[Weekly Funding Roundup] Startups raise $251.8M; CCPIB invests $115M in Delhivery

In the second week of September, Indian startups raised $251.8 million in equity funding, up from just $75.7 million last week.

Just like last week, there were no late-stage and venture debt deals. While 11 early-stage deals accounted for $90.2 million of the total amount raised, the balance amount of $161 million was raised through other six deals.

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Deal of the week

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) invested close to $115 million in Gurugram-based logistics unicorn Delhivery, broadening its exposure in the logistics sector in India. The investment was made through CPPIB’s Fundamental Equities Asia (FEA) Group, which performs fundamental research and invests in quality corporates for the long term throughout Asia.

Early-stage deals

Bengaluru-based fintech startup OkCredit raised $67 million as part of its Series B funding round from Lightspeed (India and US) as well as Tiger Global. This round takes OkCredit’s total fund raise over the last three months to $83 million.

Mumbai-based edtech startup WhiteHat Jr raised $10 million in Series A funding led by existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Omidyar Network India. The company said that the new funds will be used to strengthen its technology platform, expand the course curriculum, and increase consumer awareness. 

Delhi-based retailer of pet products Heads Up for Tails (HUFT) concluded a $10 million Pre-Series A funding round. The round was led by a group of family offices, HNI's, and existing promoters. The startup will be using the freshly raised funds to expand its retail as well as the ecommerce business.

Seed and early-stage fund, The IAN Fund, led an investment worth Rs 12.4 crore ($1.7 million) in Pune-based Nocca Robotics, with participation from angel investors of Indian Angel Network. Founded in April 2017 by IIT Kanpur graduates Harshit Rathore and Nikhil Kurele, Nocca Robotics leverages technologies such as AI, machine learning, deep learning and robotics to provide automated, water-less and shareable solar panel cleaning solution for utility-scale solar parks. 

Fitso raised $1.5 million from SRI Capital, Zomato Co-founder Pankaj Chaddah, and Helion Ventures founder Ashish Gupta. The fitness startup plans to use the freshly raised capital to increase its number of indoor all-weather swimming pools, invest in expansion, good talent, and technology to boost its operations.

Marsplay, a New Delhi-based community-led commerce platform, raised an undisclosed amount of Pre-Series A round of funding led by Venture Highway with participation from Alvin Tse from Xiaomi, and Jonathan Lau, Partner, Cadorna Ventures. Existing angels including the personal offices of Shailesh Rao, a partner with TPG Growth, and Nikhil Mohta, Director, ICICI Ventures also participated in the round. 

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder of Paytm, invested an undisclosed amount in a Mumbai-based startup Kawa Space in its Pre-Series A funding. Earlier, Bengaluru and Chennai-based SpecialE invested a disclosed funding in the startup.

Gurugram-based healthy snacks manufacturer Hungry Foal raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a Pre-Series A round led by Singapore-based Madison Capital. Singapore’s Das42 Ventures, Innerchef’s co-founder Rajesh Sawhney, Startup Buddy CEO Amit Singhal, and senior corporate executives also participated in the round. 

HappyShappy, the social media and commerce firm, raised an undisclosed amount in its seed funding round from a group of high-profile investors including Beerud Sheth, the founder of online freelance platform Upwork and smart messaging platform Gupshup. Other investors that participated were Samuel Choi, Shivashish Chatterjee and Yuvraja C Singh.

Omnichannel ecommerce enabling platform EasyEcom raised an undisclosed sum of money in a funding round from US-based Amistad Ventures. The Bengaluru-based firm will use the money to strengthen its platform.

Bengaluru based early-stage diagnostic company Acculi Labs secured undisclosed pre-seed funding from a group of angels and Bengaluru-based consultancy and services firm, Startup Basket. The company will use the funds to complete all the necessary steps needed to secure the IP and certification before mass commercialisation of its product, Lyfas.

Other deals

Glance, the mobile-first content platform and part of the InMobi Group closed $45 million in investment from Mithril Capital this week. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Mithril Capital, with over $1.2 billion in committed capital, is a growth stage investment firm co-founded by Silicon Valley investors Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel.

Mumbai-based used car marketplace Truebil raised $1 million from Japanese venture capital firm Spiral Ventures. The raised funds will be used by the company to strengthen its technology stack and marketing. The firm was started in 2015 by IITians Suraj Kalwani, Ravi Chirania, Shubh Bansal, Rakesh Raman, Ritesh Pandey, Shanu Vivek, and Himanshu Singhal.

DNA Entertainment Networks Pvt Ltd invested Rs 4 crore (0.56 million) in India’s first EV tourism start-up, B: Live. DNA, known for redefining the event and entertainment industry, has made a strategic investment in B: Live to help build unique travel experiences led by innovation and technology. 

Bengaluru-based esports gaming platform, SoStronk, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from IP Ventures. Founded in 2016 by Prashant Prabhakar (CEO) and Karan Mishra (CTO), SoStronk is a tech enabler in the esports industry, with its first product claiming to be a dominant 'playing' platform in the Indian and South East Asian markets.

JLL Spark, the Silicon Valley-based venture capital arm of JLL, has invested an undisclosed amount in Gurugram-based flex-space technology platform Qdesq. Through this investment, the proptech-focused fund has marked its first India focused investment, the company said in a statement. 

Acquisitions

Blue Planet Environmental Solutions Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based waste management company backed by private equity firm Neev Fund, acquired a Pune-based waste processing firm.

Live events intellectual property firm, Event Capital acquired an 80 percent stake in Indian Games Expo (IGX), which conducts exhibitions around the country focussed on the gaming industry.

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)

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