Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [21 - 26 Oct]

During the week, 21 Indian startups raised around $187 million in funding. These deals count 4 growth-stage deals and 13 early-stage deals while 4 startups kept their transaction details undisclosed.

Last week, 39 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised around $450 million in funding.

[Growth-stage deals]

Among the growth-stage deals, 4 startups raised $116 million in funding this week. Online tutoring startup upGrad spearheaded with a $60 million funding round. Agritech firm Stellapps raised $26 million followed by health and fitness platform Healthify (formerly HealthifyMe) and D2C bags and luggage brand Zouk with $20 million and $10 million in funding, respectively.

[Early-stage deals]

Further, 13 early-stage startups secured funding worth $70.92 million during the week. Generative AI startup Neysa led the list followed by managed care provider Even Healthcare, workplace technology provider OLOID, fleet startup Advance Mobility, and home improvement and maintenance services platform Wify among others.

Meanwhile, Automoto, Uravu, Sushain Wellness, and Modulus Housing also raked in funding but did not disclose the transaction details. For more information, visit TheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]

In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Mumbai-based startups led with 9 deals followed by Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Pune, and Chennai.

Segment-wise, E-commerce and Healthtech startups are on the top spot with 4 deals each. Logistics, AutomotiveTech, Agritech, and AI startups followed the list among others.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, seed funding deals are on top, with 8 deals followed by Series A, pre-Series A, Series C, and Angel deals among others.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding plummeted 58.4% to $186.92 million as compared to around $449.33 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $315.51 million with 28 deals per week.

[Fund launches]

Several new venture capital funds have been launched this week to support startups in India. Titan Capital Winners Fund, backed by Snapdeal co-founders, has closed at Rs 333 crore. Transition VC has partnered with the Kerala Startup Mission to promote clean energy startups. Avaana Capital has closed its $135 million climate and sustainability fund.

The Union Cabinet has approved a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund for space sector startups. Global investment company General Catalyst has raised $8 billion in new capital for its various investment strategies. These funds will provide crucial capital and support to Indian startups across different sectors.

[Key hirings and departures]

The startup ecosystem witnessed 9 notable hirings this week. Mamaearth’s parent Honasa onboarded Kaustav Guha as Vice President of Research & Development. Lenskart welcomed Abhishek Gupta as CFO, and Paytm hired Sidharth Shakdher as the business head.

Meanwhile, Hotstar’s Head of India Sajith Sivanandan and FirstCry’s non-executive director Paul Davison resigned.

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

This week, Bizom acquired Rhythm 2.0 Sales Route Optimiser, a software for traveling sales professionals. Simultaneously, Ixigo approved the acquisition of a majority stake in Zoop Web Services for Rs 12.54 crore.

Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights.

[New launches and partnerships]

▪️ Sarvam AI launches ‘Sarvam-1’, an indic language model

▪️ Oyo rolls out a new B2B venture to serve corporate travel space

▪️ GalaxEye partners with SpaceX to launch an earth observation satellite

[Potential Deals]

▪️ Shiprocket to get funds from MUFG Bank and Koch Group

▪️ Udaan looking to raise $100 Mn funding

▪️ Acho planning $120 Mn secondary funding

▪️ Ranjan Pai and Cipla Family to capture stakes in Zepto

▪️ Zomato to acquire 8% stake in Byondnxt

▪️ Shadowfax to raise around $50 Mn funding at 2X valuation

[Financial results this week]

▪️ Ixigo ends Q2 FY25 with Rs 206 Cr revenue and Rs 13 Cr PAT

▪️ Go Digit reports flat growth in Q2 FY25, profit soars 3.2X

▪️ Elon Musk’s X India struggles with a 90% decline in revenue in FY24

▪️ Shiprocket’s revenue grows to Rs 1,316 Cr in FY24, cuts losses

▪️ With Rs 4,964 Cr revenue, Moglix reports flat growth in FY24

▪️ Zomato’s total income crosses Rs 5,000 Cr in Q2 FY25, posts Rs 176 Cr PAT

▪️ On-demand driver aggregator firm DriveU turns profitable in FY24

▪️ Paytm reports Rs 1,660 Cr revenue in Q2 FY25 with improved economics

▪️ Groww revenue soars to Rs 3,145 Cr in FY24, domicile shift costs Rs 1,340 Cr

▪️ AquaExchange revenue crosses Rs 100 Cr in FY24

▪️ PhonePe crosses Rs 5,000 Cr revenue in FY24; losses dwindle 28.6%

[News flash this week]

▪️ BlinkIt brings an EMI option for orders over Rs 2,999

▪️ Paytm receives NPCI nod to onboard new UPI users

▪️ Deepinder Goyal to enter health and mental fitness space with ‘Continue’

▪️ KSUM Invests Rs 15 Cr in Transition VC to boost energy transition goals

▪️ Peak XV selects 14 startups for the 10th cohort of Surge

▪️ Captain Fresh selects Axis Capital, BofA as BRLM for its IPO

▪️ Go Digit received a show-cause notice from IRDAI

▪️ Zomato and Swiggy hike platform fee to Rs 10

▪️ CCPA sent notices to 11 e-commerce and quick commerce companies

▪️ Zomato gets board approval to raise Rs 8,500 Cr via QIP

▪️ Meituan sells over $200 Mn worth of stake in Swiggy

▪️ Ola Electric claims to have resolved 99% of CCPA complaints

[Conclusion]

After a sharp surge followed by a low week, the weekly funding again slipped to under $200 million this week and stood at $186.92 million. The week saw five startup-focused fund launches namely Tital Capital, Transition VC, Avaana Capital, General Catalyst, and Govt of India’s fund for spacetech startups.

Captain Fresh, a B2B seafood chain, is reportedly planning an IPO next year and has appointed Axis Capital and Bank of America as its bankers. The company aims to raise $350-400 million through the IPO, with half of the funds coming from a fresh issue of shares and the other half from an offer for sale. Captain Fresh is seeking a valuation of $1.3-1.5 billion for its public listing.

Insurance firm Go Digit received a show-cause notice from IRDAI for exceeding the regulatory limit for expenses related to its insurance business. The company is currently under investigation by IRDAI and is in the process of responding to the notice.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has sent notices to 11 e-commerce and quick-commerce companies for violating metrology norms. The companies, including Blinkit, Zepto, Meesho, Swiggy Instamart, MyGlamm, and Snapdeal, are accused of not displaying expiry and best-before dates for products. The CCPA is investigating these violations and has asked the companies to respond to the notices.

Ola Electric has responded to a show-cause notice issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) regarding alleged consumer rights violations. The company claims to have resolved 99.1% of the 10,644 complaints received from the CCPA. Ola Electric has also announced the launch of "HyperService" to improve its after-sales service and address customer concerns.