[Weekly funding roundup] Startups raise only $58M; eBay picks up 5.5pc stake in Paytm Mall
Although the number seems to have fallen by 80 percent, eBay's investment into Paytm remains undisclosed, while Icertis raising $115 million and reaching unicorn status has not been added to the tally.
![[Weekly funding roundup] Startups raise only $58M; eBay picks up 5.5pc stake in Paytm Mall](https://images.yourstory.com/cs/2/b87effd0-6a66-11e9-ad33-3f8a4777438f/weekly-funding155265803355215532664500961553869012707155568559587515586989869531563536796633.png?mode=crop&crop=faces&ar=2%3A1&format=auto&w=1920&q=75)
Although Indian startups in the third week of July closed 19 equity deals, the total funding stood at a mere $58.37 million.
This is a solid 80 percent dip from last week when startups bagged $341.3 million across 18 deals.
Unlike last week, early-stage deals took precedence this week. Out of the 19 deals, 13 were early-stage, garnering a total of $28.74 million this week - over 50 percent of the total amount.
Although the number seems to have fallen by 80 percent, eBay's investment into Paytm remains undisclosed, while Icertis raising $115 million and reaching unicorn status has not been added to the tally.
The highlights of the week
American ecommerce giant eBay is investing in Noida-based ecommerce firm Paytm Mall for a 5.5 percent stake. Sources close to the discussions told YourStory that the investment is expected to be to the tune of $170 million-$200 million, and the round values the ecommerce startup at $3 billion. Additionally, the partnership will also allow eBay’s inventory to be sold on the Paytm Mall’s platform.
India and US-based B2B startup Icertis raised $115 million in its Series E round from PremjiInvest and Greycroft Partners, which took the company's valuation over $1 billion, making the startup the latest entrant into the unicorn club.
After grabbing investments from top guns of Bollywood and Hollywood, Yoga and Wellness startup SARVA raised funds from yet another celebrity - Aishwaryaa R Dhanush, daughter of South Indian actor Rajinikanth.
She also joins hands with Bollywood actor Malaika Arora and Founder Sarvesh Shashi to drive the brand’s presence in southern India.
Ritesh Agarwal, the Founder and CEO of OYO Hotels and Home, signed a $2 billion round through Cayman Islands-based RA Hospitality Holdings, to further increase his stake (through purchase of fresh equity as well as buyback of shares) in the hospitality unicorn.
The bigger fish this week
New Delhi-based omnichannel financial services distributor MyMoneyMantra, raised equity funding $15 million (Rs 104 crore) from Dutch investment company IFSD BV and private equity and advisory firm Vaalon Capital. The company will use the funding to further develop its pan-India reach, invest in technology, and deepen its existing financial partner relationships with NBFCs, banks, and insurance companies.
Coworking space provider Awfis is raising Rs 90 crore or $13.24 million from Bisque Ltd and Link Investment Trust. The startup raised $20 million in Series C round from existing investors Sequoia Capital, The Three Sisters: Institutional Office (TTS:IO), and InnoVen Capital.
Gurugram-based online grocery platform Grofers raised $10 million as part of its ongoing Series F round from Abu Dhabi-based entity Capital Investment LLC, which is said to be an investment vehicle of the UAE-based Abu Dhabi Investment Group.
Other deals
Gurugram-based digital payments company MobiKwik recently raised Rs 8.67 crore in funding earlier this month from venture debt fund Trifecta Capital as well as media company NDTV.
Mumbai-based software company Agrahyah Technologies, which has in-house audio and text content creation capabilities,closed its pre-Series A round of $1 million.
Delhi-based commodity procurement platform Procol has raised $1 million in a seed round from Blume Ventures and Rainmatter Capital, an initiative by Zerodha funds.
Mumbai-based Tiny Spoons raised Rs 2 crore from a bunch of angel investors including Anil Joshi, Managing Partner of Unicorn India Ventures; Paresh Kariya, an early-stage investor in Naaptol; Drums International HNI investor Harsha Vijay, and others.
Akiva Superfoods, a Gurugram-based healthy wellness food products startup, has raised approximately $2 million (Rs 13.7 crore) in Series A funding led by Alkemi Venture Partners.
Consumer electronics startup boAt secured Rs 20 crore in venture debt from Flipkart Co-founder Sachin Bansal’s BAC Acquisitions. The startup said it will be using the funding for business operations.
Pune-based agritech startup Ecozen, which develops technology-enabled products to strengthen the farm-to-fork value chain of perishables, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in Series A round from Caspian and the Hivos-Triodos Fund.
Varanasi-based startup Aquvio raised an undisclosed amount as part of its pre-Series A round from the Technology Development Board, Government of India, along with Villgro's INVENT and Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.
Bengaluru-based bike taxi app Rapido raised a funding of Rs 1.49 crore from investor Karina Choudhriey. The startup is reportedly said to be in the final stages of closing a $50 million round from Westbridge Capital.
Premium tea brand Teabox raised an undisclosed amount from Dubai-based NB Ventures, the family office of Neelesh Bhatnagar and other existing investors.
Bangalore-based appliances and furniture rental platform RentoMojo raised Rs 1,16 crore from Renaud Laplanche, Co-founder and CEO of upGrad.
Mumbai-based gaming platform Nazara Technologies invested in three startups SportsKeeda, Qunami and HalaPlay.
According to the filing, Nazara invested Rs 2.54 crore in Qunami, acquiring 34,959 equity shares for a premium of Rs 724 per share. While for HalaPlay, Nazara said that it will be investing close to Rs 23 crore. It invested Rs 35.76 crore in SportsKeeda.
Exits of the week
US-based software firm Ebix announced the acquisition of Indian online travel company Yatra through a share merger process, which values the entire transaction at $337.8 million.
Bengaluru-based deep tech startup Lymbyc was acquired by Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) for an undisclosed amount. This buyout signified the rising interest among large technology companies in having a deeper engagement with the startup ecosystem.
The newly-crowned India origin unicorn Druva announced the acquisition of US-based cloud technology startup CloudLanes for an undisclosed amount.
Update: This article has been updated with the news - 'OYO Founder Ritesh Agarwal to buy back stake worth $2B' on July 22.
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
