[Funding Galore] From upGrad To Dezerv — $440 Mn Raised By Indian Startups This Week

After a relatively good start in August, the startup ecosystem continues to hold the funding momentum even in the second week of the month. 

Between August 8 and 13, Indian startups raised $440 Mn across 24 funding deals. This is a 166% rise than the previous week where startups managed to raise a total investment worth $165 Mn across 25 deals. It is also a 272% jump in terms from the last week of July, when the ecosystem raised $118 Mn across 24 deals.

The week saw two mega deals as an edtech startup upGrad raised $210 Mn and SaaS-based CleverTap moped up $105 Mn in its Series D round.

One of the most active investors this week was Tiger Global as it took part in three deals. 

The Indian Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

IPO-Bound Ecom Express Likely To Sell Majority Stakes To Amazon

Logistics startup Ecom Express which was gearing for its INR 4,860 Cr initial public offering, is reportedly in talks to sell majority of its stake to ecommerce giant Amazon. This alleged move comes at a time when Indian startups have put on hold their plans to list on the public market, as the market has been volatile in the backdrop of the economic downturn. As per media reports, Ecom Express is likely to sell 51% of its stakes to Amazon for roughly $500 Mn. It has to be noted that Amazon doesn’t have its in-house logistics partner in India. 

From The Startup Acquisition Desk

• OYO announced the acquisition of Danish vacation home company Bornholmske Feriehuse.
• SAVE Solutions has announced the acquisition of south Indian-based SaGraha Management
• Wealthtech startup Scripbox has acquired Pune-based startup Wealth Managers for an undisclosed amount.

Startup Funds This Week

• SPVH Group’s venture capital (VC) arm Weave Capital has launched a multi-stage VC fund of $75 Mn to participate and lead funding round between seed and Series B round.
• Crypto app CoinSwitch Kuber launched a $10 Mn fund to invest in and incubate early-stage startups building blockchain solutions for the Web3 landscape.
• Veteran entrepreneur Nihar Parikh has launched a $75 Mn healthcare-focused fund 4Point0 Health Ventures to back Indian startups.

Other Developments From The Indian Startup Ecosystem

• RPSG Capital is looking to raise INR 500 Cr for its second fund to invest in Indian D2C brands.
• IPO-bound FirstCry is likely to witness SoftBank and NewQuest Capital Partners selling their shares in the ecommerce giant.
• Wealthtech startup Scripbox has expanded its ESOP Scheme – Scripbox Employees Stock Option Plan 2013 to INR 265.4 Cr by adding 2,94,808 options.