Here’s a lowdown of top deals from the startup space this week.
Over $7 billion raised by Indian startups in Q4 2021: NASSCOM & Praxis Report
More than $7 billion was raised by Indian start-ups during the fourth quarter of 2021, which was 18 percent higher than the previous sequential quarter, according to a report.
The report by NASSCOM and Praxis Global revealed that fintech and retail tech were the top sector in Q4 CY21 (calendar year 2021) cornering almost 46 percent of the total funding.
As many as 14 new unicorns were added to the Indian tech startup ecosystem in Q4 2021. “6 out of 14 unicorns added in Q4 CY21 are from retail tech and fintech sector,” the report said.
Livspace turns unicorn with $180M Series F round led by KKR Singapore
Omnichannel home interior and renovation platform, Livspace has raised $180 million in its Series F funding round led by global investment firm, KKR. The round also saw participation from existing investors such as Ingka Group Investments (part of largest IKEA retailer Ingka Group), Jungle Ventures, Venturi Partners, and Peugeot Investments, among others.
The round values the company at over $1 billion and makes it the latest unicorn on the block.
To support its ambitious expansion plans, Livspace will launch in new markets, double down on brand building in India and Singapore, and continue investing in its pioneering platform technology and digitally integrated supply chain; and hire, develop and nurture talent across the board to support both new and existing businesses.
ElasticRun enters billion-dollar club after SoftBank & Goldman Sachs’ $300M investment
B2B Logistics and e-commerce startup ElasticRun’s has bagged $300 million from Japanese Gian SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of $1.4 billion, according to regulatory filings sourced from Tofler.
The deal makes ElasticRun 2022’s seventh Indian unicorn and also marks SoftBank’s first Indian investment this year. Softbank’s investment in other B2B Indian startups include logistics firm Delhivery and commerce and lending firm OfBusiness.
Goldman Sachs and existing investor Prosus Ventures also participated in ElasticRun’s Series E funding round. While SoftBank, has invested nearly $180 million, Prosus Ventures invested about $54.79 million and Goldman Sachs invested $30.14 million $4.64 million in the company.
Ecommerce Logisitics startup Xpressbees turns unicorn
It’s raining unicorns in the Indian startup ecosystem. New-age logistics provider Xpressbees has become the latest startup to join the billion-dollar club after bagging a whopping $300 million in its Series F funding round led by private equity funds Blackstone Growth, TPG Growth and ChrysCapital.
The latest round has valued Xpressbees at $1.2 billion, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC-TV18.
Existing investors, Investcorp and Norwest Venture Partners, also participated in the funding round. Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Xpressbees on this transaction.
With the fresh capital, Xpressbees is looking to evolve into a full-service logistics organization, support the business in its next phase of growth, product development, and hiring talent.
Sequoia India eyes record $2.8 Bn fund, MD steps down: Report
Sequoia Capital India has written to its US parent and investors to raise $2.8 billion in funds for Indian and Southeast Asian startups, its largest fund by more than double, signalling that India’s unprecedented startup funding boom may be here to stay, sources told Moneycontrol.
Sequoia also plans to raise separate funds for India and Southeast Asia, something it has not done in the last seven years since it expanded to the region, in addition to venture and growth funds, a bifurcation it already makes, the report added.
Further, former Uber Asia Pacific Head Amit Jain, who had joined the firm as managing director in 2019, will step down from his position. Jain will be an entrepreneur-in-residence going forward, working on his own venture but getting access to Sequoia’s partners, operators and networks before he steps out.
Polygon raises $450M from Sequoia Capital India, Softbank Vision Fund and Tiger Global to scale Ethereum
Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development platform Polygon has raised about $450 million in funding as it builds a product line up and paves the way for mass adoption of Web3 applications.
The round led by Sequoia Capital India saw participation of over 40 venture capital firms and investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Galaxy Digital, Galaxy Interactive, Tiger Global, Republic Capital, Accel and Unacademy.
Alameda Research, Transcend Fund, Makers Fund, Animoca Brands, global video game leader and games industry investor Scopely, Third Point, dune ventures, Union Square Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Elevation Capital, Sino Global Capital, DCG, Standard Crypto, Celsius, Dragonfly Capital, Variant Fund, Blue Pool Capital, WorkPlay Ventures (led by Zynga founder Mark Pincus) and many others also joined the round.
This is Polygon’s first major financing round since the project was created. The funds will be raised through a private sale of Polygon’s native MATIC token.
CRED in talks to raise $300M: Report
Fintech startup CRED is in talks to raise about $300 million valuing it at over $6 billion, an aggressive valuation for one of India’s most intriguing technology companies as investor sentiment remains strong despite tech stocks falling globally, sources told Moneycontrol.
The new round of funding will likely be led by a crossover fund from the Middle East, while existing backers Tiger Global Management and Falcon Edge Capital will also double down on their bets, the report added.
CRED is also pitching to investors that it can become like Affirm, the US-based company which allows BNPL for online transactions. Affirm recently listed with a market cap of over $24 billion.
B2B lending platform Mintifi secures $40M in Series C funding
B2B BNPL platform Mintifi has raised $40 million in its Series C round of funding led by Norwest Venture Partners and Elevation Capital.
The company will use the fresh funds to continue to build on its tech infrastructure and expand its product offerings, it said in a statement.
Mintifi said it has grown four-fold year-on-year with annualised purchases financed touching $300 million, which is expected to cross $1 billion by 2023.
Reliance invests $40M in Altigreen along with 4 Venture Capital Funds
Reliance Industries’ arm Reliance New Energy Limited along with Sixth Sense Ventures has invested $40 million in EV manufacturer Altigreen. This investment is in line with Reliance’s strategic intent of collaborating with innovative companies in new energy and new mobility ecosystem.
The Series A round also saw pariticipation from Xponentia Capital, Accurant International, USA and Momentum Venture Capital, Singapore.
The funds will be used to launch new products including Light commercial vehicles (LCVs), ramp up production capabilities, accelerate R&D, fast-paced EV adoption and develop a robust Pan-India network to offer cleanest last-mile transportation solutions in India, the startup said in a statement.
Airmeet secures $35M Series B from Prosus Ventures, Sistema, Sequoia India & others
Event-led engagement platform Airmeet has bagged $35M in Series B funding led by Prosus Ventures, Sistema Asia Fund, RingCentral Ventures, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, DG Daiwa Ventures and Nexxus Global.
Existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Accel India also pitched in the funding round.
According to the company, fresh funds raised will be used for expanding into international markets.
The company also plans to invest heavily in R&D, and scaling its GTM function. The startup will also be focusing on strategic activities that will bring more visibility to the brand and its offerings in the international market, it added.
Binny Bansal invests $25M in xto10x Technologies
xto10x Technologies, a scaling platform for growth-stage startups, has raised $25 million in its
Series A round led by former Flipkart CEO and Co-founder Binny Bansal. The round also saw participation from 28 founders and senior leaders from the startup ecosystem in India and Southeast Asia.
The funds raised will be primarily utilised to ramp up three core activities – learning programs, software tools and operating capabilities – which will enable growth-stage startups to accelerate their scale-up journeys, the firm said in a statement.
“Doing deep operating work with startups and converting that experience into software tools and learning curriculum have helped us build strong momentum, driving 4X growth in the past year. In fact, xto10x is already a profitable company,” added Saikiran Krishnamurthy, Co-founder, xto10x Technologies.
Fintech startup Karbon Card bags $15M in Series A round
Fintech platform Karbon Card has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Olive Tree Capital, Harmony and Avenir Growth Capital.
Existing investors Ramp, Mercury and Orios Venture Partners also participated in the funding round. The new investment comes in less than four months of the company raising a Pre-Series A of $12 million in September last year. Karbon has raised $32 million in funding till date.
The startup, which counts Y Combinator as it’s early backer said it will use funds to step up product development, hiring plans and operations as it transitions into a corporate Neobank this year.
SaaS player Oloid bags $12M from Dell Technologies Capital
SaaS startup Oloid has raised $12 million in Series A funding round led by Dell Technologies Capital with participation from Honeywell Ventures, Okta Ventures and other previous investors.
The new funding brings Oloid’s total raised to $17 million. It will be used to help expand Oloid’s retrofit access control products portfolio and teams in
Bangalore and Silicon Valley, the firm said in a statement.
Oloid also intends to use the fresh funds to enhance its products and to pool in tech talent in India. The company is currently running a Beta program of its self-install product wherein the retrofit upgrades are being offered at no cost.
Mensa Brands invests $10M in RENEE Cosmetics
Beauty brand RENEE Cosmetics has raised $10 million in Series A funding round led by Mensa brands.
The round also witnessed participation from the existing investors including Equanimity and 9Unicorns. The company till date has raised a total of $11 million.
RENEE Cosmetics plans on utilising funds majorly in strengthening the brand presence and widening offline presence. Additionally, a part of the fund will also be leveraged for catalogue expansion and marketing budgets, it said in a statement.
Compliance automation startup Sprinto bags $10M from Elevation Capital, Accel & Blume Ventures
Sprinto, a compliance automation platform for SaaS companies, has bagged $10M in Series A funding led by Elevation Capital with participation from Accel, and Blume Ventures.
The funding will be used for team expansion across key functions and R&D to ensure long-term growth, the firm said in a statement. Sprinto will ramp up hiring and also open its first North American office, in Utah, by this quarter’s end.
Earlier, in January 2020, the company had raised $1.5M in seed funding from Blume Ventures. Sprinto is a compliance automation platform that helps SaaS companies obtain compliances, such as SOC 2, ISO27001, GDPR, HIPAA and more in a quick and hassle-free manner.
WealthTech platform Wealthy.in raises $7.5M from Alpha Wave & others
WealthTech platform Wealthy.in has secured raised $7.5 million in Series A round of funding led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI). AWI is backed by ADQ’s venture platform, and managed by Alpha Wave Global (formerly known as Falcon Edge Capital).
New investor Savrola Group and existing investors Venture Highway, Good Capital & Emphasis Ventures also participated in the funding round.
With the latest round of funding, Wealthy.in plans to penetrate deeper into the Indian market as well as expand in international markets like the Middle East, it said.
Crypto investing Platform Mudrex bags $6.5M Pre-Series A
Y Combinator-backed crypto investing platform Mudrex, has raised $6.5 million in a pre-series A round from Arkam Ventures, Tribe Capital, and Bolt by QED Investors to make investing easy for the new wave of retail investors joining crypto.
The pre-series A round follows a $2.5 million seed funding led by Nexus Venture Partners, Village Global with participation from Kunal Shah, Anand Chandrashekharan, and Anjali Bansal.
The funding round will help Mudrex accelerate user acquisition, licensing and expand rapidly in geographies like India, the US, Europe and Latin America, it said in a statement.
Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma invest in plant-based meat startup Blue Tribe
In what promises to be a major boost for India’s emerging ‘smart protein’ market, actor Anushka Sharma and Indian cricketer Virat Kohli have invested an undisclosed amount in homegrown plant-based meat startup Blue Tribe.
Founded in 2019 by Sandeep Singh of Alkem Labs, Blue Tribe sells plant-based keema, sausages and momos etc., that allow consumers the indulgence of meat without having to sacrifice on taste.
Vocal advocates of plant-based meat products and passionate animal lovers, the celebrity couple have been advocates of vegetarianism for a while now and with this investment they are literally putting their money where their heart is!
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