[Weekly funding roundup June 13-19] Sarvam AI's massive funding round boosts VC inflow

Sarvam AI's $234 million fundraise provided the momentum to this week's venture capital inflow. Despite the turbulent few weeks earlier this year, investors seem to be backing startups.

The total funding for the week stood at $393 million across 18 deals. In comparison, the previous week saw $246 million. Sarvam AI accounted for nearly 60% of the total funding raised this week.

This also reveals the dependency of the Indian startup ecosystem for a single large value transaction to shore up the funding momentum. It also reveals the challenges faced as startups in raising capital.

During this week, startups from the segments of solar energy and pet care also raised funding in the $40-50 million range. This shows that investors are betting on spaces that normally are not on their radar.

However, the challenges for the Indian startup ecosystem in terms of raising large amounts of capital continue to persist as it is the one off odd large deals which is lifting the overall funding momentum. The expectation is that the second half of the year will be a better period for Indian startups.

Key transactions

AI startup Sarvam AI raised $234 million from HCLTech, Bessemer Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures and Peak XV Partners.

Solar energy company SolarSquare raised $53 million from B Capital, Lightspeed, Elevation Capital, Lowercarbon Capital, Rainmatter by Zerodha and Good Capital.

Pet healthcare network Vetic raised $40 million from Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), Greenoaks Capital, Lachy Groom, and JSW Family Office.

Nutrition brand TruNativ raised $30 million led by OrbiMed.

Digital entertainment company Rusk Media raised Rs 100 crore ($10.6 million approx.) from Nazara Technologies, InfoEdge Ventures, IvyCap Ventures, and Audacity VC.

Sustainability startup Karo Sambhav raised Rs 56 crore ($5.9 million approx.) from Rainmatter.

Food lifestyle platform Foodstories raised Rs 50 crore ($5.3 million approx.) from Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office.