Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [16 - 21 Dec]

During the week, 24 Indian startups raised around $191.71 million in funding. These deals include 5 growth-stage deals and 16 early-stage deals. While three startups kept the transaction details undisclosed.

Last week, 40 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised around $787 million in funding.

Growth-stage deals

Among the growth-stage deals, 5 startups raised $119.3 million in funding this week. B2B e-commerce contract manufacturing startup Zetwerk led with $70 million in funding. Fraud prevention platform Bureau raised $30 million followed by retail intelligence platform Bizom ($12 million), SaaS-based accounting startup HostBooks ($5 million), and solar startup Zunroof ($2.3 million). While fintech firm Kissht also raised an undisclosed sum from Sachin Tendulkar.

Early-stage deals

Further, 16 early-stage startups secured funding worth $72.41 million during the week. Tech-enabled B2B express logistics INSTANT-XP led the list followed by learning-focused OTT platform Seekho, intercity mobility startup ZingBus, supply chain fintech startup QuiD Cash, and D2C hair care brand Arata.

Pet healthcare firm Crown Vet and 10-minute delivery platform KiranaPro also raised a sum but didn’t disclose the amount raised. 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 14 deals followed by Delhi-NCR, Mysuru, Pune, and Mumbai.

Segment-wise, Fintech startups are at the top spot with 5 deals. SaaS, E-commerce, Healthtech, Logistics, and Climatetech startups followed the list among others.

Series-wise deals

During the week, Seed funding deals led with 11 deals followed by Series A, Series B, pre-Series A, and Series F deals.

Week-on-week funding trend

On a weekly basis, startup funding slipped 75.65% to $191.71 million as compared to around $787.28 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $325.62 million with 25 deals per week.

Fund launches

This week four startup-focused funds launched namely Athera Ventures, India Accelerator, Warmup Ventures, and Velocity.

Key hirings and departures

The startup ecosystem witnessed 11 notable hires this week. Blinkit onboarded Vipin Kapooria as a CFO, InCred Group hired Gaurav Maheshwari as the CFO, Pepperfy elevated Madhusudhan Bihani as the CFO, and Sharedum welcomed Srinivasan Parthasarthy as its CTO.

Additionally, Hemal Jain and Saharsh Sharma resigned from Zomato and Orios Venture Partners, respectively. Visit TheKredible for more information.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Nazara Technologies’ subsidiary NODWIN Gaming has announced acquiring another 93% stake in gaming and esports media company AFK Gaming for Rs 7.6 crore via cash and equity swaps.

Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights.

New launches and partnerships

▪️ Zerodha allows users to trade on borrowed money

▪️ Andhra govt. partners PhysicsWallah to set up an AI-focused institute

▪️ Zoomcar to launch a chauffeur-driven car rental service

▪️ SlideShare’s Co-founders launch document-sharing platform

Potential Deals

▪️ Easebuzz is looking to raise Rs 200 Cr in funding

Financial results this week

▪️ IntrCity crosses Rs 320 Cr income in FY24, nears break-even

▪️ EV maker Ampere’s scale shrinks 46% in FY24; losses multiply 11X

▪️ Vedantu income nears Rs 200 Cr in FY24; losses cut by 58%

▪️ Bombay Shaving Company crosses Rs 200 Cr revenue in FY24

▪️ HR tech platform Keka posts Rs 78 Cr revenue in FY24; losses spike 2.8X

▪️ Mokobara reports Rs 117 Cr revenue and Rs 4 Cr loss in FY24

▪️ Decoding Q2 FY25 for OTAs ft. MMT, Ixigo, EaseMyTrip, and Yatra

▪️ Gameberry posts Rs 93 Cr PAT in FY24

▪️ Cult.fit’s income crosses Rs 1,000 Cr in FY24, losses remain flat

▪️ upGrad posts Rs 1,876 Cr gross revenue in FY24, EBITDA losses down 50%

▪️ Cashify nears Rs 1,000 Cr revenue in FY24, cuts losses by two-third

▪️ Ullu’s revenue stagnates at Rs 100 Cr in FY24; profit declines by 16%

News flash this week

▪️ PhysicsWallah converts to public entity ahead of 2025 IPO

▪️ Country Delight enters the quick commerce fray

▪️ MobiKwik debuts with a 59% premium on the stock exchange

▪️ InCred Finance targets Rs 4,000-5,000 Cr IPO in 2025

▪️ Ola pilots 10-minute food delivery starting from Bengaluru

▪️ Aye files DRHP for Rs 1,450 Cr IPO; largest backer Elevation skips OFS

▪️ Magicpin to deliver food in 15 minutes

▪️ SEBI changes rules for SME IPOs in India

▪️ GST Council may reduce tax on online food deliveries to 5%

Conclusion

On a weekly basis, startup funding slipped 75.65% to $191.71 million as compared to around $787.28 million raised during the previous week. This week saw four startup-focused fund launches namely Athera Ventures, India Accelerator, Warmup Ventures, and Velocity.

The IPO acceleration continued this week as a week. MobikKwik’s notable listing with around 59% gains showed the potential of the secondary market for a company with sound numbers. Aye Finance filed its DRHP with SEBI, PhysicsWallha took the initial step and converted it into a public entity, while InCred Finance announced its plan to launch an IPO in 2025.

The quick commerce sector seems to be in a rush to deliver the food and groceries in 10 minutes. In an instant delivery market led by BlinkIt, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto, MagicPin, ConutryDelight, and Ola also announced their entry last week into the sector. It would be interesting to see how these companies manage the road rush and inventories along with maintaining the quality of services.