Indian startups cumulatively raised $265.2 Mn via 16 deals, a 33% decline from the $395.63 Mn raised via 20 deals in the preceding week
The week saw a mega deal materialise with Bluestone raising $107.2 Mn in its pre-IPO round
Seed funding continued to move in a downward trajectory this week, with startups raising $1 Mn in the week, an 88 decline from last week's $8.85 Mn funding
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 ]
Date
Name
Sector
Subsector
Business Model
Funding Round Size
Funding Round Type
Investors
Lead Investor
22 Aug 2024
BlueStone
Ecommerce
D2C
B2C
$107.2 Mn
–
Peak XV Partners, Prosus, Steadview Capital, Think Investments, Pratithi Investments
–
21 Aug 2024
E2E Networks
Enterprise Tech
Horizontal SaaS
B2B
$50.1 Mn
–
–
–
21 Aug 2024
Livpure
Ecommerce
D2C
B2C
$27.8 Mn
–
M&G Investments, Ncubate Capital Partners
–
21 Aug 2024
Aye Finance
Fintech
Lendingtech
B2B
$25 Mn
–
Goldman Sachs (India) Finance
Goldman Sachs (India) Finance
23 Aug 2024
axio
Fintech
Lendingtech
B2B-B2C
$20 Mn
–
Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund
Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund
17 Aug 2024
FlexiLoans*
Fintech
Lendingtech
B2C
$9 Mn
Debt
JM Financials
JM Financials
21 Aug 2024
uppercase
Ecommerce
D2C
B2C
$9 Mn
Series B
Accel, Sixth Sense Ventures, Akash Bhansali
Accel
21 Aug 2024
Zoff
Ecommerce
D2C
B2C
$4.7 Mn
–
JM Financial Private Equity
JM Financial Private Equity
21 Aug 2024
TransBnk
Fintech
Fintech SaaS
B2B
$4 Mn
Series A
8i Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, GMO Venture Partners, Ratio Ventures, Force Ventures
8i Ventures, Accion Venture Lab
23 Aug 2024
LoanKuber
Fintech
Lendingtech
B2B
$3.5 Mn
Pre-Series B
Inflection Point Ventures, TRTL VC, Auxano, LetsVenture, Mavuca Capital, Ruchi Deepak, Prashant Tandon, Pankaj Vermani
Inflection Point Ventures, TRTL VC
23 Aug 2024
Fabrication Bazar
Enterprise Tech
Enterprise Services
B2B
$3 Mn
Pre-Series A
Physis Capital, ICMG, Inflection Point Ventures
Physis Capital
22 Aug 2024
LLUMO AI
Enterprise Tech
Horizontal SaaS
B2B
$1 Mn
Seed
SenseAI Ventures, India Quotient, AumVC, Venture Catalyst, IIM Indore Alumni Angel Fund
SenseAI Ventures
22 Aug 2024
Dopplr
Enterprise Tech
Vertical SaaS
B2B
$750K
–
Cornerstone Ventures, BAT VC
Cornerstone Ventures
22 Aug 2024
Favcy
Enterprise Tech
Enterprise Services
B2B
$214K
–
–
–
21 Aug 2024
NxtQube
Deeptech
Drone Tech
B2B
–
Seed
Venture Catalysts, Pontaq VC, Ananta Bizcon LLP, Rushikesh Bhandari
Venture Catalysts
21 Aug 2024
Humanize
Enterprise Tech
Horizontal SaaS
B2B
–
–
NLB Services
NLB Services
Source: Inc42
*Included this week as it was skipped in last week’s edition
Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included
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).
