Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [June 16 - June 21]

During the week, 30 Indian startups raised a total of approximately $312.69 million, including 9 growth-stage and 18 early-stage deals, while 3 startups kept their funding undisclosed.

In comparison, the previous week saw 17 startups across early and growth stages secure around $197.71  million.

[Growth-stage deals]

Growth and late-stage funding reached $239.9 million this week, led by Raphe mPhibr, which raised $100 million in the largest private funding round for an Indian aerospace company, backed by General Catalyst. Wiom secured $40 million from Bertelsmann India Investments and Accel, while Battery Smart raised $21 million in a Series B extension. Meanwhile, Zerodha’s Nithin and Nikhil Kamath picked up a Rs 250 crore stake in InCred Holdings. Other funded startups include ShopOS, Kazam, Flipspaces, and StayVista.

[Early-stage deals]

Further, 18 early-stage startups collectively raised around $72.79 million in funding. Electric vehicle maker EKA Mobility secured Rs 200 crore ($23.3 million) from ENAM Holdings followed by Stock trading platform Sahi, deeptech  Fabheads, D2C brand Rabitat, fashion tech startup ZILO, among others.

Integrated supply chain startup Prozo, platform for architectural and interior design products, All Home and co-living startup Truliv  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, Delhi-NCR-based startups led with 8 deals followed by Bengaluru with 7 deals. Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad based and other startups also bagged deals.

Segment-wise, e-commerce startups are at the top spot with 5 deals. Fintech startups followed with 4 deals.,  EV and deeptech startups secured 3 deals each. Decor, proptech, dronetech, telecom and other startups also bagged deals this week.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, Seed funding led with 9 deals closely followed by Series B grabbing 7 deals followed  by Series A, pre-seed, pre-Series A and others.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding jumped  by 58% to $312.69 million as compared to around $197.71  million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $254.57 million with 23 deals per week.

[Key Hirings & Departures]

This week saw notable hirings across companies. Mumbai-based health and insurance startup Loop has appointed former CEO of Oura Harpreet Singh Rai as President, Healthcare. Community management platform MyGate elevated Rohit Jindal to co-founder while Pranav Shankar promoted to CTO of the company. Edtech startup Masai elevated 3 internal leaders Keshav Mishra, Aman Vats and Ankit Agrawal to co-founders.

There were a couple of departures as well with shish Dave stepping down as CEO of Mirae Asset Venture Investments (India) after serving in the role for seven years and Open Network for Digital Commerce’s independent director Arvind Gupta also stepped down from the post.

Visit TheKredible for more details

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

Managed office space provider Incuspaze has acquired Pune-based co-working firm Trios in a cash and stock deal to expand its business. Premium dessert brand Walko Food Company has acquired Mumbai-based Meemee’s Ice Creams, marking its foray into the artisanal dessert market. Zen Technologies has approved acquiring a majority stake in defence-tech startup TISA Aerospace, which focuses on loitering munitions and UAVs.

Visit TheKredible for more details

[Fund Launch]

Bengaluru-based private equity firm Amicus Capital Partners has announced the final close of its second fund at $214 million (approx. Rs 1,800 crore), surpassing its initial target of $200 million (Rs 1,700 crore).

[ESOP Buyback]

HR tech platform Darwinbox has completed an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) buyback worth Rs 86 crore ($10 million), marking its third such initiative in the past four years. The company said the program benefited over 350 employees across its 11 global offices spanning India, Southeast Asia, North America, and the Middle East.

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

[Potential Deals]

▪️ Eggoz to raise Rs 125 Cr led by Gaja Capital

[New Launches and Partnerships]

▪️ PhonePe, HDFC Bank partner to launch co-branded credit card

▪️ Logistics platform Shipway launches AI chatbot Loca

▪️ Eat Better has teamed up with Unicommerce to optimize and streamline its e-commerce operations

▪️ Skyroot Aerospace signs agreement with Axiom Space to propel space exploration efforts

▪️ AbhiBus partners with CheckMyBus to expand global access to intercity travel in India

[Financial result this week]

▪️ Wakefit posts Rs 971 Cr revenue in 9M FY25; auditor raises concern over past financials

▪️ NPCI profit jumps 42% to Rs 1,552 Cr in FY25

[News flash this week]

▪️ Wakefit files DRHP to raise Rs 468 Cr via fresh issue

▪️ Net1 exits from Mobikwik with notable loss after 8 years

▪️ Pine Labs files DRHP; Peak XV emerges as lead seller in OFS

▪️ Meesho completes reverse flip, merges US entity with Indian

[Summary]

On a weekly basis, startup funding jumped  by 58% to $312.69 million as compared to around $197.71  million raised during the previous week.

Merchant payments platform Pine Labs and home solutions brand Wakefit have filed their DRHPs with SEBI for IPOs this week. Pine Labs plans a Rs 2,600 crore fresh issue and an OFS of 14.78 crore shares, while Wakefit’s IPO includes a Rs 468 crore fresh issue and an OFS of 5.84 crore shares, as per their DRHPs.

South Africa-based Net1 Applied Technologies has exited its long-standing investment in fintech platform Mobikwik, selling its entire 8% stake (62,15,620 shares) via a block deal on Thursday. The shares were sold at Rs 230.16 each, totaling approximately Rs 143 crore, according to NSE data.

Homegrown e-commerce platform Meesho concludes its reverse flip to India after receiving final National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval last week.