[Weekly funding roundup Jan 13-19] Venture capital inflow remains steady

The month of January continues to remain steady as venture capital funding into Indian startups remained above the $100 million mark in the third week.

The total venture capital funding for the third week of January month stood at $131 million across 23 deals. In comparison, the previous week saw a total funding inflow of $121 million.

The steady capital inflow into Indian startups is on expected lines as investors still remain cautious. The caution is largely around the uncertain larger macroeconomic environment and how it will play out in the coming months, especially when it comes to the interest rate movement and political tensions.

January continues to follow the trend seen in 2023 when the early-stage category of funding showed the highest activity in terms of the number of transactions but the total value remained low. The absence of large-value transactions, say for example a $100 million deal, is the reason for the overall funding amount remaining low.

Given this uncertainty, the only hope is that an economic event would unlock the money supply into Indian startups as venture capital firms are not short of dry powder, which is the euphemism for the amount of capital that has been raised by funds.

Key transactions

Wow! Momo Foods raised $49 million from Khazanah Nasional Berhad and OAKS Asset Management.

Fintech startup FinAGG Technologies raised $11 million from Tata Capital, Blue Orchard, SIDBI, Prime Venture Partners, and Gray Matter Capital.

Aquaculture technology startup AquaExchange raised $6 million from Ocean 14 Capital, Endiya Partners, and Accion Venture Labs.

EV startup ALT Mobility raised $6 million from Shell Ventures, Eurazeo, EV2 Ventures, Twynam, UC Inclusive, Piper Serica, Pitchright, and LetsVenture.

Manufacturing automation startup Groyyo raised $5.4 million from Lighthouse Canton and Trifecta Capital.