[Weekly funding roundup July 19-25] VC money continues to move in the slow lane

Venture capital inflow into the Indian startup ecosystem continues to remain lacklustre, and the month of July has not shown any signs of improvement amid the scarcity of large deals as well as fewer transactions.

The total funding for the fourth week of July totalled $120 million across 21 deals. The comparable previous week saw a total amount of $124 million. This shows the VC funding is in a steady state.

During this week, the split between early- and late-stage funding was almost equal at $52 million, while the growth stage just raised $11 million. The clear lack of momentum in the growth and late stages of funding has kept the overall VC inflow depressed.

In July, the weekly VC funding hovered just around the $100-million level. This is lower than the previous level, when the range was around $200 million. It actually shows the cautiousness on the part of investors and the lack of any strong investment theme, except perhaps for artificial intelligence (AI).

Given the current situation, it is unlikely that there would be any turnaround in terms of a higher inflow of VC money. It is not just the case of an uncertain macroeconomic environment which is impeding the flow of capital, but there is no bullishness around the Indian startup ecosystem at the moment.

Key transactions

Semiconductor startup Netrasemi raised Rs 107 crore ($12.3 million approx.) led by Zoho Corporation and Unicorn India Ventures.

Retail chain SuperK raised Rs 100 crore ($11.5 million approx.) from 3STATE Ventures, Caratlane founder Mithun Sacheti, Shubman Gill, Blume Ventures, and Xeed Ventures.

Deeptech startup Kluisz.ai raised $9.6 million from RTP Global, Unicorn India Ventures, Blume Founders Fund, Climber Capital, and angel investors.

Tech startup EduFund raised $6 million from Cercano Management and MassMutual Ventures.

Infra-tech startup Enlite raised Rs 46 crore ($5.3 million approx.) from Avaana Capital and Claypond Capital.

Travel and lifestyle startup Escape Plan raised $5 million from Jungle Ventures and Fireside Ventures.