During the week, 23 Indian startups raised a total of approximately $152.49 million, including 5 growth-stage and 17 early-stage deals, while a startup kept its funding details undisclosed.
In comparison, the previous week saw 25 startups across early and growth stages secure around $176.44 million.
[Growth-stage deals]
This week in growth-stage funding, wealthtech startup Smallcase bagged $50 million in Series D funding led by Elev8 Venture Partners while Jindal Stainless acquired a 9.62% stake in M1xchange. DCDC Kidney Care also raised Rs 150 crore from ABC Impact. Agritech startup & Direct-to-consumer (D2C) tea brand VAHDAM also secured funding this week.
[Early-stage deals]
This week, 17 early-stage startups raised a total of $54.09 million in funding. Fintech startup Abound led with a $14 million round, followed by NBFC startup Ecofy, manufacturing firm GreenFortune, climate tech FluxGen, and D2C diamond jewelry brand Firefly Diamonds, among others.
Edtech startup KollegeApply also raised a sum but did not disclose the amount raised.
For a detailed funding breakdown, visit TheKredible.
[City and segment-wise deals]
In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Delhi-NCR-based startups led with 8 deals followed by Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad & Chennai.
Segment-wise, Fintech startups are at the top spot with 6 deals. E-commerce and Healthtech startups followed with 5 deals and 3 deals, respectively. Agritech, climate Tech, AI and others also bagged the deals.
[Series-wise deals]
During the week, Seed funding deals led with 7 deals followed by pre-Series A, Series D, Debt, Series A and others.
[Week-on-week funding trend]
On a weekly basis, startup funding declined by 13.57% to $152.49 million as compared to around $176.44 million raised during the previous week.
The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $243.62 million with 24 deals per week.
[Key Hirings]
This week saw notable leadership changes across companies. Delhivery appointed Milind Sharma, co-founder of the now-defunct Peppertap, as Head of Rapid Commerce and D2C Brands. B2B SaaS firm MaxIQ named Sastry Malladi as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Camb.Ai appointed Anupam Sengupta as Head of AI Business for the India Subcontinent and SEA region, while Times Internet brought in former Razorpay executive Johney Maheshwari to lead its corporate development vertical.
[Mergers and Acquisitions]
Several notable mergers and acquisitions took place this week. B2B marketplace Jumbotail acquired Solv India from SC Ventures, the innovation and investment arm of Standard Chartered. KRAFTON, the creator of Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), acquired a controlling stake in Pune-based Nautilus Mobile for Rs 118 crore ($13.7 million). SaaS unicorn Chargebee acquired Trainn, an AI-first customer tracking platform, to enhance revenue management and customer retention. Meanwhile, JungleWorks acquired AI-based SaaS startup Outplay.
Visit TheKredible for more details
[Fund Launches/Expansion]
The Indian government announced a Rs 1,000 crore funding scheme to boost space sector startups. NuVentures, a venture capital firm founded by Venk Krishnan in 2015, has launched a $75 million fund. Based in the US, the firm focuses on investing in startups with strong ties to India. Singularity AMC, a growth equity platform for private and PIPEs, has announced its second PE fund which is oversubscribed at Rs 1,800 crore ($210 million).
Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights.
[Layoff]
According to a mint report, Electric mobility startup Zypp Electric has laid off nearly 250 employees or 10% of its workforce over the past three months, citing “performance” issues.
[Shutdown]
Alcoholic beverages startup O’Be Cocktails has shut down its operations after operating for more than five years.
[New launches and partnerships]
▪️SaaSBoomi launches BoomiAI to support AI-first founders
▪️RedBeryl, a luxury lifestyle management company partners with Tata CLiQ Luxury
▪️Twid partners with redBus to launch reward points for users
▪️TenderCuts founder Nishanth RaviChandran launches an AI-powered analytics startup
▪️ The Centre is set to launch ‘Sahkar Taxi’ to compete with Ola and Uber
[Financial results this week]
▪️ AlgoBulls posts 4.4X revenue jump in FY24, swings to positive EBITDA
▪️ VerSe cuts burn by 51% in FY24, eyes profitability in H2 CY25
▪️ BharatPe achieves breakeven at EBITDA level in first 9 months of FY25
▪️ BattRE crosses Rs 100 Cr revenue mark in FY24, remains profitable
▪️ Garuda Aerospace revenue and profit soar over 2X in FY24
▪️ PayU-backed Mindgate profit soars 3.6X in FY24, posts Rs 257 Cr revenue
▪️ Celebal Tech nears Rs 300 Cr revenue in FY24, but bleeds heavily
[Potential deals]
▪️ Kareena Kapoor-backed Pluckk to raise $10 Mn in Series A
▪️ Groww in talks to raise $200 Mn in pre-IPO round
▪️ Country Delight to raise $25 Mn from Temasek
▪️ Zepto in talks for $250 Mn secondary round
▪️ Curefoods to raise debt from Blacksoil and Binny Bansal
▪️ Apna Mart raises $25 Mn led by Fundamentum and Accel
[News flash this week]
▪️ Mobikwik enters stock broking biz with new subsidiary
▪️Ola Electric subsidiary resolves insolvency dispute with Rosmerta Group
[Summary]
On a weekly basis, startup funding declined by 13.57% to $152.49 million as compared to around $176.44 million raised during the previous week.
Fintech firm Mobikwik is venturing into the securities broking sector with the launch of its wholly owned subsidiary, Mobikwik Securities Broking Private Limited (MSBPL). With this move, Mobikwik aims to expand its financial services portfolio by providing stock and commodity brokerage services.
Home Minister Amit Shah has announced the launch of ‘Sahkar Taxi,’ a govt-backed ride-hailing service designed to compete with Ola, Uber, and Rapido. The platform aims to empower drivers by giving them full control over their earnings without commission cuts from third-party platforms.
Several startups are in the process of raising capital, according to regulatory filings accessed by Entrackr. Dairy startup Country Delight is raising $25 million in its Series E round from Temasek. B2C is set to raise $10 million in Series A funding from Euro Gulf Investment. Meanwhile, Apna Mart, a franchise-driven omnichannel grocery and FMCG chain, is securing $25 million in a new round led by Fundamentum Partnership Fund and Accel.