[Funding Galore] From OneCard To VeGrow — $448 Mn Raised By Indian Startups This Week

After a bitter start to the month, the second week of July saw a major uptick in the funding amount. Between July 11 and 16, the Indian startup ecosystem has managed to raise $448 Mn across 30 deals. This is a 286% increase from $116 Mn that Indian startups raised last week across 24 deals.

The week further saw two new entrants to the unicorn club. While fintech unicorn OneCard touched $1.25 Bn in valuation after raising $100 Mn, blockchain startup 5ire entered the unicorn club with its Series A round of $100 Mn.

Most active investor of the week is Y Combinator as it participated in 3 deals this week.

The Indian Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

From The Startup Acquisition Desk

• LifeCell International has acquired telemedicine startup MFine and created a new entity called LifeWell
• Healthtech startup MediBuddy has acquired rural India-focused online consultation platform Clinix for an undisclosed amount
• upGrad Rekrut, a whole subsidiary of edtech unicorn upGrad has acquired WOLVES India, a recruitment and staffing company for an undisclosed amount.

Startup Funds This Week

• US-headquartered venture capital (VC) firm Lightspeed announced closing of a $500 Mn fund dedicated solely to India and the Southeast Asia region 
• The Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Rocketship.vc has raised $125 Mn in the first close of its third fund. The firm is now moving towards investing the raised funds across startups.
• Venture Capital firm Z3Partners has received an undisclosed investment for its INR 500 Cr fund-Z3Partners Tech Fund from HDFC Life

Other Developments From The Indian Startup Ecosystem

• Electric ride-hailing startup BluSmart is reportedly close to raising $250 Mn from investors including BP Ventures
• Telecom giant Bharti Airtel on Thursday (July 14) approved the allotment of more than 7.11 Cr shares to tech giant Google at an issue price of INR 734.
• Spacetech firm Agnikul, incubated at IIT Madras, is in talks to raise $40 Mn in a Series B round at a valuation of $250 Mn, as per Inc42 sources.