Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [October 26-30]

We bring to you the latest edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!

Bengaluru-based fresh fish and meat supply chain and ecommerce startup FreshToHome has raised $121 Mn in a Series C funding round led by Dubai government’s principal investment arm Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), alternative investments fund manager Investcorp, growth-stage investor Ascent Capital, the US government-affiliated DFC, the Allana Group and other investors. Iron Pillar has also participated in this round. The company has not disclosed the amount invested by the other investors.

Founded in 2015 by Shan Kadavil and Mathew Joseph, the startup offers cold chain solutions to farmers and fishermen as well as selling directly to consumers through a mobile app. It leverages artificial intelligence and the internet of things (IoT) devices to bring in traceability in the supply chain and procurement.

About $195 Mn was invested across 23 Indian startups this week, and one acquisition took place. (This funding report is based on startups that disclosed funding amounts).

Indian Startup Funding Of The Week

1. FreshToHome: $121 Mn
2. FlexiLoans: $20 Mn
3. InVideo: $15 Mn
4. Pagarbook: $7 Mn
5. Arzooo: $7.5 Mn
6. GetVantage: $5 Mn
7. Origo: $4.6 Mn
8. Teachmint: $3.5 Mn
9. Credgenics: $3.3 Mn
10. Peel-Works: $3 Mn
11. FreshoKartz: $1.3 Mn
12. Treebo: $1.3 Mn
13. Svami: $871K
14. Biddano: $670K
15. Railofy: $536K
16. Janani: $200K
17. Dhurina: $135K
18. Nykaa: Undisclosed
19. BharatAgri: Undisclosed
20. Wellversed: Undisclosed
21. Agrix: Undisclosed
22. WinZO: Undisclosed
23. Finelistings: Undisclosed

• FlexiLoans: Mumbai-based digital SME lending platform FlexiLoans has raised $20 Mn (INR 150 Cr) from multiple investors through a mix of debt and equity financing. The round was led by Falguni and Sanjay Nayar Office.
  

 

• InVideo: Video editing and content creation software maker InVideo has raised $15 Mn in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital India. The round also saw participation from Tiger Global, Hummingbird, RTP Global and Base. It plans to use the fresh capital to leverage its technological solutions and help more individuals and businesses create unique videos.

 

• Arzooo: Bengaluru- based retail tech startup Arzooo has raised $7.5 Mn in Series A funding led by WRVI Capital. The round saw participation from its existing investors 3Lines Venture Capital, and UAE’s Jabbar Internet Group and others.

 

• Pagarbook: Employee management platform Pagarbook has raised $7 Mn in Series A round from existing investors Sequoia Surge at a valuation of $44.5 Mn.   IQ Alpha also participated in this round.

 

• GetVantage: Mumbai-based fintech startup GetVantage has raised $5 Mn of seed funding with a mixture of equity and debt-line it can use for funding businesses. The round saw participation from Chiratae Ventures along with Dream Incubators (Japan) and other marquee NBFCs and debt funds. It plans to expand into new markets across Southeast Asia, starting with Singapore in the next two years.

 

• Origo: Gurugram-based agritech startup Origo has raised $4.6 Mn (INR 35 Cr) debt from Northern Arc Capital and other investors. The company plans to use the funds to strengthen its trade finance and supply chain and improve agri processes and warehousing facilities.

 

• TeachMint: Bengaluru-based edtech startup Teachmint has raised $3,5 Mn in seed round led by Lightspeed India with the participation from existing investors Better Capital and Titan Capital. It will use the funding for product development, increasing its reach among tutors, adding more features to the SaaS platform and support for more categories of users.

 

• Credgenics: Gurugram-based fintech startup Credgenics is raising $3.3 Mn (INR 24.8 Cr) in seed stage funding round led by Accel India’s fund VI. DMI Alternatives fund, QED Innovation Labs, Breadlake Ventures, Blue Wolf Capital Limited also participated in the round, along with existing investors Titan Capital, founded by Snapdeal cofounders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.
  

 

• Peel-Works: Mumbai-based retail SaaS startup Peel-Works has raised a total funding of $3 Mn wherein it received $1 Mn from Blacksoil Capital and $2 Mn towards working capital from others, including key suppliers. It would use the fund to expand its network of mom-and-pop and kirana stores on the Taikee app across the country.
  

 

• FreshoKartz: Rajasthan-based startup FreshoKartz has raised $1.3 Mn (INR 10 Cr) in a pre-series A funding from Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund (RVCF) and AWE (Achieving Women Equity) Funds. It plans to use these funds to leverage its forte in technology, expand its team.

 

• Treebo: Budget hotel chain Treebo has raised $1.3 Mn (INR 10 Cr) from angel investors like Paytm’s CEO of cofounder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Rebel Food’s CEO and cofounder JayBarman, Mozambique Holding’s MD Deepak Parayanken.

More Funding From The Indian Startup Ecosystem 

 

• Non- alcoholic aerated beverage brand Svami has raised $871K (INR 6.5 Mn) in a bridge round, leading up to a Series A round. The round was led by Mumbai Angels also with the participation from Rukam Capital Trust, Niren Shah,   Norwest Venture Partners’s MD Ashish Chand’s Family Office – Yukti Securities.

 

• B2B healthcare product distribution platform Biddano has raised $670K (INR 5 Cr) in pre-Series A round led by Venture Catalysts with participation of LetsVenture.

 

• Travel startup Railofy has raised $536K (INR 4 Cr) from venture capitalist firm Roots Venture, Astarc Ventures, Better Capitals in Seed round.

 

• Fertility care provider Janani has raised $200K (INR 1.5 Cr) in a pre-seed round from 9Unicorns. IVF expert Dr Nandita Palshetkar, Astir VC partner Kishore Ganji also participated in the round.

 

• Edtech platform Dhurina, which helps students living in Tier III and rural regions in cracking their state civil services exams, has raised $135K seed funding from Chandigarh Angels Network and Modulor Capital in its seed round. The company plans to use a part of the funding to expand its offerings to include more competitive exams.

 

• Cosmetics and fashion retail platform Nykaa has raised an undisclosed amount from Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt. The company had raised investment from Katrina Kaif, last week.

 

• Pune-based agritech startup BharatAgri has raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding round from Binny Bansal-backed 021 Capital and existing investors India Quotient. Better Capital and Ajay Prabhu also participated in the round.

 

• Nutrition-based healthcare startup Wellversed has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-series A funding round led by cricketer and entrepreneur Yuvraj Singh. The investment from Singh’s YWC Ventures values the two-and-a-half-year-old startup at INR 100 Cr.

 

• Patna-based precision and digital farming startup Agrix has raised funding from Maple Capital Advisor. It plans to use the funds to scale existing operations and further strengthen its operations and technology platform.

 

• Indian gaming startup WinZO has secured funding from Stephan Pagliuca, co-chairman of private equity firm Bain Capital in a mix of primary and secondary investment. Pagliuca is also the co-owner of the NBA Basketball team, Boston Celtics, an investor in the American gaming company and Fortnite maker – Epic Games.

 

• Pre-owned luxury car startup Finelistings has raised undisclosed amount of funding from Justdial’s cofounders V Krishnan, who has mentored the company since its inception. The funding will be used to create a strong tech foundation, expand their service vertical and strengthen the inspection process to further make the process for buying used luxury cars in India a smooth experience.

 

Indian Startup Acquisition For The Week

 

• Australia-based real estate advertising company REA Technologies has acquired a majority stake in Singapore-based proptech company Elara Technologies which holds controlling stakes in real estate startups Housing.com, Makaan and PropTiger. The company claims that its revenues have grown at a CAGR of 42% over the last three years.

 

Other Developments Of The Week

 

• Health and fitness brand Curefit’s founder Ankit Nagori has increased his ownership in CureFoods which runs its cloud kitchen Eat.Fit. While Nagori will continue to be a part of Curefit’s board, operationally he will be focussed on running Eat.Fit. Nagori’s move comes in the backdrop of Curefit announcing that Eat.Fit will be an independent entity.

 

• Mahindra-backed enterprise intra-city logistical solutions provider Porter has id noted a 151% increase in its losses from INR 41.4 Cr in FY2019 to INR 104.1 Cr in FY2020. The increase in the company’s losses came about even as revenue climbed by 99% to INR 275.79 Cr in FY20.

 

• The Circle has launched a new business accelerator FoundersClub (F.C.) for early-stage startups.F.C will address some of the biggest challenges for startups today – market access, mentorship, funding, corporate connections, education, space, and the necessary partnerships so critical to scale early-stage companies.

 

• Quick service restaurant chain Burger King India has filed draft papers with markets regulator SEBI to raise $72 Mn (INR 542 Cr) through fresh issuance of shares in the IPO.

 

• State-owned Indian Bank in collaboration with IIT-Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) on Tuesday launched an initiative for funding startups. Under this, IITMIC will refer startups with proven technology and establish cash flow to the bank for funding. The body will also extend advisory to the bank on the business model.