[Weekly funding roundup] Venture capital inflow into Indian startups picks up momentum

The funding momentum for Indian startups in the New Year is on the rise as venture investments for the fourth week of January has increased as compared to the previous week, with global technology companies like Salesforce making an investment into a SaaS startup.

The fourth week of January witnessed venture investments touching $128 million, as compared to $45 million in the previous week, almost tripling the funding raised. Though the highlight of the week was funding from Salesforce into HR SaaS startup Darwinbox, the deal reveals the strength and depth of the Indian startup ecosystem as it continues to attract the interest of global tech giants.

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There were 16 deals during the week, with 12 of them in the early stage, three in growth, and one in late-stage. Debt funding continues to make its mark with two deals during the week, with a total value of $29 million.

Key deals

Hyperlocal delivery platform Dunzo raised $40 million in Series E funding led by Google, Lightbox, Evolvence, Hana Financial Investment, LGT Lightstone Aspada, and Alteria Capital, among others.

Agritech startup DeHaat raised $30 million in Series C funding led by Prosus Ventures. It also saw participation from Sequoia Capital India, FMO, Omnivore, and AgFunder.

Healthtech startup MFine raised $16 million led by Heritas Capital. It also saw participation from Y'S Investment Pte, SBI Investment, SBI Ven Capital, BEENEXT, and Alteria Capital.

Darwinbox, an enterprise HRtech platform, closed a $15 million funding round led by Salesforce Ventures.

Other transactions

Lohum Cleantech raised $7 million in a round led by Baring Private Equity. Other investors who participated in the round include Talbros Automotive Components Ltd and a few others.

Gegadyne Energy raised Series A funding of around $5 million from V-Guard Industries.

Ripplr raised $3 million in Series A funding from Zephyr Peacock India Growth Fund, with participation from Chand Family Office – Yukti and 3one4 Capital.

Fashinza, a B2B manufacturing marketplace, raised a seed funding of $2.6 million.

Edtech startup Udayy raised $2.5 million in a seed round led by Alpha Wave Incubation. It also saw participation from Better Capital, Kunal Shah, and other angels.

BeyondSkool raised $2 million in a seed round from Tomorrow Capital.

Elevation Capital has invested $1.63 million in live game streaming and community platform Turnip.

Social ecommerce platform ShopG closed a $1.5 million seed funding round led by Orios Venture Partners and RPSG Ventures.

Edtech startup Mindler is raising a $1 million pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures.

Dangal Games raised $1 million in Series A round from an undisclosed strategic investor.

MemeChat raised $150,000 from early-stage venture fund 500 Startups.

India connect

Singapore-based fintech startup Volopay has raised $2.1 million in seed funding led by Tinder Founder Justin Mateen.

Venture Catalysts invested $2 million in SME credit marketplace, CreditEnable, along with its UK arm, JPIN Venture Catalysts.

AlphaICs raised $8 million led by Endiya Partners and Emerald Technology Ventures, with the participation of existing Series A investors ReBright Partners and 3one4 Capital.

M&A

CabDost, the startup that helps taxi drivers and other gig economy workers to file their taxes and plan their finances, has merged with Dvara Money, a neobank catering to India's growing urban gig-economy workers and the blue-collar segment.

Health and fitness startup Curefit has acquired California-based digital fitness company Onyx for an undisclosed amount.