Inc42 Daily Brief
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In the first week of 2017, Japanese investment major – SoftBank Capital announced that it will now facilitate its investments in India via its $100 Bn tech focussed fund, Vision Fund. The fund will now be the primary investment vehicle for SoftBank’s investment in India. It has also received capital commitments from various corporations, family offices and sovereign funds.
Next up, cloud services firm Zoho Corp invested nearly $10 Mn in 5 startups. Zentron Labs (previously funded by Zoho in 2014) and vTitan, a medical device maker are two of the chosen investments. The names of the remaining three startups are undisclosed.
In the first week of the year, 12 startups raised around $24.2 Mn in funding altogether. (Funding amount is based on startups that disclosed their funding)
Startup Fundings Of The Week
LEAP India
In the lone acquisition of the week, cloud-based customer engagement software Freshdesk, continued its acquisition spree in the new year with the acquisition of data integration platform Pipemonk. Pipemonk allows companies to synchronise and move data amongst multiple cloud apps quickly and easily. This acquisition is the seventh acquisition by Freshdesk in the last 16 months and is in tune with its strategy to create an ecosystem of interlinked Freshdesk and third-party products for businesses.
Other Developments
- Dave McClure-led, California-based early-stage seed fund 500 Startups, reportedly deferred its plans to raise a $25 Mn India-focussed fund, called 500 Kulfi. The reasons for holding it off have been cited as taxation and regulatory concerns, as per a report by ET.
- Real estate developer Lodha Developers Pvt. Ltd launched its maiden investment fund for startups focussed on smart city solutions and the overall real estate sector. With an initial investment corpus of about $7.3 Mn (INR 50 Cr), the company will provide angel funding or venture capital, business opportunities, industry contacts and mentorship.
- In a bid to boost the venture capital ecosystem for MSMEs in the country, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) tied up with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) for augmenting the capital support to enterprises in the country. Under the MOU, as part of the first phase, LIC and SIDBI have signed Contribution Agreements on January 3, 2017, in Delhi with 7 Venture Capital Funds (VCFs), with an aggregate commitment of INR 99.50 Cr from LIC.
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