Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Feb 24-29]

We bring to you the latest edition of Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week!

In one of the biggest funding rounds this week, Delhi-headquartered digital gold loans startup Rupeek has raised $60 Mn in Series C funding round. The investors in the round include investors such as GGV Capital, Bertelsmann India Investments, Binny Bansal, KB Investments Co (KBIC), Tanglin Venture Partners, Sequoia India and Accel Partners.

The funds will be used to invest in technology and customer acquisition. Hans Tung, the managing partner at GGV Capital, has joined Rupeek as a board of director.

Overall, 14 startups raised around $132.53 Mn funding and four startup acquisitions took place in the Indian startup ecosystem. (This funding report is based on startups that disclosed funding amount.)

Indian Startup Funding Of The Week

1. Rupeek: $60 Mn
2. iMerit: $20 Mn
3. Eureka AI: $20 Mn
4. Qure.ai: $16 Mn
5. Hasura: $9.9 Mn
6. Flickstree: $3 Mn
7. IntrCity: $1.93 Mn
8. AjnaLens: $1.5 Mn
9. Pepper: $0.2 Mn
10. MinionLabs: Undisclosed
11. LetsShave: Undisclosed
12. Flutin: Undisclosed
13. ABL Workspaces: Undisclosed
14. Multibhashi: Undisclosed

• iMerit

Kolkata-based deeptech startup iMerit Technology Services has raised $20 Mn in Series B funding round led by the development finance institution CDC Group, which is owned by the UK government. With the new funds, the company is planning to hire more employees and aims to more than triple its workforce from the current 3K employees to 10K employees.

• Eureka AI

Enterprise tech platform Eureka AI has raised $20 Mn in its Series B funding round led by Apis Partners’ Aventure fund, Gobi Partners, the Riyadh TAQNIA Fund and MEC Ventures. SG Innovate, GDP Ventures, Pacific Bridge, B&Y Ventures, and Cianna Capital also participated in the funding round.

• Qure.ai

Healthtech startup Qure.ai, which uses AI algorithms to detect brain trauma and diagnose chest diseases, has raised $16 Mn in a funding round led by Sequoia India. MassMutual Ventures Southeast Asia (SEA) had also participated in the round. With this funding, Qure.ai is planning to expand its product line and enter new geographies. Besides that, the company will also be using the capital to fund the process of regulatory clearances.

• Hasura

San Francisco and Bengaluru-based Hasura has raised $9.9 Mn in Series A funding led by Vertex Ventures US. The round also saw participation from SAP.iO Fund, the early-stage venture arm of SAP, existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Strive VC. With this funding, Hasura will invest heavily in engineering and product development, notably providing more ready-made integrations with databases and other data sources, in addition to hiring across sales and marketing.

• Flickstree

Mumbai-based curated video platform Flickstree has raised $3 Mn in Series A funding. The investment has been led by Samsung Venture Investment Corporation with participation from LionRock Capital, Accretio Investments, angel investor LD Sharma and existing investors Venture Catalysts and SOSV and their MOX accelerator. The company said that fresh funds will be used to further develop its proprietary technology around video content. The company also has plans to expand beyond India, targeting Southeast Asian markets.

• IntrCity

Mobile-based train booking app IntrCity by RailYatri has raised $1.93 Mn (INR 14.03 Cr) from Samsung Venture Investment Corporation as a part of Series B funding round. According to the regulatory filings accessed by Inc42, Samsung Venture Investment has been allotted 29,725 Series BB compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) for INR 4,710 per share, totalling up to INR 14.03 Cr.

• AjnaLens

Thane-based deeptech startup AjnaLens has raised $1.5 Mn in its Pre-series A funding round led by Maharashtra Defence and Aerospace Venture Fund (MDAVF). Mohsin Group and other high-net-worth individuals (HNI) Nailesh Khimji, Chirayu Khimji, and Jay Jesrani also participated in the round. With the new funds, the company is planning to enhance its offerings, manufacturing, technology, and product capabilities. Additionally, AjnaLens is also planning to invest this fund for talent acquisition and market expansion.

• Pepper

Online content marketplace Pepper has raised $0.2 Mn (INR 2.2 Cr) from Snapdeal Founders’ Titan Capital and other investors. With the infusion of new funds, Pepper is looking to expand its team in Mumbai and focus on product and its technology platform that will enable content creation ‘on-demand’.

• MinionLabs

Bengaluru-based energy analytics startup MinionLabs has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Indian Angel Network. The round has been led by IAN investors Kaushik Rajan of Kochi Holding Private Limited and R. Mohan Kumaramangalam. The fresh funds will be used to ramp up its production, bolster sales, and expand its geographical footprint in the coming years.

• LetsShave

Chandigarh-based grooming startup LetsShave has raised an undisclosed amount of fresh funding from Wipro Consumer Care and Dorco. LetsShave will use the funding to expand its shaving and personal care product portfolio, bolster its online presence by growing the revenue by at least 3X and leverage Wipro’s touchpoints to expand into the offline market.

• Flutin

Noida-based over-the-top (OTT) music streaming platform Flutin has raised undisclosed funding in a funding round led by Japanese video-gaming major SEGA. GHV Accelerator and some angel investors also participated in this funding round. With the new funds, the company is planning to increase its user base in the key performing market such as the US.

• ABL Workspaces

Coworking space provider ABL Workspaces has raised an undisclosed amount in an angel round from Great Point Capital LLC, Chicago, US. The funds will be utilised to strengthen their presence in Delhi and will be operational with 15 new centres by June 2020.

• Multibhashi

Bengaluru-based edtech startup Multibhashi has raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures (IPV). Param Capital, Cactus Communication and angel investors — Mukul Agarwal and Anurag Goel — also participated in the funding round. With the recently raised funds, Multibhashi intends to invest in building new tech features. The company is also planning to expand the team and ramp up its marketing capabilities to scale the product.

Indian Startup Acquisitions Of The Week

• Chennai-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) unicorn Freshworks has acquired Seattle-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup AnsweriQ for an undisclosed amount. The company believes that AnsweriQ’s product line will complement its own AI engine, Freddy.
• Bengaluru-based vernacular content platform ShareChat has acquired Bengaluru-based online fashion marketplace Elanic. Post the acquisition Elanic’s employees will join ShareChat.
• Bengaluru-based tech-enabled logistics marketplace LetsTransport has acquihired web and mobile app development startup Pixlcoders. LetsTransport has brought on board the fellow Bengaluru startup’s team to strengthen its supply chain, technology and applications divisions. With the acquihire, LetsTransport aims to further build on its logistics industry tools and expand its presence in India.
• Delaware-based GoScale Group, which has offices in Bengaluru and Hyderabad as well, has acquired Washington DC-headquartered tech freelance platform Indiez. Speaking to Inc42, GoScale’s CEO Raghu Bharat said that the acquisition of Indiez increases the reach of its tech talent community platform.

Other Developments Of The Week

• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has set up a new rolling fund which will also help the petrochemical giant to enhance its tech capabilities through strategic alliances and potential acquisitions.
• Bengaluru-headquartered digital payments company PhonePe has received a fresh cash infusion from its Singapore-based parent entity. According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filings accessed by Inc42, PhonePe allotted 1 Mn equity shares at a nominal value of INR 10 with a premium of INR 4230 per share worth INR 427.25 Cr ($59.6 Mn) to PhonePe Private Limited, Singapore.
• Google India is accepting applications from startups for the fourth batch of Google for Startups Accelerator India programme. Google India will select and mentor ten early-stage startups and will help them improve their operations through this programme.
• In a bid to promote the startup ecosystem of India, tech giant Microsoft has launched its 100X100X100 programme for software-as-a-service (SaaS) startups in India.
• Mumbai-based venture capital firm Blume Ventures has announced the final close of its opportunity fund — Fund IIA — at $41 Mn for follow-on investments. Family offices and institutional investors along with existing investors are the primary backers of this fund.
• Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL) has picked up an equity stake in Bengaluru-based cloud kitchen startup Rebel Foods. According to the ministry of corporate affairs filings accessed by Inc42, the company converted BCCL’s five share warrants from 2017 into 714 equity shares worth INR 16.25 Cr ($2.2 Mn). The issue has been made at a nominal value of INR 10 with a premium of INR 2.27 Lakh.
• Singapore-based digital proptech company Elara Technologies has invested a total of INR 42.2 Cr in two Indian subsidiaries — Housing and PropTiger. In Housing, Elara has invested a total of INR 26.3 Cr in two tranches. On the other hand, the company has infused a total of INR 15.9 Cr in two tranches.
• Online travel aggregator ibibo has received an INR 10.7 Cr infusion from its Singapore-based parent company Ibibo Group Holdings (Singapore) Pte. Ltd, according to the ministry of corporate filings.