[Weekly funding roundup Nov 29-Dec 5] Debt capital continues to show the highest traction

Debt remains a crucial capital source for India's startup ecosystem.

The last week of November saw a record fundraising amount, and this trend continued even in the first week of December. The total funding for this week amounted to $234 million across 17 deals, compared to $257 million in the comparable previous week.

The development of debt funding, witnessing the highest influx, is not necessarily a positive trend, as this shows that conventional VC investors are hesitant to open up their cheque books. Typically, a debt component would mean that the startups will have to return the money within a stipulated time period.

On the other hand, it also means that startups are tapping into other avenues of capital inflow.

During this week, the growth stage of VC funding, especially in the A and B stages, showed strong transactions. However, the number of deals continues to remain at a lower level.

Given that the year is coming to a close, it is likely that funding activity may slow down in the weeks to come and the total amount raised by the Indian startup ecosystem is unlikely to cross the level of 2024.

Key transactions

Apraava Energy raised $92 million from British International Investment (BII) and Standard Chartered.

EV startup Ultraviolette Automotive raised $45 million from Zoho Corporation and Lingotto.

Investment advisory startup StockGro raised Rs 150 crore ($16.6 million approx.) from Mukul Agrawal.

Fintech startup Finfactor raised $15 million from WestBridge Capital, Varanium Capital, DMI Sparkle Fund and IIFL Fintech Fund.

Real estate tech startup Modulus Housing raised $7.83 million from Kalaari Capital, Hero, Samarthya, SVAS, Sigma and angel investors.

Agritech startup Ayekart raised $6.5 million from Symbiotics Investments.

EV startup Moonrider raised $6 million from pi Ventures, Singularity AMC, AdvantEdge Founders and Micelio.