[Funding Galore] From Betterhalf To Evera – Indian Startups Raised $32.35 Mn This Week

March started with a whimper for startup funding as Indian startups could manage to raise only $32.35 Mn across 16 deals between February 27 and March 4, plummeting 85% compared to last week’s $215 Mn.

This week, we saw Indian startup funding plummet to a 94-week low; the last time Indian startups raised a lower funding amount was in May 2021, when Indian startups had raised only $25 Mn between May 10 and 15.

Key Highlights From This Week’s Funding:

• AI-enable matrimony startup Betterhalf raised the largest funding round this week, having raised $8.5 Mn from FinSight Ventures, Rebel Fund and others in its Series A round of funding
• We saw media & entertainment startups raise the most funding this week, having raised $10.8 Mn across three funding deals, accounting for nearly a third of all funding raised between February 27 and March 4
• No startup sector apart from media & entertainment raised more than $10 Mn in funding. Traveltech was the second most-funded startup segment this week, with EV cabs startup Evera raising $7 Mn
• While the funding amount was at its lowest in 94 weeks, early-stage funding was still flourishing. Of the 16 deals that took place this week, 50% of the deals were either Series A or before, with 38% of the deals being seed funding.

Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

From Startup Acquisition Desk

• Cloud kitchen incubator Ghost Kitchens acquired cloud kitchen startup Speak Burgers, owned by celebrity chef Vicky Ratnani, for an undisclosed amount
• Payments solutions startup Cashfree Payments acquired one-click checkout company Zecpe. Inc42 sources pegged the deal at $10 Mn – $12 Mn
• IPV-backed sportstech startup Hudle acquired a controlling stake in Delhi-based startup Sportido for an undisclosed amount
• Foodtech major Swiggy sold its kitchen infrastructure business, Swiggy Access, to cloud kitchens infrastructure startup Kitchens@ in a share-swap deal.

Fund Launches This Week

• Nexus Venture Partners has announced the closure of its Nexus Ventures VII fund at $700 Mn. The VC firm will use the new fund to back AI, SaaS, fintech, and commerce startups in India and the US
• Global investment firm B Capital closed its maiden Healthcare Fund I along with Growth Fund III at over $500 Mn. The fund will invest in startups working in the healthcare sector, including digital health and biotech
• Public market investor ValueQuest Investment Advisors has entered into the private equity (PE) space with its new fund. The company further plans to raise up to INR 1,000 Cr ($121 Mn) for the new fund
• Singapore-based Grayscale Ventures has made the first closure at $10 Mn of its $20 Mn micro-fund. The fund targets AI, vertical SaaS and DevInfra-based (development infrastructure) startups. 

Other Key Developments From The Startup Ecosystem

• Sequoia Capital’s accelerator and incubation programme Surge has launched its eighth cohort, featuring seven startups based out of India
• K-12 edtech startup DUX Education is closing down operations in April 2023 owing to the prevailing funding crunch in the Indian startup ecosystem
• Paytm’s company secretary and compliance officer Amit Khera has tendered his resignation, with his last working day at the company being March 14
• SoftBank’s founder and CEO Masayoshi Son will reportedly land in India next week. Reportedly, the serial investor might meet portfolio companies in India during his visit.