[Funding Galore] From Money View To The Whole Truth — Indian Startups Raised $116 Mn This Week

The last week of the year 2022 ended on a dry note. Between December 26 and December 31, Indian startups raised $116 Mn across six deals. This is a 20% jump compared to the previous week, where the Indian startups collectively raised $97 Mn across 21 deals. 

This week’s funding is 39% lower than the $173 Mn raised by Indian startups across 17 deals between December 12 and 17.

The week’s biggest cheque was raised by lendingtech startup Money View. It raised $75 Mn in Series E funding round at $900 Mn valuation. The funding round was led by the UK-based private equity company Apis Partners. 

The second highest funding this week was from education-focused lendingtech startup Eduvanz. The startup has secured $12.6 Mn (INR 104.5 Cr) in its extended Series B funding round led by Rethink Education Ventures. The funding round also saw participation from S3 Partners Group, Juvo Ventures, Sequoia Capital and Unitus Ventures. 

D2C clean food brand The Whole Truth secured the third-highest funding round this week. It secured INR 90.2 Cr ($11 Mn) in an ongoing Series B funding round from existing investors Sequoia Capital and  Matrix Partners.

This week, the most active investor was Sequoia Capital, as it participated in two deals. 

Funding Deals Of The Week

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

D2C Ecommerce Unicorn MamaEarth Files DRHP For IPO

Sequoia Capital and Shilpa Shetty-backed D2C ecommerce unicorn MamaEarth filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator SEBI this week. The startup’s IPO offer includes fresh issue shares worth INR 400 Cr. 

The IPO offer also includes an offload component where founders Varun and Ghazal Alagh and investors will offload 46.8 Mn equity shares. Investors such as Sofina Ventures SA, Evolvence, Fireside Ventures, Stellaris Venture Partners, Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Rishabh Harsh Mariwala and Rohit Kumar Bansal dilute their holdings during the IPO. However, Sequoia Capital India, which holds a 24.01% stake in Mamaearth, has decided against diluting its stake in the IPO. 

Indian Drone Maker ideaForge Converts Into Public Company Ahead Of IPO

Mumbai-based Indian drone manufacturer ideaForge passed a resolution to convert into a public company this week. The Qualcomm-backed startup has converted itself from ideaForge Private Limited to ideaForge Limited. The startup is likely to hit public bourses to raise $125 Mn at over $700 Mn valuation. The development comes eight months after ideaForge raised $20 Mn in a Series B funding round led by private equity firm Florintree. The funding round also saw participation from other existing investors such as Celesta, Infosys, Qualcomm, Infina, along with the Exim Bank of India.

Other Key Developments

• Coworking space WeWork India has raised INR 550 Cr ($66.4 Mn) funding from Hong Kong-based private equity company BPEA Credit.
• Government job preparation startup Adda247 announced granting stock options worth INR 150 Cr to its employees under its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

That’s all folks from this year! See you next year!