[Weekly funding roundup] November finally shows some signs of life with $65.7M

After a severe slowdown for the better part of the month, this week proved to be marginally better for the Indian startup ecosystem in terms of funding raised. Startups raised a total of $65.67 million in equity funding across nine deals. Last week's figure was just $15 million. In addition, startups raised a total of $12 million in debt funding across two deals this week.

Engineer.ai raises $29.5 million Series A led by Lakestar, Jungle Ventures

Human-assisted AI startup Engineer.ai announced that it has raised Series A funding of $29.5 million, led by Lakestar and Jungle Ventures with participation from Softbank’s DeepCore. The Gurugram-based company helps companies to build and operate custom-made software and will use 65 percent of the fresh capital for engineering, and the rest for customer acquisition.

Agritech startup CropIn raises $8 million in Series B, led by Chiratae Ventures

Bengaluru-based CropIn Technologies raised $8 million in Series B round led by Chiratae Ventures (previously known as IDG Ventures India). The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Strategic Investment Fund (London and Seattle) also participated in this round of funding. The company is expected to use the money to scale its tech platform SmartFarm across India and the world and aims to cover 10 million acres of land across 7 million farmers.

Fintech startup Signzy raises $3.6 million in Series A, led by Stellaris, Kalaari

Bengaluru-based Signzy has raised Series A of $3.6 million led by Stellaris Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital. Angel investors Rajan Anandan, Google India and South East Asia MD; Amrish Rau, PayU India CEO; Dilip Khandelwal, SAP Labs India MD and Vikram Chachra, Partner, 8i Ventures also participated in this round.

With this round, the team intends to invest in technology and build stronger sales efforts across South East Asia and the US.

Chennai-based DeTect Technologies raises $3.3 million in Series A, led by SAIF Partners

Internet-of-things (IoT) startup DeTect Technologies raised $3.3 million in Series A funding led by SAIF Partners, along with participation from the Keiretsu Forum, BlueHill Capital, Axilor Ventures and Bharath Innovation Fund. The Chennai-based company will use the funds for international expansion and facilitate mass production of its patented products NOCTUA and GUMPS.

Magicpin's parent company raises $20 million from Lightspeed US

Gurugram-based Samast Technologies, which operates discovery and rewards platform Magicpin, announced that it had raised about $20 million in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners US. Reportedly, this round has increased the valuation of the company to $100 million.

Wealth management startup CashRich raises $1 million from UK-based angels

On Monday, Mumbai-based wealth management startup CashRich announced that it had raised additional equity capital of $1 million from three UK-based angel investors. The company will use the funds to further develop its technology platform as well as automate important steps of investment management while personalising the experience for each user.

Other equity funding

This week, Noida-based edtech startup Genius Corner raised an angel funding of Rs 2 crore. Launched in 2014, the startup aims to make learning a personalised experience for each child using AI.

Gurugram-based art social network and discovery startup Skillbox announced on Wednesday that it has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from a leading USA-based angel investor. It plans to utilise these funds to scale and strengthen the product and in marketing.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) software solution provider MergerWare also reportedly announced raising a pre-Series A round on Monday. According to a VC Circle report, the company plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate their growth in the US market.

This week in debt financing

Aye Finance picks up Rs 72 crore debt funding from BlueOrchard

On Tuesday, SME lending startup Aye Finance announced that it has raised Rs 72 crore in debt funding from Swiss-based impact investor BlueOrchard Finance. It said that the funds will be used to further enhance its credit portfolio

Recommerce startup Yaantra raises $2 million through debt

Alternative investment firm Anicut reportedly invested around $2 million in smartphone refurbishing and resale platform Yaantra this week. According to VC Circle, the investment was through non-convertible debentures.

Indians overseas

InstaReM makes closes first part of its $45 million Series C

On Thursday, Singapore-headquartered cross-border payments company InstaReM announced that it has closed over  $20 million (Rs 143.15 crore) of its ongoing Series C round (a total of $45 million), led by new investors MDI Ventures.

US-based cloud infra firm Rtbrick raises $6 million from DTCP, Swisscom Ventures

New Jersey-headquartered Rtbrick Inc raised $6 million in a Series A round on Wednesday, led by DTCP (Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners) and Swisscom Ventures. The startup plans to use the funds for its global expansion, and to work on its patent networking infrastructure.

Earlier this month, cybersecurity startup Uniken had also raised $10 million led by a strategic North American family office. With this round, the total funding raised by the company has gone up to $20 million.