Weekly Funding Report - 17th to 23rd December 2022
BigBasket raises $200 Mn
Online grocery retailer Bigbasket raised $200 million from parent company Tata Digital. Bigbasket will reportedly be valued at $3–3.5 billion after the fundraising round. The additional funding will be used to grow the platform BB Now and utilise it as a tool for core Bigbasket customers. BigBasket has risen to prominence in the Indian online grocery industry and serves millions of clients across the nation and provides a wide selection of goods, including fresh produce, necessities for the home, and personal care products.
Source: StartupNews.fyi
BetterPlace raises $40 Mn
BetterPlace Safety Solutions has secured $40 million in an expanded Series C fundraising round from Macquarie Capital and Site Capital Partners. Existing investors British International Investment and Jungle Ventures took part in the investment round as well. The funds raised will be used to support organic expansion, which includes developing additional products and technologies and serving a wider range of customers. BetterPlace is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that assists businesses in managing the complete lifecycle of their blue-collar workforce by providing services such as hiring, background verification, and digital onboarding.
Source: YourStory
Virgio raises $37 Mn in Series A round
Virgio, a Bengaluru-based fashion tech business, has raised $37 million in a Series A fundraising round headed by Prosus Ventures, Accel, and Alpha Wave. The funds would be used for recruiting new talent and technology development. Virgio focuses on Gen Z and late millennials, employing technology throughout the design, manufacturing, and purchasing processes in an effort to streamline the fashion lifecycle.
Source: YourStory
Aquaconnect raises $15 Mn in Series A round
Aquaculture-focused startup Aquaconnect raised $15 million in a Series A round of funding, led by Lok Capital. Along with existing investors Omnivore, Rebright Partners, and Flourish Ventures, the round also saw participation from Suneight Investment and Louis Dreyfus Company Ventures. The capital will be used in expanding its service offerings and strengthening its portfolio in the pre-harvest and post-harvest aquaculture value chains. Aquaconnect is a website where fish and shrimp farmers acquire premium aquaculture products directly from producers.
Source: YourStory
CollegeDekho raises $9 Mn
Higher education and college admissions platform CollegeDekho has raised $9 million from Winter Capital Partners in an ongoing funding round. The funding will be used to expand its business and continue working toward its goal of building a trusted ecosystem for student guidance around the world. CollegeDekho uses its proprietary technology and conversation bot to connect students with colleges. It provides services such as profile creation, test prep, application support, university selection, and visa support. The startup also acquired PrepBytes, Getmyuni, and IELTSMaterial shortly after the previous round of funding.
Source: EnTrackr
Eggoz raises $8.8 Mn in Series B round
Agri consumer tech company Eggoz secured $8.8 million in a Series B round headed by IvyCap Ventures. The round also included NABVENTURES, Avaana Capital, and Rebright Partners. This round was also joined by angel investors such as Vishesh Khurana, Ankit Mehrotra, Sahil Jain, Khalid Qazi, and others. It will use the additional funding to develop its brand, hire new employees, and strengthen its community. Eggoz claims to have developed a farmer integration strategy with little assets that provides food and eggs to large populations. Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, and other non-metropolitan cities all carry its products.
Source: YourStory
Ayurveda Experience raises $6 Mn
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brand The Ayurveda Experience raised $6 million in a fundraising round headed by Anicut Capital on Tuesday. The round also saw participation from Sharrp Ventures and Singularity Ventures. The funds raised will be used to expand its customer base in current regions and enter new markets. It will also be utilised to strengthen the group's supply network, production capabilities, and R&D capabilities. The Ayurveda Experience is a platform for Ayurvedic health and wellbeing that sells products under the iYURA, Ajara, and Ayuttva brands in the skincare, body care, personal care, and food and beverage areas, among others.
Source: The Startup Lab
Grow Indigo raises $6 Mn
Agritech startup Grow Indigo raised $6 million from Indigo AG, Mahyco and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) in a recent fundraising round. The firm focuses on offering environmentally friendly solutions to agricultural climate concerns and makes sure that farmers and other stakeholders have access to both input and output marketplaces to increase their access and incomes. For smallholder farmers in India, Grow Indigo promotes the idea of growing carbon as a crop.
Source: Startupnews.fyi
Beco raises $3 Mn in Series A round
Eco-friendly D2C startup Beco raised $3 million in a Series A round that, headed by Rukam Capital. With the additional funding, the firm will increase its R&D (product innovation, sustainability development), marketing, supply chain, and talent acquisition initiatives with the goal of accelerating growth. Beco makes sustainable living simple for Indian consumers by offering readily available and reasonably priced items.
Source: YourStory
Bajo Foods raises $2 Mn
Bajo Foods, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) firm, has raised $2 million in a new round of funding headed by Mount Judi Ventures. Bajo Foods intends to use the funding to develop its new DiabeSmart and Protein Chef product lines as well as to broaden its distribution networks to include offline retail, B2B, and hospitals. Bajo Foods, which started off by selling Keto items, offers fresh and packaged foods that are high in fibre and low in carbohydrates.
Source: YourStory
Bigyellowfish raises $1.1 Mn
Employee experience platform The Bigyellowfish received $1.1 million in seed funding from Anicut Capital and Innoport, led by Powerhouse. The funds will be used to scale up software and platform capabilities, R&D, and sales and marketing efforts globally. The company provides business executives with predictive signalling & decision support mechanisms; useful in the areas of Safety, HR, Operations, & Asset Management.
Source: VCCircle
Drivio raises $1 Mn in seed funding
Two-wheeler lending platform Drivio raised $1 million in seed funding headed by Karini Ventures and Vansun Capital. They intend to use the capital to enhance the products offered and broaden services across the nation. Drivio is an omnichannel, digital-first platform for two-wheeler lending that provides users with instant financing options.
Source: VCCircle
E-TRNL Energy raises $905 K
Battery technology startup e-TRNL Energy raised $905,000 in a pre-seed round, spearheaded by deep-tech venture capital firm Speciale Invest. Micelio Mobility and CIIE also participated in the funding round. The capital raised will be utilised to shorten the lead times for delivering the items to their clients by accelerating the product cycle. e-TRNL Energy has created cutting-edge and secure battery technology that can survive the demanding conditions of electric mobility, particularly in the climate of India, and still offer value addition through quick charging and cost-effectiveness.
Source: The Startup Lab
What’s Up Wellness Raises Angel Funding
Digital wellness startup What's Up Wellness raised an unknown sum in its initial angel fundraising round led by Ritika Jaisinghani, Sahil Kukreja, Puneet Sehgal, Maharshi Ganatra, and others. The funds raised will be utilised to expand the workforce, ramp up R&D, introduce new product categories and accelerate its brand-building initiatives. What's Up Wellness makes multi-benefit, easy-to-use gummies with the goal of making wellness enjoyable and simple. It has two flagship products: What's Up Beauty Gummies for Hair, Skin, and Nails and What's Up Sleep Gummies, for muscle rehabilitation and nerve relaxation.
Source: The Startup Lab
The Artment raises undisclosed seed funding
Home decor startup The Artment secured undisclosed amount in funding from Mumbai Angels and a few other angel investors. The current capital will be used to launch products in the United States and scale its operations in the American ecommerce industry. The Artment creates goods for high-end consumers and has been successfully testing local products in the US market while being a participant in Amazon's Global Selling Propel programme.
Source: YourStory