[Weekly funding roundup] Venture investments continue to remain on an upward trend

The month of May has ended on a positive note for the Indian startup ecosystem as the venture capital funding continues to rise for the second week in a row.

After a slow start to the month, when the weekly total venture funding had dropped to single or double digits, it has now reached a respectable three-figure mark.

The last week of May registered venture funding to the tune of $403 million, which is higher as compared to $285 million in the previous week.

The week also witnessed the emergence of a new unicorn from the Indian startup ecosystem — Zeta, the fintech startup. This takes the total number of unicorns this year to 14.

There were a total of 16 venture deals during the week, with early-stage investments accounting for 12 such transactions, followed by three in the growth stage and one in the late stage. There were no debt deals during the week.

Key deals

Banking tech startup Zeta became the latest startup to enter the unicorn club after raising $250 million in a Series C funding round from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, at a valuation of $1.45 billion. 

SaaS logistics startup FarEye raised $100 million in Series E round led by TCV and Dragoneer Investment Group, with participation from existing investors.

Microblogging startup and Twitter rival Koo app raised $30 million in Series B funding round led by Tiger Global with participation from IIFL and Mirae Assets.

Other transactions

Fintech startup Kodo raised $8.75 million in seed round from Brex, Goat Capital, Pioneer Fund, and other Silicon Valley investors.

Get My Parking (GMP), a smart parking startup, raised fintech startup led by IvyCap Ventures, with the participation of existing investors.

Betterhalf.ai, an AI-driven matrimonial app, raised $3 million in a pre-Series A round from S2 Capital, Quiet Capital, and other angel investors.

Agritech startup FarMart raised $2.4 million in pre-Series A round led by Omidyar Network India and Avaana Capital.

Edtech startup Tekie raised $1.5 million in seed round co-led by GSV Ventures and Multiply Ventures.

IIT Delhi-backed Clensta, a startup operating in the personal care and homecare space, raised Rs 5 crore from N+1 Capital.

Salon-focused SaaS platform Glamplus raised Rs 2 crore in a pre-Series A round led by Inflection Point Ventures.

Mentoria, a career discovery platform, raised Rs 1.5 crore in a pre-Series A funding round from Indian Angel Network (IAN).

Cuvette Tech, an internship-focused startup, raised $180,000 in a seed round led by Titan Capital and other angel investors.

Scenes, a community platform by Avalon, raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding round from angel investors and VC firms.

Conversational AI startup Rezo.ai raised an undisclosed seed round led by Modulor Capital, Dexter Angel Network, Veda, and angel investors.

Polygon, a blockchain-tech startup, raised undisclosed funding from US-based tech billionaire and serial startup investor Mark Cuban.

Legal tech startup LegalPay has raised an undisclosed seed round from 9Unicorns, LetsVenture, and angel investors.

India connect

Voice intelligence and AI assistant provider Fireflies raised $14 million in Series A funding round led by Khosla Ventures and Canaan Partners.

Atlan, a tech startup, raised $16 million Series A funding led by Insight Partners and other angel investors.

Sentieo, the US and India-based fintech startup, raised $20 million in Series B round from Ten Coves Capital, with participation from existing investors.

Yalo, a conversational tech startup, raised $50 million in a Series C round led by existing venture investor B Capital Group.