(Weekly funding roundup Aug 22-28) Marginal rise in VC inflow

Venture capital funding into Indian startups rose marginally in the last week of the month driven by reasonably sized deals in an otherwise tepid environment.

The total funding for the week was $245 million across 27 deals, compared to the previous week's fundraise of $187 million.

In the previous three weeks of August, there was at least one deal worth $100 million or so: River Mobility ($120 million), Yulu ($93 million) and Navi ($100 million). But there were no such deals in the last week of the month.

This week, deals were spread across segments such as coffee brands, aerospace, and electric vehicles.

The overall funding momentum in Indian startups continues to be lukewarm, and it is unlikely to turn around anytime soon.

Key transactions

Third Wave Coffee, a homegrown coffee and QSR food brand, raised Rs 408 crore ($42.8 million approx.) from WestBridge Capital, Creagis, and other angel investors.

Aerospace startup Airbound raised $37 million from Greenoaks, DoorDash, Lachy Groom, Lightspeed, and Humba Ventures.

EV startup MATTER Motor Works raised $25 million from Helena, Capital 2B, and Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

AI startup Runable raised $21 million from Susquehanna Venture Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Together Fund, and Array VC.

Wealth management startup Nexedge Capital raised $20 million from Mirae Asset Venture Investment and Elev8 Venture Partners.

Astrology platform InstaAstro raised $12 million from Singularity AMC, Artha Venture Fund and founders.

Spacetech startup InspeCity raised Rs 100 crore ($10.5 million approx.) from Speciale Invest, Ashish Kacholia, Antler India, Manish Gandhi, and Shastra VC.

Voice AI startup Ringg AI raised $10 million from Peak XV Partners, Arkam Ventures and Capital 2b.

Skincare brand Asaya raised Rs 88 crore ($9.2 million approx.) from RPSG Capital, OTP Ventures, Huddle Ventures, Hyperscale Ventures and 72 Ventures.

Logistics tech startup TrucksUp raised $8.2 million from institutions, family offices and founders.

EV startup Omega Seiki Mobility raised Rs 50 crore ($5.2 million approx.) from Abhishek Misra, Unistone Capital, Sanjeev Agarwal Family Office, and Brijesh Parekh Family Office.