The last week of June certainly came as a welcome relief for the Indian startup ecosystem with a sharp rise in venture capital (VC) funding after it had hit a new low in the previous week.
The 568% increase in venture capital this week was due to a higher number of deals, coupled with the presence of reasonably larger value deals, especially led by the $100 million fund raise of defence and aerospace tech startup by Raphe mPhibr.
The total funding for the last week of June was $374 million across 31 deals, as compared to $57 million in the previous week.
This is certainly a positive development for the Indian startup ecosystem, as this was the third-best week for the ecosystem so far this year, according to YS Research. Also, it breaks the pattern of VC funding hovering in the range of $100-200 million weekly since mid-March.
Also, during this week, the growth stage of funding saw the highest amount raised at $305 million, with early stage accounting for $65 million. Generally, it is the late-stage category that garners the highest amount.
However, this does not mean that the Indian startup ecosystem is out of the woods as the external environment continues to remain challenging. This sharp rise in funding may just be a positive aberration. Industry insiders hope that the momentum is maintained.
On the other hand, there are interesting developments from the ecosystem as more Indian startups are getting ready for the IPO route. Pine Labs and Wakefit have filed their papers for an IPO. This is a very welcome development, as only one startup has been listed this year, and it was Ather Energy.
Key transactions
D2C jewellery brand GIVA raised Rs 530 crore ($61.9 million) from Creaegis, Premji Invest, Epiq Capital, and Edelweiss Discovery Fund.
Tech startup Wiom raised $40 million from Bertelsmann India Investments, Accel, Prosus, Promaft Partners, and RTP Global.
EV startup EKA Mobility raised Rs 200 crore ($23.2 million approx.) from ENAM Holdings.
Battery swapping startup Battery Smart raised $21 million from Rising Tide Energy, ResponsAbility Asia Climate Fund, Acacia Inclusion Ltd, and Ecosystem Integrity Fund.
AI startup ShopOS raised $20 million 3STATE Ventures.
Ecommerce enablement platform GoKwik raised $13 million from RTP Global, Z47, Peak XV Partners and Think Investments.
Digital broking platform Sahi raised $10.5 million from Accel and Elevation Capital.
Deeptech startup Fabheads raised $10 million from Accel and Trifecta Capital.
Commercial interior design startup Flipspaces raised Rs 50 crore ($5.9 million approx.) from Asiana Fund.
