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The third week of May saw a slight uptick in funding after witnessing a major dip in funding in the second week. Between May 16 to 21, the Indian startups managed to raise $419 Mn across 26 deals. This is a 5.8% rise from $396 Mn, which the ecosystem managed to raise last week across 33 deals.

The week reported one of the biggest seed round worth $100 Mn in the Indian startup ecosystem. Lenskart’s thrasio style venture Neso Brands bagged the fresh capital infusion from marquee investors such as KKR, SoftBank, Alpha Wave Global, Temasek. 

The Indian Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

Indian Earphone Maker boAt Gets SEBI Nod For IPO

Aman Gupta-led profitable D2C earphone and electronic wearable manufacturers boAt has received approval from market regulator SEBI for its INR 2,000 Cr IPO. According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) of boAt, the startup is going to raise fresh issue of shares worth INR 900 Cr, and an offer-for-sale of up to INR 1,100 Cr. 

eMudhra Prepares For IPO, Sets Price Band

After getting approval on DRHP by SEBI, digital signature certificate provider eMudhra has filed its red herring prospectus which includes fresh issue shares worth INR 161 Cr. The offer also includes promoters and stakeholders of eMudhra selling 9.8 Mn shares in total. For its public listing, eMudhra has set the price brand at between INR 243-256. It is expected eMudhra is eyeing to raise upto INR 413.24 Cr through public market. 

From The Startup Acquisition Desk

• D2C skincare unicorn Mamaearth has acquired a majority stake in skincare brand Dr. Sheth’s at a valuation of INR 28 Cr. 
• Walmart-backed digital payments platform PhonePe is going to acquire two wealth management startups–WealthDesk and OpenQ for $75 Mn in aggregate.
• Energy tech startup ION Energy has sold its advanced electronics business unit Maxwell Energy Systems (MESPL) to automotive component manufacturer Endurance Technologies Limited for $40 Mn.
• Martech platform CleverTap will acquire San Francisco-based multi-channel customer engagement platform Leanplum for an undisclosed amount.
• Hustlers Hospitality has acquired majority stakes in the consulting firm My Cloud Kitchen to expedite its growth.
• OfBusiness has received the Competition Commission of India (CCI) nod to acquire a 100% stake in steel manufacturer SMW Ispat.

Startup Funds This Week

• Venture Capital firm Eight Roads Venture India announced its first dedicated healthtech and life sciences fund worth $250 Mn.
• Singapore-based venture capital (VC) firm Jungle Ventures has announced the closure of its Fund IV at $600 Mn.
• The Sindhi community in Ahmedabad has set up a venture capital fund worth INR 10 Cr to invest in startups by young entrepreneurs. It intends to increase the size of the fund to INR 100 Cr in the next 12 months. 
• Web3 gaming marketplace Tegro has announced a grant of $1 Mn for game developers. Tegro intend to grant upto $25K per gaming project. 
• Delhi NCR-based Pedalstart has launched an Internal Company Fund worth INR 2.5 Cr for early stage startups. 
• Global venture fund Sequoia Capital has decided to postpone the closure of its $2.8 Bn India and SEA fund.

Other Developments From The Indian Startup Ecosystem

• Paytm Mall sees exit of its early investors Alibaba and Ant Financials.
• Flipkart and Amazon are looking to acquire a minority stake in Mumbai-based diagnostics chain Metropolis Healthcare.
• Between Jan to 16th May, Indian startup employees have made $159 Mn through ESOP buybacks, Inc42 data shows.
• Additionally, global startup accelerator Y Combinator has issued a 10-point survival strategy to its startup founders on how to survive the global downturn.
• Kunal Shah led CRED has issued equity shares worth INR 60 Cr to two entities — Rise Global Capital LLC and SF Roofdeck MA LP.