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Top News of the Week: 1. Funding: - Indian startups cumulatively raised $217.84 Mn via 31 deals, a 273% increase from last week's $58.36 Mn raised across 16 deals - With top fundraising like TechnoSport and Libas bagging $25 Mn and $18 Mn respectively. - Ecommerce sector emerged to be the investor dominated this week, with startups in the space bagging $56.2 Mn across five deals - Real Estate Tech unicorn Infra.Market raised $50 Mn in an additional funding round from Liquidity Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group’s MARS Unicorn Fund. - Seed funding tumbled down this week, with startups at this stage securing $7.7 Mn. This was a 41% decline from last week’s $13.12 Mn. 2. Acquisitions This Week: - Broadcasting giant Times Network bought technology media portal Digit.in from 9.9 Group via an undisclosed deal. The company will look to leverage its digital publishing capabilities to expand its footprint in the technology and gaming sectors. - Fintech startup BharatX has forayed into the healthcare lending space with the acquisition of the healthcare startup Zenifi. As part of the deal, Zenifi’s cofounder Padam Kataria will join BharatX to spearhead its healthcare vertical. - Parent of D2C unicorn Mamaearth, Honasa Consumer Ltd, has acquired the assets of Thane-based skincare company CosmoGenesis Labs for $480K (INR 4 Cr). With the buyout, it seeks to strengthen its research and development and manufacturing capabilities. - Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath, Capri Global Family Office, Sumeet Kanwar from Verity and Abhijeet Pai-led Wear Steels, have bought 10% stake in Infra.Market’s subsidiary RDC Concrete for $20 Mn. - B2B marketplace IndiaMART InterMESH has acquired a 10% stake in fraud detection startup Baldor Technologies for INR 89.7 Cr (about $10.7 Mn) via a secondary transaction. The investment aligns with its long-term objective of providing various software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for businesses. - US-based e-commerce giant Amazon is in the final stages of acquiring Times Internet-owned video streaming platform MX Player. The ecommerce major is acquiring MX Player in an all-cash deal for a little over $100 Mn. 3. Key Exits: - Paytm's chief human resources officer (CHRO), Swati Rustagi, has also resigned after working with the company for over a year. Rustagi has a diverse professional background, having previously worked with notable companies such as Amazon, Max Healthcare, and Johnson & Johnson. - Rahul Chaudhary, who joined venture capital fund Matrix Partners India in February last year, has quit the firm to start his new venture, according to sources aware of the development. Chaudhary left the firm in January this year. - Narayan Gangadhar, the CEO of 5Paisa, has resigned from his position. His resignation will be effective from August 28. Gangadhar, who previously worked at Angel One, joined 5Paisa a year ago. 4. Other Developments: - Shares of the coworking space provider Awfis were listed at INR 432.25 on the BSE, a premium of 12.8% from its issue price of INR 383. On the NSE, its shares were listed at INR 435 apiece, 13.5% higher than the issue price. - Travel tech startup Atlys is in talks with existing investor Peak XV Partners and others to raise $15-18 Mn in its Series B round. It is said to be eyeing the fresh infusion at a valuation of $70 Mn. - Electric two wheeler maker Ather is looking to raise $34 Mn (INR 286.5 Cr) in a mix of equity and debt as part of its latest funding round. It plans to raise INR 200 Cr in debt from Stride Ventures while the founders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain are looking to infuse the rest of the capital. - VC firms Xponentia Capital Partners, A91 Partners, and 360 ONE Asset have acquired stakes in deeptech startup SEDEMAC Mechatronics through a secondary transaction , giving full exit to the company’s early investors, Nexus Venture Partners, TR Capital and Montane Ventures. While the size of the round was $100 Mn, it included a primary infusion of around $9 Mn into the startup at a valuation of $260 Mn. - Ratan Tata-backed omnichannel jewellery startup BlueStone is in discussions to secure close to $100 Mn in a pre-IPO funding round at a unicorn valuation. This would translate to a more than 2X jump from its erstwhile valuation of $450 Mn. - As part of its ongoing Series A round, D2C kidswear brand Kidbea has seen Innov8 founder and angel investor Ritesh Malik, Nazara Technology founder Nitish Mittersain, and cardiovascular surgeon Dr Shriram Nene join its cap table. Stay Updated. Stay Informed. Stay Ahead. Share the Medial App with your network, colleagues, and friends. Let's brainstorm, discuss together and help each other achieve our goals. And don't forget to rate us on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store to help us reach even more amazing people like you.