Funding Galore: Startup Fundings Of The Week [6 February – 11 February]

Ratan Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons has announced his intentions to invest again in Indian startups. With the Tata Sons vs Cyrus Mistry clash, he was forced to join the group as interim Chairman, thereby pulling him off the startup world for five months.

Next up, amidst rising losses in FY 2016-17, Softbank has written off around $475 Mn in its combined shareholding value in Ola and Snapdeal, for the period ending December 31, 2016.

Last week 14 startups raised about $80 Mn in funding altogether.

Startup Fundings Of The Week

48East: Bengaluru-based foodtech startup 48East raised $500K in Pre-Series A funding from UAE-based Al Dhaheri family. The startup will use the newly raised investment for setting up new kitchens, enhancing logistics, ramping up technology, and marketing.

Wooplr: Bengaluru-based fashion discovery app Wooplr raised $8 Mn in Series B round of funding from Sistema Asia fund, a proprietary fund floated by Sistema JSFC. Helion Ventures and Amereus Group also participated in this round. The startup will use the recent round of funding to strengthen product and technology and to enhance its fashion discovery platform.

Wandertrails: Bengaluru-based online experiential travel platform Wandertrails raised $1 Mn Seed funding from Earlsfield Capital, a UK-based venture capital firm. The newly raised capital will be utilised for expanding its operations across the country and building products for its growing clientele.

Zenatix Solutions: Gurugram-based IoT startup Zenatix Solutions raised $1 Mn Pre-Series A funding led by pi Ventures. Existing investor, Blume Ventures also participated in the round. Prior to this in July 2015, Zenatix raised $161K and an undisclosed amount in December 2015.

Capital Float: Bengaluru-based online lending platform Capital Float raised $2.5 Mn (INR 17 Cr) from IFMR Capital Finance and its alternative investment fund. The funding was secured by allotting non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The startup will use the funds to lend to existing and new small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

HyperTrack: Pay-per-use software HyperTrack raised $1.5 Mn in seed funding. The round saw participation from Chamath Palihapitiya‘s Social Capital, Vy Capital, Jubiliant Group co-founder Hari Bhartia, Deepinder Goyal of Zomato, Junglee.com founders Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan, Investopad founders Rohan Malhotra and Arjun Malhotra, among others.

IManageMyHotel: Gurugram-based SaaS startup iMangeMyHotel secured $50K from Jaarvis Accelerator and has been selected for it acceleration programme. Earlier in November 2015, it had also raised funds from Indian OTA Cleartrip.

Hubhopper: Delhi-based content aggregator portal Hubhopper raised an undisclosed amount in an angel funding round. The investment was led by Surendra Daulet Singh, Managing Director, GKR; and Daulet Singh, former CEO, British Bank of the Middle East (HSBC Group). The raised funds will be used to further strengthen its board of members of which Surendra would be a member.

Saleapp: Goa-based Saleapp Advertising Ltd was selected for Facebook’s developer-focused programme “FbStart” which caters to the early-stage, mobile-focussed startups. It is the first IT startup from Goa to be selected for the programme. As part of the programme, the startup will be provided with services and credits worth $40,000.

Edurev: Gurugram-based edtech startup Edurev got selected for Facebook’s developer-focused programme “FbStart” which caters to the early-stage, mobile-focused startups. As part of the programme, the startup will be provided with services & credits worth $40,000.

InnerHour: Mumbai-based online psychological wellness platform InnerHour raised $450K in its first round of funding from financial advisory firm Batlivala & Karani Securities, investment firm Venture Works and others. InnerHour wants to work with institutions and create customised platforms for corporates, allowing employees to engage with and seek psychological support anonymously.

CarTrade: Mumbai-based online automobile classifieds platform, CarTrade raised $55 Mn in a fresh round of funding led by Singapore-based Temasek and a US-based family office. The recent round of funding will be utilised to support CarTrade’s growth plans through acquisitions, expansion into areas such as auto finance, etc.

TravelTriangle: The travel segment portal TravelTriangle raised $10 Mn Series B funding led by Singapore-based venture capital firm RB Investments. Existing investors SAIF Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners also participated in this round.

Nurturey: Nurturey, an intelligent personal assistant for parents, secured over $330K, bringing its total funding raised close to $750K. The funds will assist the organisation in developing new features that will make the application a more intelligent personal assistant for parents. Mohit Joshi – President, Infosys, participated as a key investor in this round

Acquisitions Of The Week

• Pune-based waste management company Aspirify Energy acquired water treatment solutions firm, GET Water Solutions. It was backed by Clearwater Capital. The deal was estimated to be worth $8 Mn-$12 Mn.
• Blume Ventures-backed digital payment platform for college students SlicePay acquired Trustio, a Delhi-based peer-to-peer lending company, in an all-equity deal. The acquisition will help SlicePay expand its team and enhance its product capability

Other Developments Of The week

• Sathguru Management Consultants, a Hyderabad-based consulting organisation announced the launch of a $100 Mn fund. The Food and Agriculture Fund (IFAF) will invest approximately $8 Mn in 8-12 companies and will take up a minority stake.
• Indian mobile handset brand, Micromax announced to set up an independent fund to invest in consumer Internet companies worldwide. The fund is expected to raise up to $100 Mn (INR 680 Cr). Micromax will be the lead investor in the fund. The fund will invest in 10-12 startups with a $3 Mn-$5 Mn ticket-size.
• Bengaluru-based venture partner firm Stellaris Venture Partners completed the first close of its $100 Mn maiden fund. The fund (Fund I) has raised $50 Mn capital commitments from financial institutions, corporates, entrepreneurs, and family offices in the US, Europe, and Asia.
• Bengaluru-based Amrita University’s Technology Business Incubator (TBI) announced to invest $350K in seed funding round of five promising startups. The list includes Cookifi, Swasti Agro & Bi-Products, Bizbee, Nextsky Technologies, and MIQASA home automation.
• Axilor Ventures announced that it plans to accelerate its investments in early-stage startups. It is looking to double the intake of startups for its 100-day accelerator programme, the applications for which are currently open. In the two years since inception, Axilor has supported 30 startups through its accelerator programme and invested in over 20 startups through its investment programmes.

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