WeeklyRecap Top Big Funding Despite The Winter

Private Equity-Venture Capital (PE-VC) investments in India fell by 29 per cent in 2022 compared to the record highs of 2021. PE-VC firms invested USD 46 billion (across 1,261 deals) in Indian companies in 2022, compared to USD 65 billion (across 1,362 deals) in the previous year, according to Venture Intelligence.

2022 witnessed 111 mega deals ($100 M+ rounds) worth USD 31 billion, compared to 152 such investments worth USD 50.3 billion in 2021.

Jan 6

KreditBee

KreditBee raised USD 200 million in an extension of its Series D round. In an earlier tranche, it raised an additional USD 100 million in primary funding from Advent International.

Last month, the company raised Tranche one of Series D from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) along with existing investors Premji Invest, Motilal Oswal Alternates, NewQuest Capital Partners, and Mirae Asset Venture Investments. Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to KreditBee on the transaction.

Jan 9, 2023

CropIn

Cropin, the global agritech pioneer that has built the world’s first industry cloud for agriculture, has secured INR 113 crores in funding from new investors Google and JSR Corporation, as well as existing investors ABC Impact and Chiratae Ventures. The funds will aid in expanding Cropin Cloud, the company’s recently launched intelligent agriculture cloud platform, to cater to the growing demand for digitization and predictive intelligence in the global agriculture sector.

Jan 10, 2023

Toddle

The teaching and learning platform Toddle secured around USD 17 million in its Series A round. The round was led by Sequoia Capital India. Venture capital firms, including Tenacity Ventures and Trifecta Capital, also took part in the round. Matrix Partners, Beenext, and Better Capital, all existing investors also backed the company.

Park+

Park+, an app for car owners closed its series C round by raising Rs 140 crore led by  Epiq Capital II, Matrix Partners India and Sequoia Capital India. The funds will be utilised to expand Park+’s presence to over 100+ cities, to hire 200+ employees and expand its services verticals, to supercharge Park+’s next growth phase. 

Brick&Bolt

Bengaluru-based online Construction marketplace Brick&Bolt has raised USD 10 million led by Accel and Celesta Capital. The company plans to use the funding to enhance its tech stack, strengthen its leadership team and expand its geographical reach to more than 12 cities in the next 15 months. Cilix Capital, an international investment-banking firm, has advised the Series A2 round.

Jan 12, 2023

LEAD

Lead School, an edtech unicorn has secured Rs 160 crore ($20 million) in a debt funding round led by Alteria Capital and Stride Ventures. Standard Chartered Bank, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank also took part in the round.

The news comes on the same day that the company laid off nearly 60 more employees in its second round of layoffs in less than six months. The new capital will be used to fund the company’s organic and inorganic growth plans, according to a statement.

WorkIndia

WorkIndia, a blue and grey-collar job portal raised USD 12 million in its Pre-Series B funding from SBI Holdings, Tokyo and a handful of notable investors. WorkIndia, utilising deep technology, not only administers and digitises the employment process but also mitigates any margin of fraud in hiring.

Jan 13, 2023

The Whole Truth (TWT) on Friday raises USD 15 million in its Series B round led by Sequoia Capital India. The round saw participation from existing investors. Matrix Partners India and Sauce.Vc. Angel investors who previously invested in the company include Nithin Kamath (Zerodha), Sriharsha Majety (Swiggy) and Jaydeep Burman (Rebel Foods). 

The fresh capital will be deployed towards scaling up the brand’s in-house manufacturing capacity, hiring great talent, and in growing retail distribution. 

Jan 14, 2023

B2B rural e-commerce startup VilCart secured USD 18 million (Rs 144 crore) in a Series A round led by Asia Impact SA. The round also saw the participation of Nabventures Fund and Texterity.

The Bengaluru-based startup aims to expand its operations to entire southern India by 2024. The startup has launched new products and support initiatives launched towards rural women entrepreneurs. Prasanna Kumar and Amith S Mali founded VilCart in 2018.