SUMMARY
Indian startups raised $168 Mn in funding across 25 deals this week, a 250% surge from the previous week
EV scooter manufacturer River raised $40 Mn from Yamaha, making the biggest funding round of this week.
Kunal Shah-led CRED acquires investment wealth tech startup Kuvera to take on Groww and Zerodha
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After a slight dip, investment activity across the Indian startup ecosystem shot back in the post budget week. From February 5 to 10, startups collectively raised $168 Mn in funding across 25 deals, marking a 250% uptick as compared to $48 Mn raised across eight deals in the previous week.
Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Feb 5 – Feb 9]
| Date | Name | Sector | Subsector | Business Model | Funding Round Size | Funding Round Type | Investors | Lead Investor |
| 6 Feb 2024 | River | Cleantech | Electric Vehicle | B2C | $40 Mn | Series B | Yamaha Motor Corporation, Al-Futtaim Automotive, Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures, Maniv Mobility | Yamaha Motor Corporation |
| 5 Feb 2024 | Astrotalk | Consumer Services | – | B2C | $20 Mn | Series A | Left Lane Capital | |
| 6 Feb 2024 | Globalbees | Ecommerce | Roll Ups | B2C | $17 Mn | Debt | Avendus | |
| 5 Feb 2024 | Keus Smart Home | Deeptech | Hardware & IoT | B2B | $12 Mn | – | OAKS Asset Management, Brijesh Chandwani, Subram Kapoor | |
| 6 Feb 2024 | OTO | Fintech | Lending Tech | B2C | $10 Mn | – | GMO Venture Partners, Turbostart, KL Rahul, Prime Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, 9Unicorns | GMO Venture Partners |
| 7 Feb 2024 | Pandorum Technologies | Healthtech | Medtech | B2B | $8 Mn | – | Ashish Kacholia, Everest Finance and Investment Company | |
| 5 Feb 2024 | DevX | Real Estate Tech | Shared Spaces | B2B | $7 Mn | – | Family offices of Urmin, Gala and Bidiwala | |
| 5 Feb 2024 | Wishlink | Ecommerce | Social Ecommerce | B2C | $7 Mn | – | Elevation Capital, Fundamentam | |
| 8 Feb 2024 | Bombay Shirts Company | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $6.5 Mn | – | Singularity Ventures, Mithun Sacheti | Singularity Ventures |
| 8 Feb 2024 | Verse Innovation | Media & Entertainment | Social Media & Chat | B2C | $6.2 Mn | Debt | Alteria Capital | |
| 7 Feb 2024 | Metafin | Fintech | Lending Tech | B2B-B2C | $5 Mn | – | Prime Venture Partners, Varanium Capital | |
| 6 Feb 2024 | Khyaal | Media & Entertainment | Social Media & Chat | B2C | $4.2 Mn | Seed | 62Ventures, SVQuad, Inventus Capital, Glen Tullman, Kanwal Rekhi, Raju Reddy, Raj-Ann Gill, Everywhere Ventures, Supermorpheus, Unpopular Ventures | 62Ventures, SVQuad, Inventus Capital |
| 8 Feb 2024 | upliance. ai | Deeptech | Hardware & IoT | B2C | $4 Mn | Seed | Khosla Ventures | |
| 6 Feb 2024 | Adventum Student Living | Edtech | Online Discovery | B2C | $3 Mn | – | Brand Capital | |
| 7 Feb 2024 | Cashinvoice | Fintech | Lending Tech | B2B | $3.4 Mn | Series A | Pravega Ventures, HDFC Bank, Accion Venture Lab | Pravega Ventures, HDFC Bank, Accion Venture Lab |
| 7 Feb 2024 | ControlZ | Ecommerce | Recommerce | B2C | $3 Mn | Seed | 9Unicorns, Venture Catalysts | 9Unicorns, Venture Catalysts |
| 5 Feb 2024 | Snap-E Cabs | Travel Tech | Transport Tech | B2C | $2.5 Mn | Pre-Series A | IPV | |
| 8 Feb 2024 | Neodocs | Healthtech | Fitness & Wellness | B2C | $2 Mn | Seed | Omidyar Network India, YCombinator, 9Unicorns, Gemba Capital, Titan Capital, Kunal Shah, Varun Alagh, Vivek Gambhir, Harshad Reddy | Omidyar Network India |
| 5 Feb 2024 | Arogya Tech | Healthtech | Fitness & Wellness | B2C | $1.8 Mn | Seed | Hasu P Shah | |
| 5 Feb 2024 | Rupyz | Enterprisetech | Vertical SaaS | B2B | $1.2 Mn | Seed | Merak Ventures | |
| 5 Feb 2024 | SportVot | Media & Entertainment | OTT | B2C | $1.1 Mn | Pre-Series A | Omidyar Network India, Anicut Capital, Startupynk, Ventana Ventures, Capital A, Ankur Capital, SucSEED Indovation, Marwah Sports | Omidyar Network India |
| 6 Feb 2024 | Swirl | Ecommerce | Social Ecommerce | B2C | $1.1 Mn | Seed | Shastra VC | Shastra VC |
| 7 Feb 2024 | Piscium Pockets | Healthtech | Medtech | B2C | $722K | Series A | Unicorn India Ventures | Unicorn India Ventures |
| 7 Feb 2024 | Koparo | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $722K | – | 4P Capital Partners, Aman Gupta, Vineeta Singh | |
| 5 Feb 2024 | Papa Pawsome | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $400K | Seed | IAN | IAN |
| Source: Inc42 *Part of a larger round Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included |
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Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week
- Bengaluru-based EV scooter manufacturer River raised $40 Mn in its Series B funding led by Japan’s Yamaha Motor Corporation, making the biggest funding round of this week.
- Fuelled by River’s funding, cleantech emerged as the most funded sector this week, striking a single deal of $40 Mn.
- The ecommerce sector reported a maximum of seven deals this week, bagging $32.4 Mn in funding.
- This week, seed funding jumped to $17.7 Mn across nine deals, up from $6.5 Mn from last week.
- 9Unicorns emerged as the busiest investor this week with infusions into three startups.
Startup Acquisitions This Week
- Thyrocare is acquiring a 100% stake in Chennai-based Think Health Diagnostics and a related party to offer ECG services at home.
- Kunal Shah-led CRED acquires investment wealth tech startup Kuvera in a mix of cash and stock deal.
- Gamingtech company OneVerse Gaming acquired online game development studio Spartan Poker for an undisclosed amount.
- Paytm has acquired ONDC platform Bitsila to strengthen its ONDC presence. However, the listed startup denied the acquisition.
Other Major Developments From This Week
- GrowthCap Ventures has marked the first close of its maiden fund at INR 20 Cr, six months after the launch of the vehicle. The firm intends to invest in fintech, deeptech and SaaS sectors.
- Cactus Venture Partners announced the final close of its maiden early-stage fund at INR 630 Cr ($75.8 Mn).
- Orios Venture Partners made a 45X return with its partial exit from Country Delight.
- upGrad to invest INR 100 Cr to launch 100 offline counselling touch-points and learning centres across the country over the next 12 months.
- The Kerala state government in its budget earmarked INR 90.5 Cr towards the ‘Kerala Startup Mission’ to fuel startups in the state.
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