[Weekly funding roundup Oct 4-10] Dhan provides a boost to keep VC inflow steady

Venture capital (VC) funding into Indian startups has remained steady so far in October, following a single large transaction this week from newly minted unicorn Dhan.

The second week of October saw Indian startups raise a total of $264 million across 32 deals. In comparison, the previous week saw $265 million in funding. This stability in VC inflow should bring a certain confidence as the overall mood continues to remain sombre.

This week, the $120 million funding deal for fintech startup Dhan boosted the weekly funding, marking one of the few $100 million deals during the year. In addition, the fintech joins the small list of Indian startup unicorns.

During the week, investors remained more focused on early-stage startups, while being cautious about investing in growth or late-stage companies. About 21 deals in the pre-series stage were signed, with startups raising $36 million.

This may not be a big positive for the Indian startup ecosystem, as it is the late-stage deals that lift the overall funding momentum. Although such transactions have been fewer in the year until now.

This demonstrates that the Indian startup ecosystem continues to face an environment of slower VC inflow, with no signs of a change in the pace for the remaining months of the year.

Key transactions

Stockbroking platform Dhan’s parent company, Raise Financial Services, raised $120 million from Hornbill Capital, Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group, and BEENEXT.

Predictive AI firm Intangles raised $30 million from Avataar Venture Partners, Baring India Private Equity, and Cactus Partners.

Luxury watch retailer Art of Time raised Rs 175 crore ($19.7 million approx.) from Mithun Sacheti, Plutus Wealth, and Girish Mathrubootham.

Rusk Media raised Rs 103 crore ($12.3 million approx.) from IvyCap Ventures, LC Nueva, InfoEdge Ventures, and Woori Venture Partners.

ESDM startup Ekkaa Electronics raised Rs 108 crore ($12 million approx.) from Mukul Mahavir Aggarwal, the Varun Daga Family, MAIQ Growth Scheme, and Caprize Aurix.

Cybersecurity startup Pantherun Technologies raised $12 million from Sahasrar Capital Investors, Lucky Investment Managers, Capital 2B (InfoEdge), and 8X Ventures.

AI startup GreyLabs AI raised Rs 85 crore ($9.5 million approx) from Elevation Capital, Z47, and angel investors.

D2C startup Meolaa raised $6 million from General Catalyst, Claypond Capital, Colossa Ventures, Turbostart Global, and others.

The Medical Travel Company raised $4.5 million from Nexus Venture Partners, Kriscore Capital, and athlete-led investment collective 4CAST.