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Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [02 - 07 Sep]

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During the week, 26 Indian startups raised around $421.29 million in funding. These deals count 4 growth-stage deals and 16 early-stage deals while 6 startups kept their transaction details undisclosed. During the previous week, 31 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised $490.32 million in funding. [Growth-stage deals] Among the growth-stage deals, 4 startups raised $385.61 million in funding this week. Ride-hailing app Rapido spearheaded with a $200 million worth unicorn round. Cross-border trade fintech firm Drip Capital raised $113 million followed by D2C jewellery retailer Bluestone and food delivery and grocery platform Swiggy with $72 million and $0.61 million in funding, respectively. Two growth-stage startups that did not disclose the transaction details are Xolopak and Plan B. [Early-stage deals] Further, 16 early-stage startups secured funding worth $35.68 million during the week. Proptech startup Justo Realfintech led the list followed by D2C retail brand Nutrabay, a platform for booking hostel accommodations The Hosteller, chemical recycling and sustainability startup RecommerceX, and fabless semiconductor design startup BigEndian among others. As many as 4 startups that did not disclose the funding amount raised are; Nautical Wings Aerospace, ReCircle, 0xPPL, and Carrum. 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 10 deals followed by Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Pune, and Raisen. Segment-wise, E-commerce startups are on the top spot with 6 deals. Cleantech, Fintech, PropTech, SaaS, Automotive Tech, and Aviation startups followed this list among others. [Series-wise deals] During the week, Seed funding deals are on top with 11 deals followed by 5 Series A, 2 pre-Series A, 2 pre-Seed, and 1 Series E deal and more. [Week-on-week funding trend] On a weekly basis, startup funding slipped 14% to $421.29 million as compared to around $490.32 million raised during the previous week. The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $332.75 million with 27 deals per week. [Fund launches] VentureSoul Partners has successfully raised Rs 146.5 crore for its debut fund, targeting a total corpus of Rs 600 crore. Additionally, the Indian government has introduced a new fund called AgriSure, which is dedicated to supporting agritech startups with a financial commitment of Rs 750 crore. [Key hirings and departures] Mohit Rajani, formerly with Meta, has joined Meesho as a CPO. Freshworks onboarded former ServiceNow executive Murali Swaminathan as CTO, CoinDCX appointed Prashant Verma as chief growth and marketing officer, Wellbeing Nutrition onboarded Harleen Bhatti as the head of growth, and Nykaa (Kay Beauty) hired Sukhleen Aneja as SVP and Business Head. Meanwhile, Adda247’s Co-founder Chandan Singh and CaratLane’s MD and CEO Avnish Anand resigned from their respective companies. [Mergers and Acquisitions] Hearing care provider Hearzap has acquired Speech and Hearing Care to expand its market share in Bihar and Jharkhand, while Yatra has acquired Globe Travels to strengthen its position in the corporate travel sector and increase its customer base. [Layoffs] Airmeet, a virtual event startup, laid off around 80% (30 employees) of its tech team and some employees from its product and design teams. Dozee, a healthtech startup, also laid off around 40-50 employees from its on-field, customer success, sales, and marketing teams. Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights. [New launches and partnerships] Fampay launches UPI app Namaspay for foreign travelers in India Ola Electric to bring three-wheeler to market soon Zepto to launch Buy Now Pay Later service: Zepto Postpaid Mygate launches smart door locks; enters consumer electronics EaseMyTrip ventures into electric bus manufacturing Swiggy follows Zomato, pilots large order fleet in Delhi-NCR Infibeam Avenues launches CCAvenue SoundBox Max [Potential Deals] SarvaGram to raise $50 Mn from Peak XV, others B2B digital lending startup Mintifi in talks to raise $100 Mn Moneyview raising $30 Mn debt via private placement [Financial results this week] Starbucks India posts Rs 1,218 Cr revenue in FY24; losses surge 3.2X BigBasket’s revenue crosses Rs 10,000 Cr in FY24 Porter scales up 56% to Rs 2,734 Cr in FY24; losses dip 45% Swiggy reports Rs 11,247 Cr revenue in FY24; cuts losses by 44% [News flash this week] Mayhem at Arthmate after Vihaan Kumar’s arrest: COO resigns, employees exodus, and more GST Council may impose 18% GST on PAs for Small Transactions Byju’s auditor resigns over lack of transparency; founder cries foul CLSA raises Zomato price target to Rs 353 post Paytm deal Nykaa accuses former CEO Asthana of breach of confidentiality, misappropriation B2B unicorn OfBusiness eyes IPO in the second half of 2025 Coworking Space Provider IndiQube Plans IPO: Report Zepto eyes $450 Mn IPO by August 2025, initiates talks with bankers Ather Energy targets Rs 4,500 Cr IPO, to file DRHP next week: Report InMobi’s Roposo shifts to the social commerce model PharmEasy valuation slashed to $458 Mn by Janus Henderson Logistics firm Delhivery receives GST demand notice GST troubles continue for Zomato; receives another demand notice PayGlocal gets RBI payment aggregator license [Conclusion] The weekly funding shrank around 14% to $421.29 million this week. Meanwhile, two startup-focused funds launched this week namely AgriSure and VentureSoul Partners. Arthmate, a lending enabler, has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Gameskraft, leading to the arrest of its co-founder and former CEO, Vihaan Kumar. Gameskraft accused Kumar of financial irregularities and fraudulent activities, resulting in an FIR and subsequent arrest. The legal battle has caused significant disruption within Arthmate, with employee departures and a decline in company morale. Kumar’s actions, including alleged forgery and financial losses to Gameskraft, have raised serious concerns about his conduct and the impact it has had on the company. The GST Council is considering imposing an 18% GST on payment aggregators for small-value digital transactions. This move could increase costs for merchants and customers, while also impacting the profitability of fintech startups. The proposed levy could hinder the adoption of digital payments and create a more competitive landscape for payment aggregators. It is essential for the GST Council to carefully evaluate the potential consequences before making a final decision. OfBusiness, a B2B marketplace unicorn, is close to finalizing bankers for its $1 billion IPO in the second half of 2025. Meanwhile, IndiQube, a coworking space provider, is also in talks with merchant bankers to file its DRHP within the next three months. IndiQube aims to raise between $120 and $180 million through its IPO, primarily through a fresh issuance of shares.