Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [12-17 November 2018]

We bring to you the latest edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week.

One of the biggest funding this week was a fresh infusion of $30.35 Mn (INR 220 Cr) into digital payments company Amazon Pay. The development comes close on the heels of an earlier investment of $81.29 Mn (INR 590 Cr) in the payments arm, ahead of its festive season, with plans to offer huge cash backs to customers during the Amazon’s festive season sales.

This week, around $37.92 Mn funding was received by sectors including retail-tech, digital payments among others and three startup acquisitions took place in the Indian startup ecosystem altogether. (The startup funding calculations are based on the startups that disclosed funding amount.)

Indian Startup Funding Of The Week

DriveU: Bengaluru-based on-demand driver provider DriveU raised $972K (INR 7 Cr)  in a funding round from the Silicon Valley-based Stevens Creek Ventures. The startup plans to use the funds to consolidate its position in the existing markets and to new locations. Moreover, it will also help DriveU to move closer to the breakeven.

Perpule: Bengaluru-based omnichannel retail tech startup Perpule raised $4.7 Mn in Series A funding from Prime Venture Partners, Kalaari Capital and Venture Highway. The startup plans to use the Series A funding for significant expansion into thousands of retail outlets across 10 cities in the next year.

Hoi Foods: Gurugram-based comfort food company Hoi Foods raised $500K in a Pre Series A round led by 1Crowd with participation of other investors including Gemba Capital and Prime Holdings. The company plans to utilise funds for geographical expansion and building a more integrated food solution in the backend.

Fresh Rooms: Delhi-based sanitation startup Fresh Rooms raised $417K (INR 3 Cr) in fresh funding from an undisclosed angel investor. Funding will be used to expand the brand Fresh Rooms to the key cities and busiest destinations of the country.

INTECH: Bengaluru-based metal additive manufacturer INTECH raised an undisclosed amount from DMG MORI for a 30% stake in the company. DMG MORI AG is looking to strengthen its global footprint in India and accelerating its innovation in additive manufacturing. The company is actively pushing ahead with integrated solutions along the whole generative manufacturing process chain.

CleanseCar: Bengaluru-based car wash company CleanseCar raised $487K (INR 3.5 Cr) angel funding from Venture Catalysts including Omphalos Venture India LLP, Rishabh Mahimtura, Anil Patel, Vishal Brambhatt and others participated in the round. The startup aims to organise and streamline the daily car wash industry, alleviating the woes of the many car owners in apartments and gated communities.

Biizlo: Mumbai-based mobile app-based home security management solution Biizlo raised $500K in its first angel round funding from the Eagle Group. The company plans to use the funding to exponentially increase sales on a realigned growth strategy in terms of operations, marketing & technology.

Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week

• New Delhi-based logistics management startup FarEye acquired Dipper Technologies, an internet-of-things (IoT) platform that provides visibility and predictability in freight movement. The companies said that the acquisition is a step towards creating a digital freight ecosystem that brings all logistics stakeholders onto one platform.
• Gurugram-based legal-tech services startup Lawyered acquired  legal news application InCourt News for an undisclosed amount. For the next quarter, InCourt plans to increase the outreach and penetration of the application through regular content updates and provide greater social outreach for Lawyered members. The acquisition is through an equity swap between the two entities. Sanjay aggarwal from InCourt News is now on board of Lawyered, after the deal.
• Delhi-based automobile platform CarToq acquired Delhi-based food tech startup Ketchupp for an undisclosed amount. This deal will witness key assets of Ketchupp including its employees, technology know-how and existing partnerships being absorbed by CarToq.Post the acqui-hire by CarToq, Ketchupp will leverage its brand solutions capabilities to offer solutions at scale to automobile OEMs.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Swiggy’s upcoming funding round may include about $300 Mn worth of secondary share sales by some of the Bengaluru-based company’s early investors, reports said. The latest round of funding, which is expected to go up to $900 Mn go, may push Swiggy’s valuation to between $2.5Bn – $3 Bn.
• Bengaluru-based concierge app Dunzo is reportedly in advanced talks to raise $25 Mn from Google and other investors. This funding round will be a part of an extended capital-raising initiative. Further, this round may boost the startup’s valuation to about $100 Mn.
• Chennai-based alternative financing firm Anicut Capital, received approval from the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for launching a second fund of $96.4 Mn (INR 700 Cr) with a greenshoe option of raising another $41.3 Mn (INR 300 Cr). Following the approval, the investment firm is now looking to raise a total of $137.7 Mn (INR 1000 Cr) for its fund, named as Grand Anicut Fund II.

Stay tuned for the next week edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!