[Weekly Funding Roundup] Startups raise $200M in equity deals, debt amounts to $6.9M

After last week saw a whopping $1.18 billion being raised by the Indian startup ecosystem, this week registered a somewhat tepid response from investors, who pumped about $200 million in equity funding into startups.

This is an 83 percent dip compared to last week’s equity deals, which were 17 in total. A single venture debt deal saw $6.9 million being raised in the first week of December.

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Deal of the week

Jaipur-headquartered automobile classifieds platform CarDekho stated that it has raised $70 million in a Series D round led by Ping An’s Global Voyager Fund. Sunley House Capital Management, a subsidiary of global private equity firm Advent International, also participated in the round along with existing investors Sequoia India and Hillhouse. CarDekho marks Global Voyager Fund’s first investment in India.

The startup said the funds will be used to further strengthen its transaction businesses and expand its international footprint.

Early-stage deals

Infra.Market, a Mumbai-based B2B online procurement marketplace for real estate and construction materials, said this week that it has raised $20 million in Series A funding round led by Tiger Global, Nexus Venture Partners, and existing investor Accel Partners. The startup plans to use the freshly raised funds for its product and geographical expansion.

Gurugram-based automobile repair and service solution startup GoMechanic received $5 million (Rs 35.69 crore) in its Series B funding round from existing investor Sequoia Capital.

Yoga and wellness startup SARVA raised Rs 20 crore ($2.8 million) in its first institutional financing round, led by Fireside Ventures. According to a statement, the funds will be utilised for retail expansion, marketing, and launching an integrated digital service. SARVA is also planning to double its retail footprint in the next 12 months and is eyeing Mumbai and Bengaluru as its key expansion markets.

Bengaluru-based virtual banking startup indyFint said it raised $2.1 million in Series A round led by Saravanan Adiseshan, Co-founder of SJ Associates. Post this investment, Saravanan will be joining the indyFint board. The startup also plans to use the new funding to accelerate product development and drive its market expansion efforts.  

Smart Institute, a part of The Shahani Group, said that it has raised $1.5 million in funding from a group of HNI investors and family offices led by ah! Ventures. The latest fund infusion is a part of the larger $30 million financing round, which the company plans to raise over the next year.

End-to-end product-based cybersecurity solutions provider Kratikal announced that it had recently raised $1 million in pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Gilda VC, Art Venture, and Rajeev Chitrabhanu. Madhusudan Gopinath, Shangrila Infotech LLP, Equentia Natural Resources, Artha Ventures, and LetsVenture also participated in the round. Noida-based Kratikal will use the freshly raised funds to streamline product development and deployment and to drive feet-on-the-street marketing and field merchandising initiatives.

Hyderabad-based customer loyalty and rewards programme platform Froogal said it has secured $1 million as part of its pre-Series A funding round led by a clutch of US-based angel investors.

Bengaluru-based space tech startup Dhruva Space has raised Rs 5 crore ($0.69 million) in a recent round of angel funding carried out by Mumbai Angels (MA) Network and other external angel investors. The investment was led by Ravikanth Reddy, Managing Director, Hotcrete.

Mutual funds investment marketplace Nivesh.com announced this week that it has raised $600,000 led by Windrose Capital's The Next Billion Fund, with participation from other marquee investors as well. According to the founders, Nivesh.com expects to attract talent and accelerate growth with the recent fund raise.

After raising $150,000 (about Rs 1 crore) from US-based accelerator SOSV in August, healthtech startup Phable said this week that it has raised an additional $220,000 (about Rs 1.5 crore) as part of its seed funding. LetsVenture, 91 Springboard, and IKP Knowledge Parks participated in the round. Angel investors and senior professionals from AbInbev-Serge DeVos and Wouter Peeters also participated.

One97 Communications Ltd, which owns Paytm, said this week that it has made a strategic investment in Rajkot-based bus ticketing solutions provider Infinity Transoft Solutions. The company did not disclose investment details.

Late-stage deals

Indian ecommerce major Flipkart announced this week a strategic minority investment in logistics platform Shadowfax. This investment is part of a $60 million Series D funding that Shadowfax has received from Eight Roads Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Mirae Asset Naver Fund, and World Bank-backed IFC. Sources aware about the deal placed the investment made by Flipkart at about $50 million.

Bengaluru-based co-living startup Zolostays announced this week that it has raised $7 million in funding led by Trifecta Capital, India’s largest venture debt provider. In an official release, the company added that it is in advanced talks to raise its Series C round of funding.

Others

Pune-based Electronica Finance Ltd (EFL) raised over Rs 100 crore ($15 million) through the issuance of Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS). According to a statement released by the company, the funds will be utilised by EFL for its business growth in the existing product segments and expansion into its new rooftop solar financing business.

Cybersecurity startup Lucideus Technologies said it has doubled its valuation in 10 months following a fresh funding of $7 million led by MS&AD Ventures, the venture arm of one of Japan’s leading non-life insurance companies. The funding also saw participation from venture debt firm WTI (Western Technology Investment). Both the investors are based out of Silicon Valley.

Mumbai-based Incredible Technologies Private Limited or CredR, announced that it raised Rs 38 crore (approximately $6 million) led by Omidyar Network India. Existing investors Eight Roads Ventures, GrowthStory, and AngelList also participated in this round. The company plans to use the freshly raised funds to enhance its customer experience.

Bigtree Entertainment Singapore Pte Ltd, which owns and operates BookMyShow SEA, announced this week that it has raised an undisclosed investment from Singapore-based Jungle Ventures for its Southeast Asia business. With this first external fundraise for the firm’s Southeast Asia business, BookMyShow SEA will shift its headquarters to Singapore. The capital will be used to strengthen BookMyShow SEA’s technology operations and grow its capabilities to cater to the rising entertainment demands in the Southeast Asian region.

Debt funding

OYO raised Rs 50 crore ($6.9 million) in debt from MyPreferred Transformation, which is a joint venture between the hotel chain, Japan-based conglomerate SoftBank, and non-banking finance company (NBFC) Avendus Finance.

(Edited by Evelyn Ratnakumar)

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