Report card: Aug 1st week sees over $1B inflow of funds

The good tidings from July in terms of funding into Indian startups seem to have extended to August, as the first week of this month saw an inflow of $1.2 billion.

After close to $10 billion coming into the Indian startup ecosystem in July, there seems to be no ebb in fund inflow for August as there were new unicorns born — BharatPe and Mindtickle — even as a profitable startup, Nykaa, announced its DRHP with plans to go public.

The funding of $1.2 billion during the first week of August was double what was registered in the comparable previous week at $601 million. 

The performance in July and early signs in August sets the stage for a very strong finish for 2021.

Key deals of this week: 

Edtech unicorn Unacademy raised $440 million from Temasek along with others like Softbank Vision Fund, General Atlantic, and Tiger Global.

Fintech startup BharatPe raised $370 million led by Tiger Global at a post-money valuation of $2.85 billion to turn into a unicorn.

Construction materials marketplace Infra.Market raised $125 million in Series D funding from Tiger Global at a $2.5 billion valuation.

Read all about how the Indian startup ecosystem is battling the second wave of COVID-19 here.

Here are some useful tools to help you find the nearest vaccine centres in real-time.

You can also share a tribute to COVID-19 warriors, saviours, and survivors here.

The Interview

In a recent conversation with YourStory’s Influencers Inc, Nikunj Lotia, aka Nick from Be YouNick, shares key insights into the influencer economy and the dramatic rise in the number of content creators amidst the pandemic.

Editor’s Pick: Meet Amazon seller Pooja Kanth, who sells macrame art

Pooja Kanth quit her cushy corporate job a few years ago to explore macrame art, a form of textile produced by using knotting techniques. While picking up the nuances of the art, Pooja understood that training in macrame could help create employment in rural areas.

Her venture, Pooja Ki Potli was established with an initial investment of Rs 5,000 in a small studio in New Delhi to sell handmade products and materials across categories, especially macrame art. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Digital therapeutics for patients with chronic disease

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or chronic diseases now account for over 55 percent. For Abhishek Shah and Prayat Shah, this situation was not uncommon. They had seen their parents deal with chronic conditions for years, which gave them the impetus to start up in the healthcare sector. 

They started Wellthy Therapeutics, which drives multiple patient touchpoints via real-time channels for patients to make informed choices and build better habits, leading to a better quality of life. Read more.

News & Updates

• Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra became only the second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics, out-performing the field by some distance to immortalise himself as the first track-and-field games medal-winner for the country.

• Twitter informed the Delhi High Court that it has appointed a Chief Compliance Officer, Resident Grievance Officer, and Nodal Contact Person permanently on August 4 in compliance with the new IT rules.

• PM Narendra Modi called upon the industry and exporters to take advantage of opportunities created in the post-COVID scenario, explore new destinations, and expand the export basket to achieve the ambitious target of $400 billion of exports.

• Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine has been given Emergency Use approval in India, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday. He said this will further boost the country's collective fight against coronavirus infection.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

"You can't have 30 unicorns and none of them listed. I think that era has to come to an end. In the next two to three years, every VC, founder, and boardroom has to make this happen. Everyone in the ecosystem has to take ownership of the problem and change it." 

— Karthik Reddy, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Blume Ventures 

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