This past week investments in the Indian startup ecosystem declined to $364.4Mn. An invite-only Social networking startup SCOPE secured the largest amount of funding in the Pre-Series A round at the early stage. It was followed by a $65Mn fund raised by B2C-modeled Battery Smart in Series B.
According to Infomance and Data Available on Public Sources, Indian startups raised $364.4 million across 23 deals this week. This included 11 growth-stage deals totaling $183.4 million and 11 early-stage deals totaling $181 million. Additionally, there were 01 undisclosed rounds, predominantly in the early-stage category.
| INDEX | STARTUP NAME | FUNDING AMOUNT ($) | STAGE | ROUND | MODEL | CITY | SECTOR | LEAD INVESTOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Swaayatt Robots | 4M | Early | Angel | B2B | Bhopal | Robotech | US-based angel investors |
| 02 | Arthan Finance | 6M | Growth | Series B | B2B | Mumbai | FinTech | Incofin India Progress Fund, Dell Foundation |
| 03 | Hocco | 12M | Growth | Series B | B2C | Ahmedabad | FMCG | Chona Family and Sauce VC |
| 04 | Clapingo | Undisclosed | Early | Pre-Series A | B2C | Delhi | EduTech | Biswa Kalyan Rath |
| 05 | JCB Salons | 4.8M | Growth | Debt | B2C | Mumbai | Service | Blacksoil Group |
| 06 | Battery Smart | 65M | Growth | Series B | B2C | Gurugram | EV | LeapFrog Investments |
| 07 | Ola | 12 | Growth | Debt | B2C | Bangalore | EV | Alteria Capital |
| 08 | Sova Health | 1M | Early | Seed | B2C | Gurugram | HealthTech | Antler |
| 09 | Foxtale | 18M | Growth | Series B | D2C | Mumbai | E-commerce | Panthera Growth Partners |
| 10 | Skye Air | 4M | Early | Series A | B2B | Delhi | DroneTech | Mount Judi Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, and Venture Catalyst |
| 11 | Finsall | 1.8M | Early | Bridge | B2B | Bangalore | FinTech | Unicorn India Ventures |
| 12 | Palette | 2M | Early | Pre-Series A | D2C | Chandigarh | Service | Rockstud Capital |
| 13 | Qiro Finance | 1.2M | Early | Pre-Seed | B2B | Singapore | FinTech | Alliance Investors |
| 14 | CredAble | 3.6M | Growth | Debt | B2B | Mumbai | FinTech | SIDBI |
| 15 | RENEE | 12M | Growth | Series B | B2C | Ahmedabad | E-commerce | Evolvence India and Edelweiss Group |
| 16 | Trampoline | 5M | Early | Seed | B2B | E-commerce | Matrix and WaterBridge | |
| 17 | Indigrid | 5M | Early | Series A | Manesar | EV | Cactus Partners | |
| 18 | Ethereal Machines | 13M | Early | Series A | Bangalore | DeepTech | Peak XV and Steadview Capital | |
| 19 | KB NBFC | 32M | Growth | Debt | B2C | Bangalore | FinTech | Yubi, Dzerv. |
| 20 | Samunnati | 16M | Growth | Debt | B2B | Chennai | AgriTech | Blue Earth Capital |
| 21 | SCOPE | 90M | Early | Pre Series A | B2B | Hyderabad | Social Network | Apricot Capital |
| 22 | Indkal | 36M | Early | Series A | B2C | Bangalore | Consumer Electronics | Aries Opportunities Fund |
| 23 | Slice | 20M | Growth | Debt | B2B | Bangalore | FinTech | Neo Asset Management |
[Stage-wise Analysis]
Growth Stage Deals
Among the growth-stage deals, 11 startups raised $201.4Mn in funding this week. The biggest amount was raised by Delhi-based EV battery maker Battery Smart which led the list with $65Mn funding in Series B. It was followed by the KreditBee subsidiary KB NBFC which raised $32Mn in debt, B2B-modeled Slice with $20Mn, Foxtale secured $18Mn in Series B, the Agritech firm Samunnati raised $16Mn in debt, Ahmedabad-based Hocco secured $12Mn. The B2C-modeled Ola raised $12Mn in debt.
The new age lending-tech firm Arthan Finance, Customer service sector JCB Salons, fintech company CredAble, and E-commerce RENEE are next on the list among others.
Early Stage Deals
Subsequently, 11 early-stage startups secured funding worth $181 million during the week. The B2B-modeled social network startup SCOPE spearheaded the list followed by Bengaluru-based Indkal which secured $36Mn. It was followed by SpaceTech firm Ethereal Machines raised $13Mn in Series A. Some of the other startups to receive early-stage funding were Swaayatt Robots, Clapingo, Trampoline, Indigrid, and Qiro Finance.
Round-Wise Analysis
Among the 23 deals done this week, the maximum deals were done through debt involving startups like Samunnati, KB NBFC, Slice, and Ola. It was followed by 5 deals in Series B which include startups such as Foxtale, Arthan Finance, and Battery Smart. The number of deals secured in Series A and Pre-Series A was 4. This week, 3 seed fundings were secured and single funds were raised each in Pre-Seed, Bridge, and Angel rounds.
Business Model-Wise Analysis
Maximum deals were closed by B2B model firms, the number of deals being 11. It was followed by 10 deals by B2C companies and 2 deals were secured by D2C-modeled firms.
City-wise Analysis
Bengaluru-based startups led by closing in on 6 deals, followed by 5 deals secured by Mumbai-based firms. Ahmedabad, Delhi, and Gurugram-based firms announced 2 funding deals each whereas Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Chennai, Manesar, and Bhopal-based startups closed in on one deal each.
Sector-wise Analysis
Sector-wise, the same trend was followed as last week. Fintech sector startups raised 6 funds. E-commerce and EV-based startups each secured 3 funding. Additionally, 01 transactions were seen in most sectors – EduTech, Robotech, Healthtech, and Spacetech being a few of them.
UNDISCLOSED DEAL
In one of the early-stage deals secured by EduTech Clapingo, the fund amount raised remains undisclosed. Clapingo is headquartered in Delhi and primarily focuses on providing its customers with an online platform to learn the English language.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
360 One Wealth and Asset Management acquired wealth tech platform ET Money for Rs 366 crore. The deal involves cash payment to Times Internet and issuing stocks to secure a stake in the wealth management firm.
Suven Pharmaceuticals acquired Hyderabad-based Sapalas Organic. The pharma company will initially acquire 65.7 % by way of secondary transfers from Saplas’ current shareholders for Rs.229.5Cr. The deal is expected to be complete by Q2, FY24-25.
Nazara Technologies’ subsidiary Nodwin Gaming acquired Ninja Global FZCO, a UAE- and Turkey-based company with assets in esports and gaming production.
MANAGEMENT DEPARTURE & LAYOFFS
Veteran armed forces member and MyGate founder Vijay Arisetty has been appointed as founder and CEO of Aurm, an asset protection firm in Mumbai that combines with banks and real-estate developers to provide safe deposit lockers to its customers.
Ex-PharmEasy marketing VP Saumil Parekh has been appointed as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) by hBits, a leading fractional ownership platform. At hits, Saumil will oversee marketing activities across all functions.
VS Mani & Co, a renowned South Indian filter coffee and snacks brand, has announced the onboarding of popular singer and music composer Anirudh Ravichander as its co-founder and brand ambassador. The company believes that celebrity endorsements play a crucial role in increasing its outreach.
The cofounder of Edutech giant Unacademy, Hemesh Singh has stepped down as Chief Technology Officer after 10 years. Himesh will now move into an advisory role.
Kissflow, a bootstrapped Chennai-based Saas firm has fired 45-50 employees from different departments including sales, marketing, and product development. The company cited the discontinuation of the product and after-yearly evaluations as the reason for this move.
VC Fund Launched
Among India’s earliest rupee capital funds, Sixth Sense Ventures is raising $300Mn for its fourth fund. Colruyt Group India, the IT hub of the Euro 9.9 billion Belgian Colruyt Group is investing $1.8Mn in the Pavestone Technology fund. The latest investment marks Colruyt Group India’s second on its portfolio of VC investments after it invested in pi Ventures in 2023.
Maharashtra-based Neo Asset Management successfully secured its first special credit opportunities fundraising Rs 2,575 crore from high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and multi-family offices.
