With companies across sectors raising a total of USD 176 million this week, it becomes a massive boost to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India. This infusion of funds into the system indicates increasing investor confidence in the dynamic nature of India’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Here is a breakup of major deals and the startups which led the charge.
PC: re:cap
Purplle: Powering Beauty E-Commerce
Holding the position of the first table this week is an online beauty and personal care products selling company, Purplle which has recently disclosed its new fund-raising of $50 million. It has always been one of the dominant companies; to occupy one of the leading positions in the field of beauty e-commerce, it applies information technologies to deliver diverse beauty products to consumers in India. From this new capital controlled by Purplle, the firm intends to expand on the technology base, expand the products available while further penetrating the Indian market. This round attracted most of the big-name investors which include Sequoia Capital India and Verlinvest.
This week we saw a startup in Clean Energy Solutions, Matter close USD 30 million. It is through it creating sustainable energy products to meet a growing market for green products. The money shall be used in an effort to meet the increasing demand and growth in market share as well as fund research and development for better production process by expanding the manufacturing capacity, marketing expenditure both locally and internationally. As with most funding rounds, this one included both current and new Strategic Investors.
HealthifyMe: Revolutionizing Health and Fitness
HealthifyMe, a health and wellness digital platform, has successfully closed its $25 million Series C funding round. The platform offers its users personalized diet and fitness plans with the power of artificial intelligence but also backed by a team of nutritionists and fitness coaches. The new capital would go toward further developing HealthifyMe’s AI, expansion of users, and taking the product to newer international markets. This round was led by LeapFrog Investments and joined by existing investors Chiratae Ventures and Sistema Asia Fund.
Infra.Market: Building the Future of Construction
Continuing with our weekly summary, this week, the B2B marketplace for the real estate and construction industry, Infra. Market, a closed $20 million in funding. The platform directly connects suppliers and buyers, and transforms all types of construction materials’ procurement into a smooth one-stop service. Through this fundraise, Infra. Market will also be a great opportunity to fund technological development of the platform, improvement of company’s products, and geographic expansion. This round involved some investors some of which include Tiger Global Management which led the round, Accel Partners, and Nexus Venture Partners among others.
Innovaccer: The data-powered transformation in healthcare
Innovaccer Inc. , a San Francisco based healthcare data analytics firm secured $15 million funding in its Series B round. The company allows the management of healthcare providers to use the analyzed information in the pursuit of better patient’s status and their own performance. More acquisitions will be used for the improvement of Innovaccer’s data analytics tool, establishing new products within the healthcare sector, and expanding the market for all of their services. Westbridge Capital for this round of funding. In this it also observed Lightspeed Venture Partners investing in it under the funding round category.
Spinny: Used Car Market 2.0
A used car startup, Spinny has raised $12 million in its Series A round of funding. The company gives an end-to-end online marketplace for buying and selling pre-owned cars with a promise of transparency and quality. With the new funding, Spinny looks at expanding the inventory, building robust technology, and gaining more marketing strength for increasing its market share. It was an Accel Partners-led round, with participation from Blume Ventures and SAIF Partners. Other Notable Deals Several other startups have also raised substantial funding this week, amounting to $176 million of the total volume raised. The entities include:
- Zomato, a food delivery and restaurant discovery platform that raised an undisclosed amount in a strategic purpose round aimed at ramping up its delivery network and padding-up technology stack.
- Unacademy: An ed-tech platform, which has raised $10 million for developing new educational content and expanding its reach across the country.
Confidence Growing Over Indian Startups
This massive funding that has been able to be raised by these startups is a showcase of growing investor confidence in the Indian startup ecosystem. This becomes the broader trend of huge inflows of capital into technology-driven companies solving critical needs in areas stretched from e-commerce, healthcare, education to clean energy.
Conclusion
The $176 million raised this week is proof that Indian startups are resilient and are innovative. Backed by robust business models, nimble technology, and sharp investment, it is quite probable that these companies are going to drive growth with an action-packed impact on the economy of India. These startups will continue to scale and expand, which could attract a great deal more of investment, thus further underpinning the position to stamp the country as one of the global startup hubs.
