Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Nov 4-9]

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

In one of the biggest funding round this week, Chennai-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) unicorn Freshworks closed a $150 Mn funding round led by tech giant Google, and its existing investors, venture capital firms Sequoia and Accel. With the recent investments, the company is now valued at $3.5 Bn after this funding round.

Founded in 2010 by Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamyas as a helpdesk software for customer support, Freshworks is planning to launch an initial public offering (IPO) by 2021. The listing is expected to be on New York-headquartered stock exchange, NASDAQ. The company is also working to create increased awareness of its brand in the US and details of its vast customer.

Overall, this week 16 startups raised around $210.65 Mn funding totally and two startup acquisitions took place in the Indian startup ecosystem. (This funding report is based on startups that disclosed funding amount).

Indian Startup Funding Of The Week

Adda247: Delhi-based edtech startup Adda247 has raised $6 Mn in Series B funding led by Infoedge India Ltd and Asha Impact. Besides these two new investors, STL which is an existing investor of Adda247 also participated in the latest round. Founded in 2010 by Anil Nagar and Saurabh Bansal, the edtech startup plans to leverage this funding for expanding to new exam categories, adding new vernacular languages on the platform and amplifying its pan-India presence.

Urban Ladder: Bengaluru-headquartered furniture rental company, Urban Ladder, has raised around $2.1 Mn (INR 15 Cr) in funding, led by existing investors SAIF Partners, Sequoia Capital and Steadview Capital. The funding news has come at a time when has its cofounder Rajiv Srivatsa has decided to step down from his role. The company is also going through a tough time as it is facing a round of layoffs.

Amica Financial Technologies: Mumbai-based upcoming neobank startup, Amica Financial Technologies has raised $24 Mn in its first round of funding. The fintech startup is Besides Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital, the startup also saw Greyhound Capital, 3One4 Capital, Germany’s Rocket Internet participating in the funding round. With the latest funding, the first for the company, Amica is valued at a whopping $70 Mn without even launching its services yet.

PiggyRide: Bengaluru-based school cab provider, PiggyRide, has raised INR 7.5 Cr ($1.05 Mn) from JAFCO Asia and angels, including InMobi Group founder and CEO Naveen Tewari, Livspace cofounders Ramakant Sharma and Anuj Srivastava, Goldman Sachs managing director Niladri Mukhopadhyay, and EzCred cofounders Amiya Pathak and Sachin Maheshwari. Founded in 2019 by Manish Tewari and Rohan Kaushal, the company currently operates in Bangalore and with the recent funds the startup plans to expand to Delhi-NCR next.

PGO: Hyderabad-based hospitality startup, PGO, has raised a fresh round of funding of $2 Mn from Ektha’s Sreeni Musani and IRA Reality’s Narsi Reddy Posham. The companies previous investors and strategic partners include filmmakers Sai Korrapati, SS Karthikeya, Sanjay Reddy and Anil Kumar. The company wants to use the funding to expand its property network and services into 10 more cities for a total of 14 cities with more than 90% footprint in India.

Kuku FM: Mumbai-based podcast startup Kuku FM has raised an undisclosed amount from 3one4 Capital, Shunwei Capital and India Quotient. Founded in 2018 by IIT alumni Lal Chand Bisu, Vinod Meena and Vikas Goyal, Kuku FM is a podcast platform that is trying to reinvent the traditional radio by allowing listeners to discover new, emerging and diverse audio content, and engage with creators. The company plans to use the raised funds to grow its content library and improve the product experience.

Gradeup: Delhi-NCR based edtech startup Gradeup has raised $7 Mn in a fresh funding round. The investment came in from existing backer Times Internet. Founded in 2015 by Bhatnagar, Sanjeev Kumar, and Vibhu Bhushan, Gradeup offers live online courses designed by expert faculty to help students prepare for competitive examinations like JEE, NEET, IBPS, SSC, TET, GATE, UPSC among others.

Nobroker: Bengaluru-based rental ecommerce platfrom, Nobroker, has raised $10 Mn in fresh funding from Singapore-based investment firm General Atlantic. According to the ministry of corporate affairs filing of October 25, 2019, accessed by Inc42, General Atlantic has been allotted 10,881 Series C2 compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) for INR 70,86,34,047 ($10 Mn) at INR 65,115.82 premium account per share. Founded in 2014 by Akhil Gupta, Saurabh Garg and Amit Kumar, NoBroker is a real estate rental platform that provides verified listings from property owners, without brokerage fees for middlemen.

Wiggles: Pune-based pet healthcare and wellness startup, Wiggles has raised $1 Mn funding in its first funding round from a long list of angel investors, investing in their own personal capacity. Nachikhet Deshpande, COO of L&T Infotech, Aparna Badkundri, director, Dell Computers, Dr Sachin Phadke, managing director of Vetbiochem India, Abhay Amrute, senior partner, among others. Founded in 2018, Wiggles provides pet-focused products across India via partnerships with ecommerce companies. With its first round of funds, Wiggles will strengthen its presence, operations, distribution and expand its product range and introduce more products. Additionally, the company is also planning to increase its footprint and launch its services in Hyderabad and Udaipur.

BeYouPlus: Delhi-based healthcare startup BeYouPlus (earlier MyDermacy) has raised $3.2 Mn in Series A funding from a group of investors led by IvyCap Ventures. Additionally, Madison Capital and Singapore Angel Network also participated in this funding. The healthcare startup offers daycare procedures through a network of cobranded and managed procedure rooms at neighbourhood speciality clinics. With the funds, the company plans to invest the funds to expand its presence in over 15-20 cities in the next 18 months. The startup also plans to expand its product portfolio to other medical areas like gastroenterology or gynaecology in the coming years.

YourOwnROOM: Bengaluru-based Proptech startup YourOwnROOM has raised $1.3 Mn in seed funding from US-Based investment firm Lotus Capital. Other participants of this round included angel investors like former president of P&G Ravi Chaturvedi and cofounder of a US-based healthtech company Narasimha Murthy, among others. Founded in 2016 by Prabhat Kumar Tiwary and Sachin Joshi, YourOwnROOM wants to scale the assets under its management to up to 25K and add ‘Executive Housing’ for the premium property, over the next few years. Moreover, it is now looking to expand its operations into 25 micro-markets in Bengaluru and Pune.

Lokal: Bengaluru-based fledgeling hyperlocal news platform Lokal has raised $3 Mn funding from a group of investors including 3one4 Capital, Y Combinator, RB Investments, SOMA Capital, besides its existing investor India Quotient. Other angel investors participating in the round are Twitch cofounder Kevin Lin, Xiaomi Indonesia head Alvin Tse, South Korea-based VC firm Starling Ventures, US-based media tech firm XRM Media and tech investment firm I2BF Global Ventures. Founded in June 2018, the startup plans to improve its product and expanding its team in order to enter new markets as well as strengthening its presence in existing ones.

Vserv: Mumbai-based advertisement technology startup Vserv raised an undisclosed amount from global data analytics and consumer credit reporting company firm Experian. The startup plans to use the funds to build new products, strengthen its core technology and products team. Reportedly, Vserv will increase its 50-member team by 15-20%. Founded in 2010, Vserv integrates data from telecom operators, offline and online retailers, consumer goods companies and mobile app developers to deliver target specific, real-time ads on mobile platforms.

TruckSuvidha: Yamuna Nagar-based logistics tech startup, TruckSuvidha, has raised an undisclosed seed round from Maharatna Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL). With the recent funds, the company plans to invest in technology backend and also invest in newer areas for the company’s expansion.

All That Dips: Vadodara-based dips and sauces manufacturer, All That Dips, has raised an undisclosed amount from GVFL venture fund. Founded by Dr Deep Lodhari and Dhaval Patel, the company specialises in dips such as fresh hummus, fresh salsa, guacamole etc., for retail as well as hotels and restaurants also. The company plans to invest the funds to amplify its product offerings and business development efforts. Founded in 2017, the company operates over 200 stores located in 6 major cities across India such as Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat.

Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week

• Bengaluru-and San Jose-based Automation Anywhere, a robotic process automation (RPA) company has acquired Bengaluru-based Cathyos Labs for enabling the company’s expansion and product innovation journey. Kumar Saurabh Johny, the cofounder of Cathyos Labs said that the company’s experience in product engineering, RPA, cloud infrastructure and data engineering consultation and services will help it scale the business and become a valuable addition to the product development team at Automation Anywhere.
• Mumbai-based SaaS firm Netcore Solutions has acquired Bangalore-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup, Boxx.ai. The transaction is going to be a part-cash, part-stock deal. With this deal, the SaaS firm will get access to Boxx.ai’s technology, IP, clients and team, and is expected to provide an exit to its investors. However, Netcore has shown interest in retaining all the founders of the startup which are expected to join Netcore and continue building their product.

Other Developments Of The Week

• US-based electrical and electronics component manufacturer Flex has announced that it is planning to expand its business from China to other geographies, including India and invest about $500 Mn (over INR 3500 Cr) to increase its manufacturing capabilities in India, and also increasing its exports from India to other markets.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced to provide the company’s cloud technology to edutech startups Eckovation, Kings Learning and PlayAblo to its AWS startup programme.
• AngelList — a US-based online platform for startups, angel investors, and job-seekers looking to work at startups — has rolled out an India-focussed venture and angel fund. The recently launched fund will enable individuals to raise small amounts of capital and then deploy it over the course of the next six to twelve months.
• India Angel Network, raising a total of INR 375 Cr, has finally closed its maiden fund. Launched in April 2017, IAN has witnessed investors like SIDBI, IIFL, Yes Bank, Max Group, Gray Matters Capital, and Hyundai, joining it as limited partners for the fund.

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