Highlights of Funding and Acquisitions in India’s Startup Ecosystem (January 13-18)

Startup Funding Overview

In the past week, 37 Indian startups successfully raised approximately $780 million in funding. This funding spree included 11 deals in the growth stage and 22 in the early stage, while 4 startups chose to keep their transaction details private.

In comparison, the previous week saw 27 early and growth-stage startups collectively securing around $466.45 million in funding.

Growth-Stage Deals

In the realm of growth-stage funding, key highlights include:

• Impetus Technologies: Data analytics and AI solutions provider raised $350 million in a Series D round led by Kedaara Capital.
• Aragen: Healthtech company secured $100 million from private equity firm Quadria Capital.
• Netradyne: SaaS startup closed a $90 million Series D round led by Point72 Private Investments.
• Foxtale: Direct-to-consumer skincare brand raised $30 million, with Kose Corporation acting as the lead investor.

Early-Stage Deals

In early-stage funding, 22 startups obtained investments totalling $64.92 million. Notable achievers included:

• Micromitti: Proptech firm led early-stage funding efforts.
• Sarla Aviation: Aerospace startup followed closely.
• Astrosure.ai: Spiritual-tech company also secured funding.
• Eccentric Engine: Another promising SaaS startup in this category.
• WeVOIS: Emerging player in waste management.
• Bolt.Earth: EV charging infrastructure provider.
• Other participants included Automotive Indiyanet (Motorfloor), Traveltech Velocity.travel, and Healthtech non-profit Khushi Baby, among others, who also received funding but did not disclose the amounts.

For detailed insights, please refer to various sources.

City and Segment-Wise Deals

Regarding the distribution of funding deals by city:

• Bengaluru-based startups led with 10 deals.
• Other cities such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Pune followed suit.

Segment-wise analysis showed that:

• Healthtech and SaaS startups each dominated with 5 deals.
• E-commerce and Foodtech sectors followed closely with 4 deals each.
• Deals were also secured in Proptech, EV, Automotive, AI, and several other sectors.

Series-Wise Deals

This week, pre-seed funding transactions were most prominent, with 7 deals, trailed by Series A, Seed, pre-Series A, Series C, and others.

Week-on-Week Funding Trend

Weekly startup funding surged by 67.2% to $779.92 million, contrasting with around $466.45 million raised the prior week. The average funding over the last eight weeks stands at approximately $332.12 million, with about 24 deals completed weekly.

Key Hirings and Departures

This week witnessed significant changes in leadership across the startup ecosystem:

• Angel One appointed Ambarish Kenghe, former Google Pay VP, as Group CEO.
• Zetwerk, a contract manufacturing marketplace, appointed Vadim Yakubov as the CEO of its U.S. subsidiary, Unimacts.
• Stock broking platform 5Paisa welcomed Gaurav Seth as its new CEO.
• Curefoods promoted Gokul Kandhi to Chief Operating Officer.

For further information, refer to various sources.

Mergers and Acquisitions

In the M&A landscape:

• Amazon announced plans to acquire fintech company Axio (previously known as Capital Float).
• MoEVing, an EV fleet operator, has acquired the mobility division of Euler Motors, EVonGO, for an undisclosed amount.

Fund Launches

This week, several funds were announced:

• Cornerstone Ventures, a SaaS-focused venture capital firm, reported the first close of its second fund at approximately $40 million, targeting a total of $200 million.
• Avendus Future Leaders Fund III (FLF III) secured commitments of Rs 850 crore ($100 million) during its initial close.
• RevX Capital, a private credit fund, unveiled plans for its second fund, aiming to raise Rs 750 crore ($86.6 million), with a Rs 250 crore greenshoe option included.

For additional details, consult various sources.

Layoffs

Unfortunately, over 200 employees faced layoffs across three startups this week:

• Breath Well Being, based in Delhi-NCR, laid off around 100 employees.
• ShareChat reduced its workforce by 5% during a performance review cycle.
• Pocket FM, an audio series platform, let go of 75 employees.

For comprehensive information about fund activities and series-wise deals, refer to various sources.

New Launches and Partnerships

• MobiKwik partnered with Piramal Finance to offer personal loans.
• Droom launched a new service to enter the automobile rental market.
• Bounce Infinity unveiled a 15-minute charge scooter at the Bharat Mobility Expo.
• Spencer’s Retail made inroads into the quick commerce sector.
• MapmyIndia collaborated with Qualcomm to foster ‘Make in India’ automotive solutions.
• Bengaluru-based Digantara is set to launch its satellite via Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket.

Potential Deals

• Flipkart may lead a funding round of $35-40 million in its fintech venture, Super.money.
• Zypp Electric aims to raise $6.5 million in an ongoing Series C round.

Financial Results This Week

Recent financial results indicated:

• Foxtale’s revenue surged to Rs 83 Cr in FY24, though losses have widened.
• FIITJEE-backed PlanetSpark successfully reduced its losses by 70% in FY24.
• Isprava doubled its revenue in FY24, achieving significant profits.
• Sanjeev Kapoor-backed Wonderchef reported profitability in FY24.
• IPO-bound Captain Fresh recorded Rs 1,300 Cr GMV in FY24.

News Flash This Week

• Axio confirmed an acquisition agreement with Amazon.
• Swiggy received approval from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to form a new sports arm.
• Zetwerk selected six bankers to lead its $500 million IPO in 2025.
• Paytm may re-enter the MSCI India Index.
• Urban Company is set to file draft papers for a Rs 3,000 crore IPO by the end of March.
• Ather Energy targets a valuation of $2.4 billion for its upcoming IPO.
• Innoviti is planning an IPO within 12 months and has granted fresh ESOPs worth INR 25 crore.
• Zomato invested Rs 500 Cr in Blinkit.

Summary

This week saw a substantial increase in startup funding, which rose by 67.2% to $779.92 million, compared to the previous week’s total of $466.45 million. Additionally, Axio confirmed its acquisition agreement with Amazon. Swiggy received approval for the establishment of its sports division, Swiggy Sports Private Limited. Bengaluru’s Digantara is moving forward with plans to launch a dedicated surveillance satellite, SCOT, on SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission. Spencer’s Retail is venturing into quick commerce with the launch of its Jiffy app. In the public markets, Urban Company is on track to file draft papers for a Rs 3,000 crore IPO by March end, while an EV startup aims for a $2.4 billion IPO valuation to compete with Ola Electric.