Mergers, Acquisitions and Funding Round-up this week: October 21 to October 26

This week, 21 Indian start-ups raised around $187 million in funding. The deals include 4 growth-stage deals and 13 early-stage deals while 4 start-ups kept their transaction details undisclosed. On the contrary, last week, 39 early and growth-stage start-ups cumulatively raised around $450 million in funding.

Neysa raises $30 mn from NTTVC, Z47

Artificial intelligence (AI) acceleration Cloud system provider Neysa has secured $30 million in Series A funding.
This round was co-led by existing investors NTTVC, Z47, which was formerly known as Matrix Partners India and Nexus Venture Partners. The company aims to address the needs of emerging markets like India by offering purpose-built AI solutions tailored to organisations of all sizes.

Zouk raises $10 million by Aavishkaar Capital

Direct-to-commerce (D2C) fashion and lifestyle brand Zouk has raised $10 million by Aavishkaar Capital in a funding round. The round will also see the participation from existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners, Titan Capital Winners Fund, Sharrp Ventures, and the JJ Family. The funds will be used for expanding the network of exclusive brand outlets. 

Healthify raises $20 million by Khosla Ventures and LeapFrog Investments

Healthify, the health and wellness start-up has raised $20 million in a funding round led by Khosla Ventures and LeapFrog Investments, based in Bengaluru. The round also saw participation from Claypond Capital, the family office of Manipal Group chairman Ranjan Pai. The funds are likely to be used for global expansion, particularly in the US, and also for enhancing its AI capabilities.

Stellapps raises $26 million from multiple investors

Stellapps Technologies, the dairy technology startup, has raised $26 million in Series C funding through a combination of equity and debt from investors, including existing backers Blume Ventures, Omnivore, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, IDH Farmfit Fund, and Blue Ashva Capital. Miledeep Capital also joined as a new investor. The funding aims to support the growth of its ‘mooMark’ business, which focuses on contract manufacturing and private-label dairy products with a focus on high-quality, value-added offerings. This late-stage Series C investment round is also expected to help scale up operations.

COOX raises $125 K by Inflection Point Ventures

COOX, a platform for booking home services like professional chefs, domestic cooks, bartenders and more, has raised $125 K in a Seed Series Round led by Inflection Point Ventures. It aims to deploy the funds for city expansion, doubling its current footprint to 40 cities, while increasing marketing activities and integrating AI to fortify its technology and streamline operations.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Bizom acquired Rhythm 2., a Sales Route Optimiser, aiming to optimize sales efficiency and expand digital reach in Indian retail.
• Ixigo approved the acquisition of a majority stake in Zoop Web Services for Rs. 12.54 crore.

Other Updates 

• The Union Minister has approved the sum of Rs. 1,000 crore venture capital fund to support space sector start-ups.
• Zomato has launched an order scheduling feature after Swiggy did it a few days back.
• Swiggy Instamart to deliver PharmEasy’s medicines in under 10 minutes.
• ⁠US-based Mastercard opens one of its biggest tech centres in Pune, Maharashtra. 
• Swiggy has planned to list at a valuation of $11.3 billion for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) whereas the earlier plan was to list at a higher $15 billion valuation or above.