[Funding Galore] From Country Delight To BluSmart — $258 Mn Raised By Indian Startups This Week

The month of May ends with a further dip in the funding raised by the Indian startup ecosystem. Between May 23 to May 28, Indian startups have managed to raise $258 Mn across 36 funding deals. This is a 38% drop from $419 Mn startups raised last week across 21 deals.

The week also reported one mega deal i.e. dairytech startup Country Delight’s $108 Mn Series D funding round from Venturi Partners and Temasek at a $600 Mn valuation. 

The Indian Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

Furniture Marketplace Pepperfry Converts Into Public Company

Ahead of its upcoming IPO, online furniture marketplace Pepperfry has converted into a public company. As per its RoC filings, the Mumbai-based startup has passed a board resolution to convert into a public company. This is a mandatory step for any company willing to get listed on the stock exchange. The startup has renamed itself as Pepperfry Limited following the conversion. It will go for IPO in the second half of 2022.

Digit Insurance Plans For $500 Mn IPO

Bengaluru-based insurtech startup Digit Insurance is reportedly considering raising about $500 Mn through its initial public offering (IPO). The $3.5 Bn valued startup is eyeing for an IPO at a valuation of $4 Bn to $4.5 Bn.

Delhivery’s IPO Gives Healthy Returns To Investors

Delhivery IPO turned into a money-making event for its investors, as SoftBank witnessed 148% ROI while its early investor, Times Internet, saw 139X returns. US-based The Carlyle Group has also seen its investment returns rise to 248.3% and continues to hold shares worth $239.6 Mn even after offloading 20% stake during the IPO.

Hospitality Unicorn OYO Likely To Postpone IPO; Eyes Lower Valuation

Ritesh Aggarwal-led OYO is likely to launch its IPO at a lower valuation after September this year to avoid volatility in stock markets. OYO was eying a valuation of $11 Bn when it initiated its listing plans. However, the Ritesh Agarwal-led startup is reportedly ready to settle for a valuation of $7 Bn – $8 Bn.  

From The Startup Acquisition Desk

• Spacetech startup SatSure has acquired US-based geospatial startup, Old City Innovations (OCI) in a cash and stock deal. 
• Agritech startup Krishi Network has acquired Rocket Skills, an edtech platform providing online training courses to farmers.
• Passion Connect, a HR advisory platform has acquired CoEmerge, a learning and development startup that focuses on workplace upskilling and reskilling.
• Technology-enabled real estate buying solution provider Blox acquires Plinthstone REMA.

Startup Funds This Week

• US-based private equity firm General Atlantic will invest $2 Bn in Indian and Southeast Asian startups over the next two years. 
• Bengaluru-based early-stage venture capital Inventus India, has launched its fourth fund with a target corpus of $120 Mn. The venture capital has also rebranded as Athera Venture Partners.
• The Dallas and Hyderabad-based venture capital firm Dallas Venture Capital (DVC) has closed an $80 Mn fund for early stage B2B SaaS startups. 
• Riverwalk Holdings has launched an INR 150 Cr fund that is backed by Thakral Group and several India and Singapore-based family offices.

Other Developments From The Indian Startup Ecosystem

• Sequoia Capital, one of the biggest venture capital in the world in a presentation, has alerted its portfolio companies that growth at all costs is no longer being rewarded in the market and that there is no ‘V-shaped’ recovery for startups in the 2022 slowdown.
• BEENEXT, a fintech venture capital, has also warned its portfolio companies of a funding winter that is likely to go on for 24 months.
• Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has partnered with VC fund Kalaari Capital to help Indian businesses scale via business skilling support. 
• Sanjeev Bikhchandani led Info Edge’s subsidiary RedStart Labs has participated in US-based tech firm WSO2’s $93 Mn (INR 721 Cr) Series E growth funding round.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held talks with SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son about the latter’s investment plans in India. 
• The credit card major Visa is exploring partnerships with fintech startups for B2B payments to shore up its corporate card-based solutions.