Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [28 Oct - 02 Nov]

During the week, 13 Indian startups raised around $362 million in funding. These deals include 6 growth-stage deals and 5 early-stage deals while 2 startups kept their transaction details undisclosed.

Last week, 21 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised around $187 million in funding.

[Growth-stage deals]

Among the growth-stage deals, 6 startups raised $270.4 million in funding this week. Fintech NBFCs Finova Capital and Vridhi Home Finance are on top with $135 million and $36.9 million funding, respectively. B2B e-commerce platform Udaan raised $35 million followed by D2C dairy brand Country Delight, business automation platform EvoluteIQ, and grain commerce platform Arya.ag with $23.7 million, $20 million, and $19.8 million in funding, respectively.

[Early-stage deals]

Further, 5 early-stage startups secured funding worth $91.92 million during the week. Travel platform Tripfactory led the list followed by edu-wealthtech startup Zinc, full-stack biofuels firm ARYA, AI-based data analytics company Auquan, and on-demand home services platform COOX.

Meanwhile, Birla Brainiacs and Dear Me 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, Bengaluru-based startups led with 7 deals followed by Delhi-NCR, Jaipur, Mumbai, and Indore.

Segment-wise, Fintech startups are on the top spot with 4 deals. E-commerce, Agritech, Biotech, and Edtech startups followed the list among others.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, seed funding deals are on top, with 4 deals followed by Debt, Series A, Series B, Series E, and Angel deals.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding surged 93.84% to $362.32 million as compared to around $187 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $308.13 million with 27 deals per week.

[Fund launches]

Early-stage venture capital firm First Cheque announced plans to invest in 15-20 startups over the next 18 months as part of its third cohort. The firm, which closed its second fund at Rs 38 crore, aims to make pre-seed investments with an average first cheque size of up to $500,000.

[Key hirings and departures]

The startup ecosystem witnessed 1 notable hiring this week. BluSmart onboarded Rupa Devi Singh as an Independent Director. While Amit Kumar has resigned as MD and CEO of OLX India.

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

Nazara Technologies' subsidiary, Datawrkz, acquired a 100% stake in Space & Time, a UK-based growth marketing agency, for approximately Rs 52.3 crore ($6.2 million) in a combination of cash and stock. This acquisition aligns with Datawrkz’s strategy to expand its presence across Europe and North America, strengthening its position in the global digital advertising market.

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

[New launches and partnerships]

▪️ BharatPe launches a new app for investment offerings

▪️ Swiggy rolls out 10-minute medicine delivery in Bengaluru

[Potential Deals]

▪️ Easy Home Finance set to raise Rs 210 Cr led by Claypond Capital

▪️ Deepak Ravindran’s KiranaPro set to raise seed round

▪️ InsuranceDekho and RenewBuy to take on PolicyBazaar with potential merger

[Financial results this week]

▪️ Facebook India’s profit surges 43% to Rs 505 Cr in FY24

▪️ Whatfix books Rs 306 Cr revenue from US in FY24; cuts losses

▪️ MyGate total revenue nears Rs 110 Cr in FY24; losses shrink by 82%

▪️ Meesho slashes adjusted losses by 97% to Rs 53 Cr in FY24

▪️ Ninjacart claims Rs 2002 Cr in gross revenue for FY24

▪️ ElasticRun GMV drops 49% to Rs 2,434 Cr in FY24, cuts losses by 42%

▪️ Amazon India logistics unit posts Rs 4,889 Cr income in FY24

▪️ Infra.Market profit after tax surges 2.4X to Rs 378 Cr in FY24

▪️ Razorpay payment gateway biz crosses Rs 2,000 Cr revenue in FY24

▪️ Unicommerce posts Rs 30.5 Cr revenue and Rs 6 Cr PAT in Q2 FY25

▪️ Atomberg revenue grows 31% to Rs 848 Cr in FY24

▪️ Google India posts Rs 5,518 Cr revenue in FY24; profits stands at Rs 1,424 Cr

▪️ Walmart India reports Rs 5,200 Cr revenue in FY24

▪️ Flipkart Internet GMV grows to $8.5 Bn in FY24, cuts losses

[News flash this week]

▪️ UPI achieves 10% month-on-month growth in October

▪️ Ola Electric’s two-wheeler market share rises to 30% in October

▪️ Swiggy reduces IPO valuation and size of OFS

▪️ Cashfree Payments secures RBI's PPI license

▪️ India cracks down on illegal payment gateways used for money laundering

▪️ Avanse Financial gets SEBI nod for Rs 3,500 Cr IPO

▪️ Tata Group set to enter quick commerce with 'Neu Flash': Report

[Conclusion]

On a weekly basis, startup funding surged 93.84% to $362.32 million as compared to around $187 million raised during the previous week. The week saw only one startup-focused fund launch namely First Cheque.

Indian authorities have warned against illegal payment gateways used for money laundering. The Ministry of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), has issued an alert regarding the use of these gateways, often created through shell companies or individual accounts. The police have identified several such gateways, including PeacePay, RTX Pay, PoccoPay, and RPPay. To prevent such activities, authorities are urging banks to implement stricter checks on account usage and warning individuals that illegal fund deposits can lead to legal consequences.

Swiggy has finally filed its RHP and is set to open its IPO for subscription on November 6th. The company has reduced its fresh issue size to Rs 4,499 crore and also adjusted the offer-for-sale component. The IPO is expected to be priced between Rs 371 and Rs 390 per share.

Avanse Financial Services has received approval from SEBI for its Rs 3,500 crore initial public offering (IPO). This comes after the company refiled its DRHP in July to address certain regulatory concerns. The IPO is expected to go ahead in the coming months.

Tata Group is set to enter the competitive quick commerce market with its new service, "Neu Flash." The service will offer quick delivery of groceries, electronics, and fashion products, leveraging existing platforms like BigBasket, Croma, and Tata Cliq. This move positions Tata Group to compete with established players like Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, and Flipkart Minutes.