[Weekly funding roundup Feb 10-16] Venture capital inflow remains steady in startup ecosystem

Venture capital (VC) funding into Indian startups continues to remain steady as it hovers around the $100 million level on a weekly basis, given the continued absence of any large-value transactions.

The total VC funding for the third week of February was $147 million across 27 deals. In comparison, startups had raised a total funding of $173 million last week.

Most of the funding was raised by Indian startups not falling under the favoured categories like ecommerce, fintech, or edtech. The week saw startups from seafood, petcare, and even astrology sector raising capital in the $20 million range.

However, the overall fund inflow into Indian startups continues to remain constrained as the large cheques are not forthcoming. There is now a lot of attention around artificial intelligence (AI)-driven startups, but it is yet to gain momentum in India.

Overall, the current funding state of the Indian startup ecosystem is likely to prevail for at least one more quarter.

Key transactions

Captain Fresh, a B2B fish and seafood tech startup, raised $25 million from British International Investment and Nekkanti Seafoods Group as well as a few family offices.

Student accommodation platform Amber raised $21 million from Gaja Capital, Lighthouse Canton, and Stride Ventures.

Spiritual-tech startup AstroTalk raised $20 million from New York-based venture capital firm Left Lane.

Pet care startup Supertails raised $15 million from RPSG Capital Ventures, Fireside Ventures, Saama Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, and Sauce VC.

Metalbook, a B2B startup, raised $15 million from Rigel Capital, Venture fund FJ Labs,Axilor Ventures, Foundamental, Stride Ventures, and Trifecta Capital.

Fintech startup Ayekart raised $6.5 million from Omnivore, Siana Capital, and Unleash Capital Partners.

EV startup Ascend Capital raised Rs 50 crore ($6 million) from InfoEdge Ventures and Asha Ventures.

Rewards-focused internet browser Veera raised $6 million from Ayon Capital, 6th Man Ventures, Folius Ventures, The Operating Group, and iSeed Ventures.