From LetsTransport To SmartDukaan— Indian Startups Raised $85 Mn This Week

After a relatively better week, the capital infusion dropped in the second week of July, further indicating that funding winter is here to stay. This week, Indian startups collectively raised around $85.4 Mn across 17 deals. This is a 45% drop from the $155 Mn raised by Indian startups between July 3 and July 8, 2023. 

However, this week’s funding is 31.3% higher than $65 Mn raised by Indian startups across 42 deals in the last week of June. 

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• LetsTransport secured $25 Mn funding in a round led by Bertelsmann India, making it the biggest fundraise of this week
• Logistics sector raised the highest amount, a $27.2 Mn funding this week across two deals
• Ecommerce sector recorded the highest number of four deals this week and raised $19.3 Mn funding
• Early-stage startup funding stood at $2.4 Mn this week, a 59% drop as compared to the last week where such startups raised $6 Mn
• LetsVenture and Venture Catalysts are the two most active investors of this week with two deal participation each.

Startup Fund Launches This Week

• Vertex Ventures, VC arm of Temasek, has marked the first close of its latest fund, Vertex Master Fund III, at around $900 Mn
• Hosts of the 100x Entrepreneur podcast – Neon Show, have launched a new $25 Mn fund, the Neon show, to invest in B2B SaaS startups
• Micro VC fund CapFort Ventures launched an INR 200 Cr India-focussed tech fund and plans to invest in 40 startups in the next two years.

Startup Acquisitions Of This Week

• US-based Cilio Technologies has acquired Delhi-NCR-based AutomationFactory.AI for an undisclosed amount
• Food delivery giant Swiggy has acquired FMCG retail distribution company LYNK Logistics Ltd for an undisclosed amount
• D2C meat delivery startup ZappFresh has acquired Dr. Meat, a brand operated by Sukos Foods 
• Let’s Work, a Delhi-based co-working space is going to get acquired by angel investors for an undisclosed amount
• CarTrade announced the complete acquisition of OLX India’s operations for INR 537.4 Cr.

Other Major Developments From This Week

• Walmart-backed Flipkart initiated releasing cash compensation worth $700 Mn to its employees as part of the PhonePe demerger
• Vivriti Capital-backed Yubi’s valuation has soared to $1.5 Bn from $1.2 Bn following a secondary share sale
• Wipro along with launching Wipro ai360, a comprehensive, AI-first innovation ecosystem, has also announced making a $1 Bn investment in improving AI capabilities over the next three years 
• Quick commerce delivery startup Zepto is likely to become the first unicorn of 2023 as it is in the final stages of raising $150 Mn at $1.3 Bn valuation
• Nazara Technologies said its board has approved a proposal to raise up to INR 750 Cr via qualified institutional placement, or preferential allotment, or a combination of both
• Sachin Bansal’s Navi Finserv is raising up to INR 500 Cr through the public issue of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs).