Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [19-24 Feb 2018]

We bring to you the latest edition Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding of the week.

This week 15 Indian startups raised about $119 Mn in funding altogether and two startup acquisitions took place in the Indian startup ecosystem. (The startup funding calculations are based on the startups that disclosed funding amount.).

One of the biggest Indian startup funding round of the week was B2B online marketplace Udaan raising $50 Mn in a Series B round of funding from Lightspeed US in participation with Lightspeed Venture Partners India and funds associated with Russian billionaire Yuri Milner. The startup will use the newly raised funding to add new sellers and buyers, expand its logistics network, hire more engineers and sales executives and launch new services including lending.

The online grocery delivery startup Grofers is said to be in talks to raise $60-65 Mn in funding from its existing group of investors at a nearly 40% drop in its valuation from SoftBank and Tiger Global. It was also reported that Alibaba is looking to acquire a minority stake in Dailyhunt, a news and e-books app at a valuation of $500 Mn against a minority stake of 10%-12%.

Further, Mahindra Group-owned logistics marketplace SmartShift announced an intent to merge with Porter, a tech-enabled logistics solutions startup in the goods transportation space. The merged entity, Mahindra SmartShift, will receive an investment of $10 Mn (INR 65 Cr) from Mahindra.

Indian Startup Funding Of The Week

Agricx Lab: Mumbai-based agritech startup Agricx Lab raised Seed funding to the tune of $500K led by India-focussed VC fund Ankur Capital along with IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE). The newly-secured capital will be used to support product development and expansion.

THB: Gurugram-based healthcare analytics startup THB (Technology | Healthcare | Big Data Analytics) raised $2.1 Mn (INR 14 Cr) funding from Blume Ventures and HealthQuad. Existing investors like Fireside Ventures; Apoorva Patni, Director of Currae Healthtech Fund and Arpan Sheth, Partner at Bain & Company, also participated in the round. In addition, some strategic healthcare veterans and business leaders from India and the US, also pooled in funds in this round of funding.

Aye Finance: Gurugram-based online lending startup Aye Finance raised $3.8 Mn (INR 25 Cr) from three investors, including Hinduja Leyland Finance and IntelleGrow. The investment was facilitated by Vivriti Capital. The funds will be used to expand its online lending offerings in the MSME sector.

HighRadius: AI-based fintech company HighRadius raised an undisclosed amount in a strategic funding round led by Citi Ventures and PNC. The startup plans to invest the current fundraise towards its expansion across North America, Europe, and the Asia.

Grab: Mumbai-based hyperlocal delivery startup Grab raised $1.5 Mn (INR 9 Cr) in funding from SIDBI Venture Capital Arm, SIDBI Venture Capital Limited (SVCL). The startup will use the funding towards scaling up its smart locker platform and crowdsourced distribution centre model.

Yellow Messenger: Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) platform Yellow Messenger raised $200K from Amrita Technology Business Incubator (TBI) during PitchFest 2018.

Linksmart DNA: An IP-oriented mass market vertical startup Linksmart DNA raised  $200K from Amrita Technology Business Incubator (TBI) during PitchFest 2018.

Book My Diamond: Mumbai-based Book My Diamond, a technology platform that helps jewellery retailers to search a live inventory of loose, certified diamonds and buy them, raised  $200K from Amrita Technology Business Incubator (TBI) during PitchFest 2018.

CoLive: Bengaluru-based co-living space provider CoLive raised $1.8 Mn (INR12 Cr) in a round of funding led by Ncubate Capital Partners, the private investment arm of SAR Family Office. The startup plans to utilise the recently raised funding to expand its presence and work towards its goal of offering one million managed homes in 25 cities across India. It will also use the funds to ramp up its technology infrastructure and enhance its talent pool.

FourKites: This was the second biggest Indian startup funding of the week. Chennai-based predictive supply chain platform FourKites raised $35 Mn in Series B funding round led by August Capital with the participation of existing investors Bain Capital Ventures and Hyde Park Venture Partners. With this, Eric Carlborg, General Partner at August Capital, will join the FourKites board. The startup will use the proceeds towards geographic and product expansion. The round brings the total funding raised by the startup to $51 Mn.

Capillary Technologies: This is the third biggest Indian startup funding of the week. Capillary Technologies raised about $20 Mn funding from Warburg Pincus and Sequoia Capital. The startup will use the proceeds to strengthen its new product development, powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, catering to Asia and other upcoming emerging markets. The company also plans to invest in the newly launched consumer goods vertical.

Odex: Mumbai-based Odex, an online shipping documentation provider, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Dubai-based fintech startup Invoice Bazaar Holdings Ltd against a minority stake. ODeX will use the funds to expand its footprint across West Asia as well as to develop products.

Shopclues: Online marketplace ShopClues raised $1 Mn in a bridge round of funding from Ronnie Screwvala-managed Unilazer Ventures. The Indian arm of Clues Network Inc has allocated about 1,027 equity shares to the Indian subsidiary for raising this round,

DroneHQ: Mumbai-based enterprise mobile app platform DronaHQ raised $500,000 in the second round of angel funding from Kutchi Angel Network. The startup will use the new funds to create its sales team in the US and South East Asia.

Doodhwala: Bengaluru-based Doodhwala, a micro-delivery service for fresh groceries received a seed investment of $2.2 Mn from Omnivore. The new financing will go towards expanding Doodhwala’s service into new markets, funding talent acquisition and upgrading technology. Also, Reihem Roy, Principal, Omnivore will join the board.

Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week

• Myntra is planning at acquiring a 5% minority stake in outdoor gear and sports apparel company Wildcraft. As part of the deal, Wildcraft products will exclusively be available on all of Flipkart’s marketplaces and this is expected to be a 10-year-long partnership between Myntra and Wildcraft.
• Gurugram-based Bash, an artificial intelligence-based HR automation tool provider, acqui-hired Wemo, which is known for its UX expertise in building mobile apps and websites. The Wemo team will now work towards bringing increased scale to the company and further its goal of building compelling experiences for its repertoire of brands.
• Foreign exchange and domestic remittance player Weizmann Forex Limited(WFL) revealed its plans to acquire its unit Weizmann Impex Enterprises Ltd (WISE), which owns JaldiCash. The acquisition will be completed via Scheme of Amalgamation on 1 April 2018.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Amazon introduced the second edition of its Alexa Accelerator programme and has opened applications for startups worldwide including India. The 2018 Alexa Accelerator is a part of Amazon’s $100 Mn Alexa fund and aims to seek out 13 promising startups which use voice technology.
• Bessemer Venture Partners revealed its plans to invest $40- $50 Mn in 2018 while broadening its existing portfolio of startups in India. It is looking at the growing opportunities in segments such as healthtech, fintech as well as consumer internet segment.
• Pune-based Alacrity India Startup Fund focused on B2B SaaS startups received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to be registered as a Category I Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) venture capital fund in India.
• The Espark-Viridian Accelerator is looking for early-stage startups from all sectors to apply and be part of the newly announced #AccessXcceleration programme. The startups can apply for any of Espark-Viridian’s five centres: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Greater Noida (NCR) and Mumbai.
• Flick2Know Technologies announced to give full-exit to Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) – the technology business incubator of IIM Ahmedabad and a seed investor in the startup. CIIE was the first institutional investor in the startup back in 2010.
• IFMR Capital, one of India’s leading debt capital platforms, unveiled a new brand identity and will henceforth be known as Northern Arc Capital. The company aims to magnify its impact by expanding its footprint to newer sectors and markets. It plans to enter into strategic alliances with domestic and international institutions that are committed to the long-run.
• Also, in an attempt to fulfil the government’s key agrarian agenda of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a four-point strategy. Amongst the key suggestions was launching a scheme called ‘Startup Agri India’, apart from organising regular hackathons to facilitate innovation in agriculture.
• The Minister referred to North East Venture Fund, which focuses on encouraging entrepreneurship in the region, primarily by offering support to first-generation entrepreneurs. Through this venture fund, the ministry plans to provide initial capital to young entrepreneurs, who decide to set up their ventures in the region.
• Less than two days after reports surfaced that Walmart is looking to acquire more than 40% stake in Flipkart,  it is reported that the proposed investment deal will include a provision to set up a chain of retail stores across the country.
• Axilor Ventures expanded its presence to Chennai. It Will now operate from IIT Madras’ Research Park facility where it has a 65 seater facility for entrepreneurs in the city. It also announced the launch of AXTENT-a market network programme for startups to connect with top VCs, go-to-market partners and more.

Stay tuned for the next edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!

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