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SUMMARY
Between September 2 and 7, Indian startups collectively mopped up around $348 Mn in funding across 19 deals
Rapido’s fundraise, the traveltech sector became the funded sector with an investment of $204 Mn deals
Ather Energy is looking to file its DRHP with the SEBI next week for an INR 4,500 Cr IPO in a mix of a fresh issue and offer for sale (OFS)
The month of September started relatively in a high spirit as far as the startup funding is concerned. In the first week of the ongoing month, i.e., between September 2 and 7, Indian startups collectively managed to secure $348 Mn in funding across 19 deals, 25% lower than $466 Mn raised by 16 startups in the closing week of August.
The week further saw two mega deals with Drip Capital bagging $133 Mn, and Rapido finally announcing its massive $200 Mn funding from WestBridge Capital.
Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [ Sept 2– Sept 7 ]
| Date | Name | Sector | Subsector | Business Model | Funding Round Size | Funding Round Type | Investors | Lead Investor |
| 5 Sep 2024 | Rapido | Travel Tech | Transport Tech | B2C | $200 Mn | Series E | WestBridge Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, Think Investments, Invus Opportunities | WestBridge Capital |
| 5 Sep 2024 | Drip Capital | Fintech | Lending Tech | B2B | $113 Mn | – | GMO Payment Gateway, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, International Financing Corporation IFC, East West Bank | – |
| 4 Sep 2024 | JUSTO Realfintech | Real Estate Tech | Real Estate Services | B2B | $7 Mn | – | Arbour Investments | Arbour Investments |
| 2 Sep 2024 | Nutrabay | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $5 Mn | pre-Series A | RPSG Capital Ventures, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers | RPSG Capital Ventures |
| 4 Sep 2024 | The Hosteller | Travel Tech | Accommodation | B2C | $4 Mn | – | V Cube Ventures SA, LV Angel Fund, Unit E Consulting LLP | V Cube Ventures SA |
| 5 Sep 2024 | RecommerceX | Cleantech | Waste Management | B2B-B2C | $3.6 Mn | Seed | Accel, Kae Capital | Accel, Kae Capital |
| 2 Sep 2024 | Global Care | Healthtech | Healthcare Services | B2C | $3 Mn | Series A | 35North India Discovery Fund – II | 35North India Discovery Fund – II |
| 3 Sep 2024 | BigEndian Semiconductor | Deeptech | IoT & Hardware | B2B | $3 Mn | Seed | Vertex Ventures SEA & India | Vertex Ventures SEA & India |
| 3 Sep 2024 | Theater | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $3 Mn | pre-Series A | Prath Ventures | Prath Ventures |
| 4 Sep 2024 | Invest4Edu | Fintech | Investment Tech | B2C | $3 Mn | Seed | – | – |
| 4 Sep 2024 | Boson Whitewater | Cleantech | Water Tech | B2B | $1.1 Mn | – | Rainmatter | Rainmatter |
| 4 Sep 2024 | TruNativ | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $1.1 Mn | – | Rainmatter | Rainmatter |
| 4 Sept 2024 | Valyx | Fintech | Payments | B2B | $800K | Seed | Huddle Ventures, Waveform Ventures, Bharat Founders Fund, Propell Fund | Huddle Ventures, Waveform Ventures |
| 4 Sept 2024 | Slikk | Ecommerce | B2C Ecommerce | B2C | $300K | Seed | Better Capital, Untitiledxyz Ventures | Better Capital |
| 3 Sep 2024 | BiUP Technologies | Enterpristech | Horizontal SaaS | B2B | – | – | CarDekho | CarDekho |
| 4 Sep 2024 | 0xPPL | Media & Entertainment | Social Media & Chat | B2C | – | – | Peak XV Partners, AllianceDAO, Anagram, Balaji Srinivasan, Sandeep Nailwal, Anatoly Yakovenko, Raj Gokal | Peak XV Partners, AllianceDAO, Anagram |
| 3 Sep 2024 | Plan B | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | – | Seed | JIIF, Ah! Ventures | |
| 3 Sept 2024 | ReCircle | Cleantech | Waste Management | B2B-B2C | – | Seed | Venture Catalysts, Mumbai Angels | |
| 6 Sept 2024 | Mechanic Pro | Consumer Services | Hyperlocal Services | B2C | – | Seed | Naveen Kumar Telkani & Family | |
| Source: Inc42 *Part of a larger round Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included |
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Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week
- Bike taxi startup and now a cab aggregator Rapido entered the unicorn club with $200 Mn from WestBridge Capital.
- Fuelled by Rapido’s fundraise, the traveltech sector became the funded sector with an investment of $204 Mn deals
- In terms of number of deals, the ecommerce sector bagged the most with five deals, raking $9.4 Mn
- The seed funding soared to $10.7Mn this week across eight deals, an over 200% higher than $3.05 Mn reported last week.
Other Major Developments Of The Week
- Alternative credit provider Blacksoil Capital and impact investment lender Caspian Debt have got unanimous approval from their boards of directors to merge via a share swap agreement.
- Ather Energy is looking to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) next week for an INR 4,500 Cr IPO in a mix of a fresh issue and offer for sale (OFS).
- Mumbai-based venture debt firm VentureSoul Partners has marked the first close of its INR 600 Cr maiden fund, raising INR 146.5 Cr ($17.4 Mn).
- Mumbai-based lendingtech startup SarvaGram is reportedly in discussions to raise a fresh funding of around $50 Mn from both new and existing investors.
- OfBusiness has begun preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) of up to $1 Bn and is close to finalising the bankers for its public listing in the second half of 2025.
- LetsVenture has launched LV Debt, a marketplace designed to educate founders and offer debt financing tailored to the specific requirements of startups.
- Money View is looking to raise INR 250 Cr (around $29.8 Mn) from unidentified investors through private placement of non-convertible debentures (NCDs).
- Hindustan Composites said it has signed a share purchase agreement to acquire a stake in IPO-bound foodtech major Swiggy for INR 5.175 Cr.
