[Weekly funding roundup Jan 6-12] Sharp rise in VC inflow

The second week of January turned out to be a positive one for the Indian startup ecosystem with venture funding crossing the $100 million mark.

The total funding for the week stood at $121 million across 31 deals. In comparison, the previous week saw a total amount of only $61 million.

The >$10 million deals seen this week gave the much-needed push to the startup ecosystem. Most of these transactions were in the early stage category of funding.

The funding environment in the present times is largely centering around transactions that are in double digits and this trend is likely to persist for some more time.

The overall ecosystem continues to face challenges given the broader macroeconomic climate where uncertainty persists on the economic growth and the resultant money supply. At the same time, the Indian startup ecosystem continues to witness a few negative developments.

Edtech unicorn BYJU'S continues to face the challenge of raising capital even as its valuation was downgraded to just one billion dollars. Social commerce startup Dealshare saw one more of its founders leaving the company.

However, there were a few positives in terms of money coming into the startup ecosystem as new funds have been set up to invest in the consumer brands and SaaS space.

The optimism has still not returned for the startups and one only hopes that things will turn out for the better in the near future.

Key transactions

Healthcare startup makeO raised $16 million from 360 ONE Asset, Eight Roads Ventures, Paramark Ventures, and the family office of Medlife founders.

Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) Varthana Finance has secured $14 million from Blue Earth Capital.

Investment firm Grip Invest raised $10 million from Stride Ventures, LC Nueva, Multiply Ventures, Venture Highway, Anicut Capital, and AdvantEdge.

Healthcare startup CureBay raised Rs 62 crore ($7.5 million) from Elevar Equity and existing investors.

Edtech startup ConveGenius raised $7 million from UBS Optimus Foundation, Mount Judi Ventures and others.

B2B startup Karkhana.io raised $6.3 million from Arkam Ventures, Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital and Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India.

Mental health startup Amaha raised over Rs 50 crore (about $6 million) led by Fireside Ventures.

Tech startup PierSight raised $6 million from Alpha Wave Ventures, Elevation Capital and Techstars.

Fintech startup SalarySe raised $5.25 million from Peak XV's Surge and Pravega Ventures.