[Weekly Funding Roundup] Equity falls 88 pc as startups raise only $75.7M

This week, equity funding receded to just $75.7 million, 88 percent less than last week’s $624.6 million. This week’s funding was spread across just 14 deals, 11 of which were early-stage.

The reason for a poor show was the absence of mega rounds and late-stage deals.

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Early-stage deals

Mumbai-based startup Atomberg Technologies raised $10 million as a part of its Series A round led by A91 Partners. The round also saw participation from Whiteboard Capital Fund, the early-stage fund founded by Sandeep Tandon (serial entrepreneur and Co-founder of Freecharge), as well as existing investor Survam Partners (family office of Hero Group’s Suman Kant Munjal).

B2B ecommerce firm IndiaMART announced an investment of Rs 36 crore (approx $5.4 million) in the Series A round of Vyapar, a mobile-based business accounting software for small businesses. In a statement, the company said that the round in Bengaluru-based Simply Vyapar Apps Pvt Ltd, owner of Vyapar, also included existing investors India Quotient and Axilor.

3rdFlix Visual Effects Pvt Ltd, a Hyderabad-based edtech company, raised $5 million in a Pre-Series A round led by Exfinity Ventures with participation from YourNest, IDFC Parampara, and HNIs. It plans to use the funding to increase market penetration from 1.5+ lakh in Class 6 to 12 segment and launch immersive and experiential content later this year.

Fintech startup FPL Technologies, founded by Anurag Sinha, Vibhav Hathi, and Rupesh Kumar, raised funding of $4.5 million led by Matrix Partners India, Sequoia India and a number of angel investors. The startup will soon be launching its first product - a mobile credit card in partnership with a bank. 

Invoice discounting platform and SME lending marketplace Cashflo raised $3.3 million as a part of its Series A round from SAIF Partners. The round also saw participation from select angel investors, including Ashish Iyer (previously Senior Partner at Boston Consultancy Group) and Arpan Sheth (Partner at Bain & Co-Managing Director, Bain & Co), among others.

Retail automotive leasing startup, OTO Capital, raised Rs 10 crore ($1.3 million) from early-stage venture capital fund Prime Venture Partners this week. The Mumbai-based startup will use the funds to create further awareness around the brand, strengthen its technology platform, and scale presence to 10 cities (metro and non-metro) in India by June 2020. 

Rockstud Capital Investment Fund (RCIF) made its debut investment in Everest Fleet Pvt Ltd, a B2B fleet management service provider, after screening over 200 deals in the last one year. RCIF along with Artha Venture Fund-I and a few angel investors, together invested $1.1 million in Everest Fleet. 

Myelin Foundry, a Bengaluru-based deep tech product startup, closed $1 million in seed funding, led by Endiya Partners with an investment of $500,000. The startup said it will use the capital to accelerate product development and market penetration. 

Surat-based XYXX Apparels Pvt Ltd, a premium men’s innerwear brand, raised Rs 6 crore from an early-stage consumer-focused venture capital fund Sauce.vc. The company plans to use the capital to aggressively expand its sales and marketing efforts.

YeLo, a digital-only mobile-first neobank, raised seed funding from Matrix Partners India, Omidyar Network India, Flourish, and existing investor, Better Capital. The company will use the funds raised to build a local language-based experience - a must-have in order to reach low-income consumers in the country - and to expand the current team to 100 people in the next 12-18 months.

ProPhysio, a healthcare startup focussed on providing physiotherapy and rehabilitation services, raised an undisclosed amount of funding from NestaVera Group of companies. The Bengaluru-based healthcare startup will utilise the raised capital in exploring technology with AI-driven solutions to treat various health issues and reaching out to a larger consumer demographic in multiple locations.

Other deals:

Noida based Advisorymandi, a technology-driven platform in the investing space, raised $36 million from financial conglomerate EST Group. Started by Kaushlendra Singh Sengar in 2015, Advisorymandi was conceptualised to solve advisory challenges in the stock market industry. The company will use the funds to strengthen its ecosystem.

Mumbai and Palo Alto-based wearable tech startup GOQii raised over $6.2 million from Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL). The company issued five share warrants priced at Rs 9.1 crore each, along with one equity share of Rs 8,525, taking its total funding to Rs 45.50 crore.

Mumbai-based organic food brand Suzette Gourmet raised about $1.3 million in a round led by Yuj Ventures, which is backed by the family office of Sid Yog, Founding Partner of the Singapore-based Xander Group Inc. Existing investor DSG Consumer Partners also participated as a part of this round.  

Exits and acquisitions:

Hospitality firm OYO acquired Copenhagen-based data science company Danamica to expand its ability to use pricing as a key differentiator for real estate owners and customers. The acquisition was in line with company's continued commitment to its global vacation rentals business through strategic investments in technology products, processes, and people.

Indian buyout fund TIW Private Equity that focusses on consumption-driven sectors, acquired a majority stake in Mumbai-based digital platform management firm Digital Refresh Networks Pvt Ltd for $6 million. The company plans to utilise the proceeds from the investment to strengthen its expertise in content creation and for acquisitions.

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)

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