[Funding Galore] From Fractal To Dunzo — Over $1.3 Bn Raised By Indian Startups This Week

The first week of 2022 started with a bang, as the Indian startup ecosystem moped $1.3 Bn in total funding across 35 deals between January 3 and 8. This is almost a 100% rise from $653 Mn that Indian startups raised in the last week of December. The year’s first week of funding is, however, 6.5% lower than $1.4 Bn startups raised between December 20 and 25 of last year. 

What’s more interesting is that the week saw the rise of a new unicorn, as Fractal Analytics bagged $360 Mn from IPO-bound TPG at a valuation of more than $2 Bn. 

The week further saw Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail lead a $240 Mn funding round in Bengaluru-based hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo at $775 Mn valuation. 

Further, Bengaluru-based B2B ecommerce giant Udaan has raised $250 Mn in a fresh round of funding. The B2B unicorn raised $200 Mn through convertible notes and $50 Mn through debt in the Pre-IPO round. 

Here are the disclosed startup funding deals of this week:

From The Acquisitions Desk

• Thrasio-style foodtech startup Curefoods further expanded its brand portfolio by acquiring five more food brands: Juno’s Pizza, Cupcake Noggins, Iceberg, Nomad Pizzas and White Kitchens
• Fastest unicorn of 2021, Mensa Brands acquired Kolkata-based leather goods manufacturer and seller—Estalon
• Good Glamm Group announced the stealth mode acquisitions of influencer marketing platform Winkl and video analytics startup Vidooly 
• Global same-day intra-city delivery service company Borzo acquired NOW, an India-based last-mile delivery service startup
• Bengaluru-rooted Algonomy will be acquiring Sri Lanka-based cloud technology startup Linear Squared
• Zomato-backed Shiprocket acquired a majority stake in Delhi-based online contextual marketing platform for ecommerce Wigzo
• udChalo, a consumer technology startup that serves India’s defense forces acquired Pune-based software startup Dimentrix.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Indian agritech startup Ninjacart has rolled out an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) worth more than INR 100 Cr. Both current and former employees of the startup with vested ESOPs as of December last year, are eligible to participate.
• Walmart-backed Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart has received a fresh investment of $233 Mn (INR 1,736 Cr) from its Singapore holding company.
• Of the total FFS, INR 6,495 Cr (approx $935 Mn) has been already committed to Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), DPIIT secretary Anurag Jain said.

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