[Weekly funding roundup] Investments remain low but sentiment is strong

For the second week of June, venture capital investments into the Indian startup ecosystem stood below $50 million, but this masks the vibrancy of the ecosystem which saw healthy merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, as well dual-headquartered companies in India and the US receiving funding from marquee investors.

The total venture funding into Indian startups was just $46 million cutting across 19 deals, but the week witnessed announcements that would have a long-term bearing for the ecosystem like the Tata Group continuing to invest in digital companies.

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Outside of the Tata Group’s announcement, there was smaller M&A activity within the startup ecosystem as well.

As has been the trend, the majority of the deals were in the early stage — accounting for 18 such transactions. The week also saw three debt deals amounting to $12.2 million.

Deals of the week

Refyne, a Bengaluru-based salary focused app, closed its $16 million Series A round with participation from DST Global and RTP Global.

Healthtech startup Truemeds raised $5 million in Series A round from InfoEdge Ventures, Asha Impact, and Indian Angel Network Fund. 

Logistics tech startup Kale Logistics has raised $5 million in Series A funding from Inflexor Ventures, along with existing investors.

Greenjoules, a clean energy tech startup, raised $4.5 million in a Series A round from Blue Ashva Capital.

Hygiene and wellness brand Pee Safe raised Rs 25 crore in a pre-Series B round from Shaival Desai and Alkemi Growth Capital.

Edtech startup Swiflearn raised $3 million in pre-Series A round from Stellaris Venture Partners, Venture Highway, and angel investors.

D2C home appliance brand Candes raised $3 million from various family offices in Delhi.

Tech startup QuickSell raised $2 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by InfoEdge Venture Fund and BEENEXT.

EV tech startup Cell Propulsion raised $2 million from existing investors — Endiya Partners, growX Ventures, Huddle Accelerator, and Micelio.

Mental health startup Now&Me has raised $1 million as seed funding led by Saama Capital and Whiteboard Capital.

Agritech startup Fyllo raised Rs 3 crore from Indian Angel Network (IAN), Titan Capital, and Lead Angels.

Blaer Motors, an NIT-Trichy incubated mobility tech startup based in Chennai, raised Rs 2.61 crore from The Chennai Angels (TCA).

D2C brand F5 closed $350,000 as the first tranche of its pre-Series A round from a group of angel investor platforms.

Mentorship platform MentorKart raised $150,000 in a seed round led by Amit Singal and Manish Aggarwal, Founders of Startup Buddy.

The following startups received an undisclosed amount of funding: Wellbeing Nutrition, CORA Health, and Cashfree.

India connect

SaaS startup Whatfix raised $90 million in Series D funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

B2B tech startup BuyerAssist.io raised $2 million in seed financing led by Stellaris Venture Partners and Emergent Ventures.

Invoice factoring startup Reevoy raised undisclosed seed funding from Stellaris Venture, Better Capital and Startup Angel Network (SAN).

Tech startup CustomerGlu raised pre-seed funding of $320,000 led by Better Capital and angel investors.

B2B startup Slintel raised $20 million in Series A funding led by GGV Capital, with participation from Accel, Sequoia, and Stellaris Venture Partners.

M&A

Bengaluru based edtech startup Masai School acquired design institute Design Shift Academy.

Fintech startup BharatPe acquired multi-brand loyalty platform Payback India from American Express and ICICI Investments Strategic Fund for an undisclosed amount.

Digital banking fintech Niyo acquired the Bengaluru-based personal finance startup Index.

Fitness and wellness platform Cult.fit acquired Bengaluru-based connected fitness startup TREAD.