Funding Round-up this Week: April 28 to May 04

This week, around 28 Indian startups acquired nearly $340 million in funding. Among these deals were 9 expansion-stage deals and 12 initial-stage deals. Moreover, 7 initial-stage startup deals didn’t disclose their details, including vHub.ai, Culture Circle, Ellementry, Perceptyne, Neuro42, ShipEase, and StreamO. 

Last week, approximately 27 initial-stage startups together raised approximately $222.7 million in capital.

In terms of city-wise distribution, Bengaluru-based startups led with 9 deals, followed by Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Vadodara, Indore, Hyderabad, and others.

Segment-wise, e-commerce startups topped with 5 deals followed by fintech startups. The list further counts health tech, SaaS, agritech, EV, and gaming startups and others.

Seed funding deals dominated the list with 10 deals, while Pre-Series A, Series A, and Pre-Seed deals followed, In the Series B funding round 4 expansion stage startups raised funds for Pre-IPO, debt, and revenue financing deals.

Regarding the week-on-week funding trend, startup funding inclined by 53.21% to $341.5 million compared to the previous week's total of around $222.7 million. The funding average last 8 weeks stood at $245 million with 26 deals per week.

Kinara Capital raises funds this week

In the recent funding round, MSMEs Kinara Capital acquired $24.4 million as debt funding. Impact Investment Exchange, BlueOrchard led the deal. Overall, Kinara Capital has raised around $153 Mn in funding till date, excluding the latest debt funding.

Portea Medical secures funding this week 

Portea Medical acquired funding of $20 million via a rights issue. The capital raise comes amid its efforts to launch an initial public offering (IPO). According to Portea’s website, the firm has initiated services to over 1 million patients and conducts 700,000 patient visits annually. Additionally, it has collaborated with 63 leading hospitals.

Charge Zone acquires $19 million this week

Electric vehicle charging network Charge Zone secured funding in the recent funding round. It received $19 million in funding which was led by British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and impact investor. The funds will be utilized for a high-speed charging network for electric cars, buses, and trucks across key cities and highways in India.

Infinity Fincorp acquires an additional $8 million

Infinity Fincorp secured an additional issue of funds of $8 million this week. The deal was backed by Archerman Capital and aims to boost credit accessibility for micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses in tier III and IV cities and towns across India.

Confectionery startup Go Desi raises $5 million 

Bengaluru-based confectionery startup Go Desi raised $5 million in the latest funding round. It received funds as equity investment from Aavishkaar Capital. The fresh issue of funds will be utilized for geographical business expansion, enhancing the presence of stock-keeping units, and fortifying operational capacity. 

DaMENSCH raises $2.5 million this week 

D2C lifestyle brand DaMENSCH acquired $2.5 million in the latest funding round. This deal was led by Matrix Partners, Saama Capital, Whiteboard Capital, and A91 Emerging Fund.

Niqo Robotics acquires funding this week 

Bengaluru-based agritech robotics firm Niqo Robotics which was formerly known as TartanSense raised $9 million in a new round. The funding was led by Brida Innovation Ventures.

BRISKPE raises $5 million in seed funding 

Cross-border payments platform BRISKPE acquired $5 million in seed funding round. PayU led the deal. The company plans to strengthen its product and service offerings, build its team, and scale its reach to enable more Indian businesses to set off on their global journey with seamless cross-border payments.

Assert AI raises $4 million 

Computer vision SAAS company Assert AI raised a Series A funding round of $4 million. The deal was led by investors including Ramesh Hariharan (ex-CTO and Co-founder of LatentView), Prashant Purker (former MD & CEO of ICICI Venture), Arya.ag integrated grain commerce platform), and select individuals, the company said in a statement. 

Fixed income products platform Dexif secures $4 million

Fixed-income products platform Dexif secured $4 million in the latest funding round. The deal was closed by RTP Global and the company plans to enhance tech, attract talent, and expand operations.

Plotline, a no-code SaaS platform, raises funds this week

Plotline, a San Francisco and Bengaluru-based enterprise tech startup, has secured $2.6 million in seed funding. The deal was closed by venture capital firm Elevation Capital. The funds will facilitate strengthening research and development (R&D), marketing, and sales And lead to the company's expansion into international markets such as the US, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Food-agri start-up Fresh From Farm raises $2 million

Fresh From Farm a food-agri startup raised $2 million in its pre-Series A round in the latest funding round. The deal was led by Ashish Kacholia, founder of Lucky Investments. Inflection Point Ventures also participates in the round. The funds raised will facilitate the team expansion, tech enhancement, and the introduction of new product lines.

Reelo raises $1 million in the recent funding round

Reelo acquires $1 million in the latest Angel round. Till date, Reelo has raised a total funding of $1.27M over 2 rounds. The deal was closed by Ahmedabad-based investor Gokul Rajaram.

TalkEsport raises $1 million this week 

The media start-up TalkEsport bags a funding of $1 million in the recent funding round. To expand its global footprint the company issued fresh funds. The deal was led by Saswat Ventures.

Kyari a D2C platform raises fresh funds

The D2C platform of locally cultivated plants and planters Kyari raised INR 6.5 Cr funding in Pre-Series A led by Agra Gwalior Pathways and Airen Holdings. The round also saw participation from Amit Kumat, Rajesh Patel, Sawan Laddha, We founder circle, IVY League Ventures and JITO.

PointO secures funding of $62 million in funding 

Lithium Battery Ecosystem start-up PointO acquired funding of $ 62 million in the recent seed funding round. The deal was closed by Enquius InnovateX Fund. Aims to build a full-stack battery ecosystem encompassing the manufacturing, financing and servicing of lithium batteries.

Jaipur Watch Company raises funds from Klub in revenue-based financing

Jaipur Watch Company which was also seen in Shark Tank India S3 raised funds in the recent funding round. The total funding was $16 million and the deal was led by Klub in revenue-based financing. These funds would be utilised by the brand for marketing and other inventory-related activities to further elevate the positioning of Jaipur Watch Company in the luxury watches market.