[Weekly funding roundup] Startup investments rise to touch $65M

After two weeks, there is a positive uptick for the Indian startup ecosystem as the investments into these young companies have doubled and also the edtech unicorn BYJU'S received a strong note of endorsement from a leading Silicon Valley-based investor.

The fourth week of June witnessed investments into startups at $65.32 million as compared to $31 million a week before, registering a growth of 110 per cent. This is certainly a relief for the startups in India as funding had fallen to a new low of around $30 million level in the second and third week of June.

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The week saw 11 deals with an equal split between early and growth stages. This has been the noticeable trend over the last three months ever since the spread of coronavirus pandemic as big ticket cheques have not been forthcoming. There were no debt deals during the week.

The big positive during this week was the investment into India’s leading edtech unicorn Byju’s as it raised a new round of funding from the global technology investment firm, BOND. According to sources, the valuation in this funding round was $10.5 billion and this comes after the earlier fund infusion of $200 million by Tiger Global in the month of January this year at a valuation of $8 billion.

Bond is an investment house founded by Mary Meeker, who is well-known for her global internet trends report.

Key deal

Gurugram-based financial technology company Aye Finance has raised Rs 210 crore in Series E funding, led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund. The round also includes participation from Aye’s existing investors LGT Lightstone, Falcon Edge Capital, A91 Partners, and MAJ Invest. With this fresh investment, Aye’s total equity funding since inception exceeds Rs 690 crore.

Other deals

Fullife Healthcare, which sells sports nutrition supplements through a brand called Fast&Up, has raised Rs 50 crore in a funding round led by Singapore-based Amansa Capital. Including the latest round, the Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed company has raised an estimated Rs 100 crore so far. Existing investors including Jhunjhunwala and Sixth Sense Ventures also participated.

Bengaluru-based payments and credit startup slice (formerly known as SlicePay) has raised Rs 46 crore in a Pre-Series B round led by Japan-based investor Gunosy. The round also saw participation from US-based EMVC, Kunal Shah of CRED, Better Capital, and existing investor Das Capital. The funding will help slice double its management team, explore banking partnerships to launch co-branded prepaid cards and credit cards, and have over five lakh users by the end of FY21.

Goa-based coworking space provider 91springboard has raised Rs 45 crore in a fresh round of funding from its existing investors. Founded in 2012,  91springboard counts firms like Zomato, OLX, TataSky, Cleartrip, SleepyCat, IndiaMart, Mahindra Retail, Groww, Marsh, Datamatics, 1MG, CarDekho, etc., among its clients. Besides offering office space, it also provides offers like strategic partnerships, registered office facilities, and access to a pan-India network for business opportunities. 

Delhi-based grocery delivery startup Milkbasket has raised a fresh funding of $5.5 million led by Inflection Point Ventures with participation from existing investors. Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) claims to have emerged as the only angel platform in India to lead a Series B round in a startup. Started in 2018, the angel platform has been investing in startups across sectors like healthtech, delivery, edtech, and telemedicine at rational valuations. 

Matrix Partners India has invested $5 million in a Series A funding round in plant-based nutrition startup OZiva. Titan Capital also participated in the round. Oziva will be using the freshly raised funds for research and development, technology building, and for expanding its team and customer base.

Bengaluru-based last-mile micro-mobility platform Yulu has raised a fresh funding of Rs 30 crore led by US-based VC firm Rocketship and existing investors. The new investment will be used for further strengthening the mobility platform, providing technology solutions, and enabling rapid expansion.

High Street Essentials (HSE), the parent company of women's fashion brands Faballey and Indya, has raised Rs 20.75 crore in a fresh round of funding led by existing investors SAIF Partners and India Quotient. The Pre-Series C round involves a convertible note, which will be converted during the Series C raise. The new round of funding has also seen participation from Abhishek Dalmia and several family offices.

Gaming startup Bombay Play has raised $1.5 million in its Pre-Series A round. The investments came in from Leo Capital, along with angel investor and Co-founder of Livspace, Ramakant Sharma. Bombay Play will be using the funds for hiring talent and geographically expanding its reach.

MergerDomo, a Noida-based global online corporate deal sourcing and consulting marketplace has raised seed funding of Rs 50 lakh from seven individual investors since September 2019, and secured an angel funding of Rs 1 crore from Nadir Godrej, MD, Godrej Industries, in March 2020. 

Rusk Media Pvt Ltd, a digital media company focused on creating content for millennials and ‘Generation Z’ audiences, has raised funding from investors including InfoEdge Venture Fund and Sprout Venture Partners. The New Delhi-based company said it will use the funds to enhance video production and custom content infrastructure.