifyme) also raised $20 Mn in its pre-Series D funding round.
• Ecommerce sector saw the highest number of rounds materialise this week as it witnessed a fresh capital infusion of $10.4 Mn across 4 deals.
• Khosla Ventures emerged as the most active investor this week, backing Even Healthcare and Healthify.
• Seed funding plunged this week to $126K as compared to $26.5 Mn raised by startups at this level.

Mergers & Acquisitions This Week

• FirstCry’s rollup brand GlobalBees has invested INR 4.5 Cr in its subsidiary Dynamic IT Solution to acquire more stake in the company. Dynamic IT Solution builds sports & fitness accessories and other sports and fitness products under the brand name Strauss.
• While announcing its financial results for Q2 FY25, Zomato said that it has received its board’s nod to acquire an 8% stake in innovative kitchen appliances maker Byondnxt.
• Online travel aggregator announced the acquisition of 51% stake in train food delivery platform Zoop Web Services Pvt Ltd for INR 12.54 Cr this week.

Fund Launches This Week

• Venture capital firm Avaana Capital marked the final close of its early stage fund at $135 Mn. Via the fund, it plans to back 20-25 startups in the cleantech space.
• Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal led Titan Capital marked the final close of its new fund, Titan Capital Winners Fund, at $40 Mn.
• About three months after its announcement, the union cabinet has approved a spacetech VC fund with a corpus of INR 1,000 Cr under the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe).
• US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst launched its new fund, Fund XII, this week. The VC has raised $8 Bn fresh capital to back startups across the globe operating in sectors like artificial intelligence, defence and intelligence, climate and energy, industrials, healthcare and fintech.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• B2B seafood chain Captain Fresh has initiated its public offer plans by roping in Axis Capital and Bank of America (BofA) as the bankers for its IPO.
• Swiggy backer Prosus’ CEO Fabricio Bloisi said that the VC firm is expecting more of its portfolio startups to go IPO in the next 12-18 months.
• Ahead of its IPO, Swiggy has reportedly cut down its valuation target to $12.5 Bn from the erstwhile $13.5 Bn.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Kerala Startup Mission invested INR 15 Cr in energy transition focused investor Transition VC.
• MUFG Bank and Koch Group approached the Competition Commission of India this week to pick a minority stake in Shiprocket.
• Peak XV Partners announced that it has selected 14 startups under its cohort, Surge. Each startup can receive up to $3 Mn in seed funding as part of the cohort.
• Logistics startup ShadowFax is likely to bag a fresh investment of around $45-$50 Mn in a round that will value it at $700 Mn.
• Foodtech major Zomato received board approval to raise $1 Bn via qualified institutional placement.
• B2B ecommerce unicorn Udaan is in talks with M&G Prudential to raise $80-100 Mn in a fresh funding round.
• Online classified company Info Edge’s will be investing INR 30 Cr in its wholly-owned subsidiary Redstart Labs.
• Investors like family offices of Manipal Group’s Ranjan Pai, Mankind Pharma’s Ramesh and Rajeev Juneja and Cipla are likely to be the new investors joining Zepto’s captable in its fresh funding round.

The post From Even Healthcare To Healthify – Indian Startups Raised $145 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

After two consecutive weeks of tepid funding, investment activity in the startup ecosystem gained significant momentum this week. 

In the week between October 14 and 19, Indian startups raised $478 Mn across 29 deals. This was an increase of 319% from $114 Mn raised across 22 deals in the preceding week. 

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding This Week [Oct  14-19]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• The biggest cheque this week was pocketed by edtech unicorn Eruditus secured $150 Mn in its Series F funding round led by TPG’s global impact investing platform The Rise Fund. 
• Buoyed by Eruditus’ mega funding round, edtech emerged as the most funded sector for the week at $156 Mn. 
• However, ecommerce witnessed the most number of deals materialise this week at 12. 
• Seed funding for the week stood at $26.5 Mn,  an increase of 48.8% from previous week’s $17.8 Mn. 

Startup Fund Launches Of This Week

• Nikhil and Nithin Kamath-led fintech unicorn Zerodha launched a new fund, FLOSS/fund, aimed at supporting Free/libre and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects globally. The fund will provide annual funding of $1 Mn.
• In another development, alternate investment firm Anicut Capital raised $11 Mn (about INR 92 Cr) through a feeder fund based out of GIFT City for its Private Credit Fund III. 
• Besides this, airline major Indigo received approval from the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to float its venture capital (VC) arm IndiGo Ventures. 
• Masters’ Union founder’s global business school Tetr College of Business floated a $10 Mn fund to back student entrepreneurs

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

Omnichannel jewellery startup BlueStone is preparing to go public by the second quarter of next year. The Prosus-backed startup is expected to raise $200 Mn to $250 Mn (about INR 1,681 Cr to INR 2,100 Cr) through its IPO at an estimated valuation of $1 Bn to $1.5 Bn.

Mergers and Acquisitions This Week

• D2C foodtech unicorn Licious acquired Bengaluru-based offline retailer My Chicken and More in a cash and equity deal, expanding its offline footprint by adding 23 stores to its network.
• MSME-focused fintech startup Lendingkart said that Temasek’s subsidiary Fullerton Financial Holdings (FFH) will acquire a controlling stake in the startup with an additional investment of INR 252 Cr.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Tiger Global-backed Mensa Brands, which operates consumer brands such as Pebble, MyFitness, Dennis Lingo, among others, is shifting its domicile from Singapore to Mumbai. 
• Customer engagement and retention startup Clevertap is also in discussions with advisers to relocate its headquarters from San Francisco to India. 
• Two major exits were reported this week. Early stage VC firm 8i Ventures made a full exit from fintech startup M2P Fintech with 12X returns in 4.5 years. Besides, Zodius Capital marked its full exit from B2B marketplace OfBusiness via a secondary share sale of around $100-120 Mn, against its initial $8 Mn investment. 
• Singapore’s state investor Temasek is eyeing acquiring a 20-25% stake in Rebel Foods via a mix of primary equity infusion and secondary share sale for around $180 Mn to $200 Mn. 
• Zomato’s board will meet on October 22 to consider raising funds via qualified institutional placement (QIP). As per reports, the board will consider raising INR 8,500 Cr (about $1 Bn).
• Zepto is in advanced discussions to raise $100 Mn from asset management company Motilal Oswal, as well as high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and family offices.
• Bengaluru-based Jetapult made its maiden investment in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region by acquiring a stake in Saudi Arabia-based game developer UMX Studio for $4.5 Mn.
• Edtech unicorn upGrad’s cofounder and managing director Mayank Kumar stepped down from his executive role to launch a new venture. 
• Listed gaming major Nazara received the approval from its shareholders to acquire a 47.7% stake in Pokerbaazi’s parent company Moonshine Technology for INR 831 Cr. 

The post From Purplle To Eruditus – Indian Startups Raised $478 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

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.