Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [01-06 Jan]

During the first week of 2024, as many as 17 startups raised funding amounting to $88.7 million. These deals include four growth stage and 11 early stage deals. While the details of two transactions remained undisclosed.

Last week [25-30 Dec, 2023], around 11 growth and early stage startups collectively raised nearly $80.77 million, including one undisclosed deal.

[Growth-stage deals]

This week, four growth stage startups raised close to $56 million in funding. Dairy brand Country Delight topped the list with $20 million fundraise.

B2B animal protein marketplace Captain Fresh, mobile-first credit card startup OneCard and warehousing and shipment management company Wiz Freight followed the list with $13.25 million, $11.44 million and $11.24 million.

[Early-stage deals]

As many as 11 early stage startups raised $32.8 million in funding. Proptech firm VRO Hospitality led the pack with $10 million followed by healthtech startup Curebay which scooped $7.5 million. While fintech startup SalarySe, healthtech firm Medway Hospitals and agritech company Torus also made it to the top five.

Further, the list includes co-living operator Settl, health and wellness platform HyugaLife, devotional platform DevDham and med-tech company Larkai among others.

Edutainment platform Maidaan and D2C devotion and style brand PrabhuBhakti did not disclose the amount raised during the week. For more information, visit TheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]    

In terms of city-wise number of funding deals, Delhi-NCR-based startups led the list with five deals followed by Bengaluru, Chennai and Bhubaneswar with 4, 2 and 2 deals, respectively.

Moreover, Pune, Thane, Mumbai and Hyderabad-based startups were next on the list.

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

[Series wise deals]

This week, seed stage deals grabbed the top spot with seven deals followed by Series A with four deals.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

After a heavy fund inflow in the mid of December 2023, the weekly funding again fell and stood at $80.77 million during 25-30 Dec and $88.7 million during this week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands around $253 million with 19 deals per week.

[M&A]

Based in the US, the AI-powered cybersecurity firm, SentinelOne, has agreed to acquire Peak XV Partners-backed PingSafe in a cash and stock deal.

[Departures]

This week, the Indian startups have witnessed five departures. The list features Subramanyam Reddy, Founder and CEO of KnowledgeHut, Jamil Ahmad, Co-founder Fashinza, Rakesh Deshmukh, CEO of Indus Appstore, Siddharth Manchanda, General Counsel of Unacademy and Roshan Thomas, General Counsel of BYJU’S.

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

[New launches]

▪ Binny Bansal launches OppDoor, B2B platform to help e-commerce firms

[Financial results this week]

▪️ Gupshup India posts Rs 1,619 Cr income and Rs 49 Cr profit in FY23

▪️ Cashfree posts Rs 614 Cr revenue in FY23; losses widen

▪️ Sugar’s income spikes 89% in FY23 with improved bottom line

▪️ Unacademy posts Rs 1,044 Cr income in FY23; losses shrink 39%

▪️ Vegrow’s GMV grew 30X in the last two fiscal years

▪️ Pristyn Care’s revenue grows 45% to Rs 453 Cr in FY23

[News flash this week]

▪️ MobiKwik files DRHP, to raise Rs 700 Cr via IPO

▪️ Invesco marks up Swiggy valuation to $8.3 Bn

▪️ Zomato pauses integration with Blinkit to focus on building super brands

[Entrackr’s analysis]

The last week of December and first week of January didn’t see much funding inflow for Indian startups after two heavily funded weeks during December 2023. The first week also saw five top level executives leaving their startups during the first week of 2024.

Meanwhile, fintech firm MobiKwik filed its DRHP with the market regulator SEBI to raise Rs 700 crore from its initial public offering. Asset management company Invesco marked up foodtech major Swiggy’s valuation to $8.3 billion. Notably, Swiggy is also eyeing IPO in 2024.