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The second week of October saw a relative bounce back in venture capital (VC) funding into Indian startups, with debt transactions offering the much-needed lift.

The total VC funding for the week amounted to $232 million, cutting across 29 deals. In contrast, the previous week saw total funding of just $91 million.

However, this rise in VC funding is not a cause for celebration as the upswing was due to a single large debt transaction. The majority of non-debt deals—ie equity transactions—came from the early-stage segment lower in value.

This indicates that the Indian startup ecosystem continues to face challenges in terms of raising funding. There has actually been an uneven flow of VC funding into Indian startups over the last three weeks, which does not espouse any confidence in a steady recovery in VC inflow.

At the same time, the Indian startup ecosystem continues to see other positive developments. Mobility startup Rapido is likely to see an investment from Prosus. Logistics startup BlackBuck has reduced its losses for FY24.

The week also saw the tragic passing away of Tata Sons Emeritus Chairman Ratan Tata, who was one of the biggest supporters of Indian startups, and he will be dearly missed as a guiding light for emerging entrepreneurs.

Key transactions

Agri-finance startup Samunnati raised Rs 1,123 crore ($133.5 million) in debt funding from a group of lenders.

Robotics startup Haber Nets raised $38 million from Creaegis, Accel, and BEENEXT Capital.

Millennium Babycares raised Rs 122 crore ($14.5 million) led by Bharat Value Fund.

UrjaMobility raised Rs 100 crore ($12 million) from Mufin Green Finance and Hindon Mercantile Limited.

Vacuum and process solutions player Economy Process Solutions raised Rs 100 crore ($12 million) from Stakeboat Capital Fund II.

Space tech startup XDLINX Space Labs raised $7 million from Ashish Kacholia of Lucky Investments, E2MC, and Mana Ventures.

Dental care startup Dezy raised $6 million from Alphawave, Chiratae Ventures, and Peak XV’s Surge.

BioPrime raised $6 million from Edaphon, Omnivore, and Inflexor.