Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [1-6 Jan 2018]

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

One of the biggest Indian startup funding speculations surfaced around Bengaluru-headquartered foodtech startup Swiggy which initiated discussions with Tencent and existing investor Naspers for a potential $150 Mn-$200 Mn investment. If the deal goes through, it would raise the online food delivery platform’s post-money valuation to $600 Mn-$650 Mn, from the current $400 Mn.

Also, this week news of Alibaba taking final steps to invest up to $100 Mn in XpressBees, a Pune-based logistics firm, also circled the Indian startup ecosystem. With this investment, Amazon is aiming to strengthen its position in the Indian ecommerce amidst players like Flipkart and Amazon.

Indian Startup Funding Of The Week

Chaaipani: Ahmedabad-based internet-media startup Chaaipani closes an angel funding round. The investment is made by a consortium of entrepreneurs such as Bhupesh Chowdary (CEO, Powermech), Chiranjiv Patel (MD, PC Snehal Group), Yogesh Chaudhary (Director, Jaipur Rugs), Prabhu Ram (Founder, Paynear), Yogesh Goyal (Director, RTG Ventures), Rahul Agarwal (Founder, Idea Insurances) and Pankaj Maloo (Founder, Kreative Fingers). The company plans to use the funding to build high-quality video content, enhance it’s distribution platform as well as strengthen its technology infrastructure. The investment will also be used to set-up a community-driven network to verify and authenticate content shared on the website.

Early Salary: Pune-based fintech startup EarlySalary raised $15.7 Mn (INR 100 Cr) in Series B funding led by Eight Roads Ventures India. Existing investors IDG Ventures India, Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL) and early backer Ashok Agarwal also participated in the round.

Buttercups: Bengaluru-based online lingerie startup Buttercups raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Google India MD Rajan Anandan and angel investor Chandra Chappadi. Existing investors Kanwaljit Singh and Anand Chandrasekaran also participated in the round. The investment was made through online deals platform, LetsVenture. With this, Buttercups’ total fundraise till date is believed to have reached $1.2 Mn (INR 7.6 Cr). The investment would enable the lingerie startup to pivot to a no-inventory model, while also moving manufacturing to India. Furthermore, the fresh funds will be utilised to introduce new ranges of bras in sports, maternity, and nursing categories.

FinREQ: Online lending platform FinREQ raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd (BCCL) against a minor stake in the company. FinREQ will now focus on enhancing the deal flow with better brand recognition and market awareness in India.

Paisabazaar: The online financial services arm of digital insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar, Paisabazaar received a funding commitment of $31.58 Mn (INR 200 Cr) from its parent firm  EtechAces Marketing and Consulting. As per reports, this is part of $78.9 Mn (INR 500 Cr) pre-IPO fund raised by EtechAces in October 2017.

Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week

• ItzCash parent Ebix entered into an agreement to acquire the Money Transfer Service Scheme (MTSS) business of Transcorp International. The acquisition has been made through one of its Indian subsidiaries, EbixCash, for around $7.4 Mn.
• Kishore Biyani led Future Group is in talks to buy ecommerce firm Snapdeal’s logistics arm Vulcan Express. The acquisition will likely be made for $7.8 Mn (INR 50 Cr) in an all-cash deal.

Other Developments Of The Week

• MedPlus has raised $117.67 Mn (INR 750 Cr) in a debt fund from Goldman Sachs to buy back shares from existing private equity investors. MedPlus investors, US-based Mount Kellett Capital Management LP, TVS Capital Funds Ltd and Ajay Piramal’s India Venture Advisors Pvt. Ltd will now exit from the firm. After raising the debt fund, MedPlus founder Madhukar Gangadi will now own around 90% stake in the company. He further plans to take the company public in next 12 to 18 months.
• Ecommerce giant Amazon is in final stages of closing an investment in online-only insurance startup Acko. The deal will see Amazon co-create financial products with Acko besides being a distributor. The ecommerce major is likely to come on board Acko, as part of a new financing round of about $15.77 Mn (INR 100 Cr). Flipkart was also in the fray to pick up investment in Acko but the talks fell through.

Stay tuned for the next week Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!