SUMMARY
BYJU’S raised $328 Mn in Series F funding, valuation reaches $4 Bn
Housejoy raised $3.24 Mn in bridge funding
Roposo raised $10 Mn from Tiger Global and Bertelsmann
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We bring you the latest edition of Funding Galore: Indian startup funding of the week.
This week one of the biggest Indian startup funding was in edtech unicorn BYJU’S, which raised a mammoth $328 Mn (INR 2,322.18 Cr) in Series F funding from Canada Pension board’s investment arm CPPIB Investment Board Private Holdings, Naspers Ventures BV and General Atlantic Singapore TL Pvt Ltd. With this round. BYJU’S valuation has touched $4 Bn (INR 28,918 Cr) according to data platform Paper.vc and Inc42 sources.
Another interesting funding this week was to Mumbai-based multi-brand car marketplace, MYNEWCAR (.in), which raised $1 Mn (INR 7.1 Cr approx.) in a pre-Series A funding round led by undisclosed angel investors.
In all, this week, 17 startups raised about $720.96 Mn across sectors including fintech, hyperlocal, agritech, and healthtech while three acquisitions took place in the Indian startup ecosystem. (This funding report is based on startups that disclosed funding amount.)
Indian Startup Funding For The Week
Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week
- Walmart Labs, the local product development division of US retail giant Walmart acqui-hired Delaware-based data analytics and machine learning startup Int.Ai as it looks to strengthen its engineering team.
- Google acquired Bengaluru-based startup Where Is My Train, which provides live train updates through an app without the use of internet and the Global Positioning System (GPS). The Where Is My Train team will be joining Google. With the acquisition, Google may further amplify its presence in tier 2, 3, and 4 cities along with remote parts of the country where internet penetration is negligible.
- Rohit Nadhani’s email startup CloudMagic has been bought by Android creator Andy Rubin’s consumer electronics startup, Essential Products, for an undisclosed amount. An Essential Products spokesperson reportedly confirmed the CloudMagic acquisition but declined to share further details.
Other Developments Of The Week
- Tech accelerator GSF announced its sixth batch of startups, as part of which four deeptech startups graduated this week with a collective investment of $1 Mn (INR 7.22 Cr). The four startups selected for GSF accelerator include Chizel, Khabri, Slintel, and Vaultedge.
- Sweden-based furniture company IKEA has invited 20 growth-stage startups across the globe including India, to participate in its IKEA Bootcamp programme. According to the company, during the three-month-long programme, which is scheduled from March 25 to June 18, 2019, it will be looking to find partners who will focus on solving issues such as affordability of their products, being accessible to people globally etc.
- Mumbai-based early-stage venture capital firm Unicorn India Ventures, with its cross-border evergreen fund — Unicorn Ascension Fund — invested an undisclosed amount in London-based Custom Materials Ltd, the parent company of Moteefe, a social commerce startup. The startup plans to use the fresh funds to expand its services in India by Q3/Q4 2019.
- South East Asia and India-focused private equity firm Everstone will invest $500 Mn (INR 3,577.5 Cr) in the logistics sector along with global logistics company GLP. The new partnership will leverage GLP’s expertise in pioneering modern logistics ecosystems and Everstone’s large and growing network through its private equity, infrastructure and real estate portfolio.
- Booking.com launched a €2 Mn (INR 16.4 Cr) startup fund programme Booking Booster 3.0. The programme is aimed to support the next stage of growth for the participating startups. It selects and invites 10 enterprise startups in the sustainable tourism sector to a three-week long accelerator program in Amsterdam.
- Sodexo in partnership with Zone Startups will collaborate to identify, assess, test and validate the most relevant startups to coach and run pilots within a Sodexo context. The first cohort of the accelerator programme is dedicated to identification of new technology and corporate food models, for which startups can apply through a dedicated website.
- Cambridge-based marketing software developer HubSpot announced the launch of HubSpot Ventures, a $30 Mn fund to support startups in creating a stronger impact on the market. After the initial investment, HubSpot Ventures will also act as a mentor and provide the startups with personalised assessments and coaching from HubSpot experts to enable them with the tools they need to continue to grow better.
Stay tuned for the next week edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!
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