[Weekly funding roundup Aug 10-16] VC inflow nearly triples

Venture capital (VC) funding into Indian startups rose in the third week of August, boosted by large deals from companies including OYO and Ather. This comes as a relief given the uneven fund inflow into the ecosystem for the last four weeks.

The total funding raised by Indian startups during the week grew 183% week-on-week, totalling $379 million cutting across 22 deals. In comparison, the previous week saw a total fund infusion of $134 million.

The last four weeks witnessed a swing in the fund inflow into the Indian startup ecosystem as the presence of late-stage funding deals made the difference. This week saw electric vehicle startup Ather turning into a unicorn while OYO continued to raise funding while turning operationally profitable.

This uneven nature of VC inflow is expected to remain the trend for the rest of the year as large deals are few and far in between. Industry experts believe the funding momentum is expected to pick up from next year.

Meanwhile, the stock exchanges have reacted very positively to the listing of Indian startups, as evident by the rising price of Ola Electric shares even as the company announced newer initiatives. FirstCry also made a strong debut on the stock exchanges.

This gives hope to investors looking to exit from the startups' captable.

Key transactions

OYO raised Rs 1,457 crore ($173.5 million approx.) from a consortium of investors including InCred Wealth, J&A Partner,s and ASK Financial Holdings.

EV startup Ather Energy raised Rs 600 crore ($71 million) at a unicorn valuation from existing investor National Investment Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).

Fintech startup Neo Group raised Rs 400 crore ($47.6 million) from MUFG Bank, Euclidean Capital, and Peak XV Partners.

Fintech startup Vayana raised $20.5 million from Asia Rising Fund, IFC, Chiratae Ventures, Jungle Ventures, and family offices.

Mobility startup Fresh Bus raised Rs 87.5 crore ($10.5 million) from Maniv, Shell Ventures, Alteria Capital, and Riverwalk Holdings.

Personal care brand Beco raised $10 million from Tanglin Venture Partners, Titan Capital Winners Fund, Rukam Capital, and Synergy Capital.

EV startup Kazam raised $8 million from Vertex Ventures, Avaana Capital,and Alteria Capital.

Fintech startup Skydo raised $5 million from Elevation Capital.

D2C women’s apparel brand Fashor raised $5 million from Blume Ventures.