[Weekly funding roundup Sept 21-27] VC inflow continues to show strong traction

Venture capital funding into Indian startups continues to remain high given the inflow of large-value deals in September.

The last week of the month saw total funding reach $430 million spread across 24 deals. In contrast, the previous week witnessed a capital raise of $541 million.

This week, two transactions in the $100 million range from Whatfix and M2P Fintech, lifted the sentiment. Total funding in September crossed over $1 billion, as per Yourstory Research.

The upswing in the funding momentum shows that the Indian startup ecosystem may end up with a strong finish for the year. This also sets up the platform for higher inflow of capital from next year - 2025.

The last two weeks of venture capital inflow have revealed that later-stage funding continues to gain traction. This is a positive sign as the large deals always come in at a later stage.

At the same time, the Indian ecosystem continues to witness developments which lends a positive energy. Food tech unicorn Swiggy has filed for its IPO with plans to raise Rs 3,750 crore. Zerodha, which is profitable, continues with its high growth momentum with revenues close to a billion dollars. Lastly, Oyo continues with its inorganic strategy and has acquired a US motel chain.

Key transactions

SaaS startup Whatfix raised $125 million from Warburg Pincus and SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

M2P Fintech has raised Rs 850 crore ($100 million approx.) led by Helios Investment Partners and Flourish Ventures.

Healthtech startup Qure.ai raised $65 million from Lightspeed, 360 ONE Asset, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Kae Capital, Novo Holdings, Health Quad and others.

AI startup Nurix AI raised $27.5 million from General Catalyst, Accel, and Meraki Labs.

Visa processing platform Atlys raised $20 million from Peak XV, Elevation Capital, DST Global and Headline.

AI startup Aarna.ml raised $6.7 million led by Exfinity Venture Partners.

Climate financing platform Two Point O Capital raised $6.3 million from Omnivore, Multiply Ventures, RTP Global, GrowX, Spectrum Impact, and angel investors.

Ahammune Biosciences raised $5 million from pi Ventures, Capital2B, Colossa Ventures, Bipin Agarwal, Unicornus Maximus LLP, Ideaspring Capital, and others.