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Storia Foods revenue spikes 51% to Rs 169 Cr in FY24

EntrackrEntrackr · 8m ago
Storia Foods revenue spikes 51% to Rs 169 Cr in FY24
Medial

Storia Foods, a beverage and dairy alternative brand, reported 51% year-on-year growth in FY24. However, the company’s losses widened during the same period due to rising expenses across key cost centers. Storia Foods’ revenue from operations rose to Rs 169 crore during the last fiscal year, up from Rs 112 crore in FY23, according to its financial statement filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Founded by Vishal Shah, Storia Foods offers sugar-free shakes, lattes, smoothies, coconut water, juices, and booster drinks, among other products. The sale of these items was the sole source of operational revenue for the company. The firm also earned Rs 2 crore from interest on deposits, which took its total revenue to Rs 171 crore in FY24. Storia Foods’ total expenses rose 44% to Rs 203 crore in FY24, up from Rs 141 crore in the previous year. The largest cost component, material costs, increased 40% to Rs 98 crore. Employee benefit expenses grew 17% to Rs 27 crore, while other expenses jumped 63% to Rs 78 crore. Despite strong revenue growth, the rising cost structure resulted in a net loss of Rs 33 crore in FY24 from Rs 27 crore in FY23. The firm’s EBITDA margin improved to -19.18% in FY24, compared to -24.69% in FY23. On a unit level, Storia Foods spent Rs 1.20 to earn a rupee during the fiscal year. The Mumbai-based company reported current assets worth Rs 24 crore in FY24, which includes Rs 5 crore in cash and bank balance. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Storia Foods has raised a total of $6 million in funding to date. Sixth Sense Ventures is the lead investor, holding a 23.86% stake, while founder Vishal Shah owns 20.30% of the company. Storia Foods is a very interesting effort in a category that has been notoriously difficult to crack. If it’s not the proposition of “pure juice” that gets you, it is the issue with the value-seeking Indian buyer, who simply does not sip often enough if the price is too ‘high’ for the privilege of getting pure juice. Storia has tried an interesting tack around the challenge by trying to push many of its offerings in packs of 6, while promising quality. It will be really interesting to see if the pitch has worked in terms of orders for full packs of six or more. Otherwise, despite a good show on growth and cost controls, the firm knows the next big challenge looms, besides the obvious one of distribution, in that it might get closer to breakeven, but within the next 2 years, it will need to confront a market that has usually stagnated for predecessors, forcing many to compromise on their original premise to keep growing with lower value, diluted offerings.

ShareChat posts Rs 723 Cr revenue in FY25; cuts adjusted EBITDA losses by 72%

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
ShareChat posts Rs 723 Cr revenue in FY25; cuts adjusted EBITDA losses by 72%
Medial

Homegrown social media company ShareChat reported moderate revenue growth in FY25, along with an improvement in its bottom line supported by cost controls and operational efficiency. ShareChat’s revenue stood at Rs 723 crore, registering a marginal year-on-year increase as compared to Rs 718 crore in FY24. However, its adjusted EBITDA losses shrank 72% to Rs 219 crore. During the fiscal year, ShareChat’s core business turned cashflow positive, representing a key turnaround after several years of restructuring and cost optimization. The improvement came from stronger ad monetization, leaner operations, and a sharper focus on high-yield content distribution. “Our disciplined approach to cost optimization and strategic diversification is now delivering results. We have built a strong core business with a large and sticky user base that allows us to invest confidently in the next phase of growth,” said Ankush Sachdeva, co-founder and CEO of ShareChat and Moj. According to the company, it has already crossed Rs 1,000 crore in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of H1 FY26 and expects to grow its topline by around 30% in FY26. The company also continues to expand into new verticals like micro dramas through its new platform QuickTV, which crossed 15 million downloads within four months of launch. With a monetizable user base of over 200 million, ShareChat is now focused on maintaining profitability in its core business while scaling new revenue streams in FY26. Last year, ShareChat raised $65 million in debt across two tranches. The firm has raised around $1.3 billion from investors including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others.

Mave Health raises Rs 6 Cr led by All In Capital and iSeed Fund

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Mave Health raises Rs 6 Cr led by All In Capital and iSeed Fund
Medial

Mave Health, a mental health-tech startup, has raised Rs 6 crore in a pre-seed funding round led by All-In Capital and Utsav Somani’s iSeed Fund with participation from Bharat Founders Fund, Deepinder Goyal (Zomato), Kunal Shah (CRED), Mohit Kumar and Vatsal Singhal (Ultrahuman). The round also saw angel investors like Gaurav Agarwal (TATA 1mg), Nandan Reddy (Swiggy), Rohan Verma (BreatheWellBeing), Nikhil Kant (Even), Harsh Shah (Fynd), Neel Mehta (Studio Carbon), Nitin Mehrotra (Dressfolk), Himanshu Aggarwal (SHL), along with several family offices and digital creators. The funding will support Mave Health in launching Arc, a non-invasive brain stimulation wearable that treats depression, the company said in a press release. Founded in 2023 by Dhawal Jain, Jai Sharma and Aman Kumar, Mave Health aims to build human-centric evidence based programs for mental well-being. The startup’s flagship product Arc improves brain health and treat depression. According to the company, the device is developed in collaboration with a team of top experts, including neuroscientists, psychiatrists, and psychologists from Harvard Medical School, Maastricht University and other leading research institutes. Over the past few months, during the beta phase, more than 1,000 individuals have used Arc and have seen substantial improvements in their depression symptoms. Currently, Mave Health’s flagship wearable, Arc, can be accessed by enrolling in Mave Health’s 12-week long program which also offers unlimited sessions with their experts, including doctors, psychologists, nutritionists, and fitness coaches. Mave Health has also partnered with psychologists, hospitals and private clinics across India to make Arc more accessible.

Licious reports Rs 685 Cr revenue in FY24; cuts losses by 44%

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Licious reports Rs 685 Cr revenue in FY24; cuts losses by 44%
Medial

D2C meat and seafood brand Licious has experienced sluggish growth over the past two fiscal years, with revenue hovering around Rs 700 crore. However, the firm has successfully reduced its losses by 44% in the last fiscal year (FY24). According to the company’s press release, Licious’s revenue declined by 9%, from Rs 746 crore in FY23 to Rs 685 crore in FY24. This modest decline was attributed to the closure of distribution channels like Dunzo and Swiggy Meatsore, as well as a winding down of exposure to modern trade and local stores. Licious reports serving 1.2 million customers each month through its app, which now drives 85% of its total business. The company’s flagship program, Infinity, accounts for 58% of its overall revenue. Despite the slight decrease in revenue, Licious implemented cost control measures that helped cut losses by 44%, bringing them down to Rs 294 crore in FY24 from Rs 524 crore in FY23. The company also anticipates achieving positive EBITDA in the current fiscal year. By the end of FY24, Licious laid off nearly 3% of its workforce citing “operational reset to sharpen the growth focus. The move impacted 80 employees. In an effort to enhance customer experience, Licious is piloting 30-minute deliveries in Gurugram as it shifts to a full-stack D2C model. Additionally, on Tuesday, the firm expanded its physical retail presence by acquiring Bengaluru-based offline retailer My Chicken and More, increasing its retail points of sale to 26. To date, the Bengaluru-based company has raised over $450 million. According to TheKredible, Mayfield India is the largest stakeholder in Licious with 14.69%, followed by Vertex Ventures, 3one4 Capital, Temasek, and others. Licious is the largest player in the D2C meat and seafood space, competing with companies like FreshToHome, Zapfresh, BBDaily, MeatRoot, and Easymeat. In October 2023, quick commerce platform Zepto entered the meat delivery market with its in-house brand, Relish. This vertical reportedly achieved an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of Rs 150 crore in just six months, with a projected revenue run rate of Rs 1,000 crore by March 2026.

Exclusive: Flipkart to take on Zepto, Blinkit with quick commerce foray

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: Flipkart to take on Zepto, Blinkit with quick commerce foray
Medial

The quick commerce sector is all set to heat up once again as India’s e-commerce giant is now eyeing the segment. Flipkart has started ramping up infrastructure for its quick commerce play, three sources aware of the details of the plan told Entrackr. “Flipkart will launch 10-15 minutes delivery in at least a dozen cities in the next six to eight weeks,” said one of the sources requesting anonymity. “It’s building up a chain of dark stores across several cities including Bengaluru, Delhi (NCR) and Hyderabad among others.” Flipkart’s foray into quick commerce comes at a time when experts anticipate that quick commerce would end up eating into the e-commerce pie sooner than later in India. The total addressable market for quick commerce in India is nearly worth $45 billion, according to a 2022 Redseer report. More importantly, quick commerce has proven to be surprisingly resilient in the last couple of years, with both Zepto and Zomato’s Blinkit doing more than enough to convince investors that the concept has a future in India. While Zepto was rewarded with a unicorn round, Blinkit’s (formerly Grofers) turnaround and Swiggy Instamart’s growth have been bright spots in terms of scaling up with improving margins for their owners. “If you look at Flipkart’s recent launches, it hints at the firm’s foray into quick commerce. It launched same-day delivery in 20 cities a couple of weeks ago… the company began delivering flowers and cakes around the Valentine season (February 2024),” an analyst covering the e-commerce and quick commerce segments, requesting anonymity, told Entrackr. Sources indicate that Flipkart will have a wider catalog than incumbents such as Zepto and Blinkit. “The company will have a sharp focus on FMCG, grocery and daily essentials but it would also push categories such as electronics, fashion,” added the person quoted above. It’s worth mentioning that the current quick commerce players have also been steadily expanding and diversifying their offerings. Responding to queries sent by Entrackr, a Flipkart spokesperson said they are working towards delivering a wide range of products with speed. “Over the past few months, we have made several investments to enhance our delivery capabilities, including adding same-day delivery in 20 cities. This covers mobiles, essential items, electronics, home appliances, fashion, books and lifestyle products,” said the spokesperson. “We are committed to meeting evolving customer expectations and delivering excellence in value, selection and speed, with more initiatives expected on this front in the coming months.” Over the past three years, quick commerce gained quick ground in top 15 Indian cities and top three players in the segment—Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto—managed to gain sizable scale. Sources outlined that BlinkIt does around 6 lakh orders a day while Swiggy InstaMart and Zepto’s daily volume hover around 5 lakh and 3 lakh, respectively. According to Entrackr sources and data available in the public domain, Blinkit has an average revenue run rate of Rs 12,000 crore in the ongoing fiscal year whereas Swiggy Instamart ARR (read as GMV) stands at around Rs 8,000-8,500 crore. Zepto’s gross merchandise value has neared Rs 7,000 crore. Fresh from its last funding round, Zepto has been noticeably feistier — with a larger catalog and stronger marketing push. Meanwhile, Reliance and Google-backed Dunzo lost its mojo. The firm failed to raise a new round in the past two years and reported only Rs 226 crore in revenue in FY23 with losses of Rs 1,801 crore. As per reports, Flipkart engaged in discussion regarding a potential acquisition of the Kabeer Biswas-led firm. While all that might sound good, the fact that no one disagrees is that the market is not big enough for so many players, making this a matter of staying in power for most. Or perhaps, even newer operating models that might ensure sustainable growth. The broad direction so far, of an ever widening catalog and higher value transactions like electronics items etc, indicates the bleeding will not stop anytime soon.

Unacademy slashes core biz cash burn to Rs 200 Cr in 2025: Gaurav Munjal

EntrackrEntrackr · 7m ago
Unacademy slashes core biz cash burn to Rs 200 Cr in 2025: Gaurav Munjal
Medial

Unacademy slashes core biz cash burn to Rs 200 Cr in 2025: Gaurav Munjal Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal has shared an update on the company’s financial and operational performance. According to Munjal, Unacademy has reduced its cash burn in the core business from over Rs 1,000 crore annually three years ago to under Rs 200 crore this calendar year. This is about half of what the company spent last year. In a thread on social media platform X, Munjal said the company currently has Rs 1,200 crore in the bank and is in a “default alive” state. He added that some of Unacademy’s businesses, including Graphy and PrepLadder, are generating cash on a monthly basis. For context, the SoftBank-backed edtech unicorn cut its losses by 62% to Rs 631 crore in FY24, while its revenue remained flat during the period. Reflecting on past decisions, Munjal said edtech companies that grow through multiple acquisitions are unlikely to succeed in the current market. He said Unacademy had made this mistake earlier and is now focusing on profitability without getting distracted by external developments. On the offline front, Munjal said that around 70% of Unacademy’s centers are expected to be profitable at the center level this year. These centers are showing outcomes in exam categories such as JEE, NEET, and UPSC. He also pointed to Airlearn as the fastest-growing product within the group. Airlearn has recorded nearly 70,000 daily active users and $2 million in annual recurring revenue over the last 12 months. Munjal outlined three focus areas for the company: making the core business profitable, building tech products such as Airlearn and Graphy, and staying focused on internal goals instead of market noise.

Decoding $88.5 Mn Udaan-Shopkirana stock deal

EntrackrEntrackr · 4m ago
Decoding $88.5 Mn Udaan-Shopkirana stock deal
Medial

Udaan has acquired Shopkirana in an all-stock deal, marking a notable consolidation in the grocery commerce space. While both firms have termed the deal strategic, Entrackr’s analysis suggests it is an unremarkable acquisition from an investor’s perspective. According to regulatory filings, the board of Info Edge has approved the transfer of its entire 26.14% stake in ShopKirana, held through its wholly-owned subsidiary Startup Investments Holding Ltd (SIHL), to Hiveloop Technology Pvt Ltd (HEPL), a subsidiary of Trustroot Internet (Udaan’s parent entity) based out of Singapore. In return, Info Edge will receive 1.68 crore shares of Hiveloop Technology, which translates to around 0.91% of HEPL on a fully diluted basis. These shares are linked to 73,561 reference shares at the Udaan parent and are valued at approximately $23.13 million, as per the agreement. The swap pegs Shopkirana’s total enterprise value at roughly $88.5 million, based on the value attributed to Info Edge’s minority stake (26.14%). According to the disclosure, the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions mentioned in the agreements. According to Entrackr’s analysis, ShopKiarana will get a 3.48% value of Udaan’s India business as per the Info Edge holding in Udaan’s Indian entity. Shopkirana has raised over $50 million in its lifetime from Info Edge, Sixth Sense Ventures, Oman India Joint Investment Fund, and others. Founded in 2015, ShopKirana focuses on digitizing procurement for kirana stores across smaller cities such as Indore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Agra, Surat, and Meerut. Its integration with Udaan will expand the latter’s reach in high-frequency categories like fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and hotel, restaurant, and catering (HoReCa) business. For the fiscal year ended in March 2024, Shopkirana’s gross revenue decreased 6.26% to Rs 639.16 crore in FY24 from Rs 681.81 crore in FY23. However, the firm managed to reduce its losses by 30% to Rs 55 crore in FY24. The transaction is yet another indicator of the investor fatigue and challenges in the grocery commerce space. Firms have found it extremely difficult to squeeze out profits, even as scale has been relatively easier to acquire thanks to the sheer size of the category. Only the biggest will offer a market-based exit to investors, while consolidation might be the way out for the rest. ShopKirana has probably tried to become acquisition-ready by controlling costs, but paid a price in terms of topline growth. For Udaan, which has been on a push towards reducing EBITDA losses for the past two years, a stock swap is the best outcome while it hopes for an upside in due course. With any potential exit some time away, ShopKirana is a relatively low-risk acquisition that it will hope can surprise on the upside.

Servify posts Rs 755 Cr revenue in FY24; cuts losses by 59%

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Servify posts Rs 755 Cr revenue in FY24; cuts losses by 59%
Medial

Post-sales service firm Servify has maintained steady growth over the past few fiscal years. Following the trend of FY23, the firm achieved 23.6% revenue growth in FY24 while reducing its losses by 59%. Servify’s revenue from operations grew to Rs 755 crore in FY24 from Rs 611 crore in FY23, its annual financial statements show. Servify provides brand-authorized after-sales support for mobile devices, gadgets, electronics, and home appliances. It allows users to store purchase bills and access official services for their devices, both during and after the warranty period. White-labeled protection plans sold via mobile apps and web portals contributed 87.8% of total operating revenue, which rose by 19.2% to Rs 663 crore in FY24. Additionally, income from mobile handset and spare parts sales grew by 66%, reaching Rs 91 crore during the same period. Notably, India is Servify’s largest revenue contributor, accounting for 56.8%, followed by the United States of America at 38.6%. For the post-sales service firm, the cost of materials, including plans and mobile handsets, made up 66.8% of total expenses. This cost saw a modest increase of 4.6%, reaching Rs 574 crore in FY24. Significantly, the firm recorded a reduction in employee benefits to Rs 158 crore, down from Rs 183 crore in FY23. Information technology, legal, telecommunications, and other related overheads contributed to an overall cost of Rs 859 crore in the last fiscal year. FY23-FY24 FY23 FY24 EBITDA Margin -32.95% -8.83% Expense/₹ of Op Revenue ₹1.39 ₹1.14 ROCE -190.08% -34.48% The increased scale and steady cost control helped Servify reduce its losses by 59%, reaching Rs 94 crore in FY24 compared to Rs 229 crore in FY23. Its ROCE and EBITDA remained negative at -34.48% and -8.83%, respectively, with Servify spending Rs 1.14 to earn each rupee in FY24. The Blume Venture-backed company has raised over Rs 1,000 crore to date, including $65 million led by Singularity Growth in 2022, as per TheKredible. Its notable investors include Iron Pillar, Beenext, 3F Ventures, and Avanz Capital. Servify’s revenue-to-enterprise multiple stood at 9.4X in the previous fiscal year. Servify has a lot going for it, in terms of a strong domestic presence in a growing home market, categories that are significant in scale and service demands, and potentially, new categories opening up all the time. The push towards premiumisation is also a huge driver for the firm, as higher priced products invariably come with the sort of protection plans and more that Servify offers. The firm’s biggest challenge is of course competition, not just in India but globally as well, including upcoming firms from China. How Servify weathers these will actually define the growth trajectory and any further control over costs.

Indian startups show sign of recovery with $7 Bn funding in H1 2024

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Indian startups show sign of recovery with $7 Bn funding in H1 2024
Medial

The Indian startup ecosystem is going through a recovery phase: there have been larger funding rounds, an increase in the number of deals, a surge in secondary deals and ESOP buybacks, and a decline in layoffs. As per data compiled by TheKredible, Indian startups raised nearly $7 billion in funding during the first half of 2024. This is more than the $5.92 billion raised in H1 2023. But it’s also far less than $20 billion in H1 2022 which now seems like the golden phase for startups, at least in terms of venture capital inflow. The $7 billion funding consisted of 182 growth or late stage deals worth $5.4 billion and 404 early-stage deals worth $1.54 billion. Meanwhile, 99 were undisclosed deals. During the first half, Indian startups produced a couple of unicorns: Perfios and Krutrim SI Designs. In 2023, only two startups managed to go past the unicorn valuation while 2022 and 2021 saw the emergence of 26 and 44 unicorns, respectively. [Y-o-Y and M-o-M trend] As mentioned above, there is a significant increase in the number of startup deals and funding in H1 2024 from $5.92 billion in H1 2023. If we see the last four consecutive half yearly data, H1 2024 stands at the top in terms of total amount raised. The growth can be attributed to a bunch of $100 million plus rounds and mega deals bagged by late stage firms such as Zepto, Flipkart, PharmEasy and Lenskart. When it comes to month-on-month trends, June saw nearly $2 billion in funding which is more than double of the average of $1 billion monthly funding until May this year. [Top 10 growth stage deals in H1] Late stage companies such as Zepto, Flipkart, PharmEasy and Lenskart were on the top with $665 million, $350 million, $216 million, and $200 million funding, respectively. Lenskart’s $200 million funding was a pure secondary transaction play whereas Zepto may have also had some secondary component in the last funding round. Overall, all startups in the top 10 list have raised more than $100 million each during the first six months of 2024. The list includes Engrail, Atlan, Pocket FM, Nephroplus, SEDEMAC and Shadowfax. [Top 10 early stage deals in H1] Invite-only networking platform SCOPE led the funding chart for early stage startups with $90 million funding. This was followed by AI startup Krutrim, blockchain startup Avail, e-commerce startup Indkal and battery tech startup IBC. Lyskraft, Ema, StockGro, Hunch and Rozana also made it to the top 10 list of early stage deals. Notably, more than 30 early stage startups have raised over $10 million each during H1 2024. [Mergers and Acquisitions] The first half of 2024 saw 55 mergers and acquisitions, which is lower when compared to the previous years. The year 2021 saw more than 250 mergers and acquisitions which declined to 204 in 2022 and further reduced to 145 in 2023. Even if we double the number of M&A, it will hover around 100 in total by the end of 2024. There were stress deals during the period which included the acquisition of ZestMoney by DMI Group, MX Player by Amazon, Kuvera by CRED, Spartan Poker by OneVerse, and ET Money by 360 One (formerly IIFL Wealth). Check the list for more details: [City and segment wise deals] Bengaluru, once again topped the list with 253 startups from the city having raised more than $2.83 billion in funding during 2023. This accounted for 40% of the total funding. Delhi-NCR-based startups followed with 164 deals amounting to $1.3 billion. Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune made it to the top five list. Notably, Mumbai-based startups contributed to nearly 22% of the total funding whereas Delhi NCR-based startups accounted for 18.76% of the overall fund inflow. Segment wise, e-commerce was at the top with 124 startups raising over $1.87 billion. Fintech, healthtech, SaaS and EV startups were next on the list. Amount wise, EV startups raised more money than SaaS and healthtech. Agritech, foodtech, edtech and proptech saw their downfall during the first half of 2024. [Stage wise deals] In H1 2024, seed and pre-seed stage startups saw 266 deals amounting to more than $457 million. Series A and pre Series A saw 134 and 80 deals, respectively. There were 58 debt funding worth $784 million and 5 pre-IPO rounds worth nearly $250 million. Check TheKredible for more details. [Layoffs, shutdowns and departures] Layoffs, shutdowns and departures continued even in 2024. However, there was a sharp decline when compared with the previous years. For context, Indian startups saw 3,300 people being laid off during H1 2024 which is roughly one-third of the over 9,000 in H2 2023 and 15,000 in H1 2023. Byju’s, ReshaMandi, Swiggy, Ola, Cult.fit, Healthifyme, Scaler and PrepLadder topped in terms of laying off employees during the first half. During the first quarter of 2024, five companies shut their operations. The list includes Resso, Rario, OKX India, GoldPe, and Muvin. Rario added that it will launch a brand new platform that will enable users to play new and engaging cricket-based games. However, only one startup announced its shutdown during the second quarter taking the overall shutdown to six in H1. In 2023, more than 15 startups shut their operations. High profile departures were a big concern during the first half of 2024. As per data compiled by TheKredible, 45 top level executives left their posts. These include co-founders, CEOs, CFO, CBO, COO, and managing directors, among others. [Comparison] For a better understanding of startup funding, we have created a comparison graph for the first and second quarter of the year which showed that the number of deals and total funding saw an uptick in Q2 when compared to Q1. [Trends in H1 2024] Surge in generative AI and spiritual tech deals: Overall, AI startups saw 27 deals amounting to $237 million. Generative AI startups grabbed a significant portion of the total funding. In the past six months, these startups have managed to mope up nearly $100 million. The list includes Sarvam AI, Ema, Neysa, Vodex, and KonProz, among others. Spiritual tech startups also saw an uptick in the number of deals. In the ongoing calendar year, such startups have raised more than $36 million and some new rounds are in the pipeline. Maiden funding for established fashion brands: During H1, a clutch of fashion and apparel brands raised their maiden institutional round. In May, A91 Partners led a $21 million round in TechnoSport whereas Libas raised $18 million led by ICICI Venture’s fund. Recently, Rare Rabbit raised $18 million in primary capital led by A91 Partners. The round is expected to close at around $50 million. ESOP and secondary deals: More than 10 startups announced their ESOP buyback program worth nearly $58 million in H1 2024. While the majority of them did not disclose the amount, Meesho, Urban Company and Pocket FM announced their largest ESOP buyback program. Similarly, secondary transactions have also increased during the first six months. Some of the biggest beneficiaries of secondary transactions are Lenskart, Meesho, Shadowfax, Fibe, Wow! Momo, Porter, among others. Startup IPOs on the rise: In the ongoing calendar year, TBO tech, Digit Insurance, Awfis and Ixigo have been listed on the stock exchanges while Unicommerce, FirstCry and Ola Electric got final approval from SEBI and Mobikwik, Swiggy and Avanse have been waiting for approval from the market regulator. Overall, 2024 appears to have better prospects for startups in the public market. In 2021, more than 10 startups listed on stock exchanges. This number plummeted in 2022 (two IPOs) and 2023 (five IPOs). Moreover, a bunch of companies are assessing the right time to launch their IPO, Zepto, Flipkart, PharmEasy, The Good Glamm Group, and others may announce their exact IPO timeline anytime soon. Debt deals: Besides increase in equity and secondary deals, debt deals also contributed a significant portion in H1. As per data, H1 2024 saw 57 debt only deals amounting to $784 million. There were several deals which included equity as well as debt components. However, we couldn’t ascertain the actual breakdown of such deals which may push the overall debt to more than $1 billion in the said period. [Conclusion] While the peaks of H1 2022 might take some time to be reached and crossed again, considering the typical cycle of at least 3-5 years for such funding peaks, things are certainly improving fast. While stability in government helps, it is the booming stock markets that will drive funding for startups too, as investors cash out gains and redeploy from successful IPOs or broader market gains. Ironically, many firms that could barely get VC or PE funding have managed IPOs in recent weeks, further underscoring the case for a correction in the stock markets or a diffusion of the bullishness to startup funding as well. But while the markets will continue to value revenues and some profitability ideally, the real job of backing ideas and innovations will also benefit as multiple VCs, family offices and other investors return to the startup funding market to seed the next crop of startups.

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