Indian Startup Funding — Startups Raised $348 Mn This Week

From Drip Capital To Rapido – Indian Startups Raised $348 Mn This Week

SUMMARY

Between September 2 and 7, Indian startups collectively mopped up around $348 Mn in funding across 19 deals

Rapido’s fundraise, the traveltech sector became the funded sector with an investment of $204 Mn deals

Ather Energy is looking to file its DRHP with the SEBI next week for an INR 4,500 Cr IPO in a mix of a fresh issue and offer for sale (OFS)

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 ]

Date	Name	Sector	Subsector	Business Model	Funding Round Size	Funding Round Type	Investors	Lead Investor
5 Sep 2024	Rapido	Travel Tech	Transport Tech	B2C	$200 Mn	Series E	WestBridge Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Think Investments, Invus Opportunities	WestBridge Capital
5 Sep 2024	Drip Capital	Fintech	Lending Tech	B2B	$113 Mn	–	GMO Payment Gateway, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, International Financing Corporation IFC, East West Bank	–
4 Sep 2024	JUSTO Realfintech	Real Estate Tech	Real Estate Services	B2B	$7 Mn	–	Arbour Investments	Arbour Investments
2 Sep 2024	Nutrabay	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$5 Mn	pre-Series A	RPSG Capital Ventures, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers	RPSG Capital Ventures
4 Sep 2024	The Hosteller	Travel Tech	Accommodation	B2C	$4 Mn	–	V Cube Ventures SA, LV Angel Fund, Unit E Consulting LLP	V Cube Ventures SA
5 Sep 2024	RecommerceX	Cleantech	Waste Management	B2B-B2C	$3.6 Mn	Seed	Accel, Kae Capital	Accel, Kae Capital
2 Sep 2024	Global Care	Healthtech	Healthcare Services	B2C	$3 Mn	Series A	35North India Discovery Fund – II	35North India Discovery Fund – II
3 Sep 2024	BigEndian Semiconductor	Deeptech	IoT & Hardware	B2B	$3 Mn	Seed	Vertex Ventures SEA & India	Vertex Ventures SEA & India
3 Sep 2024	Theater	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$3 Mn	pre-Series A	Prath Ventures	Prath Ventures
4 Sep 2024	Invest4Edu	Fintech	Investment Tech	B2C	$3 Mn	Seed	–	–
4 Sep 2024	Boson Whitewater	Cleantech	Water Tech	B2B	$1.1 Mn	–	Rainmatter	Rainmatter
4 Sep 2024	TruNativ	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$1.1 Mn	–	Rainmatter	Rainmatter
4 Sept 2024	Valyx	Fintech	Payments	B2B	$800K	Seed	Huddle Ventures, Waveform Ventures, Bharat Founders Fund, Propell Fund	Huddle Ventures, Waveform Ventures
4 Sept 2024	Slikk	Ecommerce	B2C Ecommerce	B2C	$300K	Seed	Better Capital, Untitiledxyz Ventures	Better Capital
3 Sep 2024	BiUP Technologies	Enterpristech	Horizontal SaaS	B2B	–	–	CarDekho	CarDekho
4 Sep 2024	0xPPL	Media & Entertainment	Social Media & Chat	B2C	–	–	Peak XV Partners, AllianceDAO, Anagram, Balaji Srinivasan, Sandeep Nailwal, Anatoly Yakovenko, Raj Gokal	Peak XV Partners, AllianceDAO, Anagram
3 Sep 2024	Plan B	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	–	Seed	JIIF, Ah! Ventures
3 Sept 2024	ReCircle	Cleantech	Waste Management	B2B-B2C	–	Seed	Venture Catalysts, Mumbai Angels
6 Sept 2024	Mechanic Pro	Consumer Services	Hyperlocal Services	B2C	–	Seed	Naveen Kumar Telkani & Family
	Source: Inc42 *Part of a larger round Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included

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.

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