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After raising close to a billion dollar funding in the first week of FY23, the funding in the startup ecosystem has dropped significantly in the second week of April. Between April 11 and 16, Indian startup ecosystem managed to raise $532 Mn across 28 deals. This is almost a 44% drop from $954 Mn, Indian startups raised last week across 33 deals.

The week also produced no unicorn. Sequoia Capital was the busiest investor this week, as it was involved in three deals.

The Indian Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

Healthtech Startup Portea Medical To Go For INR 1,000 Cr IPO

Bengaluru-based healthtech startup Portea Medical is likely to raise about INR 900-1,000 Cr through an initial public offering (IPO). For this, the healthtech startup may file the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI next month.

DRHP, a legal preliminary prospectus, serves as an important communication link between the company, its investors and stakeholders.

FirstCry Eyeing To File $700 Mn IPO This Month

Supam Maheswari-led omnichannel baby & kids marketplace FirstCry can raise about $700 Mn through an initial public offering (IPO) that it may file this month. Further, its consolidated total revenue soared to INR 1,740 Cr, a 141.3% rise from INR 896.7 Cr it generated during the same period in the previous financial year.

From The Startup Acquisition Desk

• Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola completed acquisition of neo-bank Avail Finance
• IPO-bound Pine Labs picked up majority stake in Mosambee
• Conversational automation unicorn Uniphore acquired Colabo, an AI-powered knowledge automation solution provider
• Ultrahuman acquired consumer-focused wearable brand LazyCo for creating Aina ring wearable

Startup Funds This Week

• The Delhi University (DU) would be setting up two not-for-profit companies to seek funds from its alumni and to promote innovation. The university has asked for a loan from Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA), the vice chancellor said. Its executive council last month had approved a loan of more than INR 1,000 Cr from HEFA for infrastructure development and the creation of capital assets
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending startup LenDenClub launched a corporate venture capital fund named LenDenClub Alpha, focused on seed and Pre-Series stage fintech startups.
• Early-stage venture capital fund Arkam Ventures completed the final closure of its maiden fund at $106 Mn (INR 790 Cr). The fund was oversubscribed at INR 790 Cr against its original target of INR 650 Cr.  

Other Developments From The Indian Startup Ecosystem

• B2B fashion marketplace Zilingo, reportedly suspended its cofounder and chief executive officer Ankiti Bose amid an internal investigation into the company’s accounting practices and financials
• After Singapore High Court dismissed appeals filed by Affle, challenging the acquisition of Indus OS by Flipkart-owned PhonePe, all the parties involved have reached an out-of-court agreement to settle the dispute. PhonePe, which is one of the largest stakeholders in Indus OS, will now acquire it
• Flipkart’s Singapore entity invested $116 Mn in fashion retailer Myntra, according to the regulatory filings made by the company
• Flipkart-owned digital payments platform PhonePe received close to $297 Mn from its Singapore-based parent entity.