[Weekly funding roundup] Indian startups raise $88M last week, large deals at bay

The fourth week of September saw a sharp fall in venture capital funding into the Indian startup ecosystem. The total fundraise fell below the $100 million figure in the absence of any large deals.

The week (September 16-22) witnessed an inflow of $88 million across 16 deals—falling from $334 million secured in the week prior.

This is the second time this month that the total weekly venture funding has dropped below the $100 million benchmark. In instances where the capital inflow has crossed $200 million has been largely due to a single large transaction.

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The low investment last week isn't a unique occurrence in the ecosystem as the recent trends point to subdued venture capital funding. While the highest activity remains in the very early stage categories like pre-seed, seed or Series A rounds, their contribution in terms of the quantum of money remains low.

Given the present environment, it is very unlikely that large deals will make their presence felt in the ecosystem and industry observers believe any activity in this segment will most probably start after the first quarter of 2024.

The startup ecosystem can still remain hopeful in terms of future capital inflows as VC firms like Antler, Incubate Fund Asia, and Trifecta continue to close their new funds.

Key transactions

Audio content platform KukuFM raised $25 million from The Fundamentum Partnership, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Vertex Ventures.

Eloelo, a social gaming startup, raised $22 million from Courtside Ventures, Griffin Gaming Partners, MIXI Inc, WaterBridge Ventures, Lumikai Fund, and others.

Ecommerce startup Flash raised $6.7 million from Blume Ventures, PeerCapital, White Venture Capital, and Emphasis Ventures.

Fleet operator Everest Fleet has raised Rs 50 crore (approximately $6 million) from Paragon Partners.