Indian startups cumulatively raised $316.4 Mn across 23 deals between April 29- March 4
PharmEasy's $216.2 Mn funding was the lone mega funding round of the week
Seed funding plummeted 64% to $12.3 Mn this week from last week's $33.9 Mn
After a significant drop in the capital raised by Indian startups in the last week of April, funding picked up in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem in the first week of May. Between April 29 and May 4, Indian startups cumulatively raised $316.4 Mn across 23 deals, up 83.3% from last week’s $172.6 Mn secured across 21 deals.
Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Apr 29 – May 4]
Date
Name
Sector
Subsector
Business Model
Funding Round Size
Funding Round Type
Investors
Lead Investor
30 Apr 2024
Pharmeasy
Healthtech
Online Pharmacy
B2B-B2C
$216.2 Mn
–
MEMG Family Office, Prosus, 360 One,Temasek
–
3 May 2024
Kinara Capital
Fintech
Lendingtech
B2B
$24.4 Mn
Debt
Impact Investment Exchange, BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund
Impact Investment Exchange, BlueOrchard Microfinance Fund
29 Apr 2024
Portea Medical
Healthtech
Home Healthcare
B2B
$20 Mn
Pre-IPO
–
–
30 Apr 2024
Charge Zone
Cleantech
Electric Vehicles
B2B-B2C
$19 Mn
–
British International Investment
British International Investment
2 May 2024
Infinity Fincorp
Fintech
Lendingtech
B2C
$8 Mn
–
Archerman Capital
Archerman Capital
29 Apr 2024
BRISKPE
Fintech
Payments
B2B
$5 Mn
Seed
PayU
PayU
2 Apr 2024
Go DESi
Ecommerce
D2C
B2C
$4.9 Mn
–
Aavishkaar Capital, Rukam Capital, Roots Ventures, DSG Consumer
Aavishkaar Capital
2 Apr 2024
Dexif
Fintech
Investment Tech
B2B
$4 Mn
Seed
RTP Global
RTP Global
29 Apr 2024
Assert AI
Enterprisetech
Horizontal SaaS
B2B
$4 Mn
Series A
Ramesh Hariharan, Prashant Purker, Arya.ag
Ramesh Hariharan, Prashant Purker, Arya.ag
2 Apr 2024
Plotline
Enterprisetech
Horizontal SaaS
B2B
$2.6 Mn
Seed
Elevation Capital
Elevation Capital
2 May 2024
DaMENSCH
Ecommerce
D2C
B2C
$2.5 Mn
Series B
Matrix Partners, Saama Capital, Whiteboard Capital, A91 Emerging Fund
–
2 Apr 2024
Fresh From Farm
Agritech
Market Linkange
B2B
$2 Mn
pre-Series A
Inflection Point Ventures, Ashish Kacholia
Inflection Point Ventures, Ashish Kacholia
2 May 2024
TalkEsport
Media & Entertainment
Digital Media
B2C
$1 Mn
pre-Series A
Saswat Ventures
Saswat Ventures
1 May 2024
Reelo
Enterprisetech
Horizontal SaaS
B2B
$1 Mn
–
Gokul Rajaram
Gokul Rajaram
30 Apr 2024
Kyari
Ecommerce
D2C
B2C
$780K
pre-Series A
Gwalior Pathways, Airen Holdings, Amit Kumat, Rajesh Patel, Sawan Laddha, We founder circle, IVY League Ventures, JITO
Gwalior Pathways, Airen Holdings
30 Apr 2024
PointO
Cleantech
Electric Vehicles
B2B
$743K
Seed
Equirus InnovateX Fund
Equirus InnovateX Fund
2 May 2024
EXFAQ Systems
Deeptech
IoT & Hardware
B2B-B2C
$288K
–
Ketan Patel
Ketan Patel
30 Apr 2024
vHub.ai
Enterprisetech
Horizontal SaaS
B2B
–
Seed
Z21 Ventures, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
Z21 Ventures, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
1 May 2024
neuro42
Healthtech
IoT & Hardware
B2B-B2C
–
–
Karna D Shinde
Karna D Shinde
1 May 2024
ellementry
Ecommerce
D2C
B2C
–
–
She Capital
She Capital
1 May 2024
Perceptyne
Deeptech
Robotics Process Automation (RPA)
B2B
–
Pre-Seed
Venture Catalysts, Tarun Mehta, Swapnil Jain, Pawan Chandana, Bharat Daka T-Hub, Z21 Ventures, Naveen Varma Alluri, Satya Prakash B, Aditya Damani
Venture Catalysts
2 May 2024
Culture Circle
Ecommerce
B2C Ecommerce
B2C
–
Pre-Seed
IIMA Ventures
IIMA Ventures
3 May 2024
ShipEase
Logistics
Ecommerce Logistics
B2B
–
–
JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation, COGNIPHY.US, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY)
–
Source: Inc42
*Part of a larger round
Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included
Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week
- Digital pharmacy PharmEasy bagged $216.2 Mn as part of its rights issue at a 90% valuation cut compared to its peak valuation of $5.6 Bn in October 2021. This was the lone mega deal for the week as well as the biggest cheque secured by a startup.
- Buoyed by PharmEasy’s mega funding, healthtech knocked off fintech to become the most funded sector this week. Healthtech startups raised $236.2 Mn across three deals this week.
- Ecommerce maintained its streak of securing the most number of deals. Startups in the space netted $8.2 Mn across five deals this week.
- Z21 Ventures and JITO Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF) were the most active investors for the week, backing two startups apiece.
- Despite the positive upturn in the funding trends overall, seed funding dropped significantly this week. Startups at this stage were able to bag only $12.3 Mn this week, down 64% from last week’s $33.9 Mn.
Startup Acquisitions This Week
- Momspresso founders Vishal Gupta and Prashant Sinha’s new venture Pravis has picked up a stake in adtech gaming platform StreamO. The growth marketing firm will leverage StreamO’s 300 Mn subscribers to target GenZ communities.
- Non-banking finance company (NBFC) UGRO Capital has initiated the acquisition process of lending tech startup MyShubhLife in a mix of equity (64%) and cash (36%) at an enterprise value of INR 45 Cr.
- SaaS major Freshworks announced the acquisition of Delaware Corporation’s Device42 for $230 Mn. The purchase price would be paid in the form of $215 Mn of cash and an equity rollover of $15 Mn.
- Chennai-based SaaS metering and pricing platform Togai is in the process of getting acquired by California-based Zuora. The subscription management software company is looking to enhance its monetisation with the Togai’s acquisition
- PB Fintech, the parent company of insurtech platform Policybazaar, is set to acquire 100% stake in UAE-based Genesis Group. It will also be divesting stakes in two subsidiaries, Visit Health Private Limited and Visit Internet Services Private Limited
Other Major Developments Of The Week
- BharatPe’s ex-COO Druv Dhanraj Bahl has rolled out his maiden venture capital (VC) fund, Eternal Capital, with a target corpus of $14.3 Mn. The fund is looking to back 40 early stage startups over the next three years.
- Venture debt firm Stride Ventures announced the final closure of its Stride Ventures India Fund III at $165 Mn. The firm will look to back startups across consumer brands, financial services and cleantech sectors
- VC firm IvyCap Ventures marked the final close of its third fund at $251 Mn. The fund will invest in 25 startups with an average ticket size of INR 30-50 Cr.
- Tribe Capital is looking to invest $75 Mn in Shiprocket through its newly-launched special purpose vehicle (SPV). The transaction is expected to be completed in a few weeks.
- Digital consulting company Brillio is looking to expand its India footprint with an investment of $240 Mn over the next five years.
- Investment firm Oister Global has floated an INR 440 Cr fund, Oister India Pinnacle Fund (OIPF), to fuel emerging technology-led innovations and various sunrise sectors in the country.
- Thyrocare founder Arokiaswamy Velumani has joined hands with Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) and Magnifiq Capital Trust to invest up to INR 50 Cr in Indian startups.
- Healthtech unicorn Innovaccer is in talks with health major Kaiser Permanente to raise a funding in the range of $200 Mn-$250 Mn in a mix of primary and secondary funding.
- Anthill Ventures is looking to launch a hybrid fund targeting consumer experiences, wellness and entertainment startups. It will raise $100 Mn for a hybrid private credit and equity fund.
- UGRO Capital’s board approved raising INR 1,332.66 Cr through compulsorily convertible debentures (CCDs) and warrants.
- Gold loan startup Rupeek has initiated funding discussions with Claypond Capital and Axis Bank. The startup is looking to raise an undisclosed amount of funding at a substantially reduced valuation of $200-$250 Mn from its 2022 valuation of $600 Mn.
- Private equity (PE) firm ChrysCapital closed its $700 Mn ‘Continuation Fund’. The fund was anchored by US-based HarbourVest Partners and European funds LGT Capital Partners and Pantheon Ventures.
