Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [11

During the week, 24 Indian startups raised around $182.62 million in funding. These deals include 3 growth-stage deals and 19 early-stage deals while 2 startups kept their transaction details undisclosed.

Last week, 25 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised around $138 million in funding.

[Growth-stage deals]

Among the growth-stage deals, 3 startups raised $97.5 million in funding this week. Rural-focused lending and distribution platform Sarvagram is on top with $67 million in funding. Math-focused edtech platform Bhanzu raised $16.5 million followed by electric aircraft startup The ePlane Co. with $14 million in funding.

[Early-stage deals]

Further, 19 early-stage startups secured funding worth $85.12 million during the week. Semi-urban commerce platform Wheelocity led the list followed by real estate sellers Guardians, ID verification startup Equal Identity, vehicle intelligence company Vecmocon, and brand protection and authentication solutions provider Ennoventure.

Meanwhile, OnePlay and Hydrogen Mem-Tech 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 and Delhi-NCR-based startups co-led with 8 deals each followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.

Segment-wise, SaaS startups are on the top spot with 6 deals. Edtech, Fintech, Gaming, and Aerospace startups followed the list among others.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, Series A funding deals are at the top with 10 deals followed by Seed, pre-Series A, Series B, pre-seed, and Series D deals.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding went up 31.67% to $182.62 million as compared to around $138 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $249.92 million with 25 deals per week.

[Fund launches]

India’s startup ecosystem continues to attract significant investment. Green Frontier Capital, Pavestone VC, and Physis Capital have recently launched new funds to invest in climate tech and early-stage startups. Additionally, Anup Jain and Rajeev Suri have launched BlueGreen Ventures, focusing on early-stage investments. The Women in the Digital Economy Fund aims to support women-led digital initiatives. Build Capital also raised Rs 40 crore for its maiden investment vehicle focused on real estate.

[Key hirings and departures]

The startup ecosystem witnessed 18 notable hires this week. CleverTap elevated Sunil Thomas as the CEO while InsuanceDekho roped in Navneet Bhatt, Vivek Aggarwal, and Aman Batra as the CBO, VP, and CSE, respectively. Swiggy also welcomed Shalabh Shrivastava, Hari Kumar G, and Supriya Shankar at different positions.

Additionally, the CEO of CleverTap, Sidharth Malik left the company due to personal reasons.

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

E-commerce enablement SaaS platform Unicommerce has announced the acquisition of Shipway, a Gurugram-based e-commerce technology platform. Enterprise software and B2B SaaS company Kovai.co has acquired Bengaluru-based B2C SaaS startup Floik.

[Layoffs and shutdown]

Kuku FM, an audiobook platform, has laid off around 300 employees, including on-roll and contractual staff, as part of a restructuring exercise. The cuts primarily affected the content team.

Stoa School, which offered an MBA boot camp program, has shut down its services after operating for more than four years.

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

[New launches and partnerships]

▪️ Blinkit launches large order fleet

▪️ Razorpay collaborates with Peak XV, Lightspeed to back startups

▪️ Zomato launches ticket reselling feature

[Potential Deals]

▪️ Edtech SaaS startup Toddle set to raise $15-18 Mn

▪️ Ecozen plans to raise $75 Mn in funding

▪️ Zepto to raise $300 Mn in funding for expansion

▪️ Reliance to acquire TagZ Foods in a fire sale

▪️ EaseMyTrip set to acquire 49% stake in Planet Education

▪️ MPL’s Blast to invest in gaming studio XSQUADS

[Financial results this week]

▪️ Mamearth posts Rs 462 Cr revenue in Q2 FY25; slips into losses

▪️ Infibeam crosses Rs 1,000 Cr revenue threshold in Q2 FY25

▪️ Awfis income crosses Rs 300 Cr in Q2 FY25, posts Rs 38 Cr PAT

▪️ Nykaa revenue grows 24.4% Y-o-Y to Rs 1,874 Cr in Q2 FY25

▪️ Delhivery posts Rs 2,188 Cr revenue and Rs 10 Cr PAT in Q2 FY25

▪️ Rapido’s operating revenue nears Rs 650 Cr in FY24; cuts losses by 45%

▪️ InsuranceDekho revenue soars 7.7X in FY24, posts Rs 86 Cr profit

▪️ Giva’s revenue spikes 66% to Rs 274 Cr revenue in FY24

▪️ WebEngage reports flat revenue in FY24; losses spike 3x

▪️ Noise posts Rs 1,431 Cr revenue in FY24, remains EBITDA positive

▪️ Jupiter’s consolidated revenue surges 7X in FY24, cuts losses

▪️ E-comm unicorn DealShare’s gross revenue nosedives 75% in FY24

▪️ Wingify reports Rs 61 Cr PAT on Rs 289 Cr revenue in FY24

▪️ VLCC-owned Ustraa reports Rs 50 Cr loss with flat revenue in FY24

▪️ CoinSwitch’s parent PeepalCo revenue declines to Rs 38 Cr in FY24

▪️ Burger Singh records Rs 78 Cr revenue in FY24, losses surge 6.3X

▪️ Ranveer Singh co-founded Bold Care reports Rs 33 Cr revenue in FY24

▪️ Amazon India marketplace posts Rs 588 Cr adjusted EBITDA in FY24

[News flash this week]

▪️ CCPA probes Ola Electric over consumer complaints

▪️ Uber introduces safety features and driver incentives

▪️ Zomato to raise Rs 8,500 crore through QIP

▪️ CCI to challenge court orders against Amazon, Flipkart

▪️ Swiggy, Zomato deny CCI probe findings

▪️ CAIT accuses quick commerce players of violating FDI norms

▪️ Zetwork to launch a $1 Bn IPO 

▪️ Prosus is planning an IPO in 2025

▪️ boAt taps banks for $300-500 Mn IPO: Report

▪️ Razorpay launches venture investment program with Peak XV, Lightspeed

▪️ Groww expands lead over Zerodha with 12.59 Mn active users in October

▪️ Swiggy opens strong on NSE, delivers high returns for Prosus, Tencent

▪️ Rapido claims 207 Mn rides in Q2 FY25 with 2.5x surge in GOV

▪️ Ola moves closer to IPO, sets EGM for Nov 14

▪️ Pfizer to fund six startups through INDovation program for healthcare

[Conclusion]

On a weekly basis, startup funding went up 31.67% to $182.62 million as compared to around $138 million raised during the previous week. The week saw six startup-focused fund launches namely Green Frontier Capital, Pavestone VC, Physis Capital, BlueGreen Ventures, WiDEF, and Build Capital.

Followed by several IPO listings during the year, Zetwork and Prosus also disclosed their plans for public listing. While boAt is reportedly looking for a $300-500 million IPO.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has launched an investigation against Ola Electric to examine the company’s claims of resolving consumer complaints. This move comes after Ola Electric faced scrutiny from the CCPA for alleged violations of consumer rights. The investigation will delve into the veracity of the company’s claims regarding complaint resolution.

Food delivery giants Swiggy and Zomato have refuted recent reports claiming that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found them guilty of violating competition laws. Both companies maintain that the CCI’s investigation is ongoing and no final order has been issued. They assert that they have been cooperating with the CCI and are awaiting further updates.