Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [June 22-27]

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

This week, Bengaluru-based edtech startup BYJU’S has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Mary Meeker’s BOND Capital. The company didn’t specify how it would be utilising the funds. It was last valued at $8 Bn in the undisclosed funding round from General Atlantic in February 2020.

Gurugram-based financial services startup Aye Finance has raised $27 Mn (INR 210 Cr) in Series E funding round from existing investors LGT Capital Partners, CapitalG International, Maj Invest Financial Inclusion Fund II, Falcon Edge India and A91 Emerging Fund I at a pre-money valuation of $224 Mn (INR 1,700 Cr).

According to the ministry of corporate affairs filing accessed by Inc42, Aye Finance has allocated 34,09,800 Series E Cumulative Convertible Preference Share (CCPS) these companies at a face value of $0.3 (INR 10) per share at a price of $8.15 (INR 615.87) which includes a premium of $8.01 (INR 605.87).

Overall, 15 startups raised around $75.13 Mn funding in the Indian startup ecosystem this week. (This funding report is based on startups that disclosed funding amounts).

Indian Startup Funding Of The Week

1. Aye Finance ($27 Mn)
2. NextBillion.ai ($7 Mn)
3. Fullife ($6 Mn)
4. slice ($6 Mn)
5. 91springboard ($5.9 Mn)
6. Milkbasket ($5.5 Mn)
7. Infra.Market ($5.2 Mn)
8. OZiva ($5 Mn)
9. Yulu ($3.9 Mn)
10. Instasolv ($2 Mn)
11. Bombay Play ($1.5 Mn)
12. MergerDomo ($132K)
13. Rusk Media (Undisclosed)
14. Aether Biomedical (Undisclosed)
    

• • NextBillion.ai
    Hyperlocal solutions provider NextBillion.ai has raised a $7 Mn Series A funding round led by Lightspeed India Partners and Falcon Edge Capital. It plans to use this funding to expand its operations in India and Singapore. Lightspeed partner’s Hemant Mohapatra and Falcon Edge Capital’s cofounder Navroz Udwadia will join the company’s board of directors.

• • Fullife
    Nutrition supplements player Fullife has raised $6.6 Mn (INR 50 Cr) from Amansa Capital’s Akash Prakash and existing investors Dalal Street’s Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and Sixth Sense Ventures.The company is looking to use the latest funding to increase its product portfolio and cater to the required expanded capacity and demand. Besides this, it is also looking to expand its operations to the US.

• • slice
    Bengaluru-based digital payment card startup, slice, has raised $6.07 Mn (INR 46 Cr) in pre-Series B funding round led by Japan-based investor Gunosy. US-based EMVC, Kunal Shah of CRED, Better Capital and existing investor Das Capital had also participated in the round. The company plans to use the funding to double its management team, explore banking partnerships to launch co-branded prepaid cards and credit cards and have over 5 lakh users by the end of FY21.

• • 91springboard
    Coworking space provider 91springboard has raised $5.9 Mn (INR 45 Cr) from its existing investors without specifying the name of the investors. Notably, the company has previously raised investments from Singapore-based FreakOut Holdings, Anthill, 33 Investments, NITI Aayog, Sandway Investment Ltd, Pearl Brook Holdings, AMA Holdings, Silo Holdings and Al Nour, among others. It plans to use this funding to offer new-age and customised solutions to its existing costumes.

• • Milkbasket
    Gurugram-headquartered hyperlocal delivery startup Milkbasket has raised $5.5 Mn in fresh funding led by Inflection Point Venture. Existing investors Blume Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Mayfield India, Unilever Ventures and BeeNext had also participated in the round. Anant Goel, cofounder and CEO, Milkbasket, said that this was the last fundraise for the company on its path to profitability in 2020.

• • Infra.Market
    Mumbai-based infrastructure technology company Infra.Market has raised $5.2 Mn (INR 40 Cr) in an equity and debt mix round of funding from Trifecta. This week, it received $1.9 Mn (INR 15 Cr) in the first tranche of the same. The company will use the funds for geographical expansion across Kochi, Hyderabad, Nashik, and NCR.

• • OZiva
    Plant-based nutrition brand OZiva has raised $5 Mn (nearly INR 37 Cr) in a funding round led by Matrix Partners. Existing investor Titan Capital had also participated in the round. OZiva plans to use this fundraising for research and development (R&D), technology and team expansion. Besides this, the company will focus on customer acquisition.

• • Yulu
    Bengaluru-based electric vehicle provider Yulu has raised $3.9 Mn (INR 30 Cr) in a fresh equity funding round led by US-based VC firm Rocketship and existing investors. The company will use the funding to strengthen the mobility platform, technology solutions, and enable rapid expansion.

• • Instasolv
    Doubt solving app Instasolv has raised $2 Mn in pre-Series A funding round from edtech giant Vedantu with full rights to acquisition. With this funding, Vedantu is looking to leave a footprint on Tier III and Tier IV towns cities that have a lack of quality teachers.

• • Bombay Play
    Gaming startup Bombay Play has raised $1.5 Mn in pre-Series A funding round led by Leo Capital and Livspace founder Ramakant Sharma. The company will be using this fund to hire the most talented game makers in India and grow internationally.

• • MergerDomo
    Noida-based MergerDomo recently announced that it had raised $132K (INR 1 Cr) from Indian industrialist Nadir Godrej in March 2020. The company is looking to use this funding to strengthen its platform’s technology and handle high scale of transactions securely.

• • Rusk Media
    Rusk Media has raised an undisclosed amount from InfoEdge Venture, Sprout Venture Partners and an undisclosed institutional investor. The company plans to build distinctive digital entertainment solutions by bolstering video production and custom content capabilities.

• • Aether Biomedical
    Medical robotics startup Aether Biomedical has raised an undisclosed amount of seed investments from Chiratae Ventures, Joyance Partners and Sunfish Partners. The company plans to use this funding for commercialisation of its multi-action bionic arm Zeus across India and Europe. Besides this, it will focus on R&D efforts to build the next generation of bionic limbs and building accessory products like prosthetic wrists and prosthetic elbows.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Online grocery delivery platform BigBasket is looking to raise $250 Mn to $300 Mn from both new and existing investors at a valuation of $1.5 Bn-$2 Bn, the company’s cofounder Hari Menon confirmed. The company reportedly wants to keep its inventory ready with capital and wider investor base to fight the Reliance Industries-Facebook combine.
• Reliance Jio may kick start its acquisitions spree in the B2C Space with epharmacy Netmeds as per reports, signalling the tech giant’s intention to conquer the consumer space after winning the telecom war. Jio wants to boost the adoption of many of its consumer-facing apps in terms of active users. The first focus will be on online pharmacy and telemedicine, according to the report.
• IndiaRath launched its six-months-long incubator programme for bootstrapped Pre-Series A startups across segments and industries. The incubator programme will host close to 150 to 200 startups across the global. The incubator programme will be completely virtual not just because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but to onboard founders from across the world efficiently.
• The collective of account aggregator ecosystem DigiSahamati Foundation, also known as Sahamati, will organise a hackathon to drive awareness of RBI’s Account Aggregator (AA) framework, which intends to give individuals and businesses greater control over their data. The hackathon has been scheduled for July 4 to August 2, 2020.
• UK-based global talent investor Entrepreneur First (EF) and IIT Kanpur’s Foundation for Innovation and Research in Science and Technology (F.I.R.S.T.) have partnered to boost tech entrepreneurship in India. The UK-based company will support the entrepreneurs by helping them find a cofounder, provide close mentorship on the idea and business model, and pre-seed investment.
• Accel India has relieved the first cohort of its Founder Stack programme, which focuses on  SaaS, Consumer Tech and B2B Enterprise. The first cohort included 15 startups — Aarzoo, CogniSaaS, Docsumo, Hatica, Lightwing, Mailmodo, Phasorhq, Privado, Prudent.ai, SN126, Superhumans, Tenantcube, Unfound, Wingman, and Yaoe.ai.
• Stock trading platform Zerodha has claimed a unicorn valuation in its latest employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback offer. The investment platform claims it will spend INR 60 Cr to INR 65 Cr to buy back ESOPs from senior management and long-term staffers and offer liquidity options in its 10th year. With this, the company will be valuing itself at INR 7000 Cr ( roughly $1 Bn).

Stay tuned for the next edition of the Indian Startup Funding of the week!