[Weekly funding roundup] With 12 deals raking in over $170 M, funding slowly gains momentum
![[Weekly funding roundup] With 12 deals raking in over $170 M, funding slowly gains momentum](https://images.yourstory.com/cs/wordpress/2019/01/weekly-funding.png?mode=crop&crop=faces&ar=2%3A1&format=auto&w=1920&q=75)
Unlike last week, this week saw two late-stage deals that helped startups raked in more than $50 million. But like the last few weeks, startups across foodtech, fintech, AI and analytics raised funding.
While the Interim Budget might not have excited the startup community, the government this week said that it will constitute a working group to solve the Angel Tax situation affecting the startup ecosystem. It plans to come out with a new framework to define 'startups' and Angel investors soon.
Funding in the first week of February rose to $178.5 million spread across 12 deals. While there were two late-stage deals that amounted to $52 million, there were only three early-stage deals mopping up over $11 million. The balance amount was cornered by debt and other funding.
Deal of the week
Chicago and Chennai-based predictive supply chain startup, FourKites raised $50 million in its Series C round. The company will use it to fuel the growth of its real-time visibility network for shippers and carriers with the Engineering Centre of Excellence in Chennai. The round included existing investors August Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, CEAS Investments and Hyde Park Angels.
Funding in early-stage deals
Delhi-based Country Delight raised a Series B round of $10 million from venture capital firm Matrix Partners and Orios Venture Partners. The premium fresh milk brand will scale its operations nationally. The company is also entering other segments including yoghurt and paneer.
Local language GIF content startup GIFSKEY raised $1 million in its seed round led by Kstart, the seed fund of Kalaari Capital. The Hyderabad-based startup will use the funding for business development activities and enhancing technology on its platform.
Gurugram-based Fleetx.io, an intelligent fleet management and predictive analytics platform, raised an undisclosed amount in its pre-Series A round. It was led by venture capital firm India Quotient and LetsVenture’s angel fund.
Other deals, exits and acquisitions.
Gurugram-based foodtech unicorn Zomato raised $40 million funding in a round led by US-based private investors Glade Brook. This funding is reported to be a part of a larger $1 billion round that the company is raising from existing investor Ant Financials and other new investors.
Logistics technology firm Rivigo Services raised $35.6 million. The round was participated by existing investors Warburg Pincus and SAIF Partners. The Gurugram-based startup raised the fund by issuing compulsory convertible preference shares.
Micro-financier (MFI) Annapurna Finance raised $19.1 million from Asian Development Bank. It will allow the Bhubaneswar-based MFI to extend micro-credits to women members of Joint Liability Groups (JLGs). As per media reports, ADB has picked up a 14 percent stake in Annapurna Finance.
Ola raised $15.6 million as part of the company's larger $2 billion fund raise. This round was led by J3 Ventures, Tina & Steven Price, and Raymond S Cahnman, Chairman Transmarket Group.
Video intelligence startup Vidooly raised Series C funding of $2.1 million from Alibaba (Netherlands) BV and existing investor Times Internet.
Luxury fashion rental service provider RENT IT BAE raised an undisclosed amount of funding from GEMS VC, Delhi based fund.
AI startup Edgetensor secured an undisclosed amount from SRI Capital. It offers software development kits and facial tracking capabilities for cameras and smartphones.
Exits
Swiggy announced that it has acqui-hired Kint.io, a Bengaluru-based AI startup. This is the first acqu-hire by the unicorn this year.
