Sachin Bansal led $51 Mn funding round in Ather Energy
InfoEdge signed an agreement to acquire IIMJobs
This week, 15 startups raised $117.74 Mn
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We bring to you the latest edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!
This week, one of the biggest funding was raised by Bengaluru-based electric two-wheelers maker Ather Energy. The investment of $51 Mn was led by Flipkart cofounder Sachin Bansal’s who poured in $32 Mn. For this round, Hero MotoCorp has converted its convertible debt of $19 Mn and InnoVen Capital has extended an $8 Mn venture debt.
The company plans to use the funds to enter an expansion phase and has already lined up Chennai as its next city of operations. It plans to eventually expand it to 30 cities by the end of 2023.
This week, 15 startups raised $117.74 Mn funding and three startup acquisitions took place in the Indian startup ecosystem. (This funding report is based on startups that disclosed funding amount.)
Indian Startup Fundings Of The Week
@: Mumbai-based social media marketing startup @ (At) raised $330K funding from angel investors including Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of shaadi.com, makaan.com and Mauj Mobile; Dharti Desai, founder and CEO Finewinesandmore.com; and Hardik Zaveri, founder and director, 8finity Global. The funding will help the company build further technical capabilities.
Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week
- Patna-based agritech startup, DeHaat acquired Noida-based VezaMart, a platform which builds farm management solutions for farmers for an undisclosed amount. After the acquisition, the team at VexaMart will continue developing solutions for farmers. The acquisition will also help DeHaat gain access to new regions and farmer networks in western UP.
- Bengaluru-based printing retail startup Printo acquired custom online printing marketplace Inkmonk for an undisclosed amount. Post-acquisition, Chennai-based Inkmonk’s founders Isaac Wesley and Surya Sankar will join the Printo management. Inkmonk will continue to grow as an independent brand.
- Gurugram-based health test enabler Healthians acquihired Mumbai-based Wow Web Solutions Private Limited that runs Healthy Labs – A B2B diagnostic logistic service provider. As a part of the deal all Healthy Labs employees, including the founder, Nikhil Jadhav will join Healthians. With this, Healthians has expanded its operations to Mumbai and Pune.
Other Developments Of The Week
- Info Edge (India) Ltd, the parent company of online job portal Naukri.com, announced that it will acquire Highorbit Careers in an all cash deal worth INR 80.82 Cr. Post the completion of the acquisition, iimjobs will become wholly-owned subsidiary of InfoEdge. The proposed acquisition would help the Info Edge company to further consolidate its position in the online recruitment solutions segment.
- Gurugram-based eyewear startup Lenskart may raise $350 Mn from SoftBank Vision Fund. The funding is expected to hike the company’s valuation by 162%, reaching a valuation of $1.3 Bn from $495.5 Mn at the last round.
- Bengaluru-based online payment platform PhonePe is in talks to raise about $1 Bn from marquee investors like China’s Tencent and Tiger Global. The Bengaluru-based payments company is planning to boost its valuation to $7 Bn – $8 Bn and may not look for any deal below this level.
- Bengaluru-based hyperlocal services company Dunzo is reportedly in talks to raise $50 Mn funding from Mumbai-based venture capital firm Lightbox Ventures. The deal is close to being finalised in the coming one or two months.
- Alibaba has reportedly invested $100Mn in a short-video sharing app VMate to increase its foothold in the Indian market. VMate was launched in India in 2016 by Alibaba subsidiary UC Web. VMate has 30Mn global users and will use the funding to scale its business in India.
- Bengaluru-based packaged food company, MTR Foods announced an INR 50 Cr (about $7 Mn) fund to invest in early stage food processing startups. The company plans to be a minority partner in its every investee. So far MTR Foods has invested in one Bengaluru-based children food manufacturer Firoots, in which the company picked up 42% stake.
- Gurugram-based incubator for cleantech startups, AIC Sangam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with semiconductor solutions provider Infineon Technologies to nurture technology startups that focus on the environment, recycling and clean energy. Under the collaboration, Infineon will sponsor lab equipment and offer business and technical guidance as well as training specific to building on Infineon technology platforms.
- Gurugram-based AI and deep learning solutions provider ParallelDots won the Tech4Future challenge, a collaboration of Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and Invest India under Japan India Startup Hub. As the winner, ParallelDots has received a cash prize of $50K. SoftBank has also invited ParallelDots for an incubation opportunity in Japan for 2-3 months.
- Hyderabad-based incubator T-Hub announced second batch of 45 startups for its Lab32 incubation programme. They will have access to the workshops and seminars from senior corporate executives/CXOs and serial entrepreneurs, besides networking and peer-mentoring opportunities within the batch. Selected startups included Acuwin, 23.4 Degree Solutions, AIRFI etc.
Stay tuned for next week’s edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!
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