[Weekly funding roundup] Venture investments continue to remain tepid

The end of the year always corresponds to lesser activity, and this is reflected in the funding momentum also for the startup ecosystem as the total venture investments dropped to $61 million for the second week of December as compared to $118 million in the comparable previous week.

There were just 11 deals during the week, with the majority of the funding focused on early-stage startups. There were seven deals in early-stage startups, with three in growth, and one in late-stage. Debt financing made a comeback with a single deal amounting to $7.8 million.

ALSO READ

Paytm Money launches IPO investments, empowers investors to participate in initial public offerings

Now the entire focus will be on how venture funding is going to take shape from the next year, given that the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, and whether the big-ticket fund infusion is going to make its entry once again.

Key deals

DealShare raised $21 million in Series C funding led by WestBridge Capital with participation from Alpha Wave Incubation, Z3Partners, and others like Matrix Partners India and Omidyar Network India. Several independent investors too participated in this round of funding.

Infra.Market raised a Series B funding of $20 million from Evolvence India Fund, Sistema Asia Fund, and Foundamental. Existing investors including Accel, Tiger Global, and Nexus Venture Partners also participated in the round.

Other deals

Atomberg Technologies raised a Series B fundraise of Rs 70 crore led by A91 Partners with participation from Trifecta Capital and Survam Partners.

Mihup Communications raised $1.5 million in an ongoing Series A round led by Accel Partners, Ideaspring Capital, and other angel investors.

Bengaluru-based digital radiology platform 5C Network raised pre-Series A funding of $1.2 million from existing investors - Unitus Ventures and Axilor Ventures.

Bombay Play raised $1 million in seed funding led by Lumikai, a gaming and interactive media venture fund based out of India.

Mumbai-based blockchain startup Ethereum Push Notification Service (EPNS) raised $750,000 seed investment from angel investors and HNIs.

Bolo Indya raised $400,000 led by Inflection Point Ventures. Existing investors from Eagle10 Ventures also participated in this round.

FreshToHome raised financial and non-financial incentives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO). The purpose of this funding is to develop cutting-edge innovation in desert agriculture and aquaculture in Abu Dhabi.

India connect

Richpanel, a customer service platform for the ecommerce industry, raised an undisclosed investment as part of Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, a rapid scale-up programme for startups in Southeast Asia and India.

M&A

Edtech startup LEAD School acquired QuizNext, an AI-powered gamified student assessment and practice platform. This acquisition is aimed at further enhancing LEAD School's overall product offerings and to help the schools to deliver a complete schooling experience.