(Weekly funding roundup March 23-29) VC inflow continues to remain steady in the last week of March

Venture capital funding into the Indian startup ecosystem continues to remain steady, and the last week of March saw the fintech startups receiving the highest amount.

The total VC funding for the week stood at $210 million cutting across 19 deals. In contrast, the previous week saw a total inflow of $225 million.

This steady state of funding inflow is a positive development for Indian startups, and it could possibly set the stage for large cheques coming into the ecosystem. In fact, the month of March witnessed weekly venture funding remaining above the $200 million level as compared to around $100 million in January and February.

In fact, during this week, Avanse Financial Services raised $120 million in private equity funding, which had its genesis as a venture-backed entity.

There were other developments during the week, which provided positive signals for the startup ecosystem.

Investors continue to raise capital, and the latest entity this week was Alteria Capital whose third fund was oversubscribed at Rs 1,550 crore. Leading VC firm Accel unveiled its latest cohort of new startups for its Atoms 3.0.

However, challenges continue to remain for the ecosystem as investors stay cautious about writing large cheques, which would help lift the funding momentum.

Key transactions

Avanse Financial Services raised Rs 1,000 crore (about $120 million) from Mubadala Investment Company and Avendus PE Investment Advisors Pvt Ltd.

Non-bank lender Ambit Finvest raised Rs 690 crore ($82.7 million) from Japan-based Daiwa Securities Group.

Aye Finance raised $16.2 million in debt funding from German impact investor Invest in Vision's private funds, including IIV Mikrofinanzfonds.

Sindhuja Microcredit raised $14.5 million from GAWA Capital, Oikocredit, Carpediem Capital, and Abler Nordic.

Speciality coffee brand Subko raised $10 million from Nikhil Kamath, Blume Founders Fund, The Gauri Khan Family Trust, Priya and John Abraham, and Sangita Jindal.

Cleantech startup Bambrew raised Rs 60 crore (about $7.2 million) from Blume Ventures, Blue Ashva Capital, Mumbai Angels, and Indus Capital.

Retail tech startup SuperK raised $6 million from Blume Ventures, Silver Needle Ventures, Veltis Capital, Atrium Angels, angel investors, and syndicates.