[Weekly funding roundup Aug 16-22] A single large deal keeps the VC momentum afloat

Venture capital (VC) into the Indian startup ecosystem sustained in the $300-million range this week, largely on the back of a single $170-million transaction of Weaver Services, as without this deal, the overall value would have dropped.

The total funding for the third week of August stood at $306 million across 13 deals. In contrast, the comparable previous week saw a total infusion of $324 million. There were fewer deals this week as compared to the previous week.

Over the last three weeks, VC funding has shown a steady increase on a weekly basis, however, the realistic expectation is that this is unlikely to sustain given the current macroeconomic environment.

This week, the deal of Weaver Services revealed the challenges faced by Indian startups in terms of raising large-value transactions. There have only been eight $100 million-plus deals this year till now, according to YourStory Research.

The current funding challenges faced by the Indian startup ecosystem are likely to persist as the number of deals continues to remain low and there's a noticeable absence of high-value transactions.

On the other hand, the Indian startup ecosystem faces policy challenges as the new Bill banning real money games has led to a high degree of uncertainty. Meanwhile, the public market continues to draw Indian startups, with Captain Fresh being the latest to file confidential IPO papers.

Key transactions

Weaver Services, a technology-led housing finance platform, raised $170 million from Lightspeed, Premji Invest, and Gaja Capital.

Amnex Infotechnologies raised Rs 460 crore ($52 million approx.) from The Wealth Company Asset Management.

D2C startup R for Rabbit raised $27 million from Filter Capital and 3one4 Capital.

Goldi Solar, a solar startup, raised Rs 137.5 crore ($15.7 million approx.) from Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath.