Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [15-20 Jan]

Following the spurt in the number of deals last week, this week 28 Indian startups raised $178 million. These transactions include two growth stage and 22 early stage deals. The amount raised by four early-stage startups remained undisclosed.

Last week, around 31 growth and early stage startups collectively raised nearly $157.3 million, including three undisclosed deals.

[Growth-stage deals]

The two growth stage startups, Wow! Momo and OneCard raised $56.56 million funding this week. Quick service restaurant chain Wow! Momo secured $42.16 million in a Series D round led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad while mobile-first credit card startup OneCard raised $14.4 million debt from Alteria Capital.

[Early-stage deals]

Among the early stage startups, the 22 startups scooped $121.45 million capital. International Battery Company led the pack with $35 million funding followed by social investment platform StockGro and cash-flow based supply chain finance platform FinAGG.

Further, the list includes IoT solutions provider AquaExchange, EV leasing and lifecycle management platform Alt Mobility, manufacturer-first automation platform Groyyo and beauty and wellness product marketplace BuyEazzy among others.

During the week, Vgenomics, Sahaj Gaming, KoinX and RenalProject also raised capital but did not disclose the funding amount details.  For more information, visit TheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]    

In terms of city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups topped the list with 12 deals. This was followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai-based startups with six and three deals, respectively.

Moreover, Kolkata, Pune, Vijayawada and Mysore, Ahmednagar, Hyderabad, and Coimbatore-based startups joined the list with one deal each.

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

[Series wise deals]

This week, surprisingly, Series A stage deals grabbed the top spot with 10 deals followed by pre-Series A, pre-seed and seed stage startups with 5, 5, and 4 deals, respectively.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding surged 13.2% this week to $178 million as compared to $157.3 million in the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands around $275 million with 22 deals per week.

[M&A]

This week witnessed four acquisitions including Cured by Innovaccer, Clientjoy by Synup, ZestMoney by DMI Group and Kyndi by Qlik.

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

[Financial results this week]

▪️ Dream11 posts Rs 6,384 Cr revenue and Rs 188 Cr PAT in FY23

▪️ Duroflex crosses Rs 1,000 Cr revenue in FY23; losses declined 59%

▪️ Soothe Healthcare posts Rs 172 Cr revenue and Rs 97 Cr loss in FY23

▪️ Newton School spent Rs 107 Cr to earn Rs 18 Cr in FY23

▪️ Adda247 posts Rs 115 Cr revenue in FY23; losses zoom 4X

▪️ Aakash Institute crosses Rs 1,400 Cr revenue in FY22; profit jumps 82%

[News flash this week]

▪️ HC dismisses appeals by startups against Google billing policy

▪️ Ola Electric launches in-house Ola Maps with Move OS 4

▪️ SoftBank marks exit from PolicyBazaar with over 3X returns

▪️ KKR is in talks to invest $250-300 Mn in BookMyShow

[Entrackr’s analysis]

The uptick in weekly funding signals positive developments in India's startup ecosystem, accompanied by a notable absence of layoffs or shutdowns reported this week.

In legal proceedings, the Madras High Court dismissed appeals from Indian startups challenging Google's app billing policy. Sixteen startups had previously contested Google's notice, which mandated adoption of its new app billing policy or risk delisting from the app marketplace.

Additionally, the DMI Group acquired BNPL platform ZestMoney. This strategic maneuver grants DMI exclusive rights to all Zest brands, expanding its influence over ZestMoney's user base and product suite.