SUMMARY
- Indian startups raised $488.3mn this week, a 73.07% increase.
- Zepto led with $340mn, while Swiggy attracted undisclosed investments.
- Swiggy’s Instamart appointed Amitesh Jha as the new CEO.
In the last week of August, investments in Indian startups experienced a huge surge of 73.07%, with a total of $488.3mn raised across 27 deals which marked a notable increase compared to the previous week.
Among the key investments were Zepto, Blue Tokai, and Yubi Group. Leading Quick commerce unicorn, Zepto, raised $340mn, the highest capital this week. At the same time, Blue Tokai, a D2C-modeled e-commerce startup secured $35mn in a Series C round, with funding led by Verlinvest. This was followed by Yubi Group, a FinTech Startup based in Chennai which raised $29.8mn in its Growth stage led by its founder and CEO Gaurav Kumar. These 3 companies account for approximately 82.9% of the total investment this week.
| INDEX | STARTUP NAME | FUNDING AMOUNT ($) | STAGE | ROUND | MODEL | CITY | SECTOR | LEAD INVESTOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | HouseEazy | 7M | Early | Series A | B2C | Noida | PropTech | Chiratae Ventures Fund |
| 02 | Convin | 6.5M | Early | Series A | B2C | Bengaluru | SaaS | India Quotient and JSW Ventures |
| 03 | Metaman | Undisclosed | Early | Undisclosed Round | D2C | Bengaluru | FashionTech | KL Rahul |
| 04 | Kreedo | 4M | Early | Series A | D2C | Bengaluru | EduTech | Heritas Capital and UBS Optimus Foundation |
| 05 | InsurancePadosi | 0.5M | Early | Pre-Seed | B2C | Jodhpur | InsurTech | Antler |
| 06 | Plutos ONE | 2M | Early | Seed | B2B | Noida | FinTech | StartupXseed |
| 07 | Finarkein Analytics | 4.75M | Early | Pre-Series A | B2B | Pune | FinTech | Nexus Venture Partners |
| 08 | 99 Pancakes | 2.5M | Early | Series A | D2C | Mumbai | FoodTech | Family Office |
| 09 | DeepMatrix | 1.6M | Early | Pre-Series A | B2B | Bengaluru | SaaS | YourNest and Arali Ventures |
| 10 | Servify | 10M | Growth | Series D | B2C | Mumbai | SaaS | Bajaj Holdings, Trifecta, and Innoven Capital |
| 11 | Cambrian Bioworks | 1.45M | Early | Seed | B2B | Bengaluru | BioTech | Irani family office |
| 12 | ProFinTech | 1.4M | Early | Seed | B2B | Hyderabad | FinTech | K.I. Varaprasad Reddy and Rahul Gedupudi |
| 13 | Laiqa | 2.3M | Early | Seed | B2C | Gurugram | FemTech | IvyCap Ventures |
| 14 | Sunfox Technologies | 2.3M | Early | Pre-Series A | B2B | Dehradun | HealthTech | Venture Catalysts |
| 15 | Medront | 0.2M | Early | Pre-Seed | B2C | Mumbai | SaaS | Inflection Point Ventures |
| 16 | Oda | 0.5M | Growth | Series B | D2C | Bengaluru | EduTech | Skywalker Education Technology Co. Ltd. |
| 17 | Pilgrim | 9M | Growth | Series B | D2C | Mumbai | Beauty-Commerce | Fireside and Vertex Ventures |
| 18 | Clean Electric | 6M | Early | Series A | B2C | Pune | EV | Info Edge and Pi Ventures |
| 19 | AGRIM | 17.3M | Growth | Series B | B2B | Gurugram | AgriTech | Asia Impact |
| 20 | Miko | 2.5M | Early | Equity Round | B2B | Mumbai | RoboTech | Moneycrew Fintech |
| 21 | Zepto | 340M | Growth | Series F | B2C | Mumbai | FoodTech | General Catalyst |
| 22 | Blue Tokai | 35M | Growth | Series C | D2C | Gurugram | E-Commerce | Verlinvest |
| 23 | Yubi Group | 29.8M | Growth | Equity Round | B2B | Chennai | FinTech | Gaurav Kumar |
| 24 | Just Words | 1.7M | Early | Seed | B2B | Gurugram | Enterprise Tech | Peak XV Partners, Y Combinator |
| 25 | OneMoney | Undisclosed | Early | Corporate Round | B2B | Hyderabad | FinTech | Equal |
| 26 | Swiggy | Undisclosed | Early | Undisclosed Round | B2C | Bengaluru | FMCG | Amitabh Bachchan’s Family Office |
| 27 | BiUP Technologies | Undisclosed | Early | Pre-Series A | B2B | Delhi | SaaS | Girnar Vision Fund |
[Stage-Wise Analysis]
Growth Stage Deals
Subsequently, in the growth-stage deals, 7 startups raised significant funding, where leading the pack was Zepto with $340 million, Blue Tokai with $35 million, and Yubi Group which garnered $29.8 million.
AGRIM, a Gurugram-headquartered AgriTech startup, raised $17.3 million in the Series-B round led by Asia Impact. In addition, Servify, a B2C model SaaS startup, secured $10 million in the Series-D round. According to Infomance Research, growth-stage startups collectively raised a significant value of $441.6 million.
Early-Stage Deals
In early-stage funding, a total of 16 startups collectively raised $46.7 million. The top 3 deals were clinched by PropTech, SaaS, and EV sector startups. This included Noida-based HouseEazy which secured the highest investment of $7 million, followed by Convin, a Bengaluru-headquartered startup, that raised $6.5 million in a series A round.
Additionally, Clean Electric, a B2C-focused enterprise, raised substantial funding of $6 million led by Info Edge and Pi Ventures. Other noteworthy early-stage startups that secured investments were Finarkein Analytics, a FinTech startup that raised $4.75 million, and Kreedo, an EduTech enterprise with $ 4 million in funding.
Round-Wise Analysis
Series A and Seed rounds were the most prevalent among all the deals closed this week, with 5 deals each. They were closely followed by Pre-series A and Series B rounds, with 4 and 3 deals respectively. In the Pre-Seed and Equity rounds, 2 deals were finalized. Only 1 deal was closed in the Corporate, Series D, Series C, and Series F rounds.
Business Model-Wise Analysis
The B2B model emerged as the most dominant, securing 12 deals This was closely followed by the B2C and D2C models, with 9 and 6 deals respectively, representing more than 50% of the total deals closed this week.
Sector-wise Analysis
This week, Fintech and SaaS emerged as the most sought-after sectors, each closing 5 deals. Both EduTech and FoodTech followed with 2 deals each. Other sectors like PropTech, FashionTech, InsurTech, BioTech, FemTech, HealthTech, Beauty-Commerce, EV, AgriTech, RoboTech, E-Commerce, Enterprise Tech, and FMCG received attention as well, with each sector securing a single deal.
City-wise Analysis
The highest number of investments was observed in Bengaluru, with 7 deals. This was followed by 6 deals in Mumbai and 4 in Gurugram. Additionally, 2 investments each were made in Noida, Pune and Hyderabad.
Undisclosed deals
This week saw four undisclosed deals, including one involving the Bengaluru-based FashionTech company, Metaman, with investment led by Indian cricketer KL Rahul. Another notable deal was with the leading FMCG, Swiggy, where the lead investor is Amitabh Bachchan’s Family Office. Additionally, Hyderabad-based FinTech OneMoney and BiUP Technologies were also part of the week’s undisclosed deals.
Mergers and Acquisitions
VerSe Innovation, a leading digital content and AdTech company enhanced its capabilities by acquiring Valueleaf Group, a performance marketing firm. This strategic acquisition aimed to optimize VerSe’s revenue generation across its platforms.
A global leader in B2B software testing solutions Browserstack, bolstered its market presence by acquiring Bird Eats Bug for $20 million, thereby expanding its automated bug capture and testing offerings.
ANSR, a major player in enterprise solutions, secured its position in the HR technology sector by acquiring hrEntries, a human capital management platform. This all-stock deal strengthened ANSR’s comprehensive HR service portfolio.
Yudiz Solutions, a B2B technology and app development firm, expanded its digital services by acquiring a 51% stake in ABCM App Pvt Ltd, reinforcing its presence in the digital innovation space.
A key player in the agro-commodity industry, GRM Overseas, diversified into the FMCG sector by acquiring a 44% stake in Rage Coffee, marking its entry into the fast-growing coffee market.
Management Overhaul
OYO, a leading player in the hospitality sector, strengthened its board by appointing Sumer Juneja from SoftBank as a Non-Executive Director.
Swiggy’s Instamart, the quick-commerce arm of the food delivery giant, appointed Amitesh Jha, a former Flipkart executive, as CEO to steer its division towards greater profitability and market dominance.
Medikabazaar, a fast-growing healthcare procurement startup, named Dinesh Lodha as Group CEO, to drive operational efficiency and market expansion.
Sukoon Health, a mental health services provider, appointed Dr. Vipul Rastogi as Clinical Regional Head for Delhi-NCR, aimed at enhancing service delivery and capturing a larger regional market share.
3i Infotech, an IT services company, selected Raj Ahuja as CEO to lead efforts focused on improving profitability and driving digital innovation.
Evera, an emerging player in electric mobility, brought on Saurabh Kumar as CEO to accelerate its electric fleet expansion, positioning the company as a key player in the EV sector.
Zalon, a retail startup focused on innovation, appointed Abhishek Raj Pandey as CEO to drive strategic initiatives and scale operations.
In a challenging move reflecting ongoing funding difficulties, Dunzo laid off 150 more employees, underscoring the financial strain and operational hurdles the company is currently facing.
VC Fund Launched
In the dynamic venture capital landscape, several new funds were recently launched, reflecting ongoing confidence and growth in the sector.
To empower brands with the capital needed to maximize their seasonal sales and scale rapidly in a highly competitive market, Velocity launched a $48 million fund specifically designed to support Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands during the festive season.
Mumbai-based venture capital firm, Whiteboard Capital successfully closed its second fund at $36 million, reinforcing its position as a key player in early-stage investments.
Kae Capital unveiled a substantial $250 million fund, signaling its continued commitment to early-stage investments. Alongside the launch, Kae Capital strengthened its leadership by appointing Abhishek Srivastava and Gaurav Chaturvedi as General Partners, further positioning the firm to expand its portfolio across more than 85 startups.
These fund launches underscored the robust and evolving nature of the venture capital sector, with investments spanning from seasonal consumer opportunities to broad early-stage tech ventures.
