This week, 31 Indian startups secured approximately $490.32 million in funding across various stages, including 7 growth-stage deals and 19 early-stage deals. Additionally, 5 startups chose not to disclose their transaction details.
In comparison, the previous week saw 21 early and growth-stage startups collectively raising $144.46 million.
Growth-Stage Deals
In the growth-stage category, 7 startups raised a total of $443.8 million this week. Quick commerce brand Zepto led the way with a $340 million Series F round. Specialty coffee retailer Blue Tokai Coffee followed with $35 million, while lending firm Yubi, agri-inputs platform AGRIM, post-sales service company Servify, beauty and personal care D2C brand Pilgrim, and robotics startup Miko secured $30 million, $17.3 million, $10 million, $9 million, and $2.5 million, respectively. Swiggy also raised an undisclosed amount from Amitabh Bachchan’s Family Office.
Early-Stage Deals
In early-stage funding, 19 startups garnered $46.52 million. HouseEazy, a full-stack marketplace for resale homes, topped the list, followed by conversation intelligence platform Convin, energy storage solutions startup Clean Electric, fintech firm Finarkein Analytics, and edtech startup Kreedo, among others. Four startups—Metaman, Better Nutrition (Greenday), BiUP Technologies, and OneMoney—raised funds without disclosing the amounts.
City and Segment-Wise Breakdown
Bengaluru led in city-wise deals with 8, followed by Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Dehradun, Jodhpur, and Lucknow. In terms of segments, e-commerce and fintech dominated, each with 6 deals. Other sectors, including SaaS, edtech, foodtech, healthtech, proptech, and agritech, also saw activity.
Series-Wise Breakdown
Seed funding was the most active this week with 11 deals, followed by 6 Series A, 4 pre-Series A, 3 Series C, 2 Series B, 2 pre-Seed, and 1 Series F deal.
Week-on-Week Funding Trend
Weekly startup funding surged by 239.42%, tripling to $490.32 million from the previous week’s $144.46 million. The average funding over the last eight weeks stands at around $254.80 million with an average of 26 deals per week.
Fund Launches
Two new funds were launched this week to support Indian startups. Velocity, a cash flow-based financing platform, introduced a Rs 400 crore fund to assist D2C and e-commerce brands during the upcoming festive season. Whiteboard Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm, closed its second fund at Rs 300 crore.
Key Hirings
Sumer Juneja, previously with Softbank, has joined OYO as a non-executive director. Swiggy Instamart appointed former Flipkart executive Amitesh Jha as CEO. Medikabazaar welcomed Dinesh Lodha as Group CEO, while Sukoon Health appointed Dr. Vipul Rastogi as Clinical Regional Head. Additionally, 3i Infotech hired Raj Ahuja as CEO, Evera appointed Saurabh Kumar as Independent Director, and Zalon named Abhiishekk Rakj Pandey as Co-founder and CEO.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Significant acquisitions occurred in the Indian tech industry this week. VerSe Innovation, the parent company of Dailyhunt and Josh, acquired digital marketing firm Valueleaf Group. In the SaaS space, Browserstack acquired bug detection and reporting platform Bird Eats Bug for $20 million. ANSR, a business consulting firm, acquired HCM platform hrEntries to enhance its global team management capabilities. Yudiz Solutions, a blockchain and IT development company, acquired a majority stake in ABCM App Private Limited, a consultancy and technology solutions company. In the FMCG sector, GRM Overseas acquired a 44% stake in D2C food and beverage brand Rage Coffee.
Shutdowns
Two notable shutdowns occurred this week. Spiritual tech startup My Tirth India announced its closure due to a funding crisis, despite the growing popularity of the sector. Bharti Airtel also decided to discontinue its music streaming app, Wynk Music, although it plans to retain the employees involved.
New Launches and Partnerships
- OPEN launched Bharat Billpay for businesses.
- Zoho entered the payments space with a new payment gateway.
- BharatPe ventured into consumer payments.
- CarDekho Group partnered with SaaS platform BiUP Technologies.
Potential Deals
- Eruditus is reportedly looking to raise $150 million at a $2.3 billion valuation.
Financial Results
- Rebel Foods reported Rs 1,420 crore in revenue for FY24, with a 42% reduction in losses.
- Square Yards posted Rs 261 crore in revenue for Q1 FY25 and is projecting Rs 1,500 crore for the full fiscal year.
- CaratLane surpassed Rs 3,000 crore in revenue for FY24, maintaining profitability.
News Flash
- Customer conversation platform Exotel suffered a data breach.
- BigBasket announced plans to fully pivot to quick commerce.
- Amazon India is set to enter the quick commerce space.
- D2C meat delivery startup Zappfresh filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for an IPO.
- Ola Electric’s products will be available on ONDC next week.
- Infra.Market has lined up 8 investment banks for its $700 million IPO.
- Moglix launched next-day delivery, joining the rapid delivery bandwagon.
Conclusion
Startup funding this week saw a significant increase, more than tripling to $490.32 million. Meanwhile, two new startup-focused funds, Velocity and Whiteboard Capital, were launched. In other developments, Ola Electric’s co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal announced that all of the company’s electric scooters will be available on ONDC next week, and D2C meat delivery startup Zappfresh filed its DRHP for an IPO. Several major players in e-commerce are also entering the quick delivery market to cater to the growing demand for faster services.
