Faasos and BlackBuck account for half the deal value in the 2nd week of December

The second week of December saw the announcement of 32 startup investments. The fund value for the week stood at $95.5 million. This number reflects only the deals where the funding amounts were disclosed. In the first week of December, 19 deals were announced and the deal value was $3.5 million. Again, this includes only deals where the amounts were disclosed.

The mix of companies that raised funding in the week under consideration reflects the diversity that has come into the Indian startup ecosystem, compared to even a year or two ago. The sectors that saw funding activity include food, logistics, mobile-based money transfer, edutech, SaaS, analytics, wearables, and hyperlocal.

Food startup Faasos led the pack, in terms of deal value, in the second week. It raised $30 million in third round of funding from ru-Net, Sequoia Capital, and Lightbox Ventures. Online freight services provider BlackBuck raised $25 million in Series B from Tiger Global Management, Apoletto (Yuri Milner’s Founder’s Fund), Accel Partners, and Flipkart. Another supply chain and logistics company was the third largest fund raiser in the second week of December. Holisol Logistics, founded in 2009, raised $10 million from CLSA Capital Partners and ARIA IV Fund.

Peer-to-peer money transfer and recharge app Chillr closed its Series A at $7 million. It had raised $6 million in October but did not close the funding at that time. Investors include Blume Ventures, Uniqorn Ventures, and Sequoia Capital. Online design and furniture venture Homestudio raised $5 million in seed funding from Bengaluru-based real estate developer, Bren Corporation.

December 2nd Week - Top Deals

There were two M&As in the education sector in the second week of December. Career360, which offers an online tool that makes academic and career-related recommendations, acquired Mumbai Angels-backed NoPaperForms.com. The startup offers a user-driven enrollment automation engine that simplifies online admissions application process for academic institutions. Test preparatory site Thinkcell Learning Solutions acquired Enabilon Learning, which operates Testfunda that also offers test preparation packages. MockBank, which helps users discover and prepare for PSU exams, acquit-hired web development company Litoro. Other deals included Nasdaq-listed Interactive Intelligence buying out Mumbai-based Customer360 and Paytm buying hyperlocal services marketplace Near.in.

December 2nd Week - M&As