This week, 28 Indian startups secured approximately $194.22 million across various funding stages, with a notable drop in funds compared to the previous week. Growth-stage startups led with significant rounds, while early-stage ventures also pulled in several million. Meanwhile, new funds and strategic acquisitions hint at ongoing evolution in the startup landscape.
This past week was a busy one for Indian startups, as 28 of them managed to secure approximately $194.22 million in funding. Out of these, there were 9 growth-stage and 18 early-stage deals, although one startup chose not to disclose its funding amount. When comparing this to the previous week, which saw 27 startups pulling in around $585.71 million, it’s quite the drop.
In the growth-stage arena, funding was particularly strong, hitting about $137.2 million. Leading the charge was Farmley, a D2C snacking brand that bagged a significant sum in its Series C round courtesy of L Catterton. Following closely was VFlowTech, a battery tech startup that raised $20.5 million in a Series B round. Nobel Hygiene, specializing in disposable products, also made waves with $20 million in a mix of transactions. Other notable players raising funds include Celebal Technologies and Hocco, an ice cream brand, among others.
On the early-stage funding front, 17 startups raised a collective $57 million. The standout was oncology-focused Complement1, which pulled in $16 million during its seed round. There was also mixed reality innovation from Flam and contributions from several AI startups like Hyperbots and Adopt AI. Cryptique, an intelligent analytics platform, also secured funding but kept the details under wraps.
Diving deeper into city-specific deals, Bengaluru led with 12 funding rounds this week, while Delhi-NCR followed with 7. Mumbai, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad also saw their share of deals. In terms of industry trends, healthtech startups were front runners with 4 deals, closely followed by foodtech and AI startups who both bagged 3.
Looking at series-wise breakdown, seed funding was the most prevalent this week, tallying up to 12 deals, while Series B and Series A rounds ranked next, respectively. However, week-on-week, the funding dipped a staggering 67% when compared to the previous week’s haul. The average over the last eight weeks sits around $218.61 million with about 25 deals per week, so this week’s drop certainly raises eyebrows.
On the personnel front, there were some notable movements. Amagi, a cloud-based media firm, has brought in two independent directors in preparation for its IPO journey. Swiggy Instamart also made headlines with its forthcoming appointment of a new senior VP. Meanwhile, Pankaj Goel, who recently joined BharatPe as CTO in July 2023, left his post.
In acquisitions, Capillary Technologies made a strategic move by acquiring Kognitiv, aimed at enhancing its footprint in North America. Curefoods is also making waves by securing pan-India rights for Krispy Kreme, expanding its reach into North India.
On the fund launch front, former X India head Manish Maheshwari is launching a $100 million venture capital fund to support early-stage businesses in India. Meanwhile, Kriscore Capital has reached the first close of its debut fund, aiming at early-stage tech startups in India, raising about $23.3 million.
In the realm of new ventures, Zepto has unveiled Atom, a subscription-based data insights tool. Pine Labs partnered with J&K Bank to launch a RuPay Credit Card, while Phi Commerce is teaming up with DGFT Japan for a foray into the Japanese digital payments market.
Financial results have also been a hot topic this week. Delhivery reported a profit of Rs 70 Cr in its Q4 FY25, while PB Fintech saw its revenue soar to Rs 1,508 Cr in the same quarter. Quikr celebrated its first-ever profit in FY24 though its current assets stand at just Rs 20 Cr.
In breaking news, Gensol is facing insolvency as IREDA has moved to NCLT over a Rs 510 Cr loan default. But there are some victories too; OYO nabbed relief from the Delhi HC concerning a Zostel stake award. PayU has received its final Payment Aggregator license ahead of its IPO. Meanwhile, leap.club has had to halt its operations due to funding issues and retention struggles.
In a nutshell, while startup funding took a significant hit this week, emerging trends show resilience in sectors like healthtech and early-stage ventures. New leadership roles are being filled, and innovative products like Zepto’s Atom offer a glimpse into the dynamic landscape ahead. It will be interesting to see how these changes shape the future of India’s startup ecosystem.
In summary, this week saw a notable decline in startup funding in India, plummeting 67% compared to last week. However, there are still bright spots in healthtech funding and significant new launches on the horizon. With fresh venture capital entering the market, key hirings, and interesting partnerships, there’s a lot to unpack as the scenes continue to evolve. Keep an eye on how these developments unfold in the coming weeks!
Original Source: entrackr.com
