SUMMARY
Indian startups raised $61 Mn across 10 funding deals, a 38% week-on-week markup
US-based giant Adobe acquired Bengaluru-based AI-powered video creation platform Rephrase.ai.
SaaS startup Unicommerce which is owned by AceVector Limited – the parent company of Snapdeal – is emerging as the latest Indian startup to head for a public listing next year
A week after funding activity took a dive, both in terms of value and volume, Indian startup ecosystem managed to rebound this week with a $61 Mn fundraise across ten deals. This week’s funding is 38% mark up from the previous week, where startups collectively raised $44 Mn across 10 deals.
Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Nov 20 – Nov 25]
| Date | Name | Sector | Subsector | Business Model | Funding Round Size | Funding Round Type | Investors | Lead Investor |
| 21 Nov 2023 | Scapia | Fintech | Lendingtech | B2C | $23 Mn | Series A | Elevation Capital, 3STATE Ventures, Matrix Partners India, Tanglin Venture Partners | Elevation Capital, 3STATE Ventures |
| 21 Nov 2023 | Kiwi | Fintech | Lendingtech | B2C | $13 Mn | Series A | Omidyar Network India, Nexus Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners | Omidyar Network India |
| 21 Nov 2023 | Baaz Bikes | Cleantech | Electric Vehicle | B2B | $8 Mn | Series A | BIG Capital, Rakuten Capital, Kalaari Capital, 9Unicorns, Sumant Sinha | BIG Capital |
| 20 Nov 2023 | Purple Style Labs | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $8 Mn | Series D | Sanket Parekh’s Family Office, Signet (Harish Shah Family Office), Hira Group Family Office, Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund I, Neelesh Bhatnagar (NB Ventures), Masaba Gupta, Rahul Garg (former Partner at Premji Invest), Atul Gupta (former Partner at Premji Invest) | Sanket Parekh’s Family Office |
| 23 Nov 2023 | Zappfresh | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $4.3 Mn | – | Ah!Ventures, HT Media, Unity SFB, Unity SFB, Heifer Impact | |
| 23 Nov 2023 | Herby Angel | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $2.5 Mn | – | JCBL Group | JCBL Group |
| 21 Nov 2023 | VAMA | Consumer Services | Hyperlocal Services | B2C | $1.5 Mn | Seed | Wavemaker Patrtners, Summit Media’s Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, Tata Play’s Harit Nagpal, Blume Founders Fund, Alluvium and Untitled VC, Burak Buyukdemir, Dhruv Bahl | Wavemaker Partners |
| 22 Nov 2023 | Jodaro | Ecommerce | B2B Ecommerce | B2B | $750K | Seed | Fundamental VC, Maninder Gulati | Fundamental VC |
| 24 Nov 2023 | Tagda Raho | Healthtech | Fitness & Wellness | B2C | – | – | MS Dhoni | |
| 23 Nov 2023 | Conscious Chemist | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | – | – | IPV | IPV |
| 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
- Fintech startup Scapia raised $23 Mn funding from Elevation Capital and Binny Bansal’s 3STATE Ventures, making it the biggest funding deal of the week.
- Fuelled by Scapia’s and Kiwi’s funding, the fintech sector emerged as the most funded sector this week, raising $36 Mn across two deals.
- The ecommerce sector saw the highest deal count with five deals sealing $15.5 Mn.
- Seed funding nosedived with a mere $2.2 Mn across two deals.
Startup Acquisitions This Week
- B2B vendor management startup Bizongo acquired Noida-based FactoryPlus, a factory digitisation application for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to offer digitisation solutions to MSMEs.
- Fintech startup Wint Wealth Group acquired a majority stake in an NBFC – Ambium Finserve for an undisclosed amount.
- US-based giant Adobe acquired Bengaluru’s AI-powered video creation platform Rephrase.ai.
Other Major Developments From This Week
- SaaS startup Unicommerce, which is owned by AceVector Limited, the parent company of Snapdeal, has joined the list of Indian startups heading for a public listing next year.
- Sorin Investments, a startup fund led by Sanjay Nayar, will receive investment worth INR 300 Cr from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC).
- Insurance aggregator Policybazaar is raising INR 350 Cr from its parent company PB Fintech Ltd.
