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Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [30 Sep - 05 Oct]

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [30 Sep - 05 Oct]
Medial

During the week, 21 Indian startups raised around $92.63 million in funding. These deals count 4 growth-stage deals and 12 early-stage deals while 5 startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. Last week, 29 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised over $461 million in funding. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 4 startups raised $33.58 million in funding this week. Agriculture supply chain firm Waycool spearheaded a $12 million debt funding round. Fintech startup Basic Home Loan raised $10.6 million followed by D2C millet-based snack brand Troo Good and lending startup True Balance with $8.6 million and $2.38 million in funding, respectively. [Early-stage deals] Further, 12 early-stage startups secured funding worth $59.05 million during the week. Chemical manufacturing platform Mstack led the list followed by sports tech platform Str8bat, furniture retailer Furnishka, mental health startup LISSUN, and tech-enabled EV mobility platform ZEVO among others. Meanwhile, Digilogic Systems India (DSPL), Aikenist, SanchiConnect, Garuda Aerospace, and Sugar.fit also raked in funding but did not disclose the transaction details. 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, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Segment-wise, Healthtech startups are on the top spot with 5 deals. E-commerce, Fintech, Aerospace, Agritech, Chemicals, and Dronetech startups followed the list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, seed funding deals are on top, with 7 deals followed by 5 pre-Series A, 5 Series A, 2 Debt, and 2 Series B deals. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding dwindled 80% to $92.63 million as compared to around $461 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $395.36 million with 27 deals per week. [Fund launches] Singapore-based angel investment network, ThinKuvate has announced the first close of its India fund at Rs 25 crore. While Venture capital firm Trillion Dollar Ventures (TDV) launched its second fund with a total corpus of Rs 50 crore, doubling its corpus size from the first fund. The new fund aims to support early-stage tech startups in India. [Key hirings and departures] The startup ecosystem witnessed eight notable key hirings this week. Vishal Mehta joined Rediff.com as a Chairman and MD, MediBuddy hired Nijil George, Ferns N Petals onboarded Gaurav Sharma, and Secret Alchemist welcomed Samantha Prabhu, among others. Meanwhile, Indifi’s Co-founder Siddharth Mahanot and OLA Electric’s Secretary and compliance officer resigned. [Mergers and Acquisitions] This week, four notable acquisitions took place in the Indian startup ecosystem. Adda247 acquired PrepInsta, Pluckk purchased Upnourish, Capital IQ took over Karman Drones, and UST acquired Information Services Group’s automation unit. [Shutdown] Agritech startup Greenikk is shutting down operations due to funding challenges and adverse market conditions. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [New launches and partnerships] Uber partners with Shadowfax to integrate two-wheeler fleet Swiggy launches 10-min food delivery service ‘Bolt’ PhonePe partners with Jar to offer daily savings in digital gold [Potential Deals] InCred Capital to raise $50 Mn led by family offices Semiconductor startup FermionIC Design to raise $6 Mn [Financial results this week] CRED nears Rs 2,500 Cr revenue in FY24; cuts operating losses by 41% D2C brand Minimalist posts Rs 350 Cr revenue in FY24, doubles profit Classplus revenue spikes 2X to Rs 260 Cr in FY24; cuts losses by 57% 10-year-old Josh Talks posts Rs 19 Cr revenue in FY24, cuts losses by 25% Navi’s FY24 operating profit falls 50% as loan write-offs surpass Rs 400 Cr Groww’s stock broking unit posts Rs 2,900 Cr revenue and Rs 298 Cr profit in FY24 [News flash this week] Upstox delivers 10x return to Ratan Tata following buyback Ola Electric’s two-wheeler market share falls to 27% in September UPI sets new record with more than 15 Bn transactions in Sept Titan Capital launches Indicorns index showcasing profitable startups BharatPe announces settlement with Ashneer Grover Invesco marks up Swiggy’s valuation to $13.3 Bn Mamaearth parent Honasa to appeal Dubai court ruling Peak XV Partners reduces fund size and fees Co-working space provider DevX to go public; files DRHP Swiggy gets the nod to increase IPO fresh issue size to Rs 5,000 Cr CarDekho planning a $500 Mn IPO next year Blackstone targets $10 Bn for India-focused New Asia Fund Good Capital Co-founder Rohan Malhotra passes away [Conclusion] After a healthy funding inflow in the past few weeks, the weekly funding slipped around 80% to $92.63 million this week, the lowest in the last 35 weeks. During 29 January to 3 February, the weekly funding shrank to $84.5 million. The week also saw two startup-focused fund launches namely ThinKuvate and Trillion Dollar Ventures. Honasa Consumer, the parent company of Mamaearth, is facing ongoing legal challenges in Dubai. A Dubai court has upheld a previous order to attach the company’s assets. Honasa has filed an appeal against this decision and continues to dispute claims made by its former distributor, RSM General Trading. Swiggy has received approval from its shareholders to increase the size of its IPO fresh issue from Rs 3,750 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. This will allow the foodtech company to raise a total of $1.4 billion through the IPO, at a likely valuation of $15 billion. Swiggy has also introduced a new 10-minute food delivery service called Bolt. The service focuses on delivering quick-to-prepare meals from selected restaurants within a 2-kilometer radius. Bolt is currently available in major cities in India and plans to expand further. Swiggy’s rival, Zomato, previously discontinued its 10-minute food delivery service. Venture capital firm Peak XV Partners has reduced the size of its $2.85 billion fund by 16%. The firm has also lowered management fees and carry on growth investments. Despite these changes, Peak XV remains optimistic about the Indian and Southeast Asian markets and expects strong performance from its portfolio. Blackstone, a leading private equity firm, is raising a new Asia-focused fund with a target of at least $10 billion. India will be the primary focus of the fund, with significant allocations also planned for Japan and Australia. The firm is currently marketing the fund and aims to close the first round of fundraising in January 2025.

BluSmart drivers face uncertainty amid company troubles, founder issues

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m 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.

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