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Venture capital inflow into Indian startups has remained in the subdued territory as the challenging macroeconomic indicators continue to cast a shadow over the ecosystem.

Total venture funding for the third week of May stood at $128 million cutting across 17 deals. In comparison, the previous week saw an inflow of just $85 million. This uptick in funding is not a positive sign as the total amount still remains in the $100-150 million range.

The good news for the startups has been developments in foodtech. Zomato and Swiggy have posted upbeat numbers. Swiggy said it has turned operationally profitable while Zomato has considerably narrowed down this number.

Along the same lines but on a different note, the government has allowed BGMI (previously known as PubG), the popular mobile gaming app to restart its operations, which should serve as a boost for the entire segment.

However, the strains of reduced capital flow continue to show for startups. After a failed merger attempt with PhonePe, the founders of ZestMoney have left the organisation. This reveals the increased scrutiny on all kinds of transactions be it capital, M&A (mergers and acquisitions) and hiring.

Key transactions

Agilitas Sports, a sportswear and athleisure platform raised Rs 430 crore in funding led by Harsha Raghavan and other individual investors.

Nodwin Gaming, a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies raised $28 million from new and existing investors.

Gaming-focused streaming startup Rooter raised $16 million from Lightbox, Trifecta Capital, Pivot Ventures, Baldota Family Office, and Global Play Media.

XYXX, a lifestyle brand, has raised Rs 110 crore (approx $13.5 million) from Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund, Sauce.vc, Anicut Capital and DSG Consumer Partners.

Digital logistics platform Agraga raised Rs 70 crore ($8.4 million) from IvyCap Ventures Advisors Private Limited and Alteria Capital.

Sustainability platform StepChange raised over $4 million from BEENEXT and Global Founders Capital.