[Weekly funding roundup Aug 24-30] Zepto powers up VC inflow

The month of August has ended on a strong note, with venture capital into Indian startups getting boost from the large follow-on financing raised by quick commerce unicorn Zepto.

The last week of August saw total funding of $447 million cutting across 27 deals, while, in contrast, the previous week saw an amount of $186 million.

The month, which saw very uneven weekly VC inflow, closed on a positive note, led by the $340-million transaction of Zepto.

The weekly fundraise of $447 million is also the third-highest capital that the Indian startup ecosystem has raised on a weekly basis. The highest weekly funding raised was $872 million in the month of June, followed by $536 million in May.

This rise in venture capital funding is largely due to the presence of large-value transactions and these cheques provide the much-needed lift to the ecosystem.

Given the VC momentum, it is likely that the total amount for the year might be about marginally higher than the $10.8 billion raised in 2023.

The Indian startup ecosystem continues to see positive developments, with fintech unicorn Phonepe announcing a strong set of numbers while VerSe Innovation continues with its acquisition spree.

The public markets continue to attract Indian startups as Swiggy has hired a new CEO while Zappfresh is looking to list on the BSE SME platform.

Key transactions

Quick commerce unicorn Zepto raised $340 million from General Catalyst Dragon Fund, Epiq Capital, StepStone, Lightspeed, DST, and Contrary.

Lal Sweets, a packaged sweets company, has raised Rs 330 crore ($39.35 million approx.) from MO Alternate Investment Advisors.

Agritech startup AGRIM has raised $17.3 million (Rs 145 crore) from Asia Impact.

Proptech startup HouseEazy has bagged $7 million from Chiratae Ventures, Antler and Alteria Capital.

Tech startup Convin secured $6.5 million from India Quotient, JSW Ventures, Kalaari Capital, Titan Capital Winners Fund, Sparrow Capital, and 9Unicorns.

Finarkein Analytics raised $4.75 million from Nexus Venture Partners, IIFL’s Fintech Fund, Eximius Ventures and angel investors.