[Weekly funding roundup July 13-19] VC inflows continue to show modest rise

The month of July continues to remain subdued for the Indian startup ecosystem as venture capital funding on a weekly basis remains modest with small upticks and no visible upward movements.

The total funding for the third week of July stood at $226 million across 26 deals. In contrast, the previous week saw a total funding of $128 million.

The month of July has been a disappointment after the previous month of June saw $1.7 billion of VC funding coming into the ecosystem. Given the ongoing trend, it is unlikely that the month of July will cross $1 billion in overall funding.

This is a surprise, as the expectation was that venture capital funding would see a steady uptick as shown in the months of May and June. However, there is a lot of deal activity happening in the Indian startup ecosystem, which most likely will be announced in the next two months.

At the same time, the Indian startup ecosystem continues to witness several developments which fall outside the domain of funding activity. The troubles at BYJU'S continue as it struggles to come out of the insolvency track. On the other hand, Paytm struggles financially with losses widening in the first quarter of the fiscal year.

However, there are a few positive developments, including that newer venture capital funds are emerging in the Indian startup ecosystem. This week saw the introduction of Promaft Partners and Yali Capital.

Key transactions

Dharana Capital acquired over Rs 400 crore ($50 million) in Urban Company through a secondary transaction.

Auxilo Finserve, an education-focused NBFC, raised $30 million from LeapFrog Investments.

EV startup BluSmart raised $24 million responsAbility Investments, Sumant Sinha, MS Dhoni Family Office, existing investors, and BluSmart's founders.

Lenskart co-founders Peyush Bansal and Neha Bansal, along with co-founders Amit Choudhary and Sumeet Kapahi, have injected $19.12 million into the company.

Fast fashion retailer NEWME raised $18 million from Accel, Fireside Ventures and AUM Ventures.

Drone startup Aereo raised $15 million from 360 ONE Asset, StartupXseed Ventures and Navam Capital.

Ride-hailing app Namma Yatri raised $11 million from Blume Ventures, Antler, Google and other investors.

Fintech startup Seeds Fincap raised $8.5 million from Lok Capital and Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India ).

Corvi LED Light, a lighting product design company raised $8 million led by Enam Investments.

Nurture Well, a biscuit manufacturer raised Rs 50 crore ($6 million approximately) from India Inflection Opportunity Fund (IIOF).

Edtech platform byteXL raised $5.9 million from Kalaari Capital and Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

Watertech startup Boon raised $5 million led by Spanish Roca Group Ventures.

Fintech startup Getepay raised $4 million from Hyderabad Angels, ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, DBR Ventures LLP, Virendra Sehwag and others.