[Weekly funding roundup] Indian startup ecosystem buzzing with IPO, M&A activity; venture investments decline

The third week of July saw a decline in venture funding for the Indian startup ecosystem as compared to the previous week. However, the week saw several activities in terms of IPO, acquisitions, and global companies showing interest in these young companies.

This week saw venture capital funding amounting to $209 million across 29 deals, a steep decline as compared to the $847 million in the previous week.

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Moreover, the ecosystem witnessed the much-awaited foodtech unicorn Zomato's IPO. In fact, global logistics giant FedEx invested in Delhivery, while Google made an undisclosed investment into Slang Labs. At the same time, OYO Group raised $600 million in debt.

The absence of a large deal during the week dwarfed the overall amount, but there is still strong activity in the early stage, accounting for an overwhelming number of deals.

Key deals

News aggregator app Inshorts raised $60 million in funding from Vy Capital with participation from existing investors.

Online storytelling platform Pratilipi raised $48 million in funding led by South Korean gaming giant Krafton Inc.

Social commerce platform Trell raised $45 million in a Series B round led by Mirae Asset, H&M Group, and LB Investments.

Real estate startup Square Yards raised $25 million in growth financing from ADM Capital.

Other transactions

Tech startup OneCode raised $5 million led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from WaterBridge Ventures. 

Aquaconnect, the fisheries focused startup, raised $4 million in a pre-Series A round led by Rebright Partners and Flourish Ventures.

Ati Motors, an all-electric autonomous industrial vehicle maker, raised $3.5 million from Blume Ventures and Exfinity Venture Partners.

Pankhuri, a women social community platform, raised $3.2 million from Sequoia Capital India’s surge, India Quotient, and Taurus Ventures.

Edtech startup Oliveboard raised pre-Series A round of Rs 23 crore from IAN Fund, Education Catalyst Fund, and Yukti Securities.

Spacetech startup Digantara raised $2.5 million as part of its seed funding round from Kalaari Capital.

Vah!, a training platform for makeup and beauty courses, raised $1.85 million in a seed round led by Sequoia India's Surge.

Edtech startup Admitkard raised Rs 10 crore in pre-series A round by a group of angel investors.

Financial education startup Kredent InfoEdge raised Rs 10 crore growth capital from Kotak Securities.

Tech startup Bikry raised $1.3 million led by YCombinator along with a group of angel investors.

API platform startup MedPay raised $1.2 million in a seed round from Talent Investor Entrepreneur First (EF) and GrowX Ventures.

Agritech startup Aqgromalin raised Rs 5.5 crore in a seed round led by Zephyr Peacock India Growth fund.

Healthtech startup EasyAspataal raised Rs 4 crore in a seed round led by Venture Catalysts and angel investors.

Blockchain startup Arcana Network raised $375,000 in a seed round from a group of angel investors.

Edtech startup Little Leap raised $360,000 in a seed round led by ah! Ventures. First Cheque VC, LetsVenture, and Good Capital VC also participated. 

LDU (LetsDressUp) raised $300,000 in a pre-Series A round from Titan Capital and other groups of investors. 

Workspace startup BHyve raised $300,000 from JITO Angel Network, LetsVenture, and other angel investors.

Data tech startup Sapio Analytics raised $150,000 from the Parthiv Group of Companies.

Moreover, UrbanKisaan, The Ayurveda Company, SMOOR, and Indi Energy raised an undisclosed round of funding during the week.

India connect

MPOWER Financing, which provides education loans for students to study in North America, raised $100 million in venture funding.

Bookee, the SaaS startup focused on the fitness industry, raised an undisclosed pre-seed round led by Antler India and angel investors.

HR tech startup Multiplier raised $4 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and other investors.

AI startup NetraDyne raised $150 million in Series C funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund and other investors.

Tech startup Protonn raised $9 million in seed funding led by Matrix Partners India, along with 021 Capital and Tanglin Venture Partners.

M&A

Edtech soonicorn Vedantu is set to acquire a majority stake in Ahmedabad-based e-learning platform Pedagogy for an undisclosed amount.

Trentar acquired a 75 percent stake in Noida-based drone service provider GarudaUAV for an undisclosed valuation.