Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Nov 25-Nov 30]

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, Digital payments major Paytm has raised $1 Bn in a financing round led by US asset manager T Rowe Price. The round also saw participation from existing investors such as Ant Financial and SoftBank Vision Fund, and Discovery Capital.

Founder of Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma revealed that while SoftBank has pumped in $200 Mn, Ant Financial has invested $400 Mn at a $16 Bn valuation of the company. Paytm will invest around INR 10,000 Cr ($1.39 Bn) to acquire customers and merchants in smaller towns. Additionally, Paytm will also spend this money to partner with online merchants as well.

Apart from this, 15 startups raised around $83.1 Mn funding and three startup acquisition took place in the Indian startup ecosystem. (This funding report is based on startups that disclosed funding amount.)

Indian Startup Funding Of The Week

1. Shuttl: $18 Mn
2. Acko: $16 Mn
3. Tookitaki: $11.7 Mn
4. Mosaic Wellness: $10 Mn
5. Yulu: $8 Mn
6. BlackBuck: $7.8 Mn
7. Zumutor Biologics: $4 Mn
8. Holisol: $2.8 Mn
9. Just Herbs: $1.5 Mn
10. Distributed Energy: $1.4 Mn
11. GreyAtom: $1.2 Mn
12. Gully Network Retail: $0.7 Mn
13. FirstU: Undisclosed
14. Loanzen: Undisclosed
15. WonDRx: Undisclosed

• BlackBuck

Bengaluru-headquartered logistics startup BlackBuck has raised around INR 56 Cr ($7.8 Mn) in a mixed round of equity and debt funding from Trifecta Venture. The online B2B logistics solutions marketplace has raised INR 50 Cr in debt funding at a price of INR 10 Lakh per share and is yet to receive INR 6.23 Cr.

• Acko

Bengaluru-based online insurance startup Acko has raised $16 Mn funding of from Ascent Capital. Moreover, Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal is reportedly planning to pump an additional $20 Mn in Mumbai-based motor insurance provider startup Acko General Insurance, almost doubling his investment in the company to $45 Mn. This fresh funding is a part of a funding round, where the company is planning to raise $40 to $42 Mn.

• Holisol

Delhi-based supply chain management startup Holisol has raised INR 20 Cr ($2.8 Mn) in an asset financing round from Mumbai-based non-banking financial company BlackSoil Capital Pvt Ltd. Holisol plans to use the funds for expansion, strengthening its team and eliminating existing liabilities.

• Yulu

Bengaluru-based micro-mobility platform Yulu has raised $8 Mn from two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto Limited (BAL). With the funding, Yulu plans to increase its fleet size to 100K electric two-wheelers by Dec 2020. As of today, the startup has a fleet of 3000 EVs and 8500 scooters. Though the company has not taken off bicycles from the roads, it has stopped buying them as the startup plans to focus on EVs only.

• Mosaic Wellness

Consumer goods brand Mosaic Wellness has raised $10 Mn in its maiden funding round led by SAIF Partners, Sequoia Capital and Matrix Partners. Angel investors Cred founder Kunal Shah, Citrus Pay founder Jitendra Gupta, Rebel Foods cofounder Jaydeep Barman, Eight Roads Ventures’ Raj Dugar, Delhivery cofounder Sahil Barua also participated in the round. Mosaic Wellness, which is planning to launch its wellness-focused products in 2020, will use the funding to hire talent and focus on research and development of new products.

• Just Herbs

Chandigarh-based luxury ayurvedic beauty startup Just Herbs has raised $1.5 Mn in Pre-Series A funding led by early-stage and growth-focused VC firm Roots Ventures. The financing round was advised by Gurugram-based wealth management and investment banking firm Client Associates. The company will utilise the funds to further expand its product offerings, boost distribution and acquire new customers.

• Shuttl

Gurugram-based bus aggregator startup Shuttl has raised $18 Mn in Series C funding. The company said that the investment has come in from SPARX Group Co. Ltd. (through its Mirai Creation Fund II) and Toyota Group’s trading arm Toyota Tsusho Corporation. The company said it will use the fresh funds to expand its reach in India, beyond existing six cities including Delhi, Mumbai etc.

• Loanzen

Bengaluru-based logistics financing startup Loanzen has raised an undisclosed amount from Zephyr Peacock India Growth Fund, which focuses on small and medium enterprises (SME) in India. Early-stage investor Kae Capital also invested in the round. Through this investment, Loanzen plans to enhance its technological capabilities and building its analytics team. The company will focus on scaling up its operation in Karnataka and expansion into other markets in South India as well.

• Tookitaki

Singapore-headquartered tech enterprise solutions provider Tookitaki has raised $11.7 Mn in Series A funding round led by Viola Fintech and SIG Asia Investment. Additionally, the company has also announced the closing of its Series A funding round after raising a total of $19.2 Mn. With the recently raised funds, the company plans to enhance its product offerings and drive technological innovation to help fuel its ongoing offerings against money laundering and reconciliation issues.

• Zumutor Biologics

Biotech startup Zumutor Biologics has raised $4 Mn in fresh funding from Bharat Innovation Fund and Accel Partners. The startup, which specialises in the immuno-oncology space, said the fresh capital will be used for the process of new drug filing of its lead molecule (ZM 008) in India. Additionally, the new fund will also be used during the first phase of clinical trials by the end of 2020.

• WonDRx

Mumbai-based healthtech startup WonDRx has raised an undisclosed seed funding from Venture Catalysts. Founded by Pankaj Sindhu, WonDRx works towards digitising medical prescriptions. With the funds, WonDRx plans to bring AI-based healthcare solutions for all stakeholders in the chain — patients, doctors and healthcare providers.

• Gully Network Retail

Bengaluru-based ecommerce platform Gully Network Retail has raised INR 5 Cr ($0.7 Mn) in its seed funding round from Orios Venture. Founded in 2019 by Ajay Nain, the startup brings a tech-enabled platform that transforms a small-format business into an omnichannel modern store making the store’s experience as well as a business model more competitive.

• GreyAtom

Mumbai-based edtech startup GreyAtom has raised $1.2 Mn in its Pre-series A round led by Montane Ventures. GreyAtom’s existing investor, Pravega Ventures, and cofounder of BrowserStack, Ritesh Arora, also participated in the funding round. With the recently raised funds, the startup plans to diversify its technology courses lineup to include courses on front end engineering, back end engineering, and test automation and also to expand its footprint across the country.

• Distributed Energy

Chennai-based renewable energy aggregator, Distributed Energy has raised INR 10 Cr ($1.4 Mn) in funding from Ramez Naam, co-chair of energy and environment department at Singularity University, through AngelList Syndicate fund and from Mount Meru Group, an African business conglomerate. The company will utilise the funds in its new online platform that connects startups, with renewable energy projects, to a host of investors.

• FirstU

Bangalore-based vehicle maintenance startup FirstU has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from India Quotient, FirstCheque, Fynd’s cofounder Farooq Adam and other angel investors. FirstU plans to utilise the funding to build and expand its team as well as further strengthening the product offering.

Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week

• Fashion rental service, Rent It Bae, owned by AARK World, has acquired its rival Mumbai-based Flyrobe in a part-cash and part-stock deal. The parent company AARK World has decided to merge the two fashion rental spaces and operate under the banner of Flyrobe. The value of the two companies is somewhere around INR 60 Cr post-merger.
• Bengaluru-based advertising tech unicorn InMobi Group has acquired the Gurugram-headquartered video entertainment app Roposo. The company said that Roposo will help InMobi’s content platform Glance to expand its vernacular content.
• Telecommunications company Bharti Airtel has acquihired  Gurugram-based logistics startup Quikmile. The companies said that Quikmile’s team will now be a part of Airtel X Labs. Airtel X Labs is a digital innovation factory, which focuses on IoT, digital engineering, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Japan-based research firm Leave A Nest, along with Indian venture capitalist firm Arc Ventures, has planned to set up startup hub in India and invest an initial amount of INR 50 Cr ($6.96 Mn)to tackle environmental issues like air and water pollution and solid waste management problems in India.
• In a bid to boost India’s entrepreneurial spirit, Facebook-owned social media giant, WhatsApp is going to invest $250K in the startup ecosystem of the country. The social media company will provide ad credits worth $500 to 500 Indian startups to connect with their customers and increase business.
• OYO parent company, Oravel Stays, in an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders has approved a $1.5 Bn primary capital infusion into the company by SoftBank Vision Fund and Ritesh Agarwal’s RA Hospitality.
• Multinational consumer goods corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G) India has launched an INR 200 Cr ($27.9 Mn) Environmental Sustainability Fund. With this, the company is looking to collaborate with external partners on environmentally sustainable solutions.
• Warburg Pincus is looking to raise $1.5 Bn for its first India-focused fund. The New York-based private equity firm will target companies across industrial sectors — financial, manufacturing and consumer. It expects to close the fund by the first half of 2020.
• Bengaluru-based bike taxi services provider Rapido is reportedly in talks to raise a $75 Mn funding round from Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, along with several other existing investors such as China’s Shunwei Capital.
• Silicon Valley-based ZNL Ventures has launched a $3 Mn India first focussed fund. The new fund will invest in Indian startups and ideas that want to tap the B2B business in the US.
  The company will also assist its portfolio companies with support for business development, raising future funding, acquire talent, and advice on boosting their India-US growth strategy.
• GE Healthcare has chosen six startups as part of the first cohort of its first India-based startup collaboration programme, Edison[X]. The startups chosen are Synapsica, DeepTek, 5C Network, Cancer Moonshot, ORBO AI and Predible, many of which are working directly in the healthtech sector.
• OYO Hotels and Homes has raised INR 50 Cr ($6.96 Mn) in debt financing for MyPreferred Transformation — OYO’s joint venture with its largest investor SoftBank — from non-banking finance company (NBFC) Avendus Finance.

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

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