Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [July 20- 25]

We bring to you the latest edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!

Edtech startup Playshifu is raising $4.4 Mn (INR 33 Cr) in a mix of debt and preference share from Trifecta Ventures Debt Fund II, Chiratae Ventures and Vistra ITCL, Survam Partners LLP, Inventus III India Fund, Bharat Innovation Fund and Star Orechem International’s CEO Abhinav Daga.

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Of this, the company has raised INR 25 Cr ($3.3 Mn) in preference share, and INR 8 Cr (nearly $1 Mn) from Trifecta Ventures Debt Fund II in Series A funding round. Playshifu will also be issuing 80 Series A debentures to Trifecta, at the face value of INR 10 Lakh per debenture, worth INR 8 Cr ($1 Mn). The filings said the company will use the funds to meet the operational needs, capitalise on the current growth and boost future growth of the business. Besides this, Playshifu will be raising Series B funding in the upcoming months to achieve the 6x growth in the financial year 2022.

Overall, $133 Mn was invested across 24 Indian startups this week, and one acquisition took place. (This funding report is based on startups that disclosed funding amounts).

Indian Startup Funding Of The Week

1. InCred: $69 Mn
2. MPowered: $21 Mn
3. Ather Energy: $11 Mn
4. Bijnis: $10 Mn
5. PlayShifu: $4.4 Mn
6. Jodo: $3.8 Mn
7. HealthCare atHOME: $2.6 Mn
8. VeGrow: $2.5 Mn
9. BlueStone: $2 Mn
10. Entri: $1.7 Mn
11. iNurture: $1.3 Mn
12. Melorra: $1 Mn
13. Gigforce: $802K
14. Capital Float: $535K
15. Disprz: $481K
16. StyleDotMe: $467K
17. Bewakoof: $400K
18. Stones2Milestones: $240K
19. Finin: Undisclosed
20. Leap.Club: Undisclosed
21. CloudWorx: Undisclosed
22. WYN Studio: Undisclosed
23. Snack Amor: Undisclosed

• InCred
  Fintech platform InCred has raised $69 Mn (INR 500 Cr) in debt from various public sector banks and other financial institutions to expand operations across segments such as consumer, education and small and medium enterprises (SME). The round also saw participation from US-based asset manager Moore Capital, India and Latin America-focused PE fund Elevar, and existing investor Alpha Capital.
• MPowered
  Gurugram-based asset management firm MPowered has raised $21 Mn in Pre-Series A funding round led by serial entrepreneurs and real estate giants Ashok Nichani and Shelly Nichani with participation from a group of US-based high networth individuals (HNIs). It will use this funding to take on new verticals of real estate such as warehousing, residential and commercial spaces, and develop tech-solutions that will enable ease-of-use in day-to-day real estate transactions and management.
• Ather Energy
  Bengaluru-based Ather Energy is raising $11.2 Mn (INR 84 Cr) from existing investor and two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp in Series C. With this investment, Hero MotoCorp owns 34.58% stake in the electric vehicle startup.  The fundraise will help Ather Energy strengthen its financial position and carry forward its business plans.
• Bijnis
  B2B marketplace Bijnis has raised $10 Mn (INR 63.9 Cr) in Series A round from Sequoia and Matrix Partners. Existing investors WaterBridge Ventures and  Info Edge have also participated in the round.
• Jodo
  Fintech Jodo has raised $3.8 Mn (INR 28.5 Mn) in seed funding from Matrix Venture Partners, SAIF Partners and a clutch of angel investors. Jodo aims to be a full-service financial services player with multiple products.
• HealthCare atHOME
  HealthCare atHOME has raised $2.6 Mn (INR 20 Cr) in debt funding from Windy Investments and Puran Associated. Both Windy Investments and Puran Associated have infused nearly $1.3 Mn (INR 10 Cr) in exchange for convertible debentures (OCDs).
• VeGrow
  Agritech startup VeGrow has raised $2.5 Mn in seed funding led by Matrix Partners and Ankur Capital to invest in technologies that will improve farming, make the supply chain more efficient and help farmers achieve income stability. Better Capital, Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal’s Titan Capital, ITC’s agribusiness CEO Sanjiv Rangrass, Cloudnine founder Rohit MA, Livspace founder Ramakant Sharma, and Park+ founder Amit Lakhotia, also participated in the funding round.
• BlueStone
  Jewelry brand BlueStone has raised nearly $2 Mn (INR 1.73 Cr) from its existing investors Accel in Series E round. According to regulatory fillings, Accel has invested through two of its funds Accel India III and Accel Growth III Holdings.
• Entri
  Vernacular edtech startup Entri raised $1.7 Mn from Good Capital, HyperTrack founder Kashyap Deorah and BigBasket HR head Hari TN and several angel investors from Silicon Valley and India. With this, the company has closed its Pre-Series A round at $3.1 Mn. The fund will be used to ramp up marketing, produce more content in the coming months and capitalise on the opportunities ahead.
• iNuture
  Bengaluru-based edtech startup iNurture Education Solutions has raised $1.3 Mn (INR 10 Cr) in debt from Mumbai based new-age venture debt platform BlackSoil. The Company will use the funds primarily to accelerate its digital higher education platform and meet its working capital requirements.
• Melorra
  Indian fine jewelry brand Melorra has raised $1Mn (INR 8.2 Cr) in debt funding from Lightbox and Beeline Impex. The funding has been approved at a nominal value of INR 69125 – INR 69,344 per share.
• Gigforce
  Staffing platform Gigforce has raised $802K (INR 6 Cr) from Unitus Ventures to accelerate its brand. The company believes that the r hiring has rapidly changed in the last six months and it now aims to reduce operational hassle for businesses and provide meaningful ways to earn livelihood for workers.
• Bewakoof
  Thane-headquartered online retailer Bewakoof has raised $400K (INR 3 Cr) from Pramak Consultants, Pratithi Investment Trust and Indigoedge Management Consultancy. The company has also approved allotment of 869 debentures at a face value of INR 57,582 per debenture worth $668K (INR 5 Cr).
• Stones2Milestones
  Gurugram-based Stones2Milestones has raised $240K from 25 investors including Sachin Uppal, Godspeed Advisors Pte Ltd, Hemant N, Sree Charan among others. Overall, the company has floated an offer to raise $227K (INR 1.72 Cr) from 30 investors on June 19.
• Finin
  Bengaluru-based neobanking startup Finin has raised an undisclosed amount in Pre-Series A funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm Unicorn India, PointOne Capital and Astir Ventures. The funding will be used to ramp up it’s marketing, customer acquisitions and hiring process.
• StyleDotMe
  Indian fashion tech startup StyleDotMe raised $467K (INR 3.5 Cr) in Pre-Series A funding round led by Survam Partners. Director Jewelex India Bobby Kothari and  existing investors Indian Angel Network has also participated in the round. The investment will enable StyleDotMe to enter the global fashion retail market and scale its overall business.
• Capital Float
  Lending startup Capital Float has raised $535K (INR 4 Cr) in debt from DNG enterprise. According to the ministry of corporate affairs filings accessed by Inc42, the company has allotted 4 non-convertible debentures at a nominal price of INR 1 Cr to DNG Capital.
• Disprz
  HRTech and training startup Disprz has raised $481K (INR 3.6 Cr) from Apiom Inc in exchange for  6.39% stake in the company. As per the ministry of corporate affairs filings accessed by Inc42, the fresh funds will be used for expansion and growth prospects of the company.
• Leap.Club
  A private professional network for women Leap.Club has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Titan Capital and Saha Fund’s managing partner Ankita Vashishtha. The company will use the capital to accelerate its growth and create a wider impact.
• CloudWorx
  No-code platform for Internet-of-Things (IoT) and small home businesses, CloudWorx, has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from LetsVenture, Faad Network and AppyHigh Technology LLP. The startup will use the funds to build its team and launch its product for consumers by the end of its year.
• WYN Studio
  New Age Content Startup WYN Studio has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from  India Angel Fund led by Sanjeev Sinha, Tokyo-based India Japan Partnership Fund, media and entertainment industry leader Pranay Anthwal, Soham Unicorp’s founder Narendra Firodia, and India Angel Network’s cofounder Rahul Narvekar. The company is looking to use this funding to further strengthen their team with new hiring and create more original content.
• Snack Amor
  Foodtech startup Snack Amor has raised an undisclosed amount from Ola’s former advisor Dr Srinivas Chunduru’s family office VANS Investments. Dr Srinivas has also joined Snack Amor as a strategic advisor.

Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week

• Ecommerce giant Flipkart Group has acquired Walmart’s loss-making B2B wholesale store, Best Price Modern Wholesale, to launch its own service ‘Flipkart Wholesale’ in a bid to expand its presence in the food and retail segment.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Global diversity-focused startup incubator Encubay is looking for 30 women-led tech startups with a scalable model to be a part of its first cohort in India. The incubator will offer intensive and in-depth virtual learning programmes, mentorship sessions from industry experts, and one-to-one sessions.
• Homegrown short video platform Chingari has raised close to $1 Mn (nearly INR 7 Cr) in seed funding from AngelList. According to Inc42 sources, Chingari was also in talks with venture capital firm Tiger Global for this round, but the deal fell through.
• Private equity firm Kedaara Capital may invest in online gaming unicorn Dream11. This investment will be in line with Dream11’s plan to raise $150-200 Mn in funding at a $2-2.2 Bn valuation, which was put on the back burner due to Covid-19.
• Healthtech companies Medlife and PharmEasy are reportedly contemplating a merger valued at $200 Mn to $250 Mn to get a larger pie of the market. With this, Medlife will retain 20-30% stake in the combined entity.
• Pine Labs has announced its strategic partnership and investment in Malaysia-based fintech firm Fave. The partnership will allow Fave’s QR code to become interoperable and integrated with Pine Lab’s terminals, enabling a single, safe, and seamless platform for digital payments and loyalty solutions in Southeast Asia.
• Indian government’s Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY Start-up Grand Challenge has shortlisted 22 startups, including Cloudphysician Healthcare Pvt Ltd, Tricog Halth Services Pvt Ltd, AarogyaAI Innovations Pvt Ltd. HealthPasture Pvt Ltd, Hidoc, TrueCover, Artivatic Data Labs,Wellthy Therapeutics, Periwinkle Technologies, Healer Healthcare Services, OnionDev Technologies, Saathealth, Medtel Healthcare Pvt Ltd, HealthCloudAILabs Private Limited, Incredible Devices Ovt Ltd, Clensta International Pvt Ltd, Artificial Learning Systems Ince, Universal Mednet, MetFlux Research Private Limited, and RapidQude Digital Solutions.
• Parent company Elara Technologies has infused $2.66 Mn (INR 20 Cr) in its subsidiaries proptech startup Housing and PropTiger. Housing has issued 2,15,440 shares at a face value of INR 30 with a premium of INR 670 per share. PropTiger has issued 5958 shares at a face value of INR 10 with a premium of INR 8427 per share.

Stay Tuned!