Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [24-29 Dec]

We bring you the latest edition of Funding Galore: Indian startup funding of the week.

In all, this week, four startups raised about $37 Mn across sectors in the Indian startup ecosystem. (This funding report is based on startups that disclosed funding amount.)

Indian Startup Funding For The Week

FabAlley: Delhi/NCR-based online fashion store High Street Essentials Pvt Ltd (HSE), which owns women-centric fashion brands, FabAlley and Indya, raised $8.54 Mn (INR 60 Cr) in a Series B funding round from SAIF Partners. The company plans to use the fresh funds for increasing distribution, product expansion, brand-building efforts and strengthening its technology operations.

Design Cafe: Bengaluru-based online interior design platform Design Cafe raised $28.5 Mn (INR 200 Cr) equity-financing round led by private equity firm WestBridge Capital in participation with existing investor Fireside Ventures. The recently raised funds will be used by the company to expand its footprints in the country.

27 Mantraa: Thanjavur-based spiritual concierge service provider 27 Mantraa raised an undisclosed amount of funding from a group of angel investors. The company is now endeavouring to provide customers with a holistic platform to fulfil all their religious pursuits.

Tranzmeo: Kerala-based artificial intelligence for energy industries provider Tranzmeo raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, India (HPCL) for its AI-powered product, T-connect OneView. The startup plans to use the funds to accelerate research and development of its advanced, proprietary technology and product line-up, bolster business development opportunities, and to double the company headcount over the next 12 months.

Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week

• UK-based global thread manufacturer Coats acquired Singapore-headquartered Threadsol, a cloud-based digital applications provider, in a cash deal of $12 Mn (INR 84.2 Cr). Coats team believes that the Threasol products will complement its existing software offerings and they will together come up with solutions for the apparel and footwear industries.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Chennai-based drone manufacturer Zuppa plans to raise a fresh round of funding of up to $10 Mn. It plans to use the fresh funds to scale up its existing products that have been developed using its proprietary technology, penetrate existing markets and develop newer applications.
• The 23rd edition of Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF), scheduled for January 4, 2019, in Mumbai, will be focused around the themes of diversified business models, disruptive strategies and delivery of value. Speaker sessions will cover a variety of topics ranging from industry deep dives to discussing building and scaling businesses in India.
• Google is inviting startups across machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors to apply for the second batch of its Launchpad Accelerator India programme. Under this accelerator programme, 10 startups will receive mentorship and support from the best of Google in AI and/or ML, cloud computing, UX, Android, Web, Product strategy and marketing. Startups will also receive Google Cloud Credits from $20K (INR 14.02 Lakh) – going up to $100K (INR 70.13 Lakh) each.
• Google has selected 10 Indian media companies for funding under its Google News Initiative, as part of its YouTube-specific funding to support media companies. This includes Asianet News Media, Bharatiya digital party (BhaDiPa), FACTLY, Gaon Connection, India Today Group, Live Data Visualisation Pvt Ltd, NDTV, NYOOOZ, ShepHertz, and Video Volunteers.
• India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) launched the Fabless Centre of Excellence – the Semiconductor Fabless Accelerator Lab (SFAL) along with the government of Karnataka. It will create a strong infrastructural support structure to incubate early-stage startups and accelerate the existing fabless SMEs to the next level by providing access to funds, market and mentors.

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