[Weekly funding roundup July 5-11] Uncertainity looms large over venture capital

Venture capital funding into Indian startups continued its downward trend in July due to a combination of fewer deals and the absence of high-value transactions.

The total VC funding in the second week of July stood at just $100 million, across 18 deals. In contrast, the previous week saw a total fundraise of $259 million.

The last week of June gave some hope that there would be a reversal in the VC funding trends, as the amount raised during that period was $374 million, but that seemed to be an exception. Now, the funding momentum has shifted to the familiar territory of being in the $100-200 million range.

In fact, this week’s funding amount of $100 million is the fifth lowest on a weekly basis for the year so far. Given the current macroeconomic environment, it is unlikely that there would be any uptick in VC funding.

This week, the early-stage funding category raised the highest amount, followed by the growth category. Also, the fintech segment garnered the largest amount this week.

In the current environment, it is very difficult to project when there would be a turnaround in the VC inflow, and startups will have to operate in a constrained atmosphere.

Key transactions

NBFC Credit Wise Capital raised Rs 200 crore ($23.3 million approx.) led by Trident Growth Partners.

Varthana Finance raised Rs 159 crore ($18.5 million) from BlueEarth Capital, ResponsAbility, and Franklin Templeton Alternative Investments.

Food brand Khetika raised $18 million from Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, Anicut Capital, Incofin India Progress Fund, Rajasthan Gum and Shree Ram India Gums.

SaaS startup Arteria Technologies raised Rs 100 crore ($11.6 million approx) from ICICI Venture.

NBFC InPrime Finserv raised Rs 50 crore ($6.02 million approx.) from Pravega Ventures, Z47, InfoEdge Ventures, and Kettleborough VC.

Digital content studio Chai Bisket raised $5 million from InfoEdge Ventures, General Catalyst and angel investors.

Fintech startup Belong raised $5 million from Elevation Capital, Relentless Ventures and angel investors.

EV mobility startup Yulu raised Rs 25.7 crore ($2.9 million approx.) from Magna International.