[Weekly funding roundup] OYO grabs the spotlight with $100M fundraise, early-stage deals constitute less than a fifth of the total funding

After a somewhat quiet November, the first week of December saw an impressive amount of funding activity, matching the level seen in mid-October.

The lull in investments in the Diwali month gave way to a promising beginning to the last month of 2018, which saw deals worth over a quarter billion dollars. The first week of December saw a total funding amount of $262.1 million across 18 deals, with 11 early-stage deals rounding up nearly $50 million, while two late-stage deals grabbed around $100 million together. However, the major draw of the week was ride-hailing major Grab pumping over $100 million in hospitality chain startup OYO, leading the unicorn to corner 40 percent of the total funds raised this week.

The deal of the week: OYO

OYO’s fundraise this week from Singapore-based Grab is part of the ongoing $1 billion funding that the company is raising from SoftBank and others. Grab's investment comes close on the heels of OYO recent announcement of the launch of its operations in Indonesia.

A quick look at the 11 early-stage deals made this week: 

1 - Automation platform Workato raises $25 million

Cupertino-based intelligent integration and automation platform Workato, raised $25 million in a Series B funding round that saw the participation of Battery Ventures, Storm Ventures, ServiceNow and Workday Ventures. The company, which also has office in Chennai, is led by CEO and Co-founder Vijay Tella. The company has raised a total of $41million till date.

2 – Marketing cloud platform MoEngage secures Series-B funding

California- and Bengaluru-based marketing cloud platform MoEngage raised $9 million in a Series B funding round led by Matrix Partners and Ventureast. The startup, which was founded 2014, helps clients and companies channelise marketing efforts and campaigns to potential customers via email, in-app messaging, SMS and web push notifications. The company plans to use the fresh funds to expand its global presence and strengthen its data science capabilities.

3 – Facilio laps up $6.4 million in Series-A round

Bengaluru-based facilities management startup Facilio announced that it has raised $6.4 million in Series A funding, in a round led by Tiger Global and existing investor Accel Partners. The startup offers facilities optimisation using artificial intelligence and internet of things. The funds raised will help the team to pursue their expansion and consolidation plans and will be used for R&D for product innovation.

4 - BuildSupply raises funds for market expansion

Gurugram-based BuildSupply raised $3.5 million (around Rs 25 crore at current exchange rates) in a Series A round of funding led by investment firm Venture Highway. The startup, which offers an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for the real estate and construction industry, said it will primarily use the fresh capital to expand its market.

5 – Shopkirana raises pre-Series-A funds

Indore-based B2B platform ShopKirana raised $2 million in its pre-Series A round from Info Edge, the parent company of job portal Naukri. Akatsuki Entertainment Technology Fund (AET Fund), the investment fund of Japanese entertainment company Akatsuki Inc., seed investment firm Incubate Fund, and Better Capital AngelList syndicate participated in the funding round. The startup will use the money to expand operations to 10 more cities by next year.

6 – Conversational intelligence platform WhizAI bags seed fund

New Jersey-based conversational intelligence platform for sales and marketing WhizAI, which also has office in Pune, raised $1.1 million in its seed funding round. The round was led by Trigyn Technologies, Inc (Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trigyn Technologies Limited, a company listed on BSE and NSE). The company plans to use the funds to enter the Life Sciences and Financial verticals, and expand its tech team.

7 – Chennai-based Any Time Doctor announces pre-Series-A fundraise

Chennai based health-tech startup Any Time Doctor raised an undisclosed amount in its pre-Series-A round from Mumbai-based surgical oncologist Dr Ramakant Deshpande. The startup was founded in 2017 by A Vasanthakumar Arumugam.

Others early-stage deals:

Mumbai-based travel tech firm Guiddoo and Nagpur based ecommerce startup Nagpur Wholesale raised $800,000 and 140,000 , respectively in pre-Series rounds.

While Noida-based digital learning platform LearnApp raised $281,000 from fintech startup incubator Rainmatter and Gurugram-based sports consultant and organiser Tabono Sports and Events raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series-A round from Inflection Point Ventures.

Two late-stage funding (Series E): 

1 - Fusion Microfinance raises funds from PE Warburg Pincus, others

Delhi-based non-banking financial company and microfinance institution Fusion Microfinance has closed Series E funding of Rs 520 crore ($73.7 million) in a round led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The investment round includes both a primary fund raise and secondary sale by early-stage investors Incofin, NMI ,SIDBI and BIO. Existing investor Creation Investment also participated in this round.

2 - Japan’s Eight app all set for India expansion with fresh funds

Sansan Inc., the parent company of Eight app, the largest business card organiser and professional social networking platform of Japan, raised $26.43 million in its Series E round. The funding was led by Japan Post Capital, T. Rowe Price, SBI Investment and DCM Ventures. SBI Investment, a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, participated in this round through its AI and Blockchain Fund. Launched in India in November 2017, Eight app is planning to use this funds to further expand its India’s presence.

Debt finance:

Online classified portal Quikr raised $8 million venture debt from InnoVen Capital. The company plans to use the fresh capital to scale its transaction business. Founded in 2008 by Pranay Chulet and Jiby Thomas, Quikr has so far raised funds from investors like Tiger Global Management, Kinnevik AB, Warburg Pincus, Matrix Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, eBay, Nokia Growth Partners and Omidyar Network.

Exits:

The notable exit this month came when Zomato, in an undisclosed deal, acquired Lucknow-based TechEagle Innovations, a startup that works exclusively on drones. Post this acquisition, Zomato aims to create and use technology that will enable a multi-rotor drone, which can be used for hub-to-hub deliveries.

Another exit was seen when EbixCash, the Indian unit of Ebix Inc — a supplier of enterprise software and ecommerce services, announced that it has acquired a 70-percent stake in Noida-based AHA Taxis, a platform for on-demand inter city cabs, for an undisclosed amount.

Other notable deals this week include: 

Gurugram-headquartered auto parts marketplace, Boodmo, founded by two Ukranian–Yevgen Sokolnikov and Oleksandr Danylenko–raised $900,000 from an undisclosed Ukrainian private investment fund. Listed ecommerce firm Infibeam invested $850,000 in Mumbai-based digital payments tech firm Go Payments. Sauce and dip maker Vivan Foods Private Ltd, which runs under the brand name Fric Bergen, raised an undisclosed amount from Mumbai Angels Network as well.