It seems that Indian startups have developed a special immunity system that is resisting all the talks of gloom and doom surrounding the Indian economy. Don’t know for how long this immunity will work but until then Indian startups can walks to their banks with a huge smile as investors continue to pour capital despite visible slowdown in the Economy. To tell you more about this, we bring you the top 10 startup funding activities of this week.
Udaan: The co-founders of this barely three year old company could not have probably thought of a better name than Udaan, which literally means keep soaring high. After becoming the youngest unicorn in India’s startup history, Udaan added another feather in its cap this week after raising massive $585 Mn in a series D round. The round was spearheaded by Tencent, Altimeter, Footpath Ventures, Hillhouse, GGV Capital, and Citi Ventures. Existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and DST Global also participated in the round.
This is probably one of the biggest funding rounds in India’s B2B e-commerce space. And the latest round has propelled Udaan’s market valuation to nearly $2.5 Bn.
Dunzo: Hyperlocal delivery platform Dunzo has a good reason to remain buoyant about its future as it raised $45 million (Rs 318.58 crore) in a fresh funding round. Lightbox, 3L Capital, and South Korea’s STIC Investment & STIC Ventures led the round. Existing investor and technology giant Google also pumped capital in the funding round.
Dunzo said that it will use the latest capital infusion for ramping up its platforms by adding more merchants and delivery partners. Founded in 2015, the platform deliveries wide-range of products to consumer doorsteps – from medicines & groceries to restaurant deliveries and instant courier.
NoBroker: Off late PE major Tiger Global has been on a funding spree and Indian startups are obviously very happy about it. This week it was Bengaluru based online real estate platform NoBroker that became the latest beneficiary of Tiger Global’s generosity. NoBroker raised $50 Mn from the New York based PE major while existing investor General Atlantic also participated in the round.
“The current funding will help us provide the service to more customers across the country and accelerate our deal closure growth,” Amit Kumar Agarwal (CEO & co-founder) said about the fundraising.
Paytm First Games: Due to increasing competition from Google Pay and PhonePe, Paytm may not be going through best of times. But this didn’t stopped Paytm First Games – gaming arm of the Gurgaon based company – from raising $20 Mn. Alibaba’s AGTech and Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications infused the capital in the round.
Paytm First Games plans to utilize the funds for scaling up its operation, ramping up its technology capabilities and for marketing purposes. Vijay shekhar sharma’s company plans to make its gaming arm as the country’s biggest gaming platform in the coming years.
Clix Capital: Investor’s love affair with Fintech startups continues as the SME lender Clix Capital collected handsome $40 Mn from its existing investor Aion Capital. According to reports, no other investors participated in the funding round.
Aion Capital’s massive investment in Clix Capital stands in complete contrast to the current crisis surrounding the NBFC industry, which continues to grapple with the low liquidity problem. But as I said in the beginning that Indian startups have developed an immunity against economic slowdown.
Shubh Loans: Staying with Fintech startups, B2C capital finance provider Shubh Loans raised $ 4.78 Mn or Rs 34 crore as part of the series A funding round. Omidyar Network India spearheaded the round while existing investors Saama Capital, Beenext, SRI Capital, and Pravega Ventures also participated in the round. The company said that it will use the funds to ramp up its platform, enhancing its technological capabilities and grow its data science team.
Fyle: In today’s complicated times managing expenses is bit tricky and Fyle tries to help companies to tackle this complicated problem. This week the young startup got much needed funding boost after it raised $4.5 million in a fresh funding round. US-based hedge fund Steadview Capital spearheaded the round. Existing investors Tiger Global, Freshworks, and Pravega Ventures also participated in the round.
FinBox: Bengaluru based Fintech startup FinBox secured undisclosed amount of funding from Arali Ventures in a pre-series A round. Marquee angel investor Anup Pai also participated in the funding round. FinBox said that it will use the funds for R&D and driving adoption.
Orb Energy: Energy giant Shell secured 20% stake in Orb Energy, a solar energy solution startup based in Bengaluru. The company said that the latest capital infusion will help in providing low cost solar powers to SMEs. The startup actually helps in providing SMEs credit to invest in rooftop solar systems.
Greytip: HR and payroll software solutions firm Greytip got a much needed funding boost of 34.5 Crore from Info Edge and MegaDelta Capital. The new funding round will pave Info Edge, which owns job portal site Naukri.com, to become part of company’s board of director team.