We may be barely in the second week of 2020 but Indian startups have already started warming for the fundraising pace to pick up. Whether this pace eventually picks up or not will be known in coming months. However, on Wednesday two exciting startups – Testbook and Rheo – announced that they have raised fresh funds, in what looks like an encouraging sign of Indian startup’s resilient ability to raise funds amid the ongoing economic slowdown.
Testbook raised $83 Mn (approximately 60 Cr) from venture investment firm Iron Pillar, which spearheaded the funding round. The round also saw participation of other investors including Matrix Partner India and Better Capital among others. This was series B round for the Mumbai based startup and its total fundraising amount has now risen to $12 Mn (Rs 86.3 Cr) following the latest fundraising round.
Testbook basically helps students from tier 2 and tier 3 to prepare for govt exams that helps them in fetching stable jobs. Despite the growth of private sector and rise of IT industry, govt jobs continue to hold sway over the Indian masses.
Rheo – online e-sports streaming and community platform – managed to raise $2 Mn from Lightspeed Venture partners, Sequoia Surge along with clutch of angel investors. The startup aims to build an holistic and comprehensive ecosystem for mobile gamers where they can stream, watch, comment and also monetize by creating new channels.
Owing to growing internet and smartphone penetration across India, mobile gaming industry is witnessing a major boom. However, challenge remains abound for the gaming industry, which is still very much in nascent stage.