[Funding Galore] From Mensa Brands To BYJU’s—Over $400 Mn Raised By Indian Startups This Week

After a surge in funding last week, the third week of November saw Indian startups raising around $400 Mn across 26 deals. This week’s investment is 76% lower than the last week of November, when Indian startups raised $1.7 Bn. However, this week’s investment is 134% higher than the first week of November- when Indian startups raised close to $171 Mn across 14 deals.

In terms of the public markets, Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led Paytm went for the country’s largest biggest IPO worth INR 18,300 Cr and tanked 27% on the first day of listing. 

The week also saw a thrasio-style venture Mensa Brands becoming the country’s fastest unicorn after it raised $135 Mn in Series B round after only six months of operations. 

The week’s second-biggest funding round was raised by edtech giant BYJU’s which expanded its ongoing Series F round to $363 Mn after Chang Zuckerberg’s CZI Investment and Google founders’ family office pumped in around $67 Mn at $21 Bn valuation.  

Here are all the funding rounds disclosed this week:

Startup IPOs This Week: 

Paytm’s IPO Wipes Off $2.4 Bn Market Cap On First Day Of Listing

Paytm whose shares were expected to trade at INR 2,150 per share on the stock exchange ended up trading at 27% discounted price of INR 1564.15 when the market closed, thus removing $2.4 Bn market capitalisation from its Pre-IPO valuation of $16 Bn to $13.64 Bn.

Policybazaar’s Shares Rise 22%, Top INR 1,200 On Listing Day

Policybazaar’s investors witnessed strong returns as the shares debuted on the exchanges on November 15, 2021. The shares were listed at 17.35% premium on both BSE and NSE at INR 1,150 apiece. Its market capitalisation at the end of the debut day was INR 54,070.33 Cr.

Policybazaar IPO Creates Wealth Of INR 3,435 Cr For Founders & Top Employees

P.B Fintech, the parent company of Policybazaar and Paisabazaar, went for listing on November 15 as its shares soared 22% on their market debut. 

P.B. Fintech is the third fintech startup after Paytm and Fino Payments which have listed on the public market. The founders and top employees of PB Fintech will be making a total of INR 3,435 Cr through their shareholding or vested stock options. 

From The Acquisition Desk

• Flipkart to acquire majority stake in epharmacy startup SastaSundar
• Thrasio-style ecommerce player 10Club has acquired three gardening startups namely Kraftseeds, Gate Garden and Kriti Kalash
• Online travel platform EaseMyTrip has acquired Spree Hotels & Real Estate for INR  18.25 Cr to expand its footprint in hotel and holiday businesses
• Delhi NCR-based Thrasio-styled UpScalio has marked its fourth investment and acquisition in high-end kitchen appliances’ startup Hestia. 
• Insurtech platform Turtlemint acquired Pune based startup IOPhysics Systems to strengthen its technology infrastructure
• Bengaluru-based D2C brand aggregator G.O.A.T Brand labs acquired 11 D2C brands from various categories
• Edtech startup Mindler has announced acquisition of Immrse, a virtual career Internship and simulation platform in a cash and stock deal. Mindler expects to close the acquisition in about three months.

Startup Funds This Week

• Venture debt firm Trifecta Capital has announced the first close of its third venture debt fund –Trifecta Venture Debt Fund–III– with investment commitment worth INR 750 Cr. Trifecta Capital claims that the fund has a target corpus of INR 1,000 Cr and a green shoe option of INR 500 Cr. 
• Singapore-based early-stage venture capital and private equity fund Leo Capital is set to float its third fund with a corpus of $125 Mn. The firm intends to provide early-stage financing to consumer tech startups in India, and has attracted global investors including Cendana Capital, among others.
• Silicon Valley entrepreneur Vaibhav Domkundwar-led early stage venture capital Better Capital has closed its maiden fund worth $15.28 Mn. The fund will invest in 40-50 sector agnostic pre-seed and seed-stage startups with a median check size being $300K.