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The third week of February, the Indian startup ecosystem witnessed a 34% decline in funding received in the second week of the month. Between February 14 and 19, the Indian startup ecosystem raised $984 Mn in funding across 34 deals, compared to $1.5 Bn mopped up last week across 50 deals.

Highest funding of this week was raised by conversational AI platform Uniphore. The startup’s $400 Mn round led by NEA, helped it become the country’s eighth unicorn this year at $2.5 Bn valuation. 

The busiest investor(s) of this week were Sequoia, India Quotient, and 9Unicorns who have  signed two deals each.

The Indian Startup Funding Deals Of The Week

Updates On Indian Startup IPOs

IPO-Bound Pharmeasy To Reconsider Its Valuation Amidst Market Volatility

Online pharmaceutical Pharmeasy which is heading for an IPO is considering to slash its valuation amidst the market volatility. The startup which had filed DRHP in November last year is eyeing to raise INR 6,250 Cr only through fresh issues. The startup was last valued at $5.5 Bn. 

FirstCry Ropes In Kotak and Morgan Stanley To Manage IPO

Supam Maheswari-led kids marketplace FirstCry which last week created a $100 Mn worth of ESOP pool has now roped in investment banks such as Morgan Stanley and Kotak Mahindra to manage its IPOs. Media reports claimed that in its road upto IPO, the startup will continue to add more bankers. 

Delhi HC Dismisses Zostel’s Plea Seeking OYO IPO Suspension & 7% Stake

In a major relief to IPO-bound hospitality startup OYO, the Delhi High Court has rejected Zostel’s appeal that sought IPO suspension amid its long-standing tussle.

The Delhi HC has claimed that the 7% equity was never awarded to Zostel and that the firm “has no fruit to protect its 7% but has the right to seek specific performance under the term sheet between the two companies”.

From The Startup Acquisition Desk

• Fitness unicorn Cult.fit has announced acquiring a majority stake in F2 Fun & Fitness India, which owns the Indian franchise of international gym chain Gold’s Gym. 
• Debt marketplace startup CredAvenue has acquired about 75% stake in digital collections startup Spocto for around INR 400 Cr. This marks the startup’s first acquisition. 
• Tech-enabled logistics and fulfilment startup Shiprocket has acquired a majority stake in supply chain management startup Glaucus. 
• D2C startup Mamaearth’s parent company, has acquired hair colour brand, BBLUNT, from Godrej Consumers. The deal has been pegged at around INR 134 Cr.
• The Nestery, a vertical marketplace for Indian parents has acquired Toy Academy for an undisclosed amount. 
• Ecommerce aggregator SustainKart has announced acquisition of FromVedas
• M2P Fintech, has signed definitive agreement to acquire BSG ITSOFT, a provider of Core banking solutions
• CollegeDekho, a college admissions and higher education services platform, has acquired GetMyUni in an all cash deal. 

Startup Funds This Week

• Early-stage venture capital (VC) fund 8i Ventures launched 8i Fund II — with a corpus of $50 Mn at the heels of $13 Mn 8i Fund I. According to reports, the VC, operated by GaragePrenuers Internet, will mark the first close of the second fund by April 2022.
• Ankit Kedia’s early-stage VC fund Capital A has announced the launch of ‘Evolve’, a $10 Mn (INR 75 Cr) cleantech fund aimed at furthering the electric vehicles (EV) ecosystem. The VC will back EV, EV batteries, battery technology, battery-as-a-service and battery charging startups.

Other Developments From The Indian Startup Ecosystem

• Edtech Unicorn LEAD has announced an ESOP monetisation scheme worth $3 Mn for its employees.
• Bengaluru-based fintech unicorn slice has announced its first ESOP buyback of INR 65 Cr ($8.6 Mn). 
• B2B supply chain enablement startup, Bizongo has completed its maiden Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) monetisation program.As part of the buyback program, as much as $3.7 Mn worth of ESOP was liquidated. 
• Hero Vired, the edtech firm of the Hero Group, has announced an ESOP monetisation scheme for its faculty. A total of 10 full-time faculties have collectively been granted ESOPs worth around INR 50 Lakhs.
• Axio Biosolutions has announced to have completed ESOP buyback worth $0.5 Mn