Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [16-21 Oct]

This week, 26 Indian startups raised about $244 million in funding. B2B e-commerce platform Zetwerk led the pack this week with a $120 million Series F funding round. Importantly, this deal accounts for nearly 50% of the overall funding raised during the week.

Last week, 26 startups cumulatively raised around $319 million while the amount of 3 deals remained undisclosed.

[Growth-stage deals]

During the week, four growth-stage startups raised funding. The list counts business to business e-commerce platform Zetwerk, wealth and asset management firm Neo and private small satellite rocket company Agnikul.

Further, digital logistics solutions platform Freight Tiger secured $18 million while rooftop solar company Freyr Energy bagged $7 million during the period. Travel banking fintech platform Niyo also raised an undisclosed amount this week from Spring Marketing Capital.

[Early-stage deals]

In early-stage deals, B2B SaaS platform for pharmaceutical companies, Ecolab led the pack subsequently supply chain platform Showroom B2B. Out of total early-stage deals, only these two managed to raise over $5 million funding this week.

Other firms in the list include BharatAgri, Mokobara, Wadhwani AI, Grapevine, Game Theory, Tap Invest, Alwrite, and Omnivio among others. For more information, visit TheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]

This week, once again Bengaluru-based startups featured on top in terms of number of funding deals as well as amount raised. As per TheKredible, eleven Bengaluru-based startups raised funds this week amounting to $175.1 million or 71.67% of the total funding. Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad-based startups are next on the list in terms of number of deals.

The complete breakdown of city and segment can be found at TheKredible.

[Series wise deals]

Seed, pre-Series A and Series A stage startups dominated the chart with 9, 5, and 4 deals, respectively. This was followed by Series B, pre-seed and Series F funding deals.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, after crossing the $300 million mark last week, startup funding again shrank 23.5% to $244 million. Considering the last eight week’s funding trend, the average funding stands close to $210 million. Visit TheKredible for more.

[Layoffs/Departures]

This week, edtech startup Adda247 fired around 250-300 employees across verticals and the social commerce startup CityMall also laid off about 90 employees.

Along with this, Meesho’s chief experience officer (CXO) Utkrishta Kumar resigned to start his own venture.

Visit TheKredible to see fund launches, series wise deals and amount breakup, and more.

[New launches]

▪ Ex-ShareChat founders launches Robotics startup

[Fintrackr’s picks]

▪ Blinkit operating revenue surges 3X to Rs 724 Cr in FY23

▪ AI unicorn Fractal posts Rs 1,985 Cr revenue and Rs 194 Cr profit in FY23

▪ Renee Cosmetics’ revenue crosses Rs 100 Cr in FY23

▪ LeadSquared losses mount 2.5X in FY23, revenue grows 32%

▪ Decoding Leverage Edu’s Series C round

[Entrackr’s exclusives]

▪ Zetwerk raises $120 Mn at flat valuation

▪ Surge-backed Belora Cosmetics may shut down

▪ Peak XV acquires over 21% stake in Grapevine

▪ boAt adds fresh ESOPs worth $9 Mn

[News flash this week]

▪ Paytm Payments Bank halts int’l transactions on debit cards

▪ Google launches ‘DigiKavach’ to take on financial fraud

▪ Invesco marks up Swiggy’s valuation to $8 Bn

▪ Despite 28% GST regime, Dream11 crosses 200 Mn registered users

▪ Healthtech startup Mojocare to shut down, refund money to investors

[Entrackr’s analysis]

Startup funding witnessed a notable dip this week, falling below the $250 million threshold after a recent surge during the last week. Additionally, the average ticket size for investments slipped below $10 million. Bengaluru-based startups continued their dominance, leading both in the number of deals and the total funding amount.

Adda247 and CityMall shed a significant portion of their workforce, impacting nearly 400 employees which seems to be a reemergence of layoffs in the market.

Furthermore, Google introduced 'DigiKavach,' an early threat detection system to identify and prevent financial fraud patterns. On a different note, Paytm Payments Bank has temporarily disabled international transactions on debit cards without providing a clear reason for this decision.

In a surprising turn of events, Dream11 managed to surpass 200 million registered users, despite the 28% GST rule for real money gaming platforms.

*Back next week with another deal roundup