[Weekly funding roundup Jan 18-24] VC inflow steadily rises, with larger deals

Indian startups continue to witness a steady increase in venture capital (VC) funding inflow in January, with deals getting larger and setting the stage for a better outcome for the future.

The total VC funding in the fourth week of January amounted to $270 million, cutting across 31 deals, boosted largely by Infra.Market's about $122 million funding round. In comparison, the previous week saw a total funding of $157 million.

This steady weekly rise in VC funding sets the stage for a bigger and better outcome in the near future. Interestingly, the four weeks of January have shown that VC funding is spread across different startup segments, revealing that investors are willing to bet on newer ventures.

However, some challenges might slow the VC inflow into the startup ecosystem given slower economic growth and stock markets continuing to remain in volatile territory. It is expected that these obstacles will pass away soon leading the way towards higher fund flow.

This can be corroborated with the recent fundraises by various financial institutions like Kotak, IIFL, and Bharat Value Fund, which show investors continue to place their confidence in Indian startups.

The week also saw an interesting development of Everstone Capital acquiring a majority stake in bootstrapped profitable SaaS startup Wingify for $200 million. Such inorganic activity provides confidence to both investors and founders.

Key transactions

B2B marketplace startup Infra.Market raised Rs 1,050 crore ($122 million approx.) from Tiger Global, Evolvence, Foundamental GmbH, Nuvama, and CapriGlobal.

Fintech startup Namdev Finvest raised $38 million from Developing World Markets (DWM), BlueOrchard, and Mirova.

Agritech startup Arya.ag raised $30 million from HSBC and GuarantCo.

Robotics startup Ati Motors raised $20 million from Walden Catalyst Ventures, NGP Capital, True Ventures, Exfinity, Athera Venture Partners, and Blume Ventures.

Skincare brand Deconstruct raised Rs 65 crore ($7.5 million approx.) from L’Oréal’s VC fund BOLD, V3 Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners, Kalaari Capital and Beenext.

Deeptech startup VuNet Systems raised Rs 60 crore ($7 million approx.) from Pravega Ventures, Kotak Securities, Mela Ventures and Athera Venture Partners.

Beer maker Medusa Beverages raised Rs 56 crore ($6.5 million approx.) from high-net-worth individuals.

Quick commerce startup Snabbit raised $5.5 million from Elevation Capital, Nexus Venture Partners and high-net-worth individuals.

Proptech startup Landeed raised $5 million from 10x Founders Fund and angel investors.