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ETtech Deals Digest: Perfios, Lohum deals boost startup funding nearly 3x to $187 million this week

Economic TimesEconomic Times · 1y ago
ETtech Deals Digest: Perfios, Lohum deals boost startup funding nearly 3x to $187 million this week
Medial

Perfios and Lohum, two growth-stage startups, each raised over $50 million in equity-based funding, a rare achievement for companies in this stage. These deals contributed to an overall increase in funding numbers, reaching $186.6 million across 10 deals. While this demonstrated a significant growth compared to the previous year, the volume of deals declined by 41%. Perfios secured $80 million from Teachers' Venture Growth, earning it unicorn status, and Lohum raised $54 million in a funding round led by Singularity Growth Fund. The majority of funding, $103.6 million, was raised in the early stage. Other notable deals include Cureskin, Freed, Sugar.fit, and Kimbal Technologies.

Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [03-08 Jun]

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [03-08 Jun]
Medial

As many as 17 Indian startups raised around $402.34 million in funding this week. These deals count 4 growth-stage deals and 11 early-stage deals. Moreover, two early-stage startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. In the previous week, about 39 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised close to $387.23 million capital. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 4 startups raised $317 million in funding this week. Eyewear retailer Lenskart led the list with its $200 million secondary funding followed by a digital lending startup Fibe with $90 million, electric two-wheeler manufacturer Ather Energy with $15 million, and Small and medium enterprises-focused digital lending platform LendingKart with its $12 million debt funding. [Early-stage deals] Subsequently, 11 early-stage startups secured funding worth $85.34 million during the week. Spun off from Polygon, blockchain startup Avail spearheaded the list followed by online astrology platform AstroTalk, AI-based low-code test automation platform Testsigma, fintech platform iPiD, and robotics startup Botsync. The list of early-stage startups also includes two startups that kept the funding amount undisclosed: IoT-driven green robotics solution provider Aegeus Tech and D2C nutrition brand Greenday (Better Nutrition). 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 7 deals followed by Delhi-NCR, Lucknow, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Chennai. Segment-wise, e-commerce and fintech startups grabbed the top spot with three deals each. Robotics, SaaS, Blockchain, ClimateTech, and EV startups followed this list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, Series A funding deals led the list with 5 deals followed by 4 Seed and 3 pre-Series A deals. Further, the list includes Debt, Secondary, Series E, and Series F funding deals. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding barely increased 3.9% to $402.34 million as compared to around $387.23 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $326 million with 28 deals per week. [Key hirings] Among key hirings, Hardeep Singh has been appointed as CFO by Stride Ventures, Good Glamm Group appointed Lauren Bloomer as International OPS, while Abhaya Hota has been appointed as the Independent Director by Cashfree Payments. [Layoffs] Simpl, a Bengaluru-based fintech startup, has undergone its second round of layoffs in less than a month, cutting around 30 employees. This move follows a previous layoff of around 100 employees. Ashish Kulshrestha, head of communications at Simpl, explained that these layoffs are part of the company’s efforts to achieve profitability by mid-2025 and to enhance operational efficiency. The affected employees will receive a severance package including a pro-rated fixed salary up to the effective date and a two-month notice period salary as per the employment agreement. [M&A] Last week, Entrackr reported that Times Internet-owned MX Player is nearing an acquisition by Amazon. Amazon has now confirmed the acquisition of certain assets from MX Player, although the transaction isn’t yet complete. An Amazon spokesperson mentioned their continuous efforts to enhance customer experiences with local content available on Prime Video and miniTV in India. Additionally, Absolute Sports, the parent company of Sportskeeda.com and ProFootballNetwork.com and a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies is set to acquire all assets of SoapCentral.com, a leading entertainment content source in the US. The all-cash deal is valued at $1.4 million (approximately Rs 11.6 crore) and is expected to close within the next 30 days. [ESOP buyback] Leverage.biz, the company behind the study abroad platform Leverage Edu, Fly.Finance, and Fly Homes, has completed its second ESOP buyback exercise. This initiative benefited over 50 employees across various functions, although the exact amount of the stock buyback was not disclosed. Leverage Edu previously concluded its first ESOP buyback in June 2022. [Potential deals] Scimplify, a platform for sourcing and manufacturing specialty chemicals, is raising a new $5 million round led by Omnivore with participation from existing investors, just six months after its previous round. Meragi, an online platform for wedding-related services and products, is set to raise $8 million in a new round led by Accel, with existing investors Surge and Venture Highway also participating. The deal is in the final stages. Statiq, an electric vehicle charging network operator, is in discussions to raise $50 million in its Series B round, with existing investors Shell Ventures and Y Combinator, along with new investors. InsuranceDekho, the insurance arm of CarDekho, is in the final stages of acquiring a majority stake in wealth tech startup BankSathi through a share swap deal, allowing BankSathi shareholders to receive a stake in InsuranceDekho. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [Financial results this week] After 4X growth in FY23, Ather Energy’s revenue declines in FY24 After Rs 215 Cr profit in FY22, Molbio reports Rs 3 Cr loss in FY23 [News flash this week] UPI in May: PhonePe maintains domination, Paytm sees marginal growth Amazon says it has purchased some assets of MX Player, not entire company No hurry to sell, indefinite horizon on Zomato: Sanjeev Bikhchandani Trading app Investmint halts services; explores M&A deal Baron Capital marks up Swiggy’s valuation to $15.1 Bn [Conclusion] The weekly funding increased 3.9% to $402 million, driven mainly by Lenskart’s $200 million secondary funding. Additionally, the week saw a layoff as fintech startup Simpl has undergone its second round of layoffs in less than a month, cutting around 30 employees. PhonePe maintained its lead in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ecosystem with a market share exceeding 48% in May 2024, processing 6.8 billion of the 14 billion UPI transactions recorded by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). Google Pay and Paytm processed 5.2 billion and 1.14 billion transactions, respectively. Info Edge, renowned for its recruitment portal Naukri, has seen significant success with its investments in Zomato and Policybazaar, with Zomato’s market cap increasing 2.3 times since its IPO. Under the leadership of founder and chairman Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the company remains patient with its profitable investments while nurturing its brands. Read here for more. Investmint, a signal-based trading app, has ceased operations due to challenges in establishing a reliable business model despite having decent traction and funds. The company is now exploring acquisition opportunities with wealth management firms. Baron Capital has increased Swiggy’s valuation to $15.1 billion, a 25% rise from the previous $12.1 billion valuation in December 2023. Following Baron’s lead, Invesco also raised Swiggy’s valuation to $12.7 billion in April.

Indian startups raised $1.3 Bn in May, highest funding in 2024 so far

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Indian startups raised $1.3 Bn in May, highest funding in 2024 so far
Medial

Investments in Indian startups reached a new height in May as the total funding influx crossed the $1.3 billion threshold. The surge can be attributed to Google-Flipkart’s $350 million deal, a couple of $100 million plus rounds, and several growth stage fundings. Indian startups mopped up $1.34 billion across 128 deals in May, according to data compiled by startup data intelligence platform TheKredible. This included 39 growth-stage deals worth $1.19 billion and 66 early-stage deals amounting to $154 million. There were 23 undisclosed rounds, primarily early-stage deals. The Indian startup ecosystem produced its last unicorn in March with Perfios entering the coveted club. Moreover, the total number of new unicorns in the ongoing calendar year stood at two with Bhavish Aggawal-led AI startup Krutrim being the first one. [Month-on-Month and Year-on-Year trend] The funding in May saw a nearly 29% month-on-month jump from a little over $1 billion in April. On a year-on-year basis, May 2024 also saw a 32% jump from $1.01 billion in May 2023. Since January, homegrown startups have raised over $5.1 billion which is likely to reach $12 billion by the year end. In 2023, the total funding in startups stood at $11.3 billion. [Top growth stage deals] E-commerce marketplace Flipkart raised $350 million in equity funding from Google and stood at the top followed by SaaS firm Atlan’s $105 million Series C round and healthtech startup NephroPlus’s $102 million Series F round. D2C performance wear brand TechnoSport and fast fashion brand Libas raised their maiden fundraise (Series A) worth $21 million and $18 million, respectively. However, both brands are more than a decade old and they are included in growth/late-stage deals. The top 10 list also includes NBFC startup Annapurna Finance, B2B e-commerce unicorn Infra.Market, EV startups Battery Smart, GreenCell Mobility, and Ather Energy, edtech firm K12 Techno, and fintech company Propelld. [Top early-stage deals] Agritech startup Superplum which raised $15 million in Series A was on top among early-stage deals followed by UnifyApps which scooped up $11 million in seed funding. Soleos Solar Energy, Vegapay, Turno, DiFacto, Celcius Logistics, Flam, CoverSure, and Fyllo made it to the top 10 list of early-stage deals. [City and segment-wise deals] City-wise, Bengaluru-based startups remained on the top with 52 deals, contributing around 60% of the overall funding in May. Delhi-NCR and Mumbai followed with 33 and 14 deals, respectively. The list further counts Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata, among others. Segment-wise, e-commerce startups (including D2C brands) led the show followed by fintech with 25 and 20 deals, respectively. SaaS, agritech, and healthtech were next on the list. Visit TheKredible for more details. [Stage-wise deals] Series-wise, 47 startups raised funding in the Seed and pre-seed round followed by 19 Series A deals, 19 Pre-Series A, and 11 Series B deals. Debt-only funding contributed $155 million or 11.6% of the overall venture funding across deals. [Mergers and acquisitions] Indian startups saw eight mergers and acquisitions in May, a slight slump from nearly a dozen deals in April. While most of the deals were undisclosed, the acquisition of Device42 by Freshworks in a $230 million deal stayed on top of the list. UGRO Capital took over MyShubhLife in a $5.3 million deal. The notable list of M&A also includes the acquisition of LogiTax by Cashflo, SocialBoat by Noise, CosmoGenesis Labs by MamaEarth, and Zenifi by BharatX. [Layoffs and top-level exits] Unlike the past couple of months, there was a sharp fall in layoffs in May. Edtech company PrepLadder and fintech startup Simpl fired 145 and 100 employees, respectively. In April, nearly 1,500 employees were laid off. However, the recent trend of AI implementation is likely to drive mass firings in the upcoming months. As per media reports, Paytm and Ola Electric may join the list with mass firings. The top-level departures continued in May as a couple of CEOs including Freshworks’ Girish Mathrubootham and Caasha’s Kumar Gaurav left their post in the last month. The list also includes CFO, and CBO, among others. [ESOP buyback] April saw two employees’ stock (ESOP) buybacks against three in April and four in March. Home service marketplace Urban Company announced its fifth and highest ESOP buyback of 2024 worth $24.4 million. In March, Meesho announced a stock buyback program worth $24 million. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [Conclusion] The strong revival in May might be attributed to a few large deals, but even these no doubt signal confidence in the market for many other investors, and serve as a good indicator of future direction in the market. Add to that possible delays from investors waiting for the election circus to be over, and it is safe to say, despite headwinds, the Indian startup ecosystem will look forward to a much better funds flow in the coming months.

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