SUMMARY
- Indian startups secure $444.78mn across 24 deals this week.
- Rapido leads investments, raising $200mn in growth funding.
- Early-stage startups collectively raised $32.78mn.
In the first week of September, investments in Indian startups declined 8.91%, with a total of $444.78mn raised across 24 deals. Among the key investments were Rapido, Drip Capital, and Bluestone. Leading TravelTech startup, Rapido, raised $200mn, the highest capital this week. At the same time, Drip Capital, a B2B-modeled FinTech startup secured $113mn in a Debt round, with funding led by GMO Payment Gateway and International Financing Corporation (IFC). Subsequently, Bluestone, a FashionTech Startup based in Bengaluru raised $72mn in its Growth stage led by global investment group Prosus. These 3 companies account for approximately 86.55% of the total investment this week.
| INDEX | STARTUP NAME | FUNDING AMOUNT ($) | STAGE | ROUND | MODEL | CITY | SECTOR | LEAD INVESTOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nutrabay | 5M | Early | Series A | D2C | Gurugram | HealthTech | RPSG Capital Ventures and Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited |
| 02 | BigEndian Semiconductors | 3M | Early | Seed | B2B | Bengaluru | Semiconductor | Vertex Ventures SEA & India |
| 03 | Theater | 1.5M | Early | Pre-Series A | B2C | Chandigarh | FashionTech | Prath Ventures |
| 04 | ReCircle | Undisclosed | Early | Bridge Round | B2C | Mumbai | CleanTech | Venture Catalysts, Mumbai Angels, and HNIs |
| 05 | Mytek Innovations | 0.88M | Early | Debt | B2C | Mumbai | SaaS | Undisclosed Investors |
| 06 | Plan B | Undisclosed | Early | Seed | D2C | Mumbai | E-Commerce | JIIF, HNIs, and Ah! Ventures |
| 07 | The Hosteller | 4M | Early | Series A | B2C | Mumbai | Hospitality | V Cube Ventures |
| 08 | Boston Whitewater | 1.2M | Early | Equity Round | D2C | Bengaluru | CleanTech | Rainmatter |
| 09 | TruNativ | 1.2M | Early | Equity Round | D2C | Mumbai | FMCG | Rainmatter |
| 10 | Valyx | 0.8M | Early | Pre-Seed | B2B | Bengaluru | SaaS | Huddle Ventures and Waveform Ventures |
| 11 | Invest4Edu | 3M | Early | Seed | D2C | Mumbai | EduTech | Family Offices |
| 12 | Slikk | 0.3M | Early | Pre-Seed | B2C | Bengaluru | E-Commerce | Better Capital |
| 13 | Spolto | 1M | Early | Seed | D2C | Pune | SportsTech | Andrew Johnston |
| 14 | JUSTO RealFinTech | 7M | Early | Seed | B2C | Mumbai | PropTech | Arbour Investments |
| 15 | Sunsure | 27M | Growth | Debt | B2C | Gurugram | SolarTech | Tata Capital |
| 16 | RecommerceX | 3.6M | Early | Seed | D2C | Noida | ChemTech | Accel and Kae Capital |
| 17 | LiaPlus AI | 0.3M | Early | Seed | B2C | Delhi | AI | Inflection Point Ventures |
| 18 | Nautical Wings Aerospace | Undisclosed | Early | Pre-Series A | B2B | Bengaluru | AeroTech | Venture Catalysts and 1Crowd |
| 19 | Drip Capital | 113M | Growth | Debt | B2B | California | FinTech | GMO Payment Gateway and International Financing Corporation (IFC) |
| 20 | Rapido | 200M | Growth | Series E | B2C | Bengaluru | TravelTech | WestBridge Capital |
| 21 | Bluestone | 72M | Growth | Undisclosed Round | D2C | Bengaluru | FashioTech | Prosus |
| 22 | Xolopak | Undisclosed | Growth | Venture Round | D2C | Raisen | Manufacturing | Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor |
| 23 | 0xPPL | Undisclosed | Early | Seed | B2C | Singapore | Social Networking | Peak XV, AllianceDAO, and Anagram |
| 24 | Carrum Mobility | Undisclosed | Growth | Strategic Round | B2C | Bengaluru | Mobility | CarDekho Group |
[Stage-Wise Analysis]
Growth Stage Deals
In the growth-stage funding, 4 startups raised significant funding, where leading the pack was Rapido with $200 million, Drip Capital with $113 million, and Bluestone which garnered $72 million.
Sunsure, a Gurugram-headquartered SolarTech startup, raised $27 million in the Debt round led by Tata Capital. According to Infomance Research, growth-stage startups collectively raised a significant value of $412 million.
Early-Stage Deals
In early-stage funding, a total of 10 startups collectively raised $32.78 million. Some significant deals were clinched by PropTech, HealthTech, and ChemTech sector startups. This included Mumbai-based JUSTO RealFinTech which secured the highest investment of $7 million, followed by Nutrabay, a Gurugram-headquartered startup, that raised $5 million in a series A round.
Additionally, RecommerceX, a D2C-focused enterprise, raised substantial funding of $3.6 million led by Accel and Kae Capital. Other noteworthy early-stage startups that secured investments were The Hosteller, a Hospitality startup that raised $4 million, and BigEndian Semiconductors, with $ 3 million in funding.
Round-Wise Analysis
The seed round turned out to be the most prevalent among all the deals closed this week, with 8 deals. This was followed by Debt round, with 3 deals. In the Series A, Pre-Series A, Pre-Seed, and Equity rounds, 2 deals were finalized. Only 1 deal was closed in the Bridge, Series E, Undisclosed, Venture, and Strategic rounds.
Business Model-Wise Analysis
The B2C model emerged as the most dominant, securing 11 deals, representing 45.83% of the total deals closed this week. This was closely followed by the D2C and B2B models, with 9 and 4 deals respectively.
Sector-wise Analysis
FashionTech, CleanTech, SaaS, and E-Commerce clinched 2 deals. Meanwhile, other industries, including HealthTech, Mobility, Semiconductor, Hospitality, FMCG, EduTech, SportsTech, PropTech, SolarTech, ChemTech, AI, AeroTech, FinTech, TravelTech, Manufacturing, and Social Networking, garnered attention with one deal per sector.
City-wise Analysis
The highest number of investments were observed in Bengaluru, with 8 deals, closely followed by 7 deals in Mumbai. Additionally, 2 investments were made in Gurugram. Other places where deals were closed were California, Chandigarh, Pune, Noida, Delhi, and Raisen.
Undisclosed deals
This week saw six undisclosed deals across various sectors. CleanTech startup ReCircle secured bridge funding. In the D2C space, Plan B attracted investment from JIIF HNIs and AH Ventures. Aerospace firm Nautical Wings Aerospace was backed by Venture Catalysts and 1Crowd for its growth initiatives.
Meanwhile, Xolopak, a leading packaging solutions company, garnered pre-IPO funding with investment from Bollywood actors Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. The social networking startup 0xPPL completed a strategic funding round led by Peak XV, AllianceDAO, and Anagram. Lastly, Carrum Mobility received investment from the CarDekho Group to enhance its fleet management services.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Emami, a leading FMCG company, strengthened its presence in the male grooming segment by acquiring full ownership of The Man Company. This acquisition is expected to enhance Emami’s market share in the fast-growing personal care space.
In the travel sector, Yatra expanded its service offerings by acquiring Globe Travels for ₹128 crore in an all-cash deal, positioning itself as a stronger player in the travel and tourism industry.
Hearzap, a health technology company, further solidified its position in the audiology space by acquiring a majority stake in Speech and Hearing Care Pvt Ltd, aiming to boost its market share and broaden its service capabilities.
Management Overhaul
Meesho, a fast-growing e-commerce platform, appointed Mohit Rajani, a former Meta executive, as Chief Product Officer, to enhance its product offerings and user experience.
Freshworks saw a leadership change as Murali Swaminathan joined as Chief Technology Officer, bringing experience from his previous role at ServiceNow.
To drive its marketing efforts and fuel growth in the digital assets space, CoinDCX, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, named Prashant Verma as its Chief Growth Marketing Officer.
Wellbeing Nutrition expanded its leadership team by bringing on Harleen Bhatti to accelerate its growth in the health and wellness sector.
Nykaa hired Sukhleen Aneja to lead the growth of Kay Beauty, the beauty brand owned by actress Katrina Kaif, to scale its presence in the market.
In a notable departure, Chandan Singh, co-founder of Adda247, stepped down from his position to pursue a new entrepreneurial venture.
A Tanishq Partnership-CaratLane, underwent a leadership shift as Anish Anand resigned as CEO after nine years, marking a transition in the company’s executive team.
Dozee, backed by Prime Venture Partners, laid off about 40 employees as part of a restructuring effort to streamline its operations.
Airmeet, a virtual events platform supported by Prosus, conducted a major reorganization, laying off 80% of its technical staff amid tough market conditions.
VC Fund Launched
The venture capital landscape continued to thrive with the launch of several new funds, reflecting confidence in emerging sectors.
VentureSoul Partners successfully raised ₹146.5 crore to launch its latest fund, aiming to invest in early-stage startups across sectors such as technology, healthcare, and consumer goods. This fund is expected to provide the necessary capital and mentorship to help these startups achieve rapid growth and market penetration.
AgriSURE fund launched with a $90 million corpus, to support startups and Agripreneurs as well as to promote investment in innovative, technology-driven, high-risk, and high-impact activities in the farm sector.
These fund launches highlight the growing diversity in the venture capital space, with investments targeting both tech-driven startups and critical industries like agriculture.
