Startup news and updates: daily roundup (Sep 30, 2021)

InnoVen Capital India Fund announces first close at Rs 740 Cr

InnoVen Capital India Fund has announced the first close of its new fund at approximately Rs 740 crore ($100 million equivalent). The fund has a target corpus of Rs 1,000 crore, with a green shoe option to raise an additional Rs 1,000 crore. The first close was done with anchor investor Innoven Capital Pte Ltd, a joint venture between Seviora and United Overseas Bank.  Its primary focus will be on sectors such as consumer internet, B2B commerce, enterprise software, fintech, healthtech, and logistics.

Meesho raises $570M from Fidelity and B Capital at $4.9B valuation (Funding)

Social commerce platform Meesho has raised $570 million at a valuation of $4.9 billion. The round was led by Fidelity Management and Research Company and B Capital Group. The round also saw participation from existing investors Prosus Ventures, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Facebook. Other new investors include Footpath Ventures, Trifecta Capital, Good Capital and others. The startup expects to use the funding to grow its technology and product talent 2.5x, increase its roster to 50+ million products, and become the platform of choice for customers, entrepreneurs, and sellers from across India.

Blockchain analytics firm Merkle Science raises $5.75M in Series A round (Funding)

Blockchain monitoring and investigative platform Merkle Science announced the close of its $5.75 million Series A funding round led by Darrow Holdings. Other investors include Kraken Ventures, Bain-backed Uncorrelated Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, Token Bay Capital, Kenetic, and Lunex Ventures. Built by Bengalaru-based founders Nirmal Aryath Koroth and Mriganka Pattnaik, the Singapore-based firm's funding announcement came shortly after its recent launch into the US market.

Used car leasing startup PumPumPum raises bridge round from LC Nueva AIF (Funding)

Gurugram-based startup Pumpumpum, which offers used car leasing in the corporate and retail segment, on Wednesday announced that it has secured an undisclosed amount of new bridge funding from LC Nueva AIF, an India domiciled Category II AIF Fund, where LC Nueva Investment Partners LLP is the Investment Manager. PumPumPum plans to use the capital for consumer awareness, technology development, and expansion in over 15 cities across the country.