PC: The Indian Wire
With 23 startups having raised approximately $152.49 million over the past week, March 24 to March 29, there was a dynamic flurry of activity in terms of funding and acquisitions in Indian startups. One that shows both the early innovation of the ecosystem and the maturation of it, is the funding landscape we saw this week.
However, while there were about $176.44 million raised in the previous week, the current period underwent a 13.57 percent dip in overall funding, a slight recalibration in market dynamics.
Funding Overview and Stage-wise Breakup
Fundings were spread over multiple stages. Among these five key deals, five occurred in the growth stage segment. The money generation began with the raising of $50 million in a Series D round for wealthtech startup Smallcase by Elev8 Venture Partners, leading the charge. Jindal stainless strategic move of acquiring 9.62% stake in M1xchange complements the growing merger of traditional industrial giants with fintech innovations. Besides, DCDC Kidney Care also received Rs 150 crore from ABC Impact, along with Agritech and Direct to Consumer (D2C) scene that saw notable funding rounds including a tea brand VAHDAM, which is one of the funded ventures.
On the early stage market as of October 2017, 17 startups raised a total of $54.09 million. One of the top initial rounds came from fintech startup Abound with a hefty $14 million. Following that were other big players such as NBFC startup Ecofy, a manufacturing firm in GreenFortune, a climate tech company in FluxGen and a D2C diamond jewellers in Firefly Diamonds. Additionally, edtech startup KollegeApply also managed to raise funds, although without specifying the exact amount, indicating capital allocation stratagem at early stage.
Geographic and Segment Distribution
Delhi-NCR emerged as the leading hub with eight funding deals, followed closely by Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Segment-wise, the fintech sector topped the charts with six deals, underscoring its critical role in the evolving digital financial landscape. E-commerce and healthtech sectors followed with five and three deals respectively. This geographical and sectoral spread illustrates a diversified investor interest across India’s major metropolitan centers and verticals, emphasizing the ecosystem’s resilience and breadth.
Key Leadership Moves and Strategic Partnerships
The week was not just about capital infusions; several companies also announced pivotal leadership changes and strategic partnerships. Delhivery made headlines by appointing Milind Sharma, co-founder of the former Peppertap, as its Head of Rapid Commerce and D2C Brands. Meanwhile, MaxIQ, a B2B SaaS firm, and Camb.Ai, an AI-driven enterprise, bolstered their teams with new CTO and Head of AI Business appointments respectively. Additionally, Times Internet onboarded former Razorpay executive Johney Maheshwari to steer its corporate development division.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Strategic Moves
M&A activities also featured prominently. B2B marketplace Jumbotail acquired Solv India from SC Ventures, and KRAFTON—the creator of Battlegrounds Mobile India—took control of Pune-based Nautilus Mobile for Rs 118 crore (roughly $13.7 million). In the SaaS domain, Chargebee expanded its portfolio by acquiring Trainn, an AI-first customer tracking platform, while JungleWorks integrated AI capabilities by acquiring Outplay. These strategic moves reflect a broader trend of consolidation aimed at leveraging complementary strengths and expanding market presence.
Additional Developments and Financial Results
Several interesting developments occurred beyond funding and M&A. Government launched a Rs 1,000 crore funding scheme so that startups in the space sector were not left behind, while venture capital firm NuVentures aimed to launch a $75 million fund focusing on startups with strong Indo-US ties. Additionally, Singularity AMC also launched its over subscribed second PE fund of Rs 1,800 crore (approximately $210 million). On parallel, AlgoBulls, VerSe, BharatPe, BattRE, Garuda Aerospace and Mindgate each reported key milestones, with the latter confirming operational robustness as well as market confidence.
All in all, the week’s funding and acquisitions narrative is a merrier, more fast paced ecosystem. Despite a drop compared to the previous week’s figure, the quality and strategic nature of investors and the investing, coupled with leadership changes and M&A deals, and targeted government initiatives suggest a strong and looking forward startup ecosystem in India.
