Indian Startups Funding News: $184.75 Million Raised This Week

This week, Indian startups successfully secured approximately $184.75 million in funding, with the total comprising 5 growth-stage deals and 14 early-stage arrangements, while one startup opted to keep its funding details undisclosed. For comparison, the preceding week saw 21 startups in both early and growth stages raise around $216.19 million.

Growth-Stage Deals

Growth and late-stage funding amounted to $135 million this week, spearheaded by CRED, led by Kunal Shah, which raised $72 million from investors including Lathe Investment, RTP Global, Sofina Ventures, and QED Innovation Labs. Additionally, FlexiLoans, a fintech lender focusing on MSMEs, secured $44 million in Series C funding. Vecmocon concluded an $18 million Series A round this week, with $8 million raised in a blend of primary and secondary transactions. Other notable fundraisers included the QSR chain Wow! Momo and drone technology firm Garuda Aerospace.

Early-Stage Deals

Furthermore, a total of 13 early-stage startups generated $49.75 million in funding. The aerospace and defence company Sanlayan Technologies led this early-stage financing with a $22 million round. Other participants included wealthtech startup PowerUp, fintech entities Piston and Zype, and the OTT platform FlickTV. Zee Entertainment also acquired a minority stake in OTT platform Bullet, although the specific deal amount remains undisclosed.

City and Segment-Wise Deals

In terms of geographical distributions, Bengaluru-based startups dominated with 9 funding deals, while Delhi-NCR followed with 5. Startups from Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai also received funding. Segment-wise, fintech startups took the lead with 6 deals, followed closely by deeptech and OTT startups, both securing 2 deals each. Companies in aerospace, foodtech, e-commerce, sportstech, and other sectors also made successful pitches for funding.

Series-Wise Deals

The funding landscape this week saw Seed funding leading with 7 deals, followed by debt transactions, Series A, pre-seed, pre-Series A, Series G, and various others.

Week-on-Week Funding Trend

On a weekly scale, startup funding experienced a nearly 15% decline, totalling $184.75 million compared to about $216.19 million raised previously. The average funding across the last eight weeks is approximately $217.68 million, with around 23 deals per week.

Key Hirings and Departures

This week witnessed significant hirings within companies. In preparation for its upcoming IPO, Wakefit appointed independent directors Sudeep Nagar, Sandhya Pottigari, Aridam Paul, Gunender Kapur, and Alok Chandra Misra in accordance with regulatory norms. Edtech unicorn upGrad welcomed Ferzad Palia as head of its D2C operations. Greaves Electric Mobility appointed Vikas Singh as their new Managing Director. However, there were some departures, with Sujay Choubey stepping down from Peak XV Partners, and Meta India’s public policy head Shivnath Thukral is also resigning from his position. More details can be found from various sources.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Once regarded as the premier edtech company in India, Byju’s has divested two significant US acquisitions. Epic was sold to China’s TAL Education for $95 million, while Tynker was acquired by CodeHS for $2.2 million cash in distressed transactions. In another major development, Japanese financial giant Mizuho Financial Group is set to acquire KKR-backed Avendus Capital in a valuation deal of Rs 6,000 crore ($700 million). Additionally, the digital marketing startup Wubba Lubba Dub Dub (WLDD) has obtained Bengaluru-based creative agency Imagined Studio. The house of brands company BRND.ME, formerly known as Mensa Brands, has sold the India Lifestyle Network, the parent company of MensXP, to the RPSG Group. Further insights can be accessed via various sources.

ESOP Buyback

Retail advisory platform Univest has finalised its inaugural ESOP buyback worth Rs 1.61 crore, enabling early employees to partially liquidate their equity and realise financial gains.

Potential Deals

Upcoming significant funding rounds include Groww’s $200 million pre-IPO round, GIVA aiming to raise $53 million led by Creaegis at a valuation of $465 million, Snapmint planning to collect $40 million with the backing of General Atlantic, Durlabh Darshan striving for $2 million led by Prime VP, and Elevation Capital seeking to lead a $5 million round in Rumik.ai. Additionally, electric mobility platform Kazam is on course to raise $6 million in Series B funding.

New Launches and Partnerships

CoinDCX has introduced an automated crypto trading feature catering to both novice and seasoned traders. Scapia has revealed a new dual-network credit card in collaboration with Federal Bank. Apna has launched an AI-driven interview preparation tool. The Man Company has partnered with Unicommerce to enhance e-commerce operations. Furthermore, Namma Yatri has teamed up with Covrzy to provide affordable health insurance for its drivers.

Financial Results This Week

Credgenics has reported Rs 220 crore in revenue, with a profit before tax of Rs 25 crore for FY25.

News Flash This Week

The bike taxi ban for Ola, Uber, and Rapido continues in Karnataka. PhonePe and Google Pay reached peak UPI transaction volumes in May; Super.money maintains its lead over CRED. Rekha Jhunjhunwala has cashed out Rs 374 crore from Nazara in June. Pine Labs is anticipated to file its draft red herring prospectus for an IPO valued at Rs 5,000-6,000 crore by June, according to reports. An FIR has been filed against the fantasy platform Sportasy under Haryana’s new gambling law, putting pressure on competing platforms like Dream11 and My11Circle. Meesho is on track to transition into a public company while preparing for its IPO.

This week, Karnataka High Court has reaffirmed its earlier decision to suspend bike taxi services in the state, dismissing appeals from aggregators like Ola, Uber, and Rapido. The court’s refusal to provide interim relief means that the suspension order will remain effective until at least June 24, 2025.