How Did Indian Startup Funding Surge to $364 Million This Week?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- 30 Indian startups raised $363.9 million this week.
- Growth and late-stage funding dominated with over $300 million.
- MoEngage was the largest funding recipient, securing $180 million.
- Bengaluru led in funding activity with 15 deals.
- Investors showed strong interest in sectors like e-commerce and spacetech.
New Delhi, Dec 21 (NationPress) This week, Indian startups experienced a remarkable surge in funding, with 30 companies collectively securing $363.9 million through various early-stage and growth-stage investments.
This represents a significant increase from the prior week, when only 22 startups raised approximately $137.68 million.
Notably, growth and late-stage funding were the main drivers, surpassing the $300 million threshold through just nine transactions.
The largest funding round was led by customer engagement platform MoEngage, which attracted an impressive $180 million as part of its Series F round from ChrysCapital, Dragon Funds, and Schroders Capital.
Following MoEngage, spacetech firm Digantara raised $50 million.
Other significant raises included electric commercial vehicle company Qucev with $15 million and stock market education platform StockGro with $13 million.
Additional startups like WorkIndia, Oben Electric, Tagbin, Virohan, and Ace Turtle also secured funding this week.
Early-stage companies raised around $62.4 million across 20 deals. Haircare brand Moxie Beauty raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.
Shapewear brand Underneat secured $6 million in a pre-Series A funding led by Fireside Ventures.
Other startups that raised capital included Sisir Radar, Alimento Agro, Elementoz, and Rotoris.
Luxury jewelry startup QWEEN received funding from Bollywood stars Aamir Khan and Ranbir Kapoor, though the investment amount remains undisclosed.
On a geographical note, Bengaluru led with 15 deals, followed by Delhi-NCR with six deals.
Startups in Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, and Kolkata also closed funding deals this week.
Sector-wise, e-commerce startups topped the list with seven deals, followed by biotech firms with three deals.
Startups in AI, spacetech, electric vehicles, edtech, and SaaS also garnered considerable investor interest.
In terms of deal stages, Series A, Series B, and seed rounds each recorded six deals. Pre-Series A and pre-seed rounds saw three deals each, while Series F and pre-Series B rounds also saw activity.
Over the past eight weeks, the average weekly funding stands at approximately $308.14 million across about 25 transactions.