Page 24 - Fundings

From 350 in 2014 to 90K, Indian startups mushroom amid funding winter

Within a couple of years, India became the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, only behind the US and China

Funding for agrifoodtech startups declines 33% to $2.4 bn in 2022

Funding in Indian agrifoodtech startups declined 33 per cent during the last calendar year to USD 2.4 billion on higher base, according to AgFunder and Omnivore joint report. "Agrifoodtech startups in India raised a total of USD 2.4 billion in 2022, down 33 per cent from 2021. The number of deals also declined to 133 in 2022, compared to 230 deals in 2021," said India AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2023. The funding stood at USD 3.6 billion during the 2021 calendar year. "The agrifoodtech startup ecosystem in India mirrored the global slump in venture capital funding in 2022. Funding dropped 33 per cent to USD 2.4 billion in 2022, from USD 3.6 billion in 2021. Euphoric startup valuations, alongside easy money, drove investments to a record-breaking high in 2021, followed by a swift correction," the report said. Despite the fall, it noted that the sector is a critical emerging space in India for transforming agriculture and ensuring food security. As per the report, late-stage ...

AI platform Builder raises over $250 mn led by QIA in Series D funding

AI-powered software platform Builder.ai on Tuesday announced it has raised over $250 million in its Series D funding led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA)

Battery-tech startup EMO Energy raises $1.2 million in seed funding round

Battery-tech startup EMO Energy on Tuesday said it has raised USD 1.2 million (nearly Rs 10 crore) in a seed funding round led by Transition VC and co-led by venture capital firm Gruhas. EMO offers battery packs for light electric vehicles (EVs) using its proprietary cell agnostic technology, ZEN provides fire safety and 20-minute fast charging among other features. It aims to implement battery-powered solutions in high power and high energy applications to aid decarbonisation, a release said. "Transition VC and Gruhas are the ideal early-stage partners for our mission as they're just as committed to implementing safe, reliable battery technology at scale. We believe that their insight, expertise, and perspective are going to be instrumental to our success as a startup," EMO Co-founder & CEO Sheetanshu Tyagi said. On its investment in EMO, Transition VC Co-founder & Managing Partner Mohammed Shoeb Ali said, "As the EV landscape in India continues to evolve, concerns pertaining

PhonePe raises additional $100 million from PE firm General Atlantic

Walmart Inc-owned payments firm PhonePe said that it has secured an additional $100 million from private equity firm General Atlantic, in the latest round of its ongoing $1 billion fundraising

Speed Kitchen raises undisclosed amount in funding led by Inflection Point

Cloud kitchen services provider Speed Kitchen has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures with participation from high net-worth individuals and angel investors. The kitchen-as-a-service provider for delivery-focused brands will use the funds for expansion and swell the footprint pan-India. Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) has so far invested over Rs 550 crore across over 170 deals. "We at Speed Kitchen are aiming to become the leading Cloud Kitchen infrastructure in the Indian market, the first step of which is to expand to 20-plus locations and cross 200 operational kitchens by the end of FY23-24," Paurav Rastogi, Founder of Speed Kitchen, said. At a CAGR of 39 per cent, the cloud kitchen industry has been valued at USD 800 million in FY22, which is expected to reach USD 1.9 billion by 2026.

Cash crunch pushing up funding costs in India deterring more RBI hikes

The weighted average call rate, an overnight funding cost rate the central bank monitors, was at 6.78% on Wednesday, above the upper band of the Reserve Bank of India's interest rate corridor, of 6.75

Early stage VC firm 3one4 Capital closes its fourth fund at $200 mn

Company invests in SaaS, fintech, digital health and climate technology; has over Rs 6,000 cr in AUM

Iron Pillar leads supply chain tech firm Pando's $30 mn Series B Funding

With the global logistics SaaS tech market estimated to grow to $25 billion by 2025, Pando said it is well-positioned to benefit from the broader tailwinds

Alternative credit firm BlackSoil says FY23 investments grew 55% YoY

Mumbai-based says it is helping start-ups as funding winter continues for sector

Due to funding winter ESG-led funding reaches $7.9 bn in 2022: Report

Of the overall private equity and venture capital investments of USD 61.6 billion in India, as much as 13 per cent or USD 7.9 billion came through the ESG route in 2022, as per an industry analysis. As the funding winter deepened from the first quarter of 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resultant risk aversion, the overall funding from PE/VCs into the country declined 12 per cent from the 2021 peak, when it had scaled USD 69.8 billion, according to a report by industry body Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), prepared by Bain & Company. But the report noted that ESG (environment, social and governance) focused investment route emerged as a breakout theme in 2022, with investments in clean energy and electric vehicle companies accelerating to reach USD 7.9 billion, which was more than double from 2021 and 13 per cent of the yearly netting, accordingly to the report. ESG has gone beyond being a mere talking point to becoming a key driver of ...

Once booming, Indian start-ups set for more pain as funding crunch worsens

"Indian startups are not catering to a billion consumers. All of them are selling to the same 100 million"

Lightspeed backs workspace startup 'OfficeBanao' with $6 mn in funding

The firm transforms the entire office development experience using technology with an end-to-end solution across stages of design, procurement, and execution

Funding in Indian startups dips 75% in Q1 2023, no new unicorn in 3 months

Indian startups raised a total of $2.8 billion in funds in the first quarter of 2023, a massive 75 per cent lower compared to the same period in the previous year ($11.9 billion)

Why India's education technology start-ups are in the deep freeze

They will continue to tread on thin ice amid a long funding winter unless they fundamentally revise their business models

A year of reality checks for start-up valuations amid fall in funding

With a dramatic fall in venture capital and private equity funding, Indian start-ups are pulling up their socks, cutting losses, and trying to turn profitable

India's start-up story remains robust

The ecosystem would experience rationalisation of valuations in the current period, with funding expected to gradually increase from Q3 2023-24

Parl Committee urges for adequate funding for India's G20 presidency

The Committee has noted that G20 Presidency is India's most high-profile international endeavour ever. It is also a unique opportunity to present a face of leadership, diversity, success to the world

China Evergrande's EV unit likely to shut down without new funding

The company said it is seeking to cut costs by reducing staff numbers and improving management efficiency. However, "in face of the inability to obtain additional liquidity

Karnataka minister rolls out 3 strategic initiatives to promote start-ups

Karnataka Higher Education and IT/BT Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan on Saturday rolled out three strategic initiatives aimed at promoting start-ups and innovation ecosystem in Beyond Bengaluru clusters.The three programmes launched were Mysuru Cluster Seed Fund (MCSF), Mysuru Global Technology Centre (MGTC) and Karnataka Accelerator Network (KAN).It may be noted here that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai while presenting the budget 2023-24 had announced these programmes to boost the IT & startup ecosystem in the state. Put together, it is estimated that MCSF and KAN will generate around Rs 200 crore and these programmes will be implemented through Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM)Mysuru Cluster with a Seed Fund of Rs 25 crores will be funding 70-80 startups which are expected to create over 1000 employment opportunities."Mysuru Global Technology Centre which will be set up in a space of 2 lakh sqft with 3000 seater capacity facilitates high-quality plug-and-play office ...