So, how did the Indian startups fared on funding horizon in the last week of 2019. Well, the funding scenario during year’s last week can only be described as tepid or average at the best. But it is still too early to adjudge that economic slowdown has started taking toll on the investment spree. While it remains an undisputable fact that we’re heading towards New Year with overarching theme of slowdown, positive outlook invariably helps us to cast away the shadow of adverse times. So on this optimistic note, we take a look at this week’s startup funding scenario.
Eduisfun: Edutech startups usually don’t earn the coveted status of raising the week’s largest funding round, unless it happens to be a high profile edutech startup like Byju’s or Ronnie Screwvala backed Upgrad. But Mumbai based Eduisfun broke this conventional norm after raising whopping $28 Mn this week. But even this fact pales, when one glances through the list of high profile angel investors who have pumped funds in this little known startup. Some of these high profile investors include HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, actor Amitabh Bachchan and veteran ad film maker Piyush Pandey.
Aye Finance: Anyone who keenly follows Indian startup industry must have heard about the Fintech startup Aye Finance. Today this Gurugram based Fintech startup is widely considered amongst the most successful B2B Fintech startup. This week the startup once again stamped its authority by raising $15 Mn through debt funding route. The round was spearheaded by Switzerland based investor, BlueOrchard.
Bombay Shaving Company: Some human habits are hard to die, grooming and shaving happens to be one such habit. Capitalizing on this habit is Bombay Shaving Company, which raised $6.3 Mn (INR 45 Cr) in the latest funding round. The series B round was led by Sixth Sense Venture Partners while existing investor Colgate Palmolive Asia Pacific also took part.
Nu Genes: India despite being an agricultural nation, there is still a dearth of good agritech startup across the country. Trying to fill this vacuum is Telangana based Nu Genes. This agritech startup got a major boost this week after raising $6 Mn from Innovation in Food and Agriculture (IFA) Fund. Following the latest funding round, Nu Genes is planning to take its agriculture based products to international markets.
Cell Propulsion: Today Cell Propulsion is amongst plethora of Indian startups that is trying to cash on the impending boom of electric vehicles, with the Indian government desperately trying to stem off the menace of rising air pollution. The Bengaluru headquartered Cell Propulsion raised undisclosed amount of funding from growX ventures. Other investors that participated in the round include Endiya Partners, Sangam Ventures, CIIE (IIM-A).
Keito: Amongst the scores of SaaS startups that are clamoring for success is the Pune based Keito. This Pune based SaaS startup raised undisclosed amount of funding from Suma Soft Pvt Ltd, which is also based in Pune. The startup had raised a seed funding round in April last year. Keito essentially leverages the power of AI to improve the human productivity at the work place.
YNOS: Chennai based YNOS Venture Engine has secured undisclosed amount of funding from Mahesh Ramachandran. IIT Madras Incubation Cell also pumped some amount of funding in the seed funding round. YNOS is essentially a startup that his devised suite of products that aims to fuel the growth of the entire Indian startup ecosystem. For instance, YNOS helps in discovering the most apt investors for early stage ventures, helping startups in analyzing the landscape in their respective domains so and so forth.
Vimobin Labs: Bengaluru headquartered gaming company, Vimobin Labs, received undisclosed amount of seed funding from clutch of independent investors. Startup said it will utilize the seed funding to ramp up its technology team and to strive towards launching scalable products in the coming months.
To roundup this week’s startup funding round, here are the other key developments that took place this week. Sachin Bansal owned Navi Technologies acquired technology consulting firm MavenHive for undisclosed amount. Meanwhile, increasing buzz in the media circle are indicating that logistic frim Xpressbees and hyperlocal services provider Dunzo are vying to raise fresh funding round in the coming weeks.