ETtech Deals Digest: Startup funding rises to $511.47 million on Udaan boost

A total of 11 startups raised $511.47 million in the December 9-15 week, with a sizable 66.5% chunk coming from business-to-business ecommerce startup Udaan’s funding round, according to data from Tracxn. This compares to $175 million raised by 31 companies in the same week a year ago.

Sequentially, however, the latest week saw a 20% drop in terms of volume and a 4.8X jump in value.

It is important to note that the funding winter started to set in from late September 2022 and worsened with every passing month.

The latest week saw about 84% of the total capital being deployed in growth- and late-stage startups. Besides Udaan, it included the likes of agritech firm Vegrow, fintech firm Aye Finance and electric vehicle battery tech firm Exponent Energy.

ET reported last week that funding to Indian startups fell steeply in calendar year 2023 to $7 billion — less than one-third the estimated $25 billion received in the previous year, industry data showed. This marks the lowest point for the sector since 2017, amid a worsening global macroeconomic environment buffeted by geopolitical conflicts.

Investors ET spoke to said that while the deal making announcements in the startup space will likely continue with the same momentum, a lot of deals that have been worked on this month will only be disclosed over January and later.

Top five startup deals in the week

Udaan: B2B ecommerce startup Udaan has raised $340 million in a funding round led by UK savings and investment firm M&G Prudential.

Vegrow: The B2B fruit marketplace raised $46 million in a Series C primary and secondary round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC.

Aye Finance: The microlending platform raised about $37 million led by British International Investment.

QNu Labs: The provider of quantum cryptography solutions raised $6.5 million from Hungama Digital co-founder Ashish Kacholia and Speciale Invest.

Exponent Energy: The energy-tech startup that provides 15-minute rapid charging and a 3,000-cycle life warranty for electric vehicles raised $26.4 million in a series B round led by Eight Roads Ventures.