The month of May has started off on a good note for Indian startups in terms of venture capital inflow- whilst the external environment remains uncertain with central banks across raising interest rates and stock markets.
Funding for the first week of May came to $532 million across 26 deals. This is over 100% more than the funding in the prior week, which was $262 million from only 14 deals.
Top deals of the week
Bodhi Tree announces $600M investment, strategic partnership with ALLEN Career Institute
Bodhi Tree Systems has announced a $600 million investment and strategic partnership with 34-year old education company ALLEN Career Institute, based out of Kota, Rajasthan.
The announcement comes days after a similar release indicating Bodhi Tree’s $1.78 billion investment in Reliance Viacom18.
Talking about the deal, Maheshwari said, “We have helped create hundreds of thousands of doctors and engineers, who contribute to building India and the society of today. Our partnership with Bodhi Tree is an essential ingredient in furthering our mission to significantly increase ALLEN’s reach and impact.”
Dental tech brand toothsi snags $40 mn in Series C from Eight Roads, IIFL, others
AMPA Orthodontics Pvt Ltd, which operates tech-infused dental care brand toothsi said Monday it has raised $40 million in a Series C funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures, South Korean company Paramark, IIFL, and the family office of Medlife co-founders.
Arpi Mehta Shah, co-founder and CEO, toothsi, said in the statement that the startup will use the fresh capital to boost its geographical and category expansion.
Zepto raises $200M in Series D led by Y Combinator Community Fund to expand beyond metros
Quick commerce startup Zepto raised $200 million in a Series D round led by the Y Combinator Continuity Fund, which had also led its last funding round less than three months ago.
In the next few months, Zepto wants to enter at least 10 new locations outside of the metros. “We are looking pretty good with the expansion plan, and we are opening a new dark store almost every 48 hours,” Aadit Palicha, Co-founder and CEO, Zepto,
Fintech startup Open becomes India’s 100th unicorn, raises $50M in Series D led by IIFL
SME-focused neobanking platform Open on Monday announced $50 million in its Series D round from IIFL, along with existing investors Temasek Holdings, Tiger Global Management, and 3one4 Capital.
The fintech platform will use the fund to accelerate its existing product lines — Zwitch (embedded finance platform) and BankingStack (enterprise banking solution for banks), to drive global expansion, and reach over five million customers within the next year.
Open will also use the capital to strengthen its leadership team and increase its employee base from 500 to 1000 within the year.
Women Focussed Social Commerce Platform Frendy closes Series A round at Rs $3 Mn
Ahmedabad-based social commerce platform, Frendy has raised $3 Mn in an extended Series A funding round. The round saw participation from an existing investor, the Desai Family office and new investors including Let’s Venture Angel Fund and Centera Fund UK.
The startup claims to have expanded in stealth mode to more than 25 cities in India with over 4,500 products. It has recently entered Rajasthan and is aiming to venture into Madhya Pradesh in the future.
Broadband player Excitel raises $11.5M equity from existing and new EU investors
Fibre broadband network Excitel has raised $11.5 million in equity from existing and new tech investors based out of Europe.
Excitel will use the funds to expand to 100 cities, including Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, by the end of 2022. The firm also aims to increase its user base to 10 million from its current 0.7 million in the same time period.
The broadband player will also hire people across operations and technology to develop their technology stack and foray into newer markets.
SaaS startup Toplyne raises $15M led by Tiger, Sequoia
San Francisco and Bengaluru-based SaaS platform Toplyne has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Tiger Global Management and Sequoia Capital India, with participation from existing investors Together Fund, Sequoia India’s Surge, and angel investors from Canva, Vercel , and Zoominfo.
In a statement, the startup announced that it will use the funding to aggressively deliver on the product roadmap, and scale the data science, engineering, product, and design teams.
GenWorks secures Rs 135 crore funding in the latest round
Healthcare company, GenWorks, has secured a second round of funding to the tune of Rs 135 crore. The consortium of investors who participated in this round were Somerset Indus Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley through its funding arm Grand Vista, Evolvence & Wipro GE.
GenWorks aims to double revenues in FY 23 and the funding will be leveraged to cover working capital needs, relevant M&A to invest in manufacturing partnerships, and expansion in the area of in-vitro diagnostics. In addition, the freshly infused funds would be deployed towards building “Human Capital” to enable the growth and build “Platform Participation.”
HDFC Capital invests Rs 400 cr in realty developer Signature Global
Affordable housing developer Signature Global has raised Rs 400 crore from existing investor HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 3 (H-CARE 3), a fund managed by HDFC Capital.
The funding will be used for land acquisition and project development in Haryana. Signature Global said it has robust plans to create affordable homes and community spaces in the coming years.
Tech startup Bizzo raises $2 Mn
Tech startup Bizzo has raised $2 million led by an ICICI Bank-led group of investors, and Orios Venture Partners.
The Mumbai-based startup plans to use the fresh capital to help its users scale and organise their businesses.
Founded in 2021, Bizzo helps its users to create their own customized booking portal. It lets users create a digital catalogue of their services and link pricing and availability.
