From Captain Fresh To Amber — Indian Startups Raised $125 Mn This Week

After a massive uptick in investment activity, the Indian startup ecosystem entered the slow funding lane in the second week of the ongoing month. Between February 12 and 19, startups collectively raised $125 Mn across 18 deals, which is a 25.5% dip from $168 Mn raised by 25 startups in the previous week.

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

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Bengaluru-based B2B seafood startup bagged $25 Mn in funding from British International Investment and Nekkanti Seafoods, making the biggest funding round of this week.
• Fuelled by Captain Fresh’s funding, ecommerce emerged as the most funded sector with $58.1 Mn and a maximum of seven deals this week.
• This week, seed funding plummeted to $7.9 Mn across 4 deals, from $17.7 Mn across nine deals last week. 
• Fireside Ventures emerged as the busiest investor this week as it participated in three deals. 

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Fintech SaaS company Trust Fintech Limited had filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with NSE Emerge to raise funds via an initial public offering (IPO).
• ixigo’s parent Le Travenues Technology Ltd refiled its DRHP to raise INR 120 Cr via fresh issue of shares.
• OTT streaming platform Ullu Digital has filed its DRHP with the  BSE SME for an IPO to raise around INR 130 Cr.

Other Major Developments From This Week

• Navi Finserv is planning to raise up to INR 600 Cr via issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) to fuel its business growth.
• Home interior startup HomeLane to acquire DesignCafe in a stock-swap deal.
• Hyderabad Angels launched its maiden venture capital fund at INR 150 Cr to invest in early stage startups.
• Endiya Partners is set to launch its third fund for a corpus ranging between INR 800 Cr and INR 1,000 Cr ($100-$125 Mn).
• Nazara’s NODWIN Gaming to acquire Ninja Global FZCO (Ninja), to foray into Turkey and the Middle East region
• Africa’s mobility fintech startup Moove raised $10 Mn (about INR 83 Cr) in debt from Stride Ventures to expand its presence in the Indian market.
• InCred Group’s InCred Alternatives Investments launched its maiden Category II AIF, with a target corpus of INR 500 Cr ($60 Mn+).
• PedalStart, a startup accelerator launched Series-2 fund with $250K funding to help early stage startups