SUMMARY
Indian startups raised $170 Mn in funding across 13 deals in the fourth week of 2024, a 25% increase from the previous week
Bhavish Aggarwal’s third venture Krutrim became India’s first unicorn of 2024 as it bagged maiden funding at a $1 Bn valuation
NODWIN Gaming acquired 100% stake in Comic Con India for INR 55 Cr ($6 Mn) in a cash and stock deal
Funding momentum across India’s startup ecosystem gained steam after a marginal dip. Between January 22 and 27, startups have collectively raised $170 Mn across 13 deals, which is 25% higher than $136 Mn across 21 deals raised in the previous week.
Interestingly, the week also saw Ola cofounder Bhavish Aggarwal’s third venture – Krutrim raising $50 Mn to become India’s first AI unicorn and 113th in the country’s startup list with a valuation of more than a billion dollars.
Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Jan 22 – Jan 27]
| Date | Name | Sector | Subsector | Business Model | Funding Round Size | Funding Round Type | Investors | Lead Investor |
| 24 Jan 2024 | Vivifi | Fintech | Lendingtech | B2C | $75 Mn | Series B | – | |
| 26 Jan 2024 | Krutrim | Enterprisetech | Horizontal SaaS | B2B | $50 Mn | – | Matrix Partners India | |
| 22 Jan 2024 | Namdev Finvest | Fintech | Lendingtech | B2B | $15 Mn | Series B | British International Investment, LC Nueva AIF | |
| 24 Jan 2024 | Infra.Market | Ecommerce | B2B Ecommerce | B2B | $12 Mn | Debt | SK Finance Ltd | |
| 25 Jan 2024 | Newme | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $5.4 Mn | – | Fireside Ventures, AUM Ventures, 2AM Ventures, Alin Capital | Fireside Ventures |
| 23 Jan 2024 | RagaAI | Enterprisetech | Horizontal SaaS | B2B | $4.7 Mn | Seed | pi Ventures, Anorak Ventures, TenOneTen Ventures, Arka Ventures, Mana Ventures, Exfinity Venture Partners | pi Ventures |
| 23 Jan 2024 | STAN | Media & Entertainment | Social Media & Chat | B2C | $2.7 Mn | Pre-Series A | Aptos Labs, Maelstrom Fund, Pix Capital, GFR Fund, General Catalyst | |
| 24 Jan 2024 | Flaer | Consumer Services | Hyperlocal Services | B2C | $2.5 Mn | Seed | Singularity Ventures, Family Office Of Manish Choski | |
| 24 Jan 2024 | Fixerra | Fintech | Investment Tech | B2C | $1.68 Mn | Seed | Jaideep Hansraj, Shailesh Haribhakti, Oisharya Das, Shivang Desai | |
| 24 Jan 2024 | Earthful | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $400K | Seed | Green Ivy Ventures, Abhishek Goyal, Jayant Paleti, Brij Bhushan | |
| 22 Jan 2024 | Healspan | Healthtech | Healthcare SaaS | B2B | $144K | – | PedalStart | PedalStart |
| 23 Jan 2024 | Analytics Jobs | Edtech | Skill Development | B2C | – | Seed | Janardan Tiwari, | |
| 25 Jan 2024 | Bookingjini | Travel Tech | Travel Tech SaaS | B2B | – | Pre-Series A | 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
- Hyderabad-based NBFC Vivifi India Finance Pvt Ltd secured $75 Mn, making the biggest funding round of this week.
- Fuelled by Vivifi’s funding, fintech emerged as the most funded sector this week.
- The fintech sector and ecommerce reported a maximum of three deals this week. While the fintech sector raised $91.6 Mn, the ecommerce sector managed to bag $17.8 Mn.
- This week, seed funding rose to $9.2 Mn across five deals.
Startup Acquisitions This Week
- Publicly listed gaming company Nazaar Games’ subsidiary NODWIN Gaming has acquired 100% stakes in Comic Con India for INR 55 Cr ($6 Mn) in a cash and stock deal.
- MakeMyTrip acquired a majority stake in intercity cab service provider Savaari Car Rentals to expand its offerings.
Other Major Developments From This Week
- IPO-bound OYO in talks to raise $400 Mn in funding from Malaysia’s sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad at a downround of $6 Bn.
- Orios Venture Partners has returned INR 300 Cr to its Fund I investors.
- SaaS startup Perfios is eyeing to raise $500 Mn (INR 4,156 Cr) through initial public offering (IPO) at a $2Bn valuation.
- WeWork India launched a new programme under its WeWork Labs initiative – JumpStart that will help in facilitating fundraise.
- Vijay Kedia-backed TAC Infosec Limited has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to list on the NSE’s small and medium enterprises (SME) focussed platform NSE Emerge.
- Fintechs startup Equirus rolled out an early-stage fund – Equirus InnovateX Fund to invest in tech startups. The fund intends to raise $25 Mn
