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Indian startups cumulatively raised $316.4 Mn across 23 deals between April 29- March 4
PharmEasy's $216.2 Mn funding was the lone mega funding round of the week
Seed funding plummeted 64% to $12.3 Mn this week from last week's $33.9 Mn
After a significant drop in the capital raised by Indian startups in the last week of April, funding picked up in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem in the first week of May. Between April 29 and May 4, Indian startups cumulatively raised $316.4 Mn across 23 deals, up 83.3% from last week’s $172.6 Mn secured across 21 deals.
Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Apr 29 – May 4]
Date | Name | Sector | Subsector | Business Model | Funding Round Size | Funding Round Type | Investors | Lead Investor |
30 Apr 2024 | Pharmeasy | Healthtech | Online Pharmacy | B2B-B2C | $216.2 Mn | – | MEMG Family Office, Prosus, 360 One,Temasek | – |
3 May 2024 | Kinara Capital | Fintech | Lendingtech | B2B | $24.4 Mn | Debt | Impact Investment Exchange, BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund | Impact Investment Exchange, BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund |
29 Apr 2024 | Portea Medical | Healthtech | Home Healthcare | B2B | $20 Mn | Pre-IPO | – | – |
30 Apr 2024 | Charge Zone | Cleantech | Electric Vehicles | B2B-B2C | $19 Mn | – | British International Investment | British International Investment |
2 May 2024 | Infinity Fincorp | Fintech | Lendingtech | B2C | $8 Mn | – | Archerman Capital | Archerman Capital |
29 Apr 2024 | BRISKPE | Fintech | Payments | B2B | $5 Mn | Seed | PayU | PayU |
2 Apr 2024 | Go DESi | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $4.9 Mn | – | Aavishkaar Capital, Rukam Capital, Roots Ventures, DSG Consumer | Aavishkaar Capital |
2 Apr 2024 | Dexif | Fintech | Investment Tech | B2B | $4 Mn | Seed | RTP Global | RTP Global |
29 Apr 2024 | Assert AI | Enterprisetech | Horizontal SaaS | B2B | $4 Mn | Series A | Ramesh Hariharan, Prashant Purker, Arya.ag | Ramesh Hariharan, Prashant Purker, Arya.ag |
2 Apr 2024 | Plotline | Enterprisetech | Horizontal SaaS | B2B | $2.6 Mn | Seed | Elevation Capital | Elevation Capital |
2 May 2024 | DaMENSCH | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $2.5 Mn | Series B | Matrix Partners, Saama Capital, Whiteboard Capital, A91 Emerging Fund | – |
2 Apr 2024 | Fresh From Farm | Agritech | Market Linkange | B2B | $2 Mn | pre-Series A | Inflection Point Ventures, Ashish Kacholia | Inflection Point Ventures, Ashish Kacholia |
2 May 2024 | TalkEsport | Media & Entertainment | Digital Media | B2C | $1 Mn | pre-Series A | Saswat Ventures | Saswat Ventures |
1 May 2024 | Reelo | Enterprisetech | Horizontal SaaS | B2B | $1 Mn | – | Gokul Rajaram | Gokul Rajaram |
30 Apr 2024 | Kyari | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $780K | pre-Series A | Gwalior Pathways, Airen Holdings, Amit Kumat, Rajesh Patel, Sawan Laddha, We founder circle, IVY League Ventures, JITO | Gwalior Pathways, Airen Holdings |
30 Apr 2024 | PointO | Cleantech | Electric Vehicles | B2B | $743K | Seed | Equirus InnovateX Fund | Equirus InnovateX Fund |
2 May 2024 | EXFAQ Systems | Deeptech | IoT & Hardware | B2B-B2C | $288K | – | Ketan Patel | Ketan Patel |
30 Apr 2024 | vHub.ai | Enterprisetech | Horizontal SaaS | B2B | – | Seed | Z21 Ventures, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme | Z21 Ventures, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme |
1 May 2024 | neuro42 | Healthtech | IoT & Hardware | B2B-B2C | – | – | Karna D Shinde | Karna D Shinde |
1 May 2024 | ellementry | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | – | – | She Capital | She Capital |
1 May 2024 | Perceptyne | Deeptech | Robotics Process Automation (RPA) | B2B | – | Pre-Seed | Venture Catalysts, Tarun Mehta, Swapnil Jain, Pawan Chandana, Bharat Daka T-Hub, Z21 Ventures, Naveen Varma Alluri, Satya Prakash B, Aditya Damani | Venture Catalysts |
2 May 2024 | Culture Circle | Ecommerce | B2C Ecommerce | B2C | – | Pre-Seed | IIMA Ventures | IIMA Ventures |
3 May 2024 | ShipEase | Logistics | Ecommerce Logistics | B2B | – | – | JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation, COGNIPHY.US, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) | – |
Source: Inc42 *Part of a larger round Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included |
Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week
- Digital pharmacy PharmEasy bagged $216.2 Mn as part of its rights issue at a 90% valuation cut compared to its peak valuation of $5.6 Bn in October 2021. This was the lone mega deal for the week as well as the biggest cheque secured by a startup.
- Buoyed by PharmEasy’s mega funding, healthtech knocked off fintech to become the most funded sector this week. Healthtech startups raised $236.2 Mn across three deals this week.
- Ecommerce maintained its streak of securing the most number of deals. Startups in the space netted $8.2 Mn across five deals this week.
- Z21 Ventures and JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF) were the most active investors for the week, backing two startups apiece.
- Despite the positive upturn in the funding trends overall, seed funding dropped significantly this week. Startups at this stage were able to bag only $12.3 Mn this week, down 64% from last week’s $33.9 Mn.
Startup Acquisitions This Week
- Momspresso founders Vishal Gupta and Prashant Sinha’s new venture Pravis has picked up a stake in adtech gaming platform StreamO. The growth marketing firm will leverage StreamO’s 300 Mn subscribers to target GenZ communities.
- Non-banking finance company (NBFC) UGRO Capital has initiated the acquisition process of lending tech startup MyShubhLife in a mix of equity (64%) and cash (36%) at an enterprise value of INR 45 Cr.
- SaaS major Freshworks announced the acquisition of Delaware Corporation’s Device42 for $230 Mn. The purchase price would be paid in the form of $215 Mn of cash and an equity rollover of $15 Mn.
- Chennai-based SaaS metering and pricing platform Togai is in the process of getting acquired by California-based Zuora. The subscription management software company is looking to enhance its monetisation with the Togai’s acquisition
- PB Fintech, the parent company of insurtech platform Policybazaar, is set to acquire 100% stake in UAE-based Genesis Group. It will also be divesting stakes in two subsidiaries, Visit Health Private Limited and Visit Internet Services Private Limited
Other Major Developments Of The Week
- BharatPe’s ex-COO Druv Dhanraj Bahl has rolled out his maiden venture capital (VC) fund, Eternal Capital, with a target corpus of $14.3 Mn. The fund is looking to back 40 early stage startups over the next three years.
- Venture debt firm Stride Ventures announced the final closure of its Stride Ventures India Fund III at $165 Mn. The firm will look to back startups across consumer brands, financial services and cleantech sectors
- VC firm IvyCap Ventures marked the final close of its third fund at $251 Mn. The fund will invest in 25 startups with an average ticket size of INR 30-50 Cr.
- Tribe Capital is looking to invest $75 Mn in Shiprocket through its newly-launched special purpose vehicle (SPV). The transaction is expected to be completed in a few weeks.
- Digital consulting company Brillio is looking to expand its India footprint with an investment of $240 Mn over the next five years.
- Investment firm Oister Global has floated an INR 440 Cr fund, Oister India Pinnacle Fund (OIPF), to fuel emerging technology-led innovations and various sunrise sectors in the country.
- Thyrocare founder Arokiaswamy Velumani has joined hands with Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) and Magnifiq Capital Trust to invest up to INR 50 Cr in Indian startups.
- Healthtech unicorn Innovaccer is in talks with health major Kaiser Permanente to raise a funding in the range of $200 Mn-$250 Mn in a mix of primary and secondary funding.
- Anthill Ventures is looking to launch a hybrid fund targeting consumer experiences, wellness and entertainment startups. It will raise $100 Mn for a hybrid private credit and equity fund.
- UGRO Capital’s board approved raising INR 1,332.66 Cr through compulsorily convertible debentures (CCDs) and warrants.
- Gold loan startup Rupeek has initiated funding discussions with Claypond Capital and Axis Bank. The startup is looking to raise an undisclosed amount of funding at a substantially reduced valuation of $200-$250 Mn from its 2022 valuation of $600 Mn.
- Private equity (PE) firm ChrysCapital closed its $700 Mn ‘Continuation Fund’. The fund was anchored by US-based HarbourVest Partners and European funds LGT Capital Partners and Pantheon Ventures.