ETtech Deals Digest: Indian startups raised $565 million this week, PhonePe’s funding lifts gloom

The Indian startup ecosystem, which is in the midst of a funding winter, saw an uptick in investments this week, with a total of $565 million raised in 20 rounds, according to data provided by market intelligence platform Tracxn.

Walmart-owned payment platform PhonePe, which raised $350 million in funding from General Atlantic, accounted for the lion's share of this. The $350 million it raised comprises the first tranche of an up to $1 billion investment that started this month. Other global and Indian investors are also expected to participate in the round, according to the company.

According to the Tracxn data, funding received by Indian startups this week jumped more than 10X from last week but fell 7.68% from the same week last year. Seed stage funding stood at $13.3 million for the week, early stage funding at $73.2 million, while late-stage funding closed at $478 million.

Almost 90% of the funding was through late-stage investments, and only 8% was early-stage investment.

Most active VCs, according to the data, were Accel -- which participated in rounds for Breathe Well-being, Beaconstac and Boingg, and Cornerstone Ventire Partners – Log9 Materials, and Supermorpheus.

Indian startups have raised roughly $810 million so far this year, according to the data.

Here is a list of startups that raised funds this week:

PhonePe raises $350 million funding from General Atlantic: Digital payments major PhonePe on Thursday said it has raised $350 million in funding from global private equity firm General Atlantic at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion, making it the most valuable privately held Indian fintech firm.

Kedaara Capital invests Rs 800 cr in NBFC Avanse Financial: Kedaara Capital, a homegrown private equity firm, will infuse Rs 800 crore in Avanse Financial Services Ltd. (Avanse), the education-focused non-banking financial company (NBFC). The fund will be deployed to expand its presence and outreach to a larger number of Indian students, said a press release. Warburg Pincus continues to be the majority shareholder in Avanse.

AI firm Mad Street Den raises $30 million: Enterprise AI company Mad Street Den (MSD) has raised $30 million in its Series C funding round, led by Avatar Growth Capital. Existing investors Sequoia Capital and Alpha Wave Global (formerly known as Falcon Edge Capital) also participated in the latest round. The investment will enable it to expand its artificial intelligence (AI) offerings across industries, the company said on Wednesday.

Specialty coffee startup Blue Tokai raises $30 million: Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters has raised $30 million (Rs 245 crore) in its latest funding round, led by Mumbai-based investment firm A91 Partners. White Whale Ventures, and existing investors including Grand Anicut Fund and 8i Ventures, also participated in the funding round, which also saw some angel investors sell shares. The coffee brand is expected to have been valued at Rs 650 crore, post the investment round, according to people close to the deal.

QR code startup Beaconstac raises $25 million: Beaconstac, a Quick Response (QR) code-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company, has raised $25 million in its first external funding round, dubbed Series A, led by San Francisco-based Telescope Partners. Accel India also participated in the round, the company said in a statement. The New York and Bengaluru-headquartered startup creates and tracks QR codes for clients.

VilCart raises $18 million to expand operations: VilCart, the rural economy-focused technology startup, has raised $18 million (Rs 144 crore) from investors to expand operations. The company raised this amount in a Series A funding round led by Asia Impact SA. Nabventures Fund and Texterity Pvt Ltd also participated in the round, VilCart said in a statement. With the use of this fund, VilCart aims to expand its operations to the entire South India by 2024.

Darwinbox gets funds from Microsoft, SBI: Enterprise human resource technology services provider Darwinbox said on Tuesday that it had raised an undisclosed sum from new investors Microsoft and State Bank of India. The Hyderabad-based startup received the money last quarter, the company told ET, without specifying the exact amount.

(Graphics & Illustration by Rahul Awasthi)