Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [July 07 - July 12]

During the week, 17 Indian startups raised a total of approximately $95 million, including 5 growth-stage and 10 early-stage deals, while 2 startups kept their funding undisclosed.

In comparison, the previous week saw 26 startups across early and growth stages secure around $290.28  million.

[Growth-stage deals]

Growth and late-stage funding this week totaled $72.9M. IPO-bound proptech firm Smartworks led with a $20M pre-IPO round, followed by education-focused NBFC Varthana raising Rs 159 Cr ($18.5M) in debt. Clean-label food brand Kehtika secured $18M in a Series B round led by Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office and Anicut Capital. Fintech Credit Wise Capital and Avis Hospital also raised funds.

[Early-stage deals]

Further, 10 early-stage startups collectively raised around $22.11 million in funding led by tech-enabled NBFC InPrime Finserv raising around $6 million in its Series A round led by Pravega Ventures followed by NRI-focused fintech startup Belong, microdrama OTT platform Chai Bisket, home service marketplace Clean Fanatics, deeptech startup Green Aero, among others.

Cybersecurity startup LdotR and  SaaS startup Monetize360 also raised a sum but did not disclose the amount raised.

For a detailed funding breakdown, visit TheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]

In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups led with 6 deals followed by Delhi-NCR with 4 deals. Mumbai, Hyderabad and others also bagged deals.

Segment-wise,fintech startups are at the top spot with 4 deals. Deeptech and Saas startups followed with 2 deals each. Proptech, foodtech, OTT and other startups also bagged deals this week.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, Seed funding led with 7 deals followed by Series A and pre-Series A grabbing 2 deals each. Pre-IPO, Debt and Series B also bagged deals. 

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined by 67% to $95 million as compared to around $290.28 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $205.24 million with 21 deals per week.

[Key Hirings & Departures]

This week saw notable hirings across companies. Crypto exchange CoinDCX has appointed Amol Wanjari as Head of Engineering and Sangeeth Aloysius as Head of Product. Foodtech major Eternal (formerly Zomato) has appointed Aditya Mangla as the CEO of its core food delivery business. Autodesk has appointed Kamolika Gupta Peres as Vice President for its India and SAARC business.

Visit TheKredible for more details

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

Workspace solution provider Incuspaze has acquired VSKOUT, a B2B SaaS solution offering curated data analytics for commercial real estate (CRE), in a strategic move to enhance and integrate high-tech capabilities. Infinity Fincorp Solution, a non-bank lender in India, has entered into a share purchase and subscription agreement with Partners Group, whereby Partners Group will acquire a significant majority stake in the company.

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

[Fund Launches]

IndiGo Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of airline company IndiGo, announced the first close of its maiden fund at Rs 450 crore. IIT Madras is launching a Rs 200 crore VC fund to support early-stage startups, with a focus on the deeptech sector.

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️ Awfis expands into furniture biz to tap new revenue stream, cut costs 

▪️ Flipkart Ventures launches Leap Ahead 4.0 to back early-stage startups

▪️ ClearTax unveils multilingual AI solution for filing IT returns

▪️ PhysicsWallah partners with YCMOU to launch UGC-compliant online degree programs

▪️ Flipkart Partners with Pebble to Launch India's First Smart Ring with Digital Display And Gesture Controls

▪️ Dhruva Space partners with Pixxel

▪️ Shaadi.com forays into spiritual tech with the launch of AstroChat

[Financial result this week]

▪️ Redcliffe Labs posts Rs 419 Cr revenue in FY25; narrows EBITDA losses 

▪️ Smartworks clocks Rs 1,374 Cr revenue and Rs 62 Cr loss in FY25

[News flash this week]

▪️ Pocket FM seeks Rs 85.7 Cr in damages from KuKu FM; rival calls charges motivated 

▪️ PhonePe, G-Pay hold 82% UPI share in June; BHIM back in top 10 after long hiatus

▪️ ED raids opinion trading platform Probo, seizes assets worth Rs 284 Cr

▪️ Groww maintains lead over Zerodha and Angel One amid user base decline in June

▪️ US court holds Byju Raveendran in contempt for ignoring bankruptcy orders

▪️ LetsVenture rebrands as LVX and expands into growth-stage investment

[Summary]

On a weekly basis, startup funding declined by 67% to $95 million as compared to around $290.28 million raised during the previous week.

The legal battle between Pocket FM and Kuku FM reached the Delhi High Court on Thursday. Pocket FM has sued Kuku FM’s parent, Mebigo Labs, for allegedly copying five audio series, seeking Rs 85.7 crore in damages and a permanent ban on its content, titles, and artwork.

India’s UPI network saw 18.4 billion transactions worth Rs 24.04 lakh crore in June, slightly lower than the previous month, as per NPCI data. Despite the dip, PhonePe and Google Pay continued to lead the space, together handling over 82% of all UPI transactions by volume.

The Indian stock market’s active user base fell from 49.67M in January to 47.89M in June but saw a 2% MoM rise in May. Groww retained the top spot with a 26.27% share, despite a 1.67% drop in users to 12.58M in June, NSE data shows.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided opinion-trading platform Probo’s offices in Gurugram and Jind, seizing assets worth Rs 284.5 crore. The company is under probe for alleged violations of gambling laws under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).