Indian Startups Funded Recently

12 March 2024

We are delighted to bring the Newnex Fortnight India fundraising tracker for the thriving Indian venture capital ecosystem, produced in partnership with the Startup Europe India Network. In the past two weeks, Newnex Co-Investor Network has counted a total of over $340+ million in fundraising and deal-making activities in India.

Mokobara, the direct-to-consumer (D2C) luggage brand, has secured $12 million in its Series B funding round. Peak XV Partners, formerly known as Sequoia Capital India, led the funding, with participation from existing investors Sauce VC and Saama Capital.

Shadowfax, a leading logistics service provider catering to hyper-local and on-demand delivery businesses in India, has successfully raised $100 million in a recent funding round. TPG NewQuest took the lead in Shadowfax's Series E financing round, incorporating some secondary transactions. Notable existing supporters such as Flipkart, Mirae Asset Venture Investments, IFC, Nokia Growth Partners, Qualcomm, Eight Roads Ventures, and Trifecta Capital also joined in the latest funding initiative.

Mswipe Technologies has concluded a $20 million growth equity round, with Alpha Wave Global leading the investment and the involvement of existing investors. Having recently obtained a payment aggregator (PA) license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the digital payments company has amassed over $125 million in funding from prominent investors like Matrix Partners, B Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, Epiq Capital, UC-RNT, and Ola. The newly secured funds will play a crucial role in Mswipe's plans to enhance its merchant payment network, as well as bolster product development and technological infrastructure.

Digantara, a startup in the space technology sector, has secured $1.88 million in additional funding as part of an extended Series A round. The funding was led by Naman Finance And Investment Private Limited (NFAI), with participation from SIDBI Venture Capital.

IntrCity, the mobility platform that operates SmartBus and RailYatri, has secured an additional around $4.5 million in its Series C funding round. Mirabilis Investment Trust led this investment round, and it included contributions from existing investors such as Nandan Nilekani's family trust, Omidyar Network India, and Ujamaa Ventures based in the United States. The funds raised will be utilized by IntrCity to improve its product offerings, expand user acquisition efforts, and further develop services along its hub routes to cater to its expanding travellers base.

Zvolv, a prominent global hyper-automation company operating in India, the US, MEA, Australia, and New Zealand, has successfully raised ₹16 crore in funding. The funding round was led by Silverneedle Ventures, with participation from existing investors including JSW Ventures and others. Zvolv intends to utilize the newly acquired funds to expand and reinforce its extensive LCNC (Low Code No Code) Hyper-automation capabilities. The focus will involve integrating a trust-based generative AI layer into the next generation of enterprise AI applications.

CredAble, a fintech startup, has secured $10 million in a recent funding round from Equentia Natural Resources, based in Singapore.

Educational Initiatives (Ei), an education software company, has successfully raised approximately $20 million in a secondary funding round from the HCL Group. Additionally, as part of the transaction, the IT company will acquire a minority stake in the Bengaluru-based Educational Initiatives from the private equity firm Gaja Capital.

Exly, formerly known as MyScoot and a provider of business tools, has secured $6.2 million in a new funding round led by Chiratae Ventures. The round also saw participation from existing investors Mayfield India and Venture Highway. Exly's suite of offerings encompasses course builders, appointment schedulers, a marketing suite, as well as customer relationship management (CRM) and lead capturing conversion tools tailored for creators and solo-entrepreneurs.

Cardiotrack, a company specializing in data-centric healthcare screening technology and services delivered through health and life insurance providers, has successfully raised $2 million in a pre-series-A funding round. The funding was led by Girish Narasimhan and co-investor Y S Shashidhar. Notably, Cardiotrack had previously secured an angel investment of $1.6 million from a group of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNIs).

AI startup Dubpro.ai has secured $500,000 in its seed funding round, with Venture Catalysts leading the investment. Other participants in the round include Anicut Capital, 9Unicorns, JJFO, and FirstCheque.

Zactor Tech, a brand specializing in financial wellness and literacy, has successfully raised an undisclosed amount in its pre-seed funding round. The funding, co-led by High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs), places the company's valuation at $3 million. The raised funds are earmarked for product development, user acquisition, and initiatives related to financial literacy.

Proptech firm Bandhoo has secured $0.9 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Venture Catalysts. The funding round also saw participation from Neeraj Aggarwal, Manish Gupta, S Srinivasan, Amit Khera, and Abhishek Kumar. Notably, Bandhoo had previously raised $1.5 million in its seed round in June 2021, with contributions from Unitus, InfoEdge Ventures, and Bharat Innovation Fund.

Generative AI startup Ema has successfully raised $25 million in its inaugural funding round. The round was led by Accel, Section 32, and Prosus Ventures. Additional participants include Wipro Ventures, Venture Highway, AME Cloud Ventures, Frontier Ventures, Maum Group, and Firebolt Ventures. Noteworthy high-profile angels who joined the round comprise Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, and Snowflake chief executive Sridhar Ramaswamy.

Identity verification startup IDfy has secured $27 million in a combination of primary and secondary fundraising. Elev8, KB Investment, and Tenacity Ventures are among the contributors to this funding round.

Louisa AI, an AI-powered platform, has raised $5 million in seed funding to further develop its technology focused on systematizing "serendipity" in professional settings. Born from a concept at Goldman Sachs in 2018, Louisa AI utilizes network effects to facilitate business connections for sales and deal-making. The seed funding round garnered support from various investors, including Oxford University’s investment arms, early-stage venture capitalists such as Palm Drive VC, Evolution VC, Nucleus VC, Gaingels, and former Goldman Sachs partners, colleagues, clients, friends, and family offices.

Social media startup Hunch has successfully raised $23 million in a Series A funding round. The round was led by Alpha Wave and Hashed Emergent, based in South Korea.

Edtech start-up MyCaptain has secured ₹14 crore in funding from investors including Inflection Point Ventures, MyNavi, Piper Serica, Super Capital, and Ankur Capital. The company aims to expand its hybrid programs into various cities, establishing over four regional sales centres. Additionally, MyCaptain is planning to introduce new programs with a target of reaching a portfolio milestone of approximately 50 beginner courses and five placement readiness programs.

Contract manufacturing startup Zetwerk has secured $20 million in fresh investments from venture debt and private equity firm Wheelhouse Venture Capital. Notably, Rakesh Gangwal, the co-founder of Indigo Airlines, made the investment through the venture firm, Zetwerk.

The Ayurveda Experience (TAE), a direct-to-consumer company specializing in Ayurvedic beauty and health products, has raised $27 million in a funding round led by Singapore-based venture investment firm Jungle Ventures. The round also witnessed the participation of investors such as SIDBI Ventures, Anicut Capital, and Sharrp Ventures (a part of the Mariwala Family Office associated with consumer goods major Marico). In this funding, approximately $15 million was allocated as primary funding for the company, while the remaining funds were directed towards secondary share sales by existing shareholders.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) skincare firm Foxtale Consumer has secured approximately $14 million in fresh equity funding. The funding round was led by Singapore-based Panthera Growth Partners, with participation from the company's existing investors, Matrix Partners India, and Kae Capital.

PlanetSpark, an edtech platform based in Gurugram, has secured $17 million in an extended Series B funding round led by Prime Venture Partners through Seabright. Other participants in the round include InnoVen Capital, Alteria Capital, myPat, GGT3 Ventures, Ashish Gupta, and IAN Investors. The company's co-founders, Maneesh Dhooper and Kunal Malik, also made investments. 

abCoffee, a speciality coffee company with tech-enabled grab-and-go services, has successfully raised $3.4 million in its Series A funding round. Nexus Venture Partners led the investment, with additional participation from Tanglin Venture Partners, the company's existing investor. This funding follows a $2 million seed funding round secured in September of the previous year, with contributions from Tanglin, 100X VC, Panthera Peak, OTP Venture Partners, and various angel investors.

Bummer, a direct-to-consumer apparel company, has secured Rs 9.25 crore in a funding round, with leading participation from Gruhas' Collective Consumer Fund, backed by Nikhil Kamath. Fluid Ventures, a D2C-focused venture firm and an existing investor in Bummer, also took part in this funding round. The investment, made through fresh shares, will be entirely allocated to the company's growth and development.

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