The start-up funding sustained momentum in the latest week, although the fund raising at $150 Million was sharply lower than the previous week. The good thing about this week was that there were several big ticket deals of $20 Million and above. Also, the $111 Million raised by Flipkart Internet is not included in this list as it was raised from its parent. What is material is that in 7 out of the last 8 weeks, the start-ups raised more than $100 Million per week. In the 5 weeks prior to the current week, the start-up collections were to the tune of $381 Million, $ 110 Million, $125 Million, $168 Million, and $48 Million. In the latest week to March 08, 2024, start-ups raised $150 Million (excluding $111 Million by Flipkart Internet) across 17 start-up deals. The latest week is affirmation of a robust India start-up ecosystem.
The number of deals in the latest week stood at 17 deals; compared with 27 deals, 15 deals, 18 deals, 25 deals, and 8 deals respectively in the 5 weeks prior to that. That is indicative of a slew of big-ticket deals in the vicinity of over $15-20 Million on an average. Compared to the average of the last 5 weeks, the start-up funding in the latest week was -9.64% lower. On a month-on-month (MOM) basis the start-up collections were -60.63% lower, excluding the Flipkart Internet $111 Million fund raising. Here is the 6-week start up story of India Inc.
| Funding Week | Start-up funding raised |
| Week ending February 02, 2024 | $48 Million |
| Week ending February 09, 2024 | $168 Million |
| Week ending February 16, 2024 | $125 Million |
| Week ending February 23, 2024 | $110 Million |
| Week ending March 01, 2024 | $381 Million |
| Average of previous 5 weeks | $166 Million |
| Week ending March 08, 2024 | $150 Million |
The start-up funding for the latest week ended March 08, 2024 was sharply lower on a month-on-month basis; and marginally lower than the average of the previous five weeks. This fall can be attributed to the previous being an exceptionally strong week and also because the $111 Million funding of Flipkart Internet not being included in the calculation due to the funding being raised from its own parent company.
Flipkart raises $111 Million from related Singapore based entities
Flipkart, which is owned by US retailing giant, Wal-Mart, has just raised $111 Million from related entities in Singapore. The company has approved two resolutions for infusion of capital and this is on the lines of the recent infusion that Amazon Seller Services also received from its parent. However, this fund raising by Flipkart Internet has not been included in the start-up funding calculations for the week since it is fund raising from the parent. This data has only been provided for the sake of completeness
The infusion of $111 Million (₹924 Crore) values Flipkart at close to $33 Billion, which is at a marginal premium of 5% to 10% over the last known valuation. Flipkart required a total infusion of $1 Billion, of which the parent Wal-Mart has committed to provide $600 Million, while the rest would be raised from other investors.
Safari, the leading luggage brand raises $27 Million from Lighthouse Fund
One of India’s popular luggage brands, Safari, has bagged $27 Million (₹229 Crore) from Lighthouse Fund. Just in the previous week, another luggage company (Mokobara) had also raised funding of $12 Million from Peak XV. This latest round marks the second round of funding by Lighthouse Fund in Safari. The company is not only betting on the growth in Indian travel, but also the fact that the Indian luggage industry has shown strong signs of becoming formalized and also more organized. This is generally more conducive to fund raising and also to standalone valuations of such start-ups.
Ayurveda Experience gets $27 Million to deepen its brand presence
The Ayurveda Experience was founded in the year 2010 as a direct to consumer (D2C) brand to sell ayurvedic beauty products such as hair oils, moisturisers, lotions, creams, and scrubs to an Indian buyer set that is increasingly become conscious of the use of artificial chemicals. The funding round was led by Jungle Ventures with participation from SIDBI Ventures, Anicut Capital and the Mariwala Family Office (promoters of Marico). The Ayurveda Experience will sue the fresh funds to deepen brand presence, improve upon its customer engagement and customer experience; as well as to ramp up product R&D.
The fund raising of $27 Million (₹223 Crore) was part of a Series-C funding round of funding. As the company asserted, the fund would be deployed to further fortify the group’s R&D, supply chain and manufacturing strength. The company will also use the funds to explore and scale newer avenues for distribution. The Ayurveda Experience offers a full suite of ayurvedic offerings on its platform; including hair oils, moisturisers, lotions, creams, and scrubs. To boost its sales, the company also offers a range of services like consultations, content, webinars, and elaborate courses on ayurveda.
IDFY, the fraud detection start-up, raises $27 Million for expansion
IDFY, floated by Ashok Hariharan and Vineet Jawa, in the year 2011 is an artificial intelligence (AI) driven platform empowering businesses to eliminate fraud at source. The company currently has 1500 clients across a gamut of sectors like BFSI, FMCG, ecommerce, gaming, sharing economy, and conglomerates. The company has claimed to run more than 60 Million verifications each month. The funding was led by Elev8, out of its maiden $200 Million fund announced in the year 2022.
The total fund raising of $27 Million (₹224 Crore) is part of a Series-E funding led by Elev8, with participation from KB Investment and Tenacity Ventures. For IDFY, the fund infusion will help them fuel expansion plans and product development, which will unlock several opportunities for the business. IDFY has a core business model that helps users and clients to authenticate and validate individual profiles using predictive analytics. This includes background verification, customer insights and end-to-end HR intelligence for recruitment.
Hunch, the social media platform, raises $23 Million for business expansion
Social media platform, Hunch, has just raised $23 Million (₹190 Crore) from Alpha Wave with participation from Hashed Emergent and others. The social media platform will use the fresh funds to expand the footprint of the social media platform in India. The funds will also be applied to scale up operations and to enhance the tech stack. Hunch operates a polling platform that allows users to vote and interact with each other, in a platform that combines public opinion and social media interfacing.
Hunch was founded in the year 2022 by Ish Goel, Nitika Goel and Kartik Rakhra. Hunch is aggressively scaling its business across the US and India. This is a unique business model that operates in the emerging area of crowd-sourced intelligence, which is considered the in-thing in the Web3 and Web2 worlds. Structuring crowd intelligence is never easy due to its fluid nature and that is what makes the business model interesting.
Rozana bags $22.50 Million to expand logistics and warehousing
Rozana, the rural commerce start-up, has just raised $22.50 Million (₹186 Crore) to expand its warehousing and logistics network into new districts of India. Rozana was founded in 2021 by Ankur Dahiya, Adwait Vikram Singh, Mukesh Christopher and Prithvi Pal Singh. India’s ecommerce market is slated to touch $400 Billion by the year 2030 with rural commerce being a major driver. The fresh funding round was led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), with participation from Fireside Ventures, 3one4 Capital as well as from Vivek Gupta, the co-founder of Licious. Rozana will use the fresh capital to expand its logistics footprints, scale up technology stack and hiring across operating verticals.
Zetwerk raises $20 Million from Wheelhouse Venture Capital
Zetwerk, the B2B ecommerce start-up, has just raised $20 Million (₹166 Crore) from Wheelhouse Venture Capital, the investment arm of Indigo Airlines promoter Rakesh Gangwal. In exchange for the funding, Zetwerk will allot a total of 40,81,593 Series-F2 CPPS (compulsorily convertible preference shares) at an issue price of ₹407.39 per share. Zetwerk is a manufacturing services platform, which connects manufacturing companies with vendors and suppliers for customised products. The focus is largely on industrial machine components and related equipment. The funding will be use to bankroll the IT hardware foray of Zetwerk. It has already set aside ₹1,000 Crore to invest in electronics manufacturing and for EV components. It may be recollected that Zetwerk is already a unicorn (valued at over $1 Billion) based on its last Series-F funding round of $120 Million led by Avenir Growth Capital.
Educational Initiatives gets $20 Million from HCL Group
It was a secondary share sale wherein HCL group acquired part of the stake held by Gaja Capital in Educational Initiatives. HCL Group will pay $20 Million (₹166 Crore) for the stake in Educational Initiatives. Bengaluru based Educational Initiatives plans to expand into new markets like South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Saudi Arabia. The company currently operates out of India, UAE, South Africa, and Singapore. Educational Initiatives is looking at organic and inorganic growth opportunities.
Foxtale raises $14.4 Million to boost its D2C skincare play
Foxtale, founded in 2021 as a D2C skincare brand, has just raised $14.40 Million (₹119 Crore) as part of its product expansion. The funding round was led by Panthera Growth Partners and saw participation from existing investors like Matrix Partners India and Kae Capital. Foxtale had last raised $4 Million in a pre-Series-A funding round from Matrix Partners in the year 2022. Some of its popular skincare products include serums, masks, moisturisers, face washes, and sunscreens. Foxtale essentially sells these products through its own website, and also through online marketplaces as well as offline stores. Foxtale currently has presence in 1,050 offline retail stores and 50 modern trade chains with more than 5.50 Lakh customers.
Exly raises $6.20 Million to offer business management solutions
Exly, a business management solutions provider, has just raised $6.20 Million (₹51 Crore) to offer business management solutions to professionals, content creators, knowledge professionals, trainers, and coaches, wherein they can start, market, and manage their programs quite effectively and economically. Earlier, Exly had raised $1.80 Million in a seed funding round. The current funding round of $6.20 Million was led by Chiratae Ventures, with participation from Mayfield India and Venture Highway. Exly will use the fresh capital for product development, acquisition and help customers maximise their earnings potential.
abCoffee raises $3.40 Million in Series-A funding from Nexus Ventures
abCoffee, founded by IIT alumnus Abhijeet Anand in 2022, has just raised $3.40 Million (₹28.20 Crore) from Nexus Venture Partners with participation from Tanglin Venture Partners. abCoffee will use the funds to accelerate its supply chain and tech innovation aimed at offering on-demand coffee at lower price and less time. Currently, the products are sold through its outlets as well as via platforms like Swiggy and Zomato; apart from its own website. The start-up claims to have a loyalty rate of 61%, which is quite high, even by global standards. abCoffee competes against other players in the market like Sweet Karam Coffee, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, Rage Coffee, and Third Wave Coffee Roasters.
Few smaller start-up deals in the week
Apart from these big deals, there were also some smaller deals, which are captured as under.
Overall, the first 3 months of 2024 have seen some very positive action in terms of start-up funding. The good thing is that the ticket sizes expanding, which is indicative of long term interest in the Indian start-up ecosystem.
Related Tags
Invest wise with Expert advice
IIFL Customer Care Number
(Gold/NCD/NBFC/Insurance/NPS)
1860-267-3000 / 7039-050-000
IIFL Capital Services Support WhatsApp Number
+91 9892691696
Download The App Now
Follow us on
2025, IIFL Capital Services Ltd. All Rights Reserved
IIFL Capital Services Limited - Stock Broker SEBI Regn. No: INZ000164132, PMS SEBI Regn. No: INP000002213,IA SEBI Regn. No: INA000000623, SEBI RA Regn. No: INH000000248
ARN NO : 47791 (AMFI Registered Mutual Fund Distributor)
This Certificate Demonstrates That IIFL As An Organization Has Defined And Put In Place Best-Practice Information Security Processes.
