Funding Galore: Startup Fundings Of The Week [30 November – 05 December]

This week Tiger Global Management announced the raise of its tenth global fund with a corpus of $2.5 Bn. The VC firm will use this amount to invest in technology and internet companies globally. Tiger has invested around $2 Bn in 35 Indian startups altogether and invested in 18 Indian startups in last one year alone.

This week 22 startups got funded with a majority of them raising Pre-Series A round. Most of the startups have left the funding amount undisclosed this week.

Startups That Got Funded This Week:

Anakage: An “In App” product learning & user support solution provider, Anakage, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from CIO Angel Network (CAN). The startup will use the fund to expand its user base and sales in next one year.

Kaaryah: An online fashion portal for Indian women raised an undisclosed amount in Pre-Series A round from TV Mohandas Pai and The Saha Fund. The startup plans to utilise the funds in having a deeper market penetration, technology deployment, hiring talent and building a formidable women’s brand.

Roomstonite: Last-minute hotel booking app, RoomsTonite, raised $1.5 Mn in seed round funding from a clutch of angel investors including Lashit Sanghvi, Nikhil Vora, Venkat Vardhan, Mohammed Bin Abdul Rehman Al Khalifa, Ralph Berezan, Vissal Mathew and Balamurali Krishna. The funds will be used to strengthen technology infrastructure and customer service.

EasyKhana: A food delivery startup that raised $100K in its angel round of funding from a private investor. The startup will use the funds to expand its delivery regions and  in strengthing its logistics setup and technology platform.

Zapluk: Beauty, wellness and fitness app, Zapluk, raised an undisclosed amount of angel funding from a group of angel investors including former MD of Apple India. The startup plans to utilise the raised funds to scale its operations, marketing efforts and grow backend team.

Wigzo: Enterprise marketing automation suite, Wigzo, raised $500K (INR 3 Cr.) in Pre-Series A round led by Aarin Capital Partners and TV Mohandas Pai. The round also saw participation from AdvantEdge Partners, Singapore Angel Network, Sachin Bhatia, Kunal Khattar, Akshay Garg and ah! Ventures. The portal is trying to solve a major issue of seamless data management, utilising it to send intelligent communication across the web and in the app.

Patel Integrated Logistics: Transportation and logistics firm Patel Integrated Logistics raised funds from Mauritius-based specialist PE investment firm Frontline Strategy, as it plans to launch its ecommerce business. The secured funds will be used to establish new offices and warehouses across the country.

BiteClub: Online marketplace for chefs prepared meals, BiteClub, raised an undisclosed amount in Pre-Series A round from growX ventures. Besides, The Phoenix Fund via Enablers and existing investors Powai Lake Ventures also participated in this round. The startup will utilise the raised capital for deeper expansion in Delhi-NCR and to introduce more product categories.

Black White Orange: Brand licensing startup Black White Orange raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Yuvraj Singh’s YouWeCan Ventures, to build licensing solutions for brands across sports, entertainment and lifestyle space. As part of the deal, the startup will also create & manage YouWecan merchandise.

CollegeDekho: An online platform for connecting colleges and students, CollegeDekho, raised $1 Mn in a seed round of funding from GirnarSoft, the parent company of online automobile marketplace CarDekho.com. The startup will utilise the funds to develop the platform, hire talent and market the product.

NephroPlus: Kidney care clinic chain NephroPlus has secured an undisclosed amount of investment from venture fund Trifecta Capital Advisors LLP.  It had raised over $14.2 Mn from Bessemer Venture Partners and International Finance Corp in previous funding rounds.

Rivigo: Express surface logistics firm, Rivigo, has secured an undisclosed amount of investment from venture fund Trifecta Capital Advisors LLP. The startup has reportedly raised over $10 Mn from Saif, earlier.

HelpChat: Messaging platform HelpChat has secured an undisclosed amount of investment from venture fund Trifecta Capital Advisors LLP. The startup had raised $16 Mn from Sequoia Capital in the month of May 2015.

Butterfly Interactive: Online marketplace for extra curricular activities and hobby sciences, Butterfly Interactive, raised an undisclosed amount in angel round funding from a group of Delhi-based angel investors. The funds will be utilised to expand the business approach.

Superhero Brands: Character merchandising startup Superhero Brands raised about $458K (INR 3.6 Cr.) in its Pre-Series A round from early-stage venture capital firm DSG Consumer Partners. The startup saw participation from Lead Angels, The Character Group and a number of angel investors. The startup will use the funds to expand its product portfolio, build its distribution network and expand its presence through online and offline channels.

Baxi: 74 BC Technologies Pvt Ltd, which recently launched its bike-as-a-taxi service with a brand name “Baxi”, raised about $1.5 Mn (INR 10 Cr) in a seed round funding from friends and family. The startup will offer affordable last-mile connectivity to offices, colleges, schools and residential areas, from metro and bus stations.

Eckovation: A social learning platform for students has raised an undisclosed amount in angel funding from Chandigarh Angel Network (CAN). The startup will utilise the  raised funds to expand its team, strengthen its technology back-end and up marketing.

MoMagic Technologies: Foxconn Technology Group’s subsidiary FIH Mobile Ltd made an investment to acquire 10% stake in internet company MoMagic Technologies. The investment has been made by FIH’s subsidiary, Wonderful Stars PTE. LTD.

FitCircle: Chat-based health and fitness platform FitCircle raised an undisclosed amount in Pre-Series A round of funding from Webaroo co-founder Beerud Sheth and Ravi Mantha an ex-President of TiE Singapore. The startup will utilise the funds to improve its technology platform, expand customer acquisition and on board more fitness experts.

Applop: GHV Accelerator has onboard and invested $100K in a mobile app that lets users make their own app, Applop. The startup will be provided with necessary infrastructure and support to achieve 10x growth during the accelerator program.

Carpm: GHV Accelerator has onboard and invested $100K in an app that connects car owners to their cars,  CaRPM. The startup will be provided with necessary infrastructure and support to achieve 10x growth during the accelerator program.

Splitkart: A mobile app that allows users to split bills and plan group outings, secured seed funding from Snapdeal’s chief product officer Anand Chandrasekaran. The investment was made in a personal capacity.

Special Occasion Ltd: NDTV forayed into the online wedding market segment with the launch of Special Occasion Ltd and raised an undisclosed amount of funding at a valuation of $20 Mn, led by US-based venture capital firm CerraCap. The raised capital will be used to kick-start the new venture.

With this, Flipkart acquired a minority stake in MapmyIndia, a digital mapping company. MapmyIndia will continue to independently serve all its consumers and enterprises across all industries with its full range of products and solutions. Further, the partnership will help Flipkart strengthen its logistics and customer analytics.

Acquisitions Of The Week

• Online classifieds platform Quikr acquired Realtycompass, a real-estate analytics platform. Realtycompass will continue to operate as a stand-alone portal and will focus on building real-estate analytics products for both consumers and builders.
• On-demand delivery service startup MagicTiger acquired Instano, a B2C ecommerce app offering on-demand delivery of services over chat. As the part of the deal, the core team of Instano i.e Rajesh Ranjan, Rakesh Krishna Andey and Vedant Agarwala will join the MagicTiger.
• Times Internet Ltd (TIL) acquired Get Me A Shop, a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) small business enablement platform for an undisclosed amount. After the acquisition, Get Me A Shop will continue to operate as a separate entity. However, TIL will be benefitted in terms of enhancing its offerings across different verticals.
• Media tech company YourStory acquired Papyrus Editor, an online editor to create ebooks, in a cash-and-stock deal. With this, Gaurav Tiwari, founder and CEO of Papyrus Editor, will join YourStory as its key tech lead.
• Visual Website Optimizer (VWO), a product by Wingify, acquired Navilytics, a visitor analytics solution. With this acquisition, VWO has made significant progress in its transformation from first ‘no-coding required’ A/B testing tool in 2010 to the first full-featured conversion optimization platform globally.
• Clinical, commercial and marketing solutions provider, Indegene Lifesystems Pvt Ltd, acquired SmartCare. The deal is reported to be valued at $6-8 Mn.

Also, Quikr was again in the news with rumors of acquiring CommonFloor in a stock-and-cash deal for $200 Mn. However, a response from CommonFloor said that the company is in the middle of fund-raising and other multiple options, but has not yet finalised any.

In a much-astonished deal of the week, OYO Rooms is reported to acquire its closest competitor Zo Rooms. According to reports, Zostel Hospitality Pvt Ltd, which runs Zo Rooms, is struggling to raise fresh funds.

Other Developments Of The Week

• UX Research Startup CanvasFlip got selected for the 13th edition of Blackbox Connect Fall 2015 programme. The programme is sponsored by Google for Entrepreneurs and is being organised at Silicon Valley from November 30, 2015, to December 11, 2015.
• Crowdfunding platform Catapooolt witnessed 15 tech startups attract partnership, funding and market feedback while pitching to more than 200 audiences on November 27, 2015, at DLF Cyber Hub, Gurgaon. Startups like PeeBuddy and Strollup won the acceptance of audience.
• IvyCamp and theSINE, a business incubator of IIT Bombay, signed a MoU to connect emerging startups  with mentors and investors. The students and the alumni community of IIT Bombay will leverage the experience of industry participants to guide and mentor on formulating & strengthening business models, and get funded from the investors at IvyCamp’s platform.
• A venture fund and accelerator housed at the BSE, Zone Startups, raised about $28 Mn (INR 190 Cr) to invest in over 50-60 startups. The fund will invest the amount in B2B businesses in over a 2-3 year time span.
• Son of Deepak Parekh, the chairman of mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd (HDFC), Siddharth Parekh, along with his friend Sumeet Nindrajog launched a $200 Mn private equity fund, Paragon Partners. The firm will invest in areas of consumer, automobile, infrastructure and financial services with a ticket size of $10-20 Mn. The fund intends to buy 15-30% stakes in companies of each segment.