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The first week of February, or well known as the Budget week started with a slump in startup funding. After a stellar start in January, the first week of February saw $563 Mn in funding across 32 deals between January 31, 2022 and February 5, 2022. 

This is almost a 237% drop from $1.9 Bn that Indian startups raised last week across 67 deals. The week has seen no rise of a new unicorn. 

Highest funding of this week was led by subscription-based startup Chargebee. The startup raised $250 Mn from Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Sapphire, Steadview Capital, among others, doubling its valuation to $3.5 Bn. 

The Indian Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

Logistics Startup Ecom Express To Raise INR 4,860 Cr Via IPO

IPO-bound logistics startup Ecom Express which is heading for an initial public offering has finalised its IPO offer. The Delhi-based logistics startup will be issuing a fresh issue size worth of INR 2,160 Cr. The startup’s offer will also include offer-for-sale worth INR 2,700 Cr by existing shareholders.

The board of Ecom Express in a meeting held on December 9, 2021 has further finalised that the startup in consultation with BRLMS (Book Running Lead Manager(s)) may decide to raise a Pre-IPO place round aggregating to INR 360 Cr. 

However, it’s unclear who all will be offloading their shares as part of the IPO. 

Naaptol To Head For INR 1,000 Cr IPO

Naaptol Online Shopping, which operates the teleshopping and ecommerce platform Naaptol, is planning for INR 1000 Cr initial public offering (IPO), according to media reports.

From The Startup Acquisition Desk

• Enterprisetech startup Gupshup acquired cloud-based telephony startup Knowlarity for an undisclosed amount
• Healthtech startup Fitpage acquired race registration platform India Running for an undisclosed round
• Blume Global announced its acquisition of Livesource, a multi-enterprise supply chain business network
• D2C brand aggregator acquired home gardening brand Truphe

Startup Funds This Week

• Anicut Capital raised INR 140 Cr ($19 Mn) from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for its second debt fund
• The government has allocated INR 1,000 Cr for the Fund of Funds for Startups in the Budget 2022, which is lower than the revised estimate of about INR 1,330 Cr for the year 2021-22 
• Indian Institute of Management Udaipur launched a student-managed Impact Investment Fund (IIF) focusing on investing in early-stage projects or startups that create a social and environmental impact on society

Other Developments From The Indian Startup Ecosystem

• FarEye has announced liquidation for Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) holders worth USD 1.22 Mn via buyback
• A week after receiving investment from Google, telecom major Bharti Airtel has announced an agreement to acquire approximately 25% equity stake in Bengaluru-based enterprise network technology startup, Lavelle Networks.