Funding Galore: Startup Fundings Of The Week [16 January – 21 January]

This week, two major funding rounds took place. First, Bengaluru-based online healthcare platform Practo raised $55 Mn Series D funding in a round led by Tencent. With this, three new investors have joined Practo – ru-Net, RSI Fund (owned by Recruit Holdings), and Thrive Capital.

Other existing investors Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, Capital G (formerly Google Capital), Altimeter Capital, and Sofina also participated in this round. The startup plans to use the newly raised capital to further build an integrated platform that unlocks value for the entire healthcare ecosystem and invest further in its international operations.

Next on, Bengaluru and Berlin-based mobile data startup Zeotap raised about $12.7 Mn Series B funding. This brings the company’s total funding to about $21.2 Mn. New Science Ventures (NSV), a New York-based venture fund with $500 Mn under management, and HERE, a leading global provider of mapping and location-based services backed by German automotive companies Audi, BMW, and Daimler also participated in this round.

Existing investors Capnamic Ventures and Iris Capital (backed by Publicis and Orange Telecom) also contributed to the new round. Zeotap has also attracted several strategic business angels including Seth Schuler (former SVP Strategy of T-Mobile US), Alex Pentland (Professor at MIT, co-creator of the MIT Media Lab), Mark Grether (co-founder and former COO of Xaxis) and Thomas Duhr (board member of IAB Europe).

This week  21 startups raised around $97.7 Mn in funding altogether. (Funding amount is based on startups that disclosed their funding)

Startup Fundings Of The Week

Vahdam Teas: Online tea brand Vahdam Teas secured $650K from angel investors Mumbai Angels Network, Fireside Ventures, and Singapore Angel Network. The company will deploy the raised funds towards marketing, product development, and opening a warehouse in the US. It currently claims to have shipped its garden fresh tea to more than 76 countries.

Direct Create: Online-to-offline B2B platform for handicrafts Direct Create secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund (RVCF). The funding will be used to build the platform and enhance user experience. It will also be used to scale up maker and designer memberships via outreach efforts.

Kratikal: Delhi-based Kratikal, an end-to-end cyber security solution provider, raised an undisclosed amount of Seed funding from Amajit Gupta (former director of Microsoft India) along with Praveen Dubey (co-founder Mutual PR) and J.P. Bhatt (co-founder and Chief Executive of ImpactQA). Currently, with its 15-member team, Kratikal provides its services to domestic and foreign clients in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa for matters related to cyber crime, forensics, and cyber fraud.

Ketchupp: Metasearch engine for online food ordering, Ketchupp raised $441K in Seed round of funding led by India Quotient and other angel investors. The team plans to utilise this round of investment in making a robust product through analytics, big data, and enabling tech solutions.

ID Fresh Foods: Wipro chairman Azim Premji’s family office, PremjiInvest invested $25 Mn in Bengaluru-based food company, ID Fresh Foods. With the investment, Premji Invest has acquired a 25% stake in the company at the latter’s valuation of $100 Mn. MAPE Advisory Group is the advisor to the deal. The company will use the fresh funds to grow its presence across India and expand its product offerings.

Tinystep: Bengaluru-based parenting-focussed social network Tinystep raised $2 Mn funding from ecommerce giant, Flipkart. The startup will use the newly raised funding to advance the product, better the user experience, and expand the services.

Curiositi: Bengaluru-based edtech startup Curiositi Learning Solutions raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding from Menterra Social Impact Fund. Existing investor Unitus Seed Fund also participated in the round. The recently raised funding will help the enterprise expand its operations to more schools, increase learning outcomes, and provide a comprehensive solution that enables experiential learning in the classroom.

Hipcouch: B2B furniture solutions provider Hipcouch secured $700K in its angel round of funding. Hipcouch founders had earlier founded Dwll.in, a curated online network of interior designers based in Mumbai, which was acquired by end-to-end home design service provider and curated marketplace for homeowners and designers, Livspace, in May 2015.

Oi Media: Delhi-based SaaS marketplace platform for OOH (Out-of-Home) advertising Oi Media raised an undisclosed amount of Seed funding from early-stage VC fund Quarizon. With this move, Alok Kumar Goel, Principal Advisor at Quarizon will join the team’s board and provide strategic mentorship.

Leadburg: Bengaluru-based workforce development startup Leadburg raised an undisclosed amount of funding led by the IvyCamp platform from enterprise tech veterans Harsh V. Pant and Ratheesh Raveendran. The portal currently claims to have over 300 colleges on its platform and daily usage time per individual is reportedly more than 15 mins on the app.

ZoloStays: Bengaluru-based real estate portal ZoloStays raised $5 Mn (INR 26 Cr) in Series A funding led by Nexus Venture Partners. The round also included a venture debt of $660K (INR 4.5 Cr) from Innoven Capital. With the raised funds, Zolo aims to create a new class of managed accommodations and plans to grow aggressively to reach from 5000 locked-in beds to over 12000 beds. It further wants to expand to Chennai and NCR by the end of this year.

Fitnapp: Fitness startup Fitnapp raised an undisclosed amount of funding from real estate conglomerate SD Group. With this move, SD Group’s Sanjay K Baliase will join Fitnapp as a Director. Commenting on the product. The recently raised capital will be used for online expansions, increasing the number of associations, partners and marketing.

NativeSpecial: Tamil Nadu-based foodtech startup NativeSpecial raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Indian Angel Network, and Madurai-based Native Angels Network. Nagaraja Prakasam led this round of funding on IAN’s behalf and with the investment, K. Premnath will join the board to provide strategic mentorship to the venture. The startup will utilise the newly raised funding for further upgrading of its laboratory facilities and expansion to newer markets.

Weddingz: Mumbai-based online marketplace for wedding venues and vendors, Weddingz raised nearly $1 Mn from Singularity Ventures. Existing investor Sixth Sense Ventures also participated in the round.

PParkE: Bengaluru-based parking solutions app PParkE raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from Singapore-based early-stage investment firm SB Ventures. The new funds will be used to develop the product.

QwikSpec: Cloud-based construction field inspection and asset management platform QwikSpec raised $300K in angel funding. The Bengaluru-based startup will use the capital to scale up its product and in customer acquisition.

Tyre Express: B2B marketplace for lifecycle management of commercial vehicle tyres Tyre Express raised an undisclosed amount in Seed funding via IvyCamp. The startup targets working with fleet operators and the team is also collaborating with tyre OEMs to improve service offerings to institutional clients.

Wydr: Gurugram-based mobile B2B marketplace Wydr raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners and Singapore-based Jungle Venture Partners. Axis Capital from Singapore also participated in the round. The company plans to utilise the fresh round of capital for pan-India expansion. Furthermore, the funds will be used to expand its seller base across wholesale hubs in India, introduction of new categories and technology innovation delivering more value to its B2B users.

Ethosh: Deepak Nathani, Cybage co-founder picked up a 25% stake in Pune-based visual and interactive communications firm Ethosh. The investment amount remains undisclosed. The startup will use the newly raised capital to expand its presence across the US, Europe, and India.

Acquisitions Of The Week

• Gurugram-based MSD Telematics Private Limited, a telematics solutions firm, acquired Heuristics Info Systems in an all-cash deal. Following the acquisition, Amit Dubey, founder partner Heuristics Info Systems, will be joining MSD Telematics as a board advisor.
• Edtech startup BYJU’s acquired Bengaluru-based Vidyartha, a data-driven platform offering customised learning guidance to students. The acquisition will help strengthen BYJU’S efforts to create highly personalised learning experiences for the students using the application.
• Bengaluru-based O2O deals marketplace Little acquired Stylofie, a curated online marketplace for salons and spas. The acquisition will enable Little to further penetrate the beauty and wellness segment. According to a company statement, it will get access to more than 50,000 registered visitors and 1,000+ merchants on the Stylofie platform.
• Chinese accelerator and venture fund ZDream Ventures acquired intelligence platform  Xeler8 that provides a startups database for venture capital and private equity firms. The terms of the deal are undisclosed. With this move, the Xeler8 team of about a dozen people will be absorbed into ZDream Ventures.

Other Developments

• TiE, NASSCOM, Indian Angel Network and Indian Venture Capital Association  joined hands to form a startup coalition to draw attention to the difficulties faced by the Indian startups. The coalition will also assist the government in streamlining the entire process.
• Shanghai-based, Chinese investment company Fosun International Ltd entered into a strategic partnership with Iron Pillar Capital Management Ltd. This partnership will enable Indian fund access to Fosun’s extensive networks, knowledge, and platform. Apart from this, the partnership will help Fosun to strengthen its foothold in India by using Iron Pillar’s knowledge and sourcing opportunities.
• Global energy company Shell invited applications from Indian startups to be a part of its accelerator programme, Make The Future, that has been launched in India for the first time. Startups working in the domain of energy are eligible to apply for the programme. It aims to enable them towards creating solutions with cleaner forms of energy.
• American multinational storage and data management company, NetApp launched its Global Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, with an investment of more than $146 Mn (INR 1,000 Cr). The centre was inaugurated by Siddaramaiah, Karnataka’s Chief Minister, along with the State Industries Minister R V Deshapande.
• Investment and consulting firm, ID Capital launched the 2017 ‘Future Food Asia Award (FFAA).’ Supported by the Economic Development Board (EDB) of Singapore, the award is dedicated to Agriculture (agritech) and Food technology (foodtech) startups in the Asia Pacific region. The FFAA will select the most-promising startups in the region who place sustainable development at the core of their business proposition. It aims to help startups realise their full potential by connecting them to investors and multinational companies.
• Delhi-based coworking space 91springboard is launching another hub in Bengaluru. This new hub is located right off MG Road and will house over 900 startup entrepreneurs. The hub was built over a period of 50 days.
• The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is planning to expand its $1.46 Bn (INR 10,000 Cr) startup funding scheme. As per media reports, the government will allow venture capital (VC) funds that manage the corpus to invest half of it in mature startups and reduce capital risk. The fund is made to assist innovative startups on their journey to becoming full-fledged business entities.