SUMMARY
Between January 13 and 18, Indian startups cumulatively raised $308.1 Mn across 24 deals, down 28.7% from the $432.4 Mn across 20 deals last week
After raising $90 Mn in its Series D funding round at a valuation of $1.34 Bn, logistics tech startup Netradyne entered the unicorn club this week
Startups such as Zetwerk, InMobi, and Groww provided clearer timelines for their public listing plans, while multiple new fund launches also hogged the headlines this week
With the Centre’s flagship programme ‘Startup India’ entering into its tenth year this week, investors continue to remain bullish on the Indian startup ecosystem. Between January 13 and 18, startups cumulatively raised $308.1 Mn across 24 deals. While the deal count went up from last week’s 20 deals, funding dipped 28.7% from last week’s $432.4 Mn.
Despite a decline in investment activity over the past week, several positive developments unfolded for startups. Notably, Netradyne became the first startup to join the unicorn club in 2025. Additionally, companies such as Zetwerk, InMobi, and Groww provided clearer timelines for their public listing plans, while multiple new fund launches also hogged the headlines.
Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week ( Jan 13 – Jan 18 )
| Date | Name | Sector | Subsector | Business Model | Funding Round Size | Funding Round Type | Investors | Lead Investor |
| 17 Jan 2025 | Netradyne | Logistics | Logistics Tech | B2B | $90 Mn | Series D | Point72 Private Investments, Qualcomm Ventures, Pavilion Capital | Point72 Private Investments |
| 13 Jan 2025 | WeWork India | Real Estate Tech | Shared Spaces | B2B | $57.7 Mn | – | – | – |
| 15 Jan 2025 | Foxtale | Ecommerce | D2C | B2C | $30 Mn | Series C | KOSÉ Corporation, Panthera Growth Partners, Z47, Kae Capital | KOSÉ Corporation |
| 15 Jan 2025 | Ecozen | Agritech | – | B2B | $23 Mn | Debt | responsAbility Investments AG, Northern Arc Capital Limited, Maanaveeya Development and Finance | responsAbility Investments AG |
| 15 Jan 2025 | Euler Motors | Cleantech | EV | B2B | $20 Mn | Debt | responsAbility Investments AG | responsAbility Investments AG |
| 14 Jan 2025 | BGauss | Cleantech | EV | B2C | $18.6 Mn | – | Bharat Value Fund | Bharat Value Fund |
| 14 Jan 2025 | BharatPe | Fintech | Payments | B2B-B2C | $17.3 Mn | Debt | Neo Wealth and Asset Management, Trifecta Capital | – |
| 15 Jan 2025 | Sarla Aviation | Deeptech | Aerial Vehicle | B2C | $10 Mn | Series A | Accel, Binny Bansal, Nikhil Kamath, Sriharsha Majety, Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Abhishek Goyal, Ramakant Sharma, Sujeet Kumar, Manish Agarwal, Sandeep Nailwal | Accel |
| 16 Jan 2025 | AstroSure | Consumer Services | – | B2C | $6 Mn | Seed | Pradeep Dadha | Pradeep Dadha |
| 15 Jan 2025 | Eccentric | Enterprisetech | Vertical SaaS | B2B | $5 Mn | pre-Series A | Exfinity Venture Partners, Arkam Ventures | Exfinity Venture Partners, Arkam Ventures |
| 17 Jan 2025 | Bolt.Earth | Cleantech | EV | B2B-B2C | $5 Mn | Series A | Version One Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Prime Venture Partners | Version One Ventures |
| 17 Jan 2025 | WeVOIS | Cleantech | Waste Management | B2B | $4.2 Mn | Series A | Negen Capital, Vyom Wealth, Venture Catalysts, SN Capital, Warmup Ventures, Marsshot Ventures | Nine Capital, Vyom Wealth |
| 13 Jan 2025 | Boba Bhai | Consumer Services | Hyperlocal Delivery | B2C | $3.4 Mn | Series A | 8i Ventures, Titan Capital Winners Fund, Global Growth Capital, DevC | 8i Ventures |
| 16 Jan 2025 | Constelli | Deeptech | Defencetech | B2B | $3 Mn | pre-Series A | True Ventures | True Ventures |
| 15 Jan 2025 | TyrePlex | Ecommerce | B2C Ecommerce | B2C | $2.4 Mn | – | PeerCapital, Titan Capital Winners Fund, Sattva Family Office, 100Unicorns | PeerCapital |
| 17 Jan 2025 | Captain Fresh | Agritech | Market linkage | B2B-B2C | $2.3 Mn* | Debt | VentureSoul Partners | VentureSoul Partners |
| 16 Jan 2025 | Fambo | Agritech | Market linkage | B2B-B2C | $2.1 Mn | Seed | EV2 Ventures, Rajesh Sawhney | EV2 Ventures |
| 17 Jan 2025 | TreZix | Enterprisetech | Enterprise Services | B2B | $2 Mn | Seed | Morphosis Venture Capital, Pentathlon Ventures | Morphosis Venture Capital, Pentathlon Ventures |
| 15 Jan 2025 | EarlySign | Healthtech | Healthcare Services | B2C | $1.8 Mn | pre-Series A | Ashish Kacholia | Ashish Kacholia |
| 17 Jan 2025 | Catalyx Space | Deeptech | Spacetech | B2B | $1.7 Mn | pre-Seed | HF0 Residency | HF0 Residency |
| 15 Jan 2025 | OrbitAID | Deeptech | Spacetech | B2B | $1.5 Mn | pre-Seed | Unicorn India Ventures, Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission | Unicorn India Ventures |
| 16 Jan 2025 | ParkMate | Consumer Services | – | B2C | $1.2 Mn | – | Cactus Partners, Venture Catalysts, Marwah Group Family Office | Cactus Partners |
| 14 Jan 2025 | Tractor Factory | Ecommerce | Recommerce | B2C | $500K | pre-Seed | All In Capital, Bharat Founders Fund, DevC, Dhingra Partners Prosperity Trust, Samir Sood, Abhishek Goyal, Aayush Phumbra, Puneet Kumar | All In Capital |
| 15 Jan 2025 | Sukoon Unlimited | Consumer Services | Hyperlocal Services | B2C | $430K | pre-Seed | Anchorage Capital Partners, Vinay Jain, Manish Dureja, Rahul Dash, Prantik Mazumdar, Neeraj Sagar, Sudhir Kamath | – |
| Source: Inc42 *Part of a larger round **Included this week as it was skipped last week Note: Only disclosed funding rounds have been included | ||||||||
Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week
- After raising $90 Mn in its Series D funding round at a valuation of $1.34 Bn, logistics tech startup Netradyne entered the unicorn club this week. Solely, the funding round propelled the logistics sector to scoop up maximum capital infusion this week.
- With four startups, Bolt.Earth, WeVOIS, Euler Motors and BGauss, cumulatively raising $47.8 Mn this week, cleantech saw the largest number of deals materialising this week.
- Seed stage funding zoomed this week to $8.2 Mn, up 215% from the $2.6 Mn raised by startups at this stage in the previous week.
Funds Launches This Week
- Debt marketplace Recur Club has launched a $17.5 Mn fund to accelerate growth of D2C brands in the quick commerce space. It will provide financing to 80-100 D2C brands with ticket sizes ranging from INR 80 Lakh to INR 10 Cr.
- Equity management platform Hissa has announced the launch of Hissa Fund Ia $35 Mn investment vehicle to enable employees of growth-stage startups to convert their vested stock options into cash.
- Riceberg Ventures has launched a $20 Mn fund to back 25-30 deeptech startups with an average cheque size of $500K.
- Avendus marked the first close of its Future Leaders Fund III (FLF III) with INR 850 Cr commitments from leading domestic family offices and Indian institutions.
- SaaS-focussed VC firm Cornerstone Ventures announced the first close of its $200 Mn fund at about $40 Mn.
Startup IPO Updates Of The Week
- B2B marketplace unicorn Zetwerk shortlisted Axis Capital, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, JM Financial, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Kotak Mahindra Bank as bankers for its upcoming $500 Mn IPO.
- Urban Company is set to file its draft papers for an INR 3,000 Cr initial public offering (IPO) before the end of March. It has reportedly appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as bankers for the IPO.
- Groww is reportedly looking to file for a public offering within 10-12 months. The startup is seeking a valuation between $6-8 Bn for its IPO.
- EV startup Ather is eyeing $2.4 Bn valuation for its upcoming IPO this year, about 80% premium from its last private valuation.
- IPO-bound Zepto has received National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval to reverse flip to India. The court has approved the merger of Mumbai-based Kiranakart Technologies with its Singapore-based affiliate, Kiranakart Pte Ltd.
- Adtech unicorn InMobi will be filing its IPO of more than $1 Bn in the next 2-3 months. The startup is eyeing a public listing by October this year. InMobi is targeting a valuation of $8 Bn to $10 Bn for the IPO.
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