From OYO to Ather Energy- Indian Startups Raised $395 Mn This Week

SUMMARY

Indian startups cumulatively raised $395.63 Mn via 20 deals, up 250% from the $112.9 Mn raised last week via 22 deals

The week saw a mega deal materialise with OYO raising $175 Mn in a down round

While Unicommerce and FirstCry got publicly listed in the week, three more startups filed their IPO papers in the week

In the week when startups were seen making a beeline for the bourses, investment activity across the ecosystem also managed to pick up the momentum. Between August 12 and 17, Indian startups cumulatively raised $395.63 Mn via 20 deals, a 250% increase from the $112.9 Mn raised across 22 deals in the preceding week.

Amid a notable uptick in the startup funding this week, SaaS startup Unicommerce and omnichannel retail startup FirstCry made their debuts on the stock exchanges on August 13. Further, logistics major Ecom Express, coworking startup Smartwork and construction marketplace ArisInfra filed their draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) in the week.

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

Date	Name	Sector	Subsector	Business Model	Funding Round Size	Funding Round Type	Investors	Lead Investor
12 Aug 2024	OYO	Travel Tech	Accommodation	B2C	$175 Mn	–	Patient Capital, J&A Partners, ASK Financial Holdings, Ashish Kacholia	Patient Capital, J&A Partners, ASK Financial Holdings
13 Aug 2024	Ather Energy	Cleantech	Electric Vehicle	B2C	$71 Mn	–	National Investment and Infrastructure Fund	National Investment and Infrastructure Fund
12 Aug 2024	Neo Group	Enterprise Tech	Enterprise Services	B2B	$46.7 Mn	–	MUFG Bank, Euclidean Capital LLC, Peak XV Partners	MUFG Bank, Euclidean Capital LLC
12 Aug 2024	Kinetic Green	Cleantech	Electric Vehicle	B2B-B2C	$25 Mn	Series A	Greater Pacific Capital	Greater Pacific Capital
13 Aug 2024	Vayana Network	Fintech	Lending Tech	B2B	$20.5 Mn	Series D	SMBC Asia Rising Fund, Jungle Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, International Finance Corporation, Deep Financial	SMBC Asia Rising Fund
13 Aug 2024	Beco	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$10 Mn	Series B	Tanglin Venture Partners, Titan Capital Winners Fund, Rukam Capital, Synergy Capital, Manish Choksi	Tanglin Venture Partners
12 Aug 2024	Innoviti	Fintech	Payments	B2B	$8.3 Mn	Series E	Random Walk Solutions, Bessemer Venture Partners, Patni Family Office India, Alumni Ventures	Random Walk Solutions
12 Aug 2024	Kazam	Cleantech	Electric Vehicle	B2B-B2C	$8 Mn	Series A	Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, Avaana Capital, Alteria Capital	Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India
12 Aug 2024	4BaseCare	Healthtech	Healthcare Services	B2C	$6 Mn	Series A	Yali Capital	Yali Capital
13 Aug 2024	Fresh Bus	Travel Tech	Transport Tech	B2C	$5.2 Mn	Series A	Maniv Mobility, Shell Ventures, Alteria Capital, Riverwalk Holdings	Maniv Mobility
13 Aug 2024	Skydo	Fintech	Payments	B2B	$5 Mn	pre-Series A	Elevation Capital	Elevation Capital
13 Aug 2024	FASHOR	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$5 Mn	–	Blume Ventures	Blume Ventures
12 Aug 2024	Infinyte.Club	Fintech	Investment Tech	B2C	$3.6 Mn	Seed	Elevation Capital, Kunal Shah, Vidit Aatrey, Gaurav Munjal, Sanket Shah, Varun Dua, Harshil Mathur	Elevation Capital
12 Aug 2024	Truva	Real Estate Tech	Listing & Discovery Services	B2B-B2C	$3 Mn	Seed	Stellaris Venture Capital, Peercheque	Stellaris Venture Capital
13 Aug 2024	EyeROV	Deeptech	IoT & Hardware	B2B	$1.2 Mn	pre-Series A	Unicorn India Ventures	Unicorn India Ventures
12 Aug 2024	HealthCRED	Fintech	Lending Tech	B2B	$1.2 Mn	Seed	Antler India, TRTL VC, iSeedVC, DeVC, Angel List India, Subho Ray, Nitin Gupta, Amit Lakhotia	Antler India, TRTL VC, iSeedVC
12 Aug 2024	Haldèn	Ecommerce	D2C	B2C	$595K	Seed	Prajay Advisors	Prajay Advisors
12 Aug 2024	MiClient	Enterprise Tech	Horizontal SaaS	B2B	$464K	Seed	Vikas Kuthiala, Pratik Mathurkar, Anicut, GSF, RTAF, Keiretsu	Vikas Kuthiala, Pratik Mathurkar
12 Aug 2024	Ziptrrip	Travel Tech	Transport Tech	B2B	$238K	pre-Seed	Anil K Jha, Prantik Dasgupta	–
12 Aug 2024	Flam	Deeptech	AR/VR	B2B	–	–	KL Rahul	KL Rahul
	Source: Inc42 *Part of a larger round Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

After weeks of anticipation, travel tech major OYO finally closed its funding round at $175 Mn. The round was led by OYO founder’s Ritesh Agarwal floated Singapore-based entity Patient Capital, along with J&A Partners and ASK Financial Holdings. It also saw OYO go through a massive valuation cut. The down round saw OYO’s valuation cut to $2.37 Bn, down 76% from its peak valuation of $10 Bn.
Bolstered by OYO’s mega funding round, travel tech emerged as the investor favourite this week. The sector saw three deals materialise via which startups raised $180.43 Mn.
Venture capital firms Alteria Capital and Elevation Capital emerged as the most active investors this week, backing two startups each.
Seed funding declined in the week. Startups managed to raise only $8.85 Mn, close to 32% cut from last week’s $13 Mn.

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

FirstCry’s parent Brainbees Solutions opened at INR 651 on the NSE, a premium of 40% over its issue price of INR 549. Similarly, on the BSE, it listed at INR 625, reflecting a 34.4% premium.
Shares of Unicommerce listed at INR 235 per share on the NSE, a premium of 117.59% over its issue price of INR 108. Similarly, on the BSE, it listed at INR 230, reflecting a 112.96% premium.
Logistics startup Ecom Express filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an IPO worth INR 2,600 Cr. The startup’s intended IPO comprises a fresh issue of INR 1,284.5 Cr and an offer for sale component of INR 1,315.5 Cr.
Coworking startup Smartworks filed a DRHP for an IPO that comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth INR 550 Cr and an offer for sale (OFS) of 67.49 Lakh equity shares by promoters.
B2B ecommerce platform ArisInfra Solutions filed its DRHP with the SEBI to raise INR 600 Cr via an IPO. The startup’s public offer will comprise only a fresh issue.
Logistics services startup ShadowFax has initiated discussions with merchant bankers for an IPO worth INR 2,500 – 3,000 Cr at a valuation of INR 5,000 – 8,000 Cr.
B2B marketplace unicorn OfBusiness has reportedly roped in five investment banks, including Kotak Investment Banking, for an IPO in August 2025.

Other Developments Of The Week

OYO acquired Paris-based premium rental homes company Checkmyguest for INR 230 Cr in a cash and stock deal. The startup issued 7.92 Cr Series G CCPS for the acquisition.
Veefin Group bought Nityo Tech to expand its digital services in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. With the acquisition, Veefin will leverage Nityo Tech’s AI and machine learning solutions across 15 verticals.
Fashion Entrepreneur Fund has roped in Karan Johar as an investor and promoter to help provide focused mentorship and financial resources.
Early stage investor 35 North Ventures marked the first close of its CAT-1 AIF India Discovery Fund II at INR 100 Cr. The fund has total corpus of INR 500 Cr, with an additional greenshoe option of INR 100 Cr.
Weeks after closing a mega $665 Mn funding rounding, quick commerce major Zepto’s has finalised a deal to raise a funding of $340 Mn. The deal will reportedly see the startup’s valuation jump up to $5 Bn.