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April is ending with a significant dip in Indian startup funding. In the last week of April, the startup ecosystem managed to raise $309 Mn across 29 deals. This is an almost 42% drop from $532 Mn the ecosystem raised in the second and third week of the month. 

It has to be highlighted that the week saw just one mega-deal (more than $100 Mn in value).

The Indian Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

Ecommerce Unicorn FirstCry Converts Into Public Company

Ahead of its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), omnichannel baby & kids marketplace FirstCry has converted itself into a public company. 

According to FirstCry’s regulatory filing, the ecommerce unicorn’s board has passed a resolution to convert the entity from private to public. 

The startup has renamed itself as Brainbees Solutions Limited. It approved the reclassification and sub-division of equity and preference shares as well. 

From The Startup Acquisition Desk

• Fintech unicorn CredAvenue has acquired an 82% stake in SaaS startup Corpository through a combination of primary investment and secondary purchase from existing shareholders.
• AI-powered digital asset management startup Kristal.AI has acquired global investment platform Globalise.
• Sequoia-backed Wingreens Farms has acquired Bengaluru-based packaged food brand Postcard.
• Chennai-based data-as-a-service (DaaS) startup PipeCandy has been acquired by the US-based ecommerce software company Assembly for an undisclosed amount.

Startup Funds This Week

• Web3 and crypto-focused investor Amesten Capital has secured $9 Mn from family houses in the Middle East and Europe to set up a new fund to be focussed on gaming space, decentralised (DeFi) finance, and infrastructure. 
• Venturi Partners has fully closed its first consumer-focused fund at $175 Mn to back startups in India and Southeast Asia.
• Venture capital (VC) firm Chiratae Ventures is planning to raise $600 Mn to ramp up its investments in Indian technology startups.

Other Developments From The Indian Startup Ecosystem

• Fintech unicorn slice is in talks to raise $55 Mn from it existing investor Tiger Global, Insight Partners as part of a larger $150 Mn round at $1.8 Bn valuation
• Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings has announced an investment of $162.5 Mn in three funds managed by Sanjeev Bikhchandani-backed Info Edge.
• Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel has acquired a 7% stake in Mumbai-based cloud networking solutions provider Cnergee Technologies under Airtel Startup Accelerator Program for an undisclosed amount.