[Weekly funding roundup] July ends on a muted note as Indian startups raised about $63M

The last week of July ended on a muted note for the Indian startup ecosystem with funding inflow remaining almost at the same level as the previous week.

The total funding for the fifth week of the month stood at $63 million as compared to $60 million in the fourth week, showing a very marginal gain. As has been the trend for the past couple of months, the early-stage deals had the highest traction.

During this week, a total of 12 deals were signed, of which 10 early-stage startups received the majority share, and the other two were growth and late-stage startups.

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Interestingly, this week, Ketto signed a crowdfunding deal, raising $14.5 million to help and support over three lakh people in various capacities. There was a single debt deal, amounting to $9.6 million.

Key deal

Edtech startup Toppr raised Rs 350 crore in Series D funding led by Foundation Holdings, with participation from existing investors, including Kaizen Private Equity.

Toppr will use the latest investment to help develop the artificial intelligence (AI)-based Toppr School Operating System (OS) — a platform for schools to run digitally, unifying in-school and after-school learning to create a standardised and personalised experience. 

Other deals

IIT-Madras incubated startup Muse Wearables raised Rs 22 crore to launch its wrist tracker that can detect COVID-19 symptoms at an early stage. Priced at Rs 3,500, the wearable will be available in 70 countries by next month.

Mumbai-based game development studio Firescore Interactive raised $500,000 funding led by CrazyLabs. The funds will be utilised to launch the first-ever Hyper Casual Gaming Hub in India for game studios around the world.

The innovative games accelerator, branded as the CrazyHub, is located in Mumbai. It will be operated by Firescore Interactive and, together with CrazyLabs, will support game studios with everything they need in order to create the next chart-topping hyper-casual mobile game.

Healthtech startup Wellcure raised $200,000 from Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). Founded by Nearbuy.com co-founder Sumeet Kapur, along with Ankur Bhatia and Aanchal Kapur, Wellcure caters to all health and wellness needs — physical and mental — with an existing user base of close to a lakh. The startup aspires to reach one million people by next year. The funds will be used by Wellcure for its marketing, tech development, and team expansion.

Pickright Technologies, a marketplace for stock market investors and advisors, raised $175,000 in a seed round of funding from angel investors. This investment will be utilised by the startup in product development, marketing and positioning the brand in the market.

VilCart, a tech startup that enables retailers in villages and small towns to order consumer goods digitally, raised a bridge funding round. It operates primarily in 10 districts of Karnataka. It is in the process of setting up operations in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, which will commence on August 1. The funds raised will be utilised to upgrade technology, hire new talent, and for expansion. 

San Francisco-based orthodontic startup OrthoFX raised $13 million led by SignalFire, in association with Unusual Ventures by Jyoti Bansal (Founder of AppDynamics), ShangBay Capital, and Kairos Ventures. Co-founded by Keralite entrepreneur and Invisalign’s former Global Head of Product Management and Innovation Ren Menon, the startup also unveiled a suite of clear aligner technologies, coupled with a doctor-friendly financial model. 

The startup plans to use the funding for R&D and building a suite of hybrid digital and physical orthodontic services. A significant portion of the funding will be deployed in Kerala to set up a development centre in Kochi Infopark.

'No-Code' Data pipeline platform Hevo raised $8 million in Series A funding led by Singapore-based VC firm Qualgro, along with independent investor Lachy Groom, a former executive at Stripe and investor in Notion, Figma and Front. The round also saw participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital India's Surge and Chiratae Ventures. The funding will be used to accelerate Hevo's global expansion plans. The startup has offices in Bengaluru and San Francisco, and aims to focus on expanding the team across sales, technology, and marketing.

M&A

In a bid to expand its product offering to millennials, Bengaluru-based digital banking fintech startup Niyo acquired Goalwise, a new-age mutual funds investment platform. With this deal, Niyo co-founders Vinay Bagri (CEO) and Virender Bisht (CTO) have picked up majority stakes in the startup, along with Niyo, in a cash-and-stock deal for an undisclosed amount.

Further, the founding members of Goalwise will join Niyo’s leadership team and will be running Niyo Wealth as an independent vertical within the startup.