From Zepto to Bira 91 – Indian Startups Raised $800 Mn This Week

After months of speculations, quick commerce unicorn Zepto finally announced the close of its mega funding round this week. The startup raised $665 Mn at a $3.6 Bn valuation, making it one of the largest cheques bagged by a company in recent history. For context, Zepto’s funding alone exceeds the cumulative $512 Mn raised by Indian startups in January 2024.

Overall, Indian startups cumulatively raised $800.5 Mn across 29 deals this week. This was a 296% increase from the $201.8 Mn secured by the startups last week across 21 deals. 

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Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ June 17 – June 22 ]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Zepto’s funding round took the consumer services to the top of the sectoral funding charts.
•  Trailing consumer services was the fintech sector, which saw startups raise $50.3 Mn across nine deals.
• Peak XV Partner, IndiaQuotient, Matrix Partners India, and Dr. Vaidya’s Arjun Vaidya were the most active investors this week, backing two startups apiece.
• Seed funding shot up again this week, zooming 141% to $22.7 Mn from last week’s $9.4 Mn .

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

• Education-focussed non-banking financial company (NBFC) Avanse Financial Services has filed its DRHP with the SEBI for an INR 3,500 Cr public issue. The IPO will comprise a fresh issuance of shares worth INR 1,000 Cr and an OFS component of INR 2,500 Cr.
• Fintech unicorn Pine Labs is deliberating a public offer of $1 Bn at a valuation of over $6 Bn, a couple of years after shelving its $500 Mn IPO plan.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has cleared the IPO of Ola Electric Mobility. The markets regulator issued its observation letter to the company on June 10.
• With plans to go public this fiscal, logistics unicorn BlackBuck converted into a public company. The company’s name has been changed from Zinka Logistics Solutions Private Limited to Zinka Logistics Solutions Limited. It is now seeking to raise $300 Mn.
• Online travel aggregator (OTA) ixigo made a stellar debut on the bourses. The stock listed at INR 135 apiece on the BSE, a 45.16% premium from its issue price of INR 93. Similarly, the shares opened at INR 138.10 per share on the NSE, a premium of 48.5%.

Startup Acquisitions This Week

• Picking up an additional 49% stake for INR 98 Lakh, NSE listed OTA Yatra Online agreed to acquire Adventure and Nature Network Private Limited (ANN). The transaction raised its shareholding from 50% to 99%.
• Zomato is looking to acquire Paytm’s movie ticketing and events business, Paytm Insider. While the talks are in preliminary stages and no binding agreement is signed as of now, reports speculate the deal size to be about INR 1,500 Cr.
• Venture capital (VC) firm Ananta Capital’s beauty and wellness arm Guardian acquired a 55% stake in D2C personal care startup Anveya Living in an undisclosed deal. Guardian plans to increase its stake in the startup in the near future.
• Supply chain financing startup Veefin Solutions picked up a 26% stake in GST compliance startup Regime Tax Solutions. The stake acquisition integrates Regime’s GST compliance and accounts automation solutions, TaxGenie and PayInvoice, with Veefin’s platform.
• Aditya Birla Group’s fashion arm TMRW acquired a 16% stake in the Virat Kohli-backed WROGN for INR 125 Cr in an all-cash deal. The fresh funds will be used to expand WROGN’s offline footprint.

Other Major Developments Of The Week

• NBFC UGRO Capital raised INR 1,265 Cr ($151.6 Mn) by allotting compulsory convertible debentures (CCDs) worth INR 258 Cr and warrants worth INR 1,007 Cr to investors.
• Omnichannel jewellery brand Bluestone is looking to raise $100 Mn from Peak XV Partners, Steadview Capital and Think Investments in its pre-IPO round. The deal will value the startup at $900 Mn.
• US-based venture capital firm General Catalyst will soon be merging with Delhi NCR-based early stage investment firm Venture Highway to expand its presence in India. Post the merger, the Venture Highway brand will cease to exist, creating a combined entity named General Catalyst India
• Logistics startup Ecom Express is in talks with existing investors Warburg Pincus, CDC Group, and Partners Group to raise INR 350 Cr -INR 400 Cr ($41 Mn-$47 Mn) at a unicorn valuation.
• Shortly after withdrawing its IPO papers, hospitality major OYO is about to raise around INR 1,000 Cr from family offices of Mankind Pharma’s promoters Ramesh Juneja and Rajeev Juneja and stock market expert Anand Jain.
• SoftBank-backed B2B SaaS startup Whatfix is looking to raise $100-150 Mn in a mix of primary and secondary transactions. The round is expected to be led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
• VC firm GVFL has marked the first close of its seed stage fund, Prarambh Fund, at INR 100 Cr. It will be backing 25-30 seed startups across B2B SaaS, healthtech, agritech, climate tech and deeptech sectors with an average ticket size of INR 1-3 Cr.
• 8X Ventures announced the first close of its INR 200 Cr DeepTech Fund with commitments for INR 60 Cr. It aims to back 18-20 early stage deeptech startups with an initial ticket size of INR 2-5 Cr each and total investments of up to INR 20 Cr each in 8-10 startups.
• VC firm VentureSoul Partners launched its maiden debt fund, VentureSoul Capital Fund I, with a target corpus of INR 600 Cr. It will primarily focus on investments in tech startups in diversified sectors, including fintech, B2C, B2B and SaaS.