[Funding Galore] From ACKO To Groww — Over $1.4 Bn Raised By Indian Startups This Week

After a slow two weeks of funding, the Indian startup ecosystem seems to be back on its feet with $1.4 Bn investment across 55 deals between October 25 and October 30, 2021. This week’s investment is 102% from the last week, where the startup ecosystem mopped up $724 Mn across 32 deals and 119% higher than the week prior, where the startup ecosystem raised 667 Mn. 

The week saw the rise of the 33rd unicorn of this year as ACKO Insurance raised $255 Mn in its Series D round from General Atlantic, Multiple Private Equity, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, among others. 

The week’s second-largest investment was raised by investment tech startup Groww. The Bengaluru-based startup raised $251 Mn in its Series E round from ICONIQ Growth, Alkeon, Lone Pine Capital, which tripled its valuation to $3 Bn. 

Here are all the funding rounds disclosed this week:

Startup IPOs This Week

Fashion Ecommerce Nykaa Goes Public

The much-awaited IPO rush of startups has already begun with the offers of Nykaa that opened on October 28. The offer by FSN E-Commerce, which runs the online lifestyle marketplace Nykaa has so far witnessed robust investor interest and subscribed nearly 5 times by the end of the second day of the offer. Its IPO closes on November 1.

At the price band of INR 1,085 – INR 1,125, the company will raise funds in the range of INR 4,554.03 Cr – INR 5,351.92 Cr. On October 27, it raised over INR 2,395.84 Cr by allocating nearly 2.13 Cr shares to 174 anchor investors.

Fino Payments Bank Lists On Stock Exchange

The initial public offering of Mumbai-based Fino Payments Bank which opened on Friday, October 29, has received a mixed response. While it received a robust demand from retail investors, the institutional investors and QIBs are yet to place their bids. At the end of day 1, its offer was subscribed 0.51 times.

On Thursday, it raised INR 538.78 Cr from the 29 anchor investors including Fidelity International, Invesco, Pinebridge Global Funds, HSBC. The company has fixed its price band as INR 560 – INR 577 and aims to raise up to INR 1,200.3 Cr.

PolicyBazaar Gets Anchor Investors 

P.B. Fintech, the parent company of Paisabazaar and Policybazaar has mobilised INR 2,569.37 Cr from 155 anchor investors ahead of its IPO. The company will make its stock market debut on 1st November.

Capillary Technologies Heads For Domestic IPO

Bengaluru and Singapore-based Capillary Technologies is heading for its initial public offering. The startup is planning to get itself listed on the Indian stock exchange. 

According to Inc42 sources, the startup is aiming to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the market regulator SEBI by November end and list itself on BSE as early as March next year, depending on the market regulator’s approval.

Capillary Technologies has also converted into a public company, regulatory filings accessed by Inc42 show.

From The Acquisition Desk

• Blue-collar workforce management startup BetterPlace has acquired OLX People and Waah Jobs to strengthen its portfolio of workforce management solutions.
• Transport tech startup Chalo has acquired troubled Gurugram-based bus commute aggregator Shuttl
• Trentar Pvt. Ltd., a unit of Dorf Ketal Chemicals has acquired a 75% stake in Hyderabad-based Trishula, a UAV propulsion system startup.
• EaseMyTrip marks its first acquisition by acquiring B2B travel marketplace Traviate
• Thrasio-style ecommerce platform Evenflow has acquired Rusabl, a three-year-old ecommerce digital brand in the sustainable category
• Edtech startup Infinity Learn has acquired Teacherr, a Hyderabad-based digital platform for teaching community at an undisclosed amount
• GlobalBees has acquired skincare brand Prolixr which develops beauty and personal care products using natural ingredients.

That’s all for this week; stay tuned for our next edition of Funding Galore and deep dive into the startup funding of the week!