Weekly Funding Report: 14th - 20th January 2023
PhonePe raises $350 Mn
Financial and payment services unicorn PhonePe raised $350 million in funding led by General Atlantic. PhonePe will invest the money in infrastructure, including the construction of data centers and large-scale providing of financial services. It also intends to make investments in brand-new industries like financing, wealth management, and insurance. PhonePe, a market leader in the payments industry, claims to have more than 400 million active users.
Source: YourStory
Avanse Financial Services raises $98.4 Mn
Financial, an education-focused non-banking financial company (NBFC) Avanse raised $98.4 million from private equity firm Kedaara Capital to fuel future expansion. The money will be used to increase its visibility and outreach to more Indian students. Avanse Financial offers education loans to Indian students. Its financial solutions cover higher education student loans, student loan refinancing, loans for skill development, loans for executive education, and institutional loans.
Source: YourStory
Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters raises $30 Mn
Coffee speciality startup Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters raised $30 million in a Series B fundraising round led by A91 Partners. The round also saw participation from existing investors such as 8i Ventures, Grand Anicut Fund, and major family offices. The capital raised will be used to build its business and increase its footprint in speciality coffee markets around the world. With four roasteries and more than 60 physical locations spread across the major Indian cities, Blue Tokai is the name that represents Indian speciality coffee. With the help of its cafes, brewing classes, and website, it hopes to increase consumer access to speciality coffee.
Source: YourStory
Beaconstac raises $25 Mn
QR-based customer engagement platform Beaconstac raised $25 million in a Series A investment round led by Telescope Partners and current investor Accel. The money raised will go toward expanding the platform and hiring more personnel. By the end of 2023, the firm wants to have roughly 200 staff working for it worldwide. Beaconstac assists organisations in creating and tracking QR codes, allowing consumers to interact with them and assisting businesses in driving ROI through the use of mobile devices.
Source: YourStory
Log9 Materials raises $11.2 Mn
EV focused advanced battery platform Log9 Materials raised $11.2million in an extended Series B round that was led by PTV International Ventures. A number of other investors, including SiriusOne Capital, Cornerstone Ventures, also took part in the round. Log9 Materials is an indigenous deep-tech and sophisticated battery firm that sells fast-charging batteries that last longer and provide superior performance and safety.
Source: YourStory
NeoGrowth raises $10 Mn
MSME financing-focused digital lender NeoGrowth raised $10 million from US-based international investment company MicroVest Capital Management. NeoGrowth intends to use this cash to provide loans to small enterprises all over India. NeoGrowth has been around for ten years now and provides loans to small businesses based on an analysis of their digital transactions and cash flow to determine the viability of the enterprise.
Source: YourStory
Mumbai Oncocare Centre raises $10 Mn
Mumbai Oncocare Centre raised $10 million from Tata Capital Healthcare Fund (TCHF), to help its reach expand across India in the upcoming 18 months. MOC asserts that it places a strong priority on clinical research, technology, and tumour boards, where the pooled knowledge of its oncologists guarantees that the care provided is always supported by the best available evidence.
Source: YourStory
Breathe Well-being raises $6 Mn
Diabetes reversal startup Breathe Well-being raised $60 million in pre-series B funding, which was co-led by 3One4 Capital, Accel Partners, and General Catalyst. The funding will be used to bolster its coaching academy, grow its core team, and scale up its technological platform. Breathe Well believes that treating diabetes with medicine is not a long-term solution and instead emphasises behavioural and lifestyle adjustments to reverse diabetes and lower the chance of developing chronic lifestyle diseases.
Source: YourStory
Chara raises $4.75 Mn in pre-series A funding
Deep tech firm Chara raised $4.75 million in a pre-series A round that was spearheaded by Exfinity Venture Partners. The round also saw participation from venture arm of Bitexco and Log9 Materials, Big Capital, as well as current investors Kalaari Capital and ciie.co. The company plans to utilise the capital to grow its personnel, expand its international business, and make an initial investment in the production and use of newly developed motors and controllers. Chara is a scalable, cloud-controlled, and rare-earth free platform being developed by the technology company for developing, manufacturing, and deploying electric motors for EVs and other use cases.
Source: YourStory
Gullak raises $3 Mn
Savings and investment startup, Gullak, created by former JusPay executives raised $3 million in a seed funding round co-led by Y Combinator and Better Capital. The round also saw participation from Kunal Shah, Akshay Mehrotra, and angel investors Rebel Partners, Goodwater Capital, and others. The funds raised will be used for product expansion and development. Millions of customers use Gullak to automate their investments and savings. Users of the programme can regularly save tiny sums, and it automatically invests those funds in virtual gold.
Source: YourStory
Entuple E-Mobility raises $3 Mn in Pre-Series A round
Electric powertrain and turbocharger product firm Entuple E-Mobility raised $3 million in pre-series A funding from Blue Ashva Capital and Capital A. The capital raised will be utilised to improve the company's R&D capabilities and the advanced technology services it provides to OEM clients. Entuple E-Mobility is an EV research and development company that works on electric vehicle drivetrains (electric motors and controllers) and combined charging stations. They design, develop, test, and validate their systems.
Source: The Startup Lab
Loom Solar raises $2 Mn
Solar tech startup Loom has raised $2 million in funding from The Energy Access Relief Fund (EARF), which is backed by the World Bank, DFC, BII, FMO, IFC, and others. The funds raised will go towards realising its medium-term objective of using sustainable solar energy to power millions of households in India. Loom provides electricity to more than 50,000 houses in India and their solar panels come in a variety of different types.
Source: YourStory
SuperCluster Pi raises $2 Mn
House of Brands (HoB) startup SuperCluster Pi raised $2 million in a seed funding round. Led by Bobby Balachandran of Exterro Inc., the round also saw participation from famous angel networks like Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), Hyderabad Angels, Faad Network, and AngelBay. 70% of the cash raised will go into acquisitions, with the remaining 30% going toward brand growth, staff expansion, and improved brand marketing initiatives. SuperCluster Pi is a D2C House of Businesses in the wellness industry, and in the past six months, it has purchased three D2C brands.
Source: The Startup Lab