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NoBroker reports Rs 803 Cr revenue in FY24, but 57% expenses remain unexplained

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
NoBroker reports Rs 803 Cr revenue in FY24, but 57% expenses remain unexplained
Medial

Real estate platform NoBroker improved its financial performance during the fiscal year ending March 2024, with operating revenue increasing by nearly one-third year-on-year. The subscription-based house-hunting platform also reduced its losses by 19% in FY24. However, the company disclosed limited details about its expenses, with 57% of total expenditures categorized under “miscellaneous overheads”. NoBroker’s operating revenue rose 32% to Rs 803 crore in FY24 from Rs 609 crore in FY23, according to its standalone financial statement sourced from the Registrar of Companies (RoC). NoBroker is a real estate platform that connects property owners directly with tenants, removing the need for brokers or agents. Its main source of revenue is subscription plans which accounted for 99% of the income. Income from product sales — including home services and allied segments — contributed Rs 5 crore in FY24. The firm made an additional Rs 85 crore from the interest of fixed deposit and gain on current investments, and mutual funds which pushed its total income to Rs 888 crore in FY24 from Rs 683 crore in FY23. Looking at the expenses, NoBroker did not disclose much of its expense breakup. Employee benefit expenses, which accounted for 33% of the total costs, remained flat at Rs 436 crore. Rent and legal charges were curtailed to Rs 7 crore and Rs 12 crore, respectively, while depreciation expenses increased modestly to Rs 31 crore in the said fiscal year. Importantly, NoBroker booked Rs 738 crore under miscellaneous expenses. Overall, the firm’s total expenses increased 9.2% to Rs 1,299 crore in FY24 from Rs 1,190 crore in the previous fiscal year. Despite the rise in total expenses, the company managed to reduce its net loss by 19% to Rs 411 crore in FY24 from Rs 506 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at -37.76% and -42.45% respectively. On a unit basis, the company spent Rs 1.62 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in FY24. As of March 2024, the Bengaluru-based firm reported current assets worth Rs 1,082 crore, out of which Rs 55 crore were in cash. According to TheKredible, NoBroker has raised a total of $366 million of funding to date, having Tiger Global, BEENEXT, and Elevation as its lead investors. The company’s co-founders Ankit Agarwal, Saurabh Garg, and Akhil Gupta together own 16.6% of the company.

Starbucks India posts Rs 1,218 Cr revenue in FY24; losses surge 3.2X

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m ago
Starbucks India posts Rs 1,218 Cr revenue in FY24; losses surge 3.2X
Medial

Starbucks India has emerged as the largest coffee chain in the country as the company left Coffee Cafe Day behind in terms of revenue during the fiscal year ending March 2024. However, the firm barely managed double digit growth in the said fiscal year and at the same time, its losses widened over three-fold. Tata Starbucks’ revenue from operations increased 12.05% to Rs 1,218 crore in FY24 from Rs 1,087 crore in FY23, its standalone annual financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) show. Starbucks For background, Starbucks India is a joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Consumer Products Limited. Launched in 2012, Tata Starbucks now operates in over 390 stores across 54 Indian cities, with approximately 4,300 partners. Its nearest competitor Coffee Cafe Day’s revenue stood at Rs 1,013 crore in FY24. As of March 2024, it had 450 stores. Starbucks also competes with several new-age coffee startups including Blue Tokai, Rage Coffee, Third Wave Coffee Roasters, Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl, and Seven Beans Co among several others. Coming to Tata Starbucks revenue, the sale of coffee and related products formed most of its revenue. The rest of the income came from the loyalty program called My Starbucks Rewards where the customers earn loyalty points (Stars). For a coffee-selling company, the procurement of coffee beans, and other related products accounted for 26% of the total expenditure. To the tune of scale, this cost increased 8.5% to Rs 343 crore in FY23. Its employee benefits, rent, electricity, advertisement cum promotion, royalty, transportation, and other overheads took the firm’s overall expenditure to Rs 1,320 crore in FY24 from Rs 1,140 crore in FY23. See TheKredible for the complete expense breakup. Along with flat scale, Starbucks India’s losses surged 3.2x to Rs 80 crore in FY24 from Rs 25 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA margin stood at 0.4% and 18%, respectively. On a unit level, the firm spent Rs 1.08 to earn a rupee in FY24. FY23-FY24 FY23 FY24 EBITDA Margin 19% 18% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹1.05 ₹1.08 ROCE 3% 0.4% Coffee chains, by their very nature seek upscale locations, which means rental costs can be very high. Starbucks India, which is still in expansion mode with a possible target of 1000 stores by 2028, faces that challenge, besides the more obvious one of finding customers for its pricey offerings. Multiple startups encroaching in the same segment has not helped, as unlike the humble tea, coffee snobs are a very real thing, and many of the new upstarts have built a following accordingly. More than losses, Starbucks India will possibly be more focused on metrics like same store sales growth and footfalls for now, as its menu offerings have enough margins to deliver handsomely if footfalls increase significantly. The question is, will premium coffee find a deep enough market, or will it run up against the by now famously shallow middle class market?

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [5 - 10 Aug]

EntrackrEntrackr · 10m ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [5 - 10 Aug]
Medial

During the week, 29 Indian startups raised around $177.68 million in funding. These deals count 8 growth-stage deals and 19 early-stage deals while 2 early-stage startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. During the previous week, 32 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised $334 million in funding. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 8 startups raised $104.8 million in funding this week. Telehealth and wellness platform Visit Health spearheaded with its $30 million worth Series B round. Wealth and asset management company Neo, vernacular social media platform ShareChat, D2C dairy and daily essential brand Country Delight, and e-commerce solution provider ShopDeck followed with $26.5 million, $16 million, $8.45 million, and $7.85 million, in funding, respectively. [Early-stage deals] Further, 19 early-stage startups secured funding worth $9.8 million during the week. B2B agri-processing platform Agrizy led the list followed by platform for sourcing and manufacturing of specialty chemicals Scimplify, personal care e-commerce startup Kindlife, stock broking platform Punch, and extended reality (XR) startup Metadome.ai among others. As many as 2 startups did not disclose the funding amount raised are; IppoPay and FlexiBees. For more information, visit TheKredible. [City and segment-wise deals] In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups led with 11 deals followed by Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Udaipur, and Chandigarh. Segment-wise, Fintech and Healthtech startups shared the top spot with 5 deals each. E-commerce, Foodtech, Biotech, SaaS, and Agritech startups followed this list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, Series A funding deals are on top with 10 deals followed by 7 Seed, 4 Series B, 3 pre-Series A, and 3 Debt deals. Series C and Angel round deals are next on the list. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding slipped 46.81% to $177.68 million as compared to around $334.04 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $297.56 million with 29 deals per week. [Fund launches] Three startup-focused funds launched this week. Consumer-focused VC firm Sauce VC closed its third fund at Rs 365 crore. Simultaneously, O’Neil Capital Management India launched a new quant fund aiming for stable returns. Pantomath Capital Management also secured a significant initial close for its second fund, focusing on value investing. [Key hirings and departures] Equivalent to 11 key hirings took place this week including Sairam Krishnamurthy by Swiggy Instamart, Ramesh Padmanabhan by Core Integra, Shashank Ranjan by EvenFlow, Ramesh Gururaja by Flipkart and Gaurav Kejriwal by Smart Joules among others. While, Amazon’s head of operations in India, Manish Tiwary resigned after an over eight-year stint with the company. [Mergers and Acquisitions] As many as six merger and acquisition deals were witnessed this week. Gaming firm Nazara acquired Fusebox Games, Instawork took over Able Jobs, Nazara’s Absolute Sports acquired DeltiasGaming.com, Shobitam acquired IsadoraLife, Exicom acquired Tritium, and Apax Partners picked up 52% stakes in greytHR. [Layoffs] BeepKart, a used two-wheeler retailer, let go of over 100 employees, constituting more than 20% of its workforce. Additionally, social media platform ShareChat announced a 5% reduction in its staff as part of its performance review process. [ESOP buyback] Fintech firm Propelld is conducting an ESOP buyback worth Rs 7.05 crore, benefiting 18 employees. In addition to the buyback, the company has increased its ESOP pool and granted additional ESOPs to its workforce. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [New launches] Flipkart’s 10 min delivery service Minutes goes live in Bengaluru Niyo expands travel services with flight booking and visa Options [Financial results this week] PB Fintech reports 7.5% dip in Q1 FY25 revenue; maintains profit Mamaearth hits all-time high profit during Q1 FY25 Fasal reports Rs 34 Cr revenue in FY24; earns 91% from fruit sales [News flash this week] UPI daily transactions cross 500 Mn mark No appraisal for Unacademy employees in 2024 Namma Yatri expands zero-commission cab service to Delhi-NCR After a muted listing, Ola Electric’s share price surged 20% Tech IPOs subscription: Unicommerce 168X, FirstCry 12X Astroyogi accuses Astrotalk of trademark infringement SaaS unicorn Postman’s valuation takes a hit: Report [Conclusion] The weekly funding again shrank down by 46.81% to $177.68 million this week. Meanwhile, three startup-focused funds launched this week namely Sauce.vc, ONeil India Quant Fund, and IIOT. Edtech giant Unacademy has announced that there will be no appraisals for its employees in 2024. The decision comes after the company failed to meet its growth targets for the year, despite overall performance being described as “above average.” CEO Gaurav Munjal emphasized the company’s financial stability and resilience in a challenging market. Ride-hailing service Namma Yatri, known for its lifetime zero-commission model, has expanded its operations to Delhi NCR. The service, now branded as ‘Yatri,’ is part of the ONDC network. This follows the successful launch of the service in Bengaluru earlier this year. Ola Electric’s shares experienced a strong rally on their debut day despite a flat opening. The stock price surged nearly 20%, reaching a high of Rs 91.20, from its initial listing price of Rs 76. This positive performance comes after the company’s IPO was oversubscribed 4.27 times. Meanwhile, FirstCry, a kids-focused omnichannel brand, saw a 12.22X oversubscription led by qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). Meanwhile, enterprise tech startup Unicommerce witnessed an overwhelming response of 168X overall subscription rate from investors Astroyogi has filed a lawsuit against its competitor, Astrotalk, alleging unauthorized use of the ‘Astroyogi’ trademark. The company claims that Astrotalk has used the trademark name within its horoscope categories, leading to potential confusion among customers. Astroyogi has emphasized its commitment to protecting its brand and intellectual property rights. As per a media report, SaaS platform Postman has seen a significant decline in its valuation, with recent secondary deals happening at a 30-40% discount compared to its peak valuation of $5.6 billion. This sharp drop is attributed to the overall decline in valuations for SaaS companies. Angel and early-stage investors have partially cashed out their stakes in the Bengaluru-based API development platform.

BluSmart drivers face uncertainty amid company troubles, founder issues

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
BluSmart drivers face uncertainty amid company troubles, founder issues
Medial

BluSmart suspended its operations in April in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Bengaluru, asking its 10,000 driver-partners to return their vehicles. The move has left several drivers scrambling to find new sources of income. Rajesh [name changed], a 35-year-old man in Gurugram, secured a driving job with a heavily VC-funded electric vehicle cab hailing company which once aimed to take on the duopoly of Ola Cabs and Uber in India. An average income of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month, Rajesh admits, was not much for his family but managed to pay bills. Though, Rajesh, who also is a father of two young children, put in 10 hours to 12 hours daily - to reach the estimated monthly income. With his company now pausing the services, Rajesh has no source of earning, and does not know how he will pay his kids’ education fees. "... Now, I don’t know how I’ll manage. I missed my kids' school fees this month. My family depends on me, and I’ve never felt so helpless,” a visibly stressed Rajesh told Entrackr. One of the things that is agonising Rajesh the most is the deceptive way his employer pushed them out. “On Wednesday (April 16th), we [drivers] received a message saying the car needed to be submitted to the hub for a breakdown. We thought it was just a minor technical issue. When we got there, they told us it was a failure and we’d be informed later. But there was no word from the company after that. We just had to go home. We were left in complete shock," says Rajesh as his voice strains, reliving the fateful moment. Rajesh says he was among the first lot of employees, when the company had just 50 cars. Like many others, he too bought the company’s promise of stability. “Now, it feels like we’ve been left out to dry,” he said. “I’m considering working with Uber or Ola… I’m looking for something else, maybe a different field altogether. But BluSmart was my livelihood, and I’d go back in a heartbeat if they reopened. It was my only source of income,” he added. Rajesh’s story resonates with another thousands of drivers who are now scrambling to find new sources of income after BluSmart’s sudden suspension of its services. Entrackr has reached out to BluSmart seeking responses on how they plan to compensate the affected drivers. In case they respond, we will incorporate their inputs. Staging the protest On May 4, a group of BluSmart drivers raised their grievances at Jantar Mantar, a historic site for protests. They pressed for demands for alternative income avenues as well as called for crucial policy reforms to prevent similar abrupt dismissals. Additionally, they also sought a government intervention. Tajinder Singh, president of Parivahan Morcha Athavale and also among those spearheading the protest, told Entrackr that women drivers of BluSmart were among those bearing the brunt the most as other taxi companies refused to recruit them. He further said that some drivers were working on a per day basis as and when required but asserted that this was not a long-term solution. “We are demanding compensation for affected BluSmart drivers. We have also sought government intervention so that the drivers can continue to earn their livelihood,” Singh said. Singh also claimed that hundreds of BluSmart employees working at charging hubs were affected by the company’s sudden suspension of its services. A business model that promised to be different than rivals Even as ‘sustainability’ remained the headline grabber, BluSmart also deployed a rather different business model compared to rivals Ola Cabs and Uber. The company used a full-stack B2C model wherein they owned and managed the vehicles whereas Ola and Uber work with independent drivers. The model allowed BluSmart to have a better control on the quality of cars, maintenance, and subsequently better customer service. For drivers, the company offered a fixed salary along with incentives. An assured income was a big factor why a lot of drivers showed interest in joining BluSmart. Ola and Uber, on the other hand, operated on a familiar commission-based system, also common with several gig working-reliant service providers. Singh also highlighted this stark difference between BluSmart and its rivals. He said that the job of driver was to pick and drop the passenger and earn a regular income (per day payout and incentives). They needed to work 10 hours to 12 hours a day. Other things like maintenance and documentation was taken care of by the company, giving drivers a more relaxed environment to operate. Blusmart has raised over $180 million to date, including its $50 million series B round in January this year. Though, it received only Rs 61 crore out of $50 million. That said, a heavily-funded BluSmart juggernaut appeared unstoppable, until it did. Earlier this year, reports emerged that BluSmart delayed salary payments to cash crunch. It had also shut down operations in Dubai and also saw an exodus of top management employees, including CEO, CBO, and CTO. A month later, SEBI published findings of its probe into Gensol Engineering, BluSmart’s partner and EV lessor. The SEBI order highlighted misuse of funds, and also barred promoters Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi from accessing the securities market and holding key positions in Gensol Engineering. What next for BluSmart drivers BluSmart drivers facing joblessness due to the shutdown can go for legal remedy and urgently demand clearance of any unpaid dues and better severance compensation, if not given already. The legal course, which may take a relatively long time, may also help them investigate if BluSmart violated the contract by sudden halting of their services and returning vehicles. Moreover, they can also seek intervention from regulatory boards. Singh, however, did not appear enthusiastic about taking the legal course. “Companies like these make such contracts that they keep them protected in such incidents and don’t have to own any responsibility towards people working so hard for them,” he said [loosely translated from Hindi]. As far as the future of the company goes, it’s hard to predict considering the massive VC money riding on the company. Despite the major dent in public image and also several legal troubles, it’s likely that the company may stay afloat with a rather new management and new board - a few known steps troubled companies often take to course correct. It’s worth noting that quality of drivers and cabs were the top highlight of the platform, and if it resumes, it should continue with that. With the ongoing protests and lack of communication between drivers and management, it seems unlikely that the company will enjoy the same level of trust from its network drivers.

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [19 - 24 Aug]

EntrackrEntrackr · 10m ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [19 - 24 Aug]
Medial

During the week, 21 Indian startups raised around $144.46 million in funding. These deals count 5 growth-stage deals and 13 early-stage deals while 3 early-stage startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. During the previous week, 25 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised $432 million in funding. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 5 startups raised $91 million in funding this week. D2C water purifiers and air conditioners manufacturer Livpure spearheaded its $28 million worth Series C round. D2C ice cream brand Hangyo raised $25 million followed by online lending platform Axio, MSMEs-focused fintech lender FlexiLoans, and D2C luggage brand Uppercase with $20 million, $9 million, and $9 million in funding, respectively. [Early-stage deals] Further, 13 early-stage startups secured funding worth $53.46 million during the week. Healthtech care startup Even led the list followed by equity investment platform InvestorAI, D2C spice brand Zoff, cricket league featuring senior cricketers Legends League Cricket (LLC), and fintech startup TransBnk among others. As many as 3 startups that did not disclose the funding amount raised are; PadelPark, NxtQube, and TailBlaze. For more information, visit TheKredible. [City and segment-wise deals] In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR-based startups co-led with 7 deals each followed by Mumbai, Mangalore, Chennai, Raipur, and Nashik. Segment-wise, Fintech startups are in the top spot with 7 deals. E-commerce, Sportstech, Agritech, AI, Aquatech, and Dronetech startups followed this list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, Seed funding deals are on top with 7 deals followed by 5 Series A, 2 pre-Series A, 2 Series B, and 1 Debt deal. Pre-seed, pre-Series B, Series C, and Series G deals are next on the list. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding slipped 66.57% to $144.46 million as compared to around $432 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $225.36 million with 26 deals per week. [Fund launches] Titan Capital Winners Fund, backed by Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, has raised its target corpus of Rs 200 crore. This fund will focus on follow-on investments in standout companies from its seed portfolio, with Bahl and Bansal serving as the largest investors. Meanwhile, Volt VC has launched its first fund, Volt VC Fund-1, aimed at closing the gap in pre-seed funding for startups across India. Additionally, Arka Investment Advisory Services has completed the final closing of its Arka Credit Fund I, a sector-agnostic, diversified credit fund that supports mid-market corporates. Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah has introduced the PW School of Startups (SOS), backed by a Rs 100 crore fund, to nurture entrepreneurial skills and support 100 startups over the next five years through training, mentorship, and capital access. [Key hirings] Brij Bhushan, co-founder and former COO of Magicpin, has joined Prime Venture Partners as a full-time venture partner. In this role, he will be deeply involved in the firm’s investment strategies, portfolio management, and fundraising efforts, contributing his extensive experience in building and scaling startups. Sachin Bansal’s Navi Finserv onboarded former RBI executive Anil Kumar Misra as their non-executive chairman at the board. In other leadership updates, Perfios has appointed Rajesh Kini, formerly with Infosys, as their new CFO, while the Veefin Group has named Shantanu Bairagi as CEO of Veefin Capital, focusing on MSME supply chain finance. Additionally, Zapcom Group Inc. has appointed Prasanth Nair as CTO to lead their engineering initiatives, leveraging his expertise in global team management. [Mergers and Acquisitions] Zomato, the leading food delivery platform in India, has announced the acquisition of Paytm’s movies and ticketing business. This strategic move will allow Zomato to expand its offerings beyond food delivery and cater to a wider customer base. The acquisition is valued at Rs 2,048 crore ($244 million) and includes two of Paytm’s subsidiaries, TicketNew and Insider, along with their 280 employees. Zappfresh, an online retailer of fresh fish and meat, has acquired Bonsaro, a Mumbai-based company specializing in the online delivery of poultry, goat, and seafood. This acquisition marks Zappfresh’s second strategic move, following the acquisition of Sukos Foods-owned Dr. Meat in July 2023. With Bonsaro, Zappfresh aims to expand its operations in the western region and enhance its brand presence. [Shutdown] Kenko Health, a Mumbai-based healthcare startup, has shut down operations due to a financial and operational crisis. Despite raising over $13.7 million and achieving significant revenue growth, the company faced mounting losses and failed to secure an insurance license. The startup’s offices have been closed, leaving employees without pay for months. Founders Aniruddha Sen and Dhiraj Goel admitted the firm ran out of funds and was taken to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by investors. Attempts to secure further funding or investor support failed, leading to the company’s collapse. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [Financial results this week] MobiKwik posts Rs 875 Cr revenue and Rs 14 Cr profit in FY24 [News flash this week] Ola Electric market share drops more than 30% in last two months Baron Capital values Swiggy at $14.7 Bn How Fampay’s Rs 200 Cr bet on fintech for teenagers fell flat Paytm proposes to cut directors’ remuneration Swiggy eyes $15 Bn valuation for its $1-1.2 Bn IPO RBI imposes Rs 4 Cr fines on LenDen Club and LiquiLoans NCLT approves slice and North East Small Finance Bank’s merger IPV announces full exit from Fashor with 33% IRR Mitron TV, TrainMan co-founders set to launch AI startup Callmatic [Conclusion] The weekly funding again dwindled 66.57% to $144.46 million this week. Meanwhile, four startup-focused funds launched this week namely Titan Capital (Winners Fund), Volt VC, Arka Credit Fund, and PW School of Startups. Ola Electric, which recently went public, has seen a significant decline in its market share in the electric two-wheeler segment over the past two months. According to a report by Jefferies, Ola’s market share dropped from 49% in Q1 FY25 to 39% in July, and further to 33% in August. Meanwhile, TVS has regained some ground, increasing its market share to 19% in August from 15% in Q1 FY25. Despite this recent decline, Ola Electric has maintained its dominance in the market, with its market share having grown from 21% in FY23 to 35% in FY24. US investor Baron Capital has valued Swiggy at $14.74 billion as of June 2024, reflecting a slight decrease of 2.6% from its previous valuation of $15.1 billion in March. This dip is attributed to rupee depreciation. The valuation update comes as Swiggy prepares for its $1.25 billion initial public offering (IPO), for which it has already received shareholder approval and reportedly filed confidential papers with SEBI in May. Paytm has proposed reducing the remuneration of its independent directors as part of an effort to enhance corporate governance. The annual compensation for independent directors, currently up to Rs 2.07 crore, will be capped at Rs 48 lakh from April 2024, with a fixed portion of Rs 20 lakh and the rest tied to their attendance and contributions. Meanwhile, Fampay, a fintech startup that initially targeted teenagers, raised $38 million in 2021 but faced setbacks after losing its payment partner, IDFC Bank, in February 2023. This led to a pivot towards becoming a UPI-focused app, but the company still reported significant losses of Rs 120 crore in FY23. Despite entering the top 10 UPI apps by late 2023, Fampay’s future remains uncertain, with a potential selloff being a plausible outcome as it struggles to achieve profitability.

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [20-25 May]

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startups this week [20-25 May]
Medial

During the week, 24 Indian startups raised around $444 million in funding. These deals include 5 growth-stage deals and 14 early-stage deals. Meanwhile, two early-stage startups did not disclose the amount raised. Last week, about 26 early and growth-stage startups collectively raised around $240 million capital. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 5 startups raised $394.21 million in funding this week. Horizontal e-commerce major Flipkart led the list with $350 million infusion by Google. The list followed by financial services platform Navi which scooped $18 million in debt. Managed accommodation provider Stanza Living, rural financial services company Save Solution, and NBFC operating in remote rural parts, Dvara KGFS, also raised funding during the week. [Early-stage deals] Subsequently, 14 early-stage startups scooped funding worth $49.6 million during the week. SaaS startup UnifyApps spearheaded the list followed by solar energy platform Soleos Solar Energy, NBFC Varthana, and producer of high-quality Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) NoPo Nanotechnologies. The list of early-stage startups also includes five startups that kept the funding amount undisclosed: Collective Artists Network, 8chili, Agrilectric, Fix My Curls, and Infinx. For more information, visit TheKredible. [City and segment-wise deals] In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru-based startups led with 14 deals followed by Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, and Chennai. Segment-wise, e-commerce and fintech startups grabbed the top spot with five deals each followed by healthtech startups. The list further counts Agritech, AI, Biotech and Décor startups among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, Seed funding deals led the list with 7 deals followed by 6 Series A deals while Debt, Pre-Series A, and Pre-Seed are next on the list among others. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding surged 85% to $444 million as compared to around $239.7 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $262 million with 27 deals per week. [Key hirings and departure] Among key hirings, Mathew George has been appointed as CFO by Captain Fresh, CarDekho appointed Neelesh Talathi as CFO, while Anuj Rathi and Pratyusha Aggarwal have been appointed as the CEOs by ClearTrip and Flipkart’s Shopsy, respectively. Meanwhile, Rahul Chaudhary, Investor of Matrix Partners, has resigned from his position to start his own venture. Additionally, Rajnish Kumar and T V Mohan Das Pai are set to leave the advisory council of BYJU’s. [Fund launches] IVY Growth Associates has launched Arigato Capital, a SEBI-registered Category I AIF VC fund, targeting a corpus of Rs 250 crore. Finvolve has closed two maiden angel funds with a total corpus of Rs 100 crore, aiming to back 25-35 startups with an average investment of Rs25 lakh per startup. ThinKuvate has launched ThinKuvate India Fund – I with a total corpus of Rs 100 crore, focusing on tech startups with an initial investment of up to Rs 3 crore per startup. Databricks Ventures has launched Databricks AI Fund, focusing on AI startups. Caret Capital has launched Caret360 Accelerator Programme, offering selected startups up to Rs 3 crore in investment and mentoring. [M&A] CashFlo, a finance automation and payments platform, is set to acquire LogiTax, a tax compliance management solution provider. Meanwhile, Noise, backed by Bose, has acquired SocialBoat to develop AI for wearables. [ESOPs] Urban Company has announced its largest employee stock secondary sale worth Rs 203 crore, with 446 employees participating. The beneficiaries are between 23 and 56 years old, with 28% being women. Dharana Capital, Vy Capital, and Prosus will purchase these shares from former and current staff. This sale allows employees to liquidate their vested stocks, with around 784 employees having participated in five buybacks, liquidating ESOPs worth Rs 306 crore. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [New launches] Upstox forays into insurance distribution [Financial results this week] MamEarth-parent Honasa posts Rs 1,920 Cr revenue, Rs 110 Cr PAT in FY24 Nykaa posts Rs 6,386 Cr revenue and Rs 40 Cr PAT in FY24 Paytm revenue grows 25% and nears Rs 10,000 Cr in FY24 Tracxn posts flat scale in FY24; profit declines 80% [News flash this week] Ixigo gets SEBI nod for IPO; Oyo withdraws listing plans Pine Labs receives Singapore Court nod to shift base to India Go Digit makes entry into public market at 5% premium MamaEarth’s parent Honasa is the top ad violator of FY24 Dunzo’s key investor, Lightbox steps down from the board Paytm to halt postpaid loans, pauses small personal loans biz [Conclusion] The weekly funding surged 85% to $444 million majorly driven by Flipkart’s $350 million funding in its ongoing $1 billion fundraise. The week saw five new fund launches namely IVY Growth, Finvolve, ThinKuvate, Databricks Ventures, and Caret Capital. Paytm has announced a pause on its small personal loans business, including its Postpaid portfolio, due to a decline in asset quality across the industry. Paytm Postpaid, initially a buy-now-pay-later product, was transitioned to personal loans in December 2023. Dunzo’s key investor, Lightbox, has stepped down from its board seat amid ongoing financial struggles. Lightbox was the third-largest shareholder in the company with 11% stake. The move leaves Dunzo without representation from any primary investors. Previous board exits in 2023 included representatives from Reliance Retail, Lightrock, and co-founders Dalvir Suri and Mukund Jha. The current board consists of cofounder and CEO Kabeer Biswas and STIC Investments’ Hongjim Kim. According to the Advertising Standards Council of India’s annual report for FY24, MamaEarth parent Honasa has emerged as the biggest advertising violator with 187 instances. Honasa’s other brands, including Dr. Sheth’s Skin and Hair Clinic, Aqualogica, The Derma Co., and Ayuga, also made the list. Other notable violators include unicorns like 1 MG’s HealthKart, FirstCry, Lenskart, Flipkart, and Myntra, as well as listed companies such as Nykaa, Zomato, Zoomcar, Netflix India, and Apple India. Le Travenues Technology Limited, operator of ixigo, has received SEBI approval for its IPO, aiming to raise Rs 120 crore through fresh issues and offering up to 66.7 million shares for sale. Go Digit received a modest market debut. The insurance tech company’s shares were listed at Rs 286 per share on NSE, a 5.1% premium over the issue price of INR 272. Meanwhile, Oyo withdrew its IPO plans and is now seeking $80-90 million funding at an 80% haircut in valuation. Additionally, Pine Labs has received approval from a Singapore court to move its domicile to India.

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