Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [27 Dec - 1 Jan]

This week 25 Indian startups raised funding, of which 19 received a total of about $592 million. Zetwerk raised the highest funding of about $210 million, followed by two startups that raised the funds at a unicorn valuation i.e GlobalBees and MamaEarth.

Meanwhile, the funding of seven of the total funded startups remained undisclosed.

Below is the summary of the deals closed this week

Growth/late-stage deals

Zetwerk: Business-to-business (B2B) manufacturing services marketplace Zetwerk Manufacturing Business Pvt Ltd has raised nearly $210 million as a part of its Series F funding round, led by US-based Greenoaks Capital.

GlobalBees: E-commerce roll-up firm GlobalBees has raised $111.5 million in its Series B round led by Premji Invest at unicorn valuation. Steadview Capital and existing investors Lightspeed, SoftBank and FirstCry also participated in the financing round.

Jupiter: Mumbai-headquartered fintech company Jupiter has raised $86 million in a Series C round of funding led by New York-headquartered hedge fund Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital and Virgina-headquartered QED Investors, according to filings made with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

MamaEarth: Baby and mother care brand Mamaearth has raised close to $52 million in a new round at unicorn valuation led by Sequoia. This is the second round for the Bengaluru-based startup in 2021. In July, it had scooped up $50 million in a round led by Sofina at a valuation of $730 million.

OneCard: Mobile-first credit card company OneCard has scooped up $75 million in a new round led by existing investor QED Fund. The Pune-based company had already raised $35 million in two tranches in its Series B round led by Sequoia and QED Fund in 2021.

Infra.Market: B2B construction materials marketplace, Infra.Market, has raised Rs 200 crore or $26.8 million by issuing debentures to a group of investors led by financial institution Avendus, people in the know said.

MobiKwik: IPO-bound digital payment solution provider MobiKwik has raised around Rs 100 crore or $13.3 million in a pre-IPO placement from Bennett Coleman and Company Limited.

SecureNow: SecureNow, an insurance broker, has raised $6 million in a Series B round.  The round saw participation from Apis Insurtech Fund I, managed by Apis Partners LLP, and Charan Singh, founder of SelectQuote Inc.  

Early-stage deals

OWO Technologies: OWO Technologies, an ecommerce startup offering online beverages and packaged drinking water, has raised a total seed funding of $3 million from marquee investors.

Metamall: Metamall, which provides virtual reality (VR) experience on the blockchain for users to build, explore, and trade in their own virtual mall, has raised a $4.6 million round through token sales

EsportsXO: Gaming startup EsportsXO has raised $1.1 million in a seed round led by We Founder Circle and followed by Wami Capital, SOSV, Mumbai Angels Network, SucSEED Indovation Fund, Eximius Ventures and FAAD Network.

Hakuna Matata: Chennai-headquartered digital transformation services provider Hakuna Matata Solutions has announced raising $1 million from industrial oil and chemical company Hardcastle Petrofer. 

ARAPL RaaS: ARAPLRaaS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Affordable Robotic and Automation, has raised $700K or $0.7 million.

Tango Eye: Software startup Tango Eye has raised Rs 5 crore or $0.67 million in fresh funding from direct-to-consumer (D2C) eyewear brand Lenskart.

Vendor Infra: Business-to-business (B2B) digital collaboration platform for infrastructure and construction industry, Vendor Infra, has raised $0.26 million in an angel funding round from multiple executives from the infrastructure and IT industry.

Hair Forever: Hair Forever, a hair extension manufacturing startup, has raised funds worth $0.15 million from an array of angel investors in a pre-seed round.

The Gourmet Jar: The Gourmet Jar, a Noida-based leading artisanal brand of spreads, dips, preserves, sauces and pestos, has raised $0.15 million funding in a round led by DevX Venture Fund, the investment arm of DevX Co-working and Accelerator.

Skippi Ice Pops: Skippi IcePops, an ice popsicle brand, has raised $0.13 million from Shark Tank India for a 15 percent equity. 

Glii: Glii, a dating and companionship app for the LGBTQIA+ community, raised $0.1 million in a seed round from We Founder Circle. 

Bummer: Ahmedabad-based comfortwear brand Bummer has raised Rs 75 lakh $0.1 million from Aman Gupta, Founder of Boat Electronics and Namita Thapar of Emcure Pharma as part of Shark Tank India.

Undisclosed deals

Karkinos, BangDB, Motozite, Bewakoof, Neemli and Zorgers did not disclose their financial details.      

Acquisitions this week

Edtech startup Teachmint has acquired video engagement platform Airlearn for an undisclosed amount.

IDAM Natural Wellness Pvt. Ltd, the parent company of direct to consumer (D2C) personal care brand Bella Vita Organic, has picked up around 60 per cent stake in MeeSoGood, a chocolate and coffee brand, for an undisclosed amount.

Thrasio-style house of brands player Mensa Brands acquired home-grown denim brand, High Star for an undisclosed amount.

Swiss impact investor BlueOrchard-backed Satya MicroCapital Ltd, focused on self-employed rural women, said it has completed a strategic investment to pick up 24% stake in Baid Housing Finance.

 In talks

E-commerce major Flipkart is in talks to acquire full-stack e-commerce enabler ANS Commerce.