Weekly Funding Roundup [14-21 April]: Local tech startups see a rise in investment activity

While Tiger Global and SoftBank are raining unicorns in the Indian startup ecosystem, small capital ventures, angel investors are not far behind. The second wave of COVID-19 has seen many investors make big bets on small startups and online businesses. 9Unicorns led the funding and investments this week with the third close of its first accelerator fund at $40 million. The company will fund idea-stage startups in India.

On the other hand, India witnessed its 11th Unicorn - Billing startup Chargebee. Just like in the previous Unicorn funding news, Tiger Global led the round with a $125 Mn funds infusion. It also saw the participation of existing investors Insight Venture Partners and Steadview Capital. Further, Sapphire Ventures was the new investor in the Series G funding round. On the Government front, Piyush Goyal announced the launch of the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme.

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme

PM Narendra Modi interacted with startups and addressed ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ on January 16. In the event, that marked the 5th anniversary of StartUp India, he announced a 1000 crore Startup India seed fund. The Central Government had approved the ‘Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS)’ to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization. SISFS shall provide financial assistance to startups via a corpus of Rs. 945 Crore that will be disbursed through selected incubators across India in 2021-25.

Industry leaders also welcomed the scheme. Rajat Singhania, Founder of HyLyt by SocioRAC stated that with this seed fund, many young entrepreneurs will be able to take risks. “They will start their journey towards building products based on innovation. Most importantly, Piyush Goyal who launched the seed scheme reiterated that it is perfectly ok to fail in any venture. I think this is the right environment which the government is providing at this juncture giving the start-ups the confidence to take ahead with their transformative & innovative business ideas,” he added.

Key Funding News

1. 9Unicorns to fund 40 startups

9Unicorns announced the third close of its first accelerator fund at $40 million to fund idea-stage startups in India. Some of the key Limited Partners include Haldiram's, Indian Bank, Chona Family Office and others. The fund aims to invest in early-stage startups in Deeptech, B2B SaaS, Media, FMCG, Fintech, Insuretech, Healthtech, Edutech, Travel logistics, among other sectors over the next year.

It also launched a Catalysts Program initiative to build an open community of founders, CXOs, and the ecosystem drivers to recognise, fund, and mentor early-stage startups.

2. TrulyMadly raises INR 16 Crore in pre-Series A

Dating app TrulyMadly raising $2.1million in their pre-series A fund. The round saw participation from Venture Catalysts, 9Unicorns, early-stage investor advisor Jana K Balan, Neil Bahal from Negen Capital, angel investor Ruchi Sihare and existing investors Inflection Point Ventures, The Chennai Angels and AngelList. Paytm Founder & CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, InMobi Co-founders Abhay Singhal & Piyush Shah, Nodwin Gaming Founder Akshat Rathee and Dr Vaidya’s Founder & CEO Arjun Vaidya also joined the round.

The company aims to use the funding to build new product offerings, expanding to new geographies. It also aims to boost its technology by leveraging AI-ML algorithms to empower millennials in exploring serious relationships in an increasingly digital world.

3. Smart Nutrition startup TruNative raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from 9Unicorns

Smart Nutrition startup TruNative provides affordable and healthy food & beverage options to fitness enthusiasts. The healthtech startup raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from 9Unicorns. Other co-investors include Ashutosh Valani, Founder, Beardo and Priyank Shah, Founder, Beardo, Anshul Punhani, Ex-CMO, Monster and Vikas Bagaria, Founder, Peesafe.

Moving forward, it aims to expand its footprint by selling through retail stores, supermarkets, and big malls across the country. The company is also focusing on building its network of influencers including gym trainers, nutritionists, yoga trainers, etc., and rolling out referral and loyalty reward programs to bolster its market presence in the coming years.

4. Creation Investments invest US$12 Million debt capital in Three Indian Firms

Creation Investments Capital Management LLC is a leading private capital investor in developing markets financial services. It has provided US$12 million in debt capital to three NBFCs in India. Further, with CredAvenue, a subsidiary of Vivriti Capital, Creation’s investment aims to help people and businesses in India with little access to financial services.

These investments are from the first tranche of a US$100 million India-focused debt fund that Creation launched in 2021. The fund focuses exclusively on providing debt financing to Indian NBFCs. Some major work areas include microlending, affordable housing, vehicle loans, small- and medium-enterprise lending (SMEs), and education finance.

5. Rural retail aggregator SuperK raises 6 Cr in Seed Round funding led by STRIVE VC

SuperK, a tech-enabled grocery retail chain for small towns has raised 6 Cr in Seed funding. The round was led by Strive VC and saw participation from Firstcheque, Ramakant Sharma & Syndicate, serial entrepreneur Srinivas Anumolu, Anand Chandrasekaran (ex-Snapdeal CPO/Facebook Director), Lalit Keshre (CEO at Groww), Rajan Bajaj (CEO at Slice), Sampad Swain (CEO at Instamojo), and many more veterans from the startup ecosystem. SuperK plans to utilize this investment for expanding its infrastructure, improving technology, and hiring talent.

6. Insurtech Nova Benefits Raises US $1 million Funding from Better Capital, Multiply Ventures and Titan Capital

Nova Benefits, a corporate health insurance platform, announced that it has raised $1 million in a seed funding round. The round was led by Multiply Ventures, Better Capital and Titan Capital. Sumit Maniyar, CEO of Rupeek Gold Loans and Ashish Goyal, Co-founder of Early Salary also participated as angel investors.

Born during the 2020 Covid Pandemic, Nova Benefits intends to use the capital to integrate with insurance and HRMS companies, co-create a new category of health insurance products with insurers and expand its engineering & business development efforts. The company is seeing sky-rocketing demand due to Covid. There has been a significant surge in small companies taking insurance for the first time and large companies enhancing their coverages while including more family members. In just 7 months, Nova has onboarded more than 70 clients with 25,000 members on its platform. Nova’s clients include Snapdeal, Yulu Bikes, Chumbak, Fisdom and Dealshare among others.

7. HireACamp raises an undisclosed seed round from IAN investors

HireACamp is an online marketplace that lets travellers easily Search and book camps with local camp owners. It has raised an undisclosed amount of growth capital from IAN in its seed round. The round was led by IAN’s Angel investors including Hari Balasubramanian, Uday Chatterjee, and Dr Uma Kant Panwar.

The company will see use the fresh funds to scale up operations. It will also hire more people with a focus to improve the overall experience of travellers, right from booking to staying.

HireACamp is also the first startup from Uttarakhand to raise funds.

8. AnKa SumMor raises a Pre-Series-A funding round of INR 3 CR led by Inflection Point Ventures

AnKa SumMor, a Sales and Distribution (S&D) platform for the FMCG sector has raised INR 3 Cr in a Pre-Series A round. Inflection Point Ventures, one of India’s largest angel investment platforms in India led the round.

The startup will use the funds towards scaling business in Hyderabad and Chennai with improved infrastructure, coverage, and branding. It also aims to use the funds to expand operations to Bangalore, along with technology development and deployment.

9. Chara, a Deep-tech startup, raises $850K from Kalaari Capital & CIIE.CO

DeepTech startup Chara has raised a seed round of $850k led by Kalaari Capital. Th round also saw participation from CIIE.CO, the Innovation Continuum for the Changemakers. The startup was initially supported by a grant from the Indian Institute of Science. The company aims to use the funds to drive the R&D to build and deliver finished products for signed up and new customers. “The goal is to build a deep-tech company from India whose products will be deployed all over the world,” states Bhaktha Keshavachar, Founder & CEO.

10. ORAI raises INR 3.6 Cr Pre-Series A from Inflection Point Ventures

Enterprise conversational AI platform, ORAI has raised INR 3.6 cr in a Pre-Series A from Inflection Point Ventures, India’s fastest growing angel investment network, marking ORAI as its 13th deal in 2021. The funds raised would be used for international expansion and collaborations, sales and marketing along with product development and enhancements.

11. We Founder Circle leads USD 75K seed round in Avni- menstrual care startup

We Founder Circle (WFC) – a startup investment platform has invested in Avni, a startup focussed on conscious and holistic menstrual care. The brand offers a wide range of menstrual care products including - Avni reusable cloth pads, Avni organic cotton pads and Avni menstrual cups.

The seed round worth USD 75K witnessed participation from key investors including Amit Tyagi, an entrepreneur turned investor, Srikanth Iyengar, a senior executive in the technology services industry and an investor in edtech, healthcare and consumer startups.

Avni plans to utilize funds in product development and expanding the product line. It also plans to exhaust a part of the fundraising in creating more awareness through various on-ground initiatives.