[Funding Galore] From Lenskart To PhonePe — Indian Startups Raised $791 Mn This Week

This week’s over $700 Mn funding amount brought a welcoming break from the dreaded nine month long recession-like period in funding. 

Between March 13 and 18, Indian startups have raised $791 Mn across 22 deals. This is almost 344% more than $178 Mn raised between March 6 and 11 across 18 deals. 

The last time, Indian startups raised over $750 Mn was in the last week of July 2022, when the ecosystem had raised $791 Mn across 27 deals. 

Key Highlights From This Week’s Funding 

1. This week, over $700 Mn was raised by two startups alone. Peyush Bansal’s Lenskart bagged half a billion dollars from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and fintech giant PhonePe bagged $200 Mn primary capital from Walmart 
2. Both ecommerce and enterprisetech sectors bagged six deals each. While funding raised by ecommerce startups stood at $536 Mn (thanks to Lenskart), enterprisetech startups raised a meagre $13 Mn
3. Within ecommerce, D2C continued to bag the most funding amount as five out of six deals came from this sub-segment 
4. Healthtech sector raising $28 Mn with four deals marked another interesting trend this week. Of this, $22 Mn was alone raised by B2B healthtech startup Healthplix 
5. B2B model-focussed startups snatched the maximum number of deals with 12 fundraising activities 
6. Interestingly, more than seven startups went to bag Pre-Series A round funding, reflecting a lesser appetite to raise a complete Series A round
7. Alteria Capital and IPV were this week’s most active investors as both had invested in two startups each. 

Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

Other Key Developments

• Asset management firm Rockstud Capital launched an INR 300 Cr second fund (Rockstud Capital Investment Fund II) to invest in Pre-Series A and Series A-staged startups 
• Feminine hygiene startup Sirona announced ESOP buyback worth INR 5 Cr for both old and new employees
• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has said that the Indian government has committed INR 1,711 Cr investment for startups through the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) scheme
• Insurtech unicorn Acko acquired digital health platform Parentlane for an undisclosed amount.