From Bright Money To Doceree — Indian Startups Raised $194 Mn This Week

Following a brief dip in funding last week, the month of September is concluding on a notably stronger note. Indian startups raised $194 Mn across 34 funding deals, marking a substantial 113% increase from the $91 Mn raised in the prior week.

Throughout September, Indian startups garnered $995 Mn in funding over a span of four weeks.

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

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Bengaluru and San Francisco-based Consumer fintech startup Bright Money raised $62 Mn funding in a mix of equity and debt, making it the biggest funding deal of the week.
• Fuelled by Bright Money’s fundraise, the fintech sector emerged as the most funded sector this week, securing $67.5 Mn across two deals.
• Ahead of the festive season, the ecommerce sector witnessed the most number of deals. The sector saw ten deals and a total of $62 Mn being raised.
• Seed funding activity surged this week with $9 Mn in fund infusion across 17 deals, a substantial jump from $5.4 Mn raised across five deals a week prior
• Flipkart Ventures was the busiest investor this week as it participated in five deals.

Startup Acquisitions This Week

• SaaS firm KaarTech acquired Chicago-based customer experience solutions consultancy company Dunn Solutions for an undisclosed amount.
• D2C fashion startup Styched acquired performance wear brand Zymrat in a cash and equity swap deal. 
• Indian music giant Saregama is acquiring a 92.6% stake in the new-age digital entertainment startup Pocket Aces at a valuation of $40 Mn.

Other Major Developments From This Week

• Debt VC firm Trifecta Capital announced the final close of its third venture debt fund, Trifecta Venture Debt Fund III, at INR 1,777 Cr.
• According to Inc42 sources, electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure provider Bolt.Earth is in talks with investors to raise $20 Mn in its Series B round at a valuation of $100 Mn. 
• Hyderabad’s Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) launched its new startup fund with an initial corpus of INR 5 Cr for potential startups in the Hyderabad region. 
• Matrix Partners India has elevated three of its principals – Aakash Kumar, Pranay Desai, and Sudipto Sannigrahi  – to the managing director roles.
• Healthcare-focussed startup Affordplan this week saw a complete management buyout led by its CEO,  thus giving a complete exit to the founders and four private equity investors. 

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