Here’s the lowdown of the top deals from the startup space this week.
Games24x7 turns unicorn at a valuation of $2.5 bn
Multi-game platform Games24x7 has entered the unicorn club after raising $75 million in a recent funding round led by Malabar Investment at a valuation of $2.5 billion.
The funding round also saw participation from existing investors Tiger Global and Raine Group. Tiger had earlier invested in the company in 2011 and 2012 and Raine did their first round of investment in 2019.
According to a statement by the firm, the latest investment round makes Games24x7 India’s most valuable multi-game platform.
Healthcare VC HealthQuad closes second fund at $162 mn
HealthQuad, a healthcare venture capital fund, has marked the final close its second fund at $162 million. As per the firm, this is more than twice than its target size at launch.
Global biopharmaceutical MSD led the commitments from a pool of global financial investors, strategic institutions in pharma and healthcare, development financial institutions (DFI), funds of funds and large European conglomerates.
The firm, which counts Medikabazaar, Ekincare, Healthifyme and Qure.ai in its portfolio of invested companies, from its HealthQuad Fund-II will be investing in 10 to 15 young private companies across high-growth segments of the healthcare sector in India. The fund has already deployed $60 million across companies till date.
UK-based Builder.ai raises $100 mn Series C led by Insight Partners to scale up its software automation
Builder.ai, aa AI-powered low-code/no-code app development platform has raised $100 million in its Series C funding round led by New York-based global venture capital and private equity firm Insight Partners.
The round also saw participation from existing investors such as Singapore based Jungle Ventures along with new individual and institutional names that include the IFC and Jeffrey Katezenberg’s WndrCo.
With this investment, the company till date has raised $195 million across three rounds in all.
Tata Capital’s PE fund raises Rs 955 cr to be invested in pharma, healthcare sectors
Tata Capital has announced a Rs 955 crore fundraise by a private equity arm for investing in healthcare companies. The Tata Capital Healthcare Fund II (TCHF II) achieved a final closure of its fund with investor commitments of Rs 955 crore or $126 million, a statement said.
The offering is a follow-up to the Tata Capital Healthcare Fund I which had raised Rs 411 crore in 2012.
The second fund has garnered commitments from domestic and international financial and strategic institutions including some of the global pharma, medical equipment companies, development financial institutions and large European institutions, it said, adding Government of India has also committed money through the Self Reliant India fund.
IndMoney closes $86 mn Series D funding round at a valuation of $650 mn
Wealth management platform IndMoney has bagged an additional $11 million as a part of its ongoing Series D funding round, led by Singapore-based Sixteenth Street Capital.
Other investors who participated in the round include Lenskart founder Peyush Bansal and Nearbuy cofounder Ankur Warikoo. The firm’s founder and CEO Ashish Kashyap has also invested as a part of the current tranche, along with several other senior executives in the startup – including general counsel Sunny Bajaj, marketing head Divyang Bhardwaj, strategy head Ankur Goyal, and finance head Vinay Saraf.
The company has closed its ongoing fundraise at $86 million, valuing it at $650 million post-money. In the earlier round, it had raised $75 million from existing investors including Steadview Capital, Tiger Global and Dragoneer Investment Group.
Social commerce startup CityMall raises $75 mn
Citymall, a community commerce platform, has bagged $75 million in a Series C funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners.
General Catalyst, Citius, Jungle Ventures, Arena Ventures, Elevation, Accel & Waterbridge also participated in the round. Jungle Ventures has significantly doubled down on their investment from Citymall’s Series B round.
This is the startup’s third fundraise in the last 18 months, bringing the total capital raised to $110 million.
Classplus secures $70 mn in Series D round, valued at $600 mn
B2B edtech startup Classplus has raised $70 million in its Series D funding round co-led by Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global.
As part of the latest round, Abu Dhabi-based Chimera Ventures has come in as a new investor while existing backer RTP Global has doubled down and participated in the financing.
The firm’s valuation has jumped to approximately $600 million after the latest investment. The new round of capital comes only eight months after the company bagged $65 million in June last year.
Vivriti Capital raises $55 mn from Lightrock India and Creation Investments
Vivriti Capital, a lender to mid-market enterprises, has raised $55 million in its Series C funding round, taking its total amount of funds raised to $165 million.
Existing investors Lightrock India and Creation Investments led the round, after having participated in the Series A and B rounds. The firm said that the valuation has increased three times. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to Vivriti Capital on this transaction.
Vivriti Capital has a target of $5 billion assets under management over the next four to five years, up from the current $700 million. The company plans to achieve this through its balance sheet and that of its Vivriti Asset Management.
IPO-bound Pine Labs raises $50 mn from Vitruvian Partners
IPO-bound merchant commerce platform, Pine Labs has closed another $50 million in funding from London’s private equity major Vitruvian Partners.
“We aim to further strengthen our recent foray in online payments via Plural and take our Buy Now Pay Later offering to new markets through strategic collaborations,” said Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine Labs.
Pine Labs is expanding its BNPL offering in Southeast Asia. Earlier this month, the company had launched ‘Mastercard Installments with Pine Labs’ program with Mastercard and DBS Bank to empower the bank’s two million customers in Singapore, Indonesia, and Hong Kong SAR with Pay Later installment purchase options at the point of sale.
LambdaTest raises $45 mn from Premji Invest to scale its software test orchestration platform
LambdaTest, an end-to-end cloud-based test orchestration platform, has raised $45 million in a venture round led by Premji Invest.
Existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Telstra Ventures, Blume Ventures, and Leo Capital, also participated in the round. Angel investor Sandeep Johri, Ex-CEO and present board member of Tricentis, also pitched in.
The technology startup use majority of the capital for new product innovation. A part of the funds will also be used to enhance the existing product capabilities and accelerate growth. The company is also looking to hire across multiple roles and geographies, it said in a statement.
Qure.ai gets $40 mn from Novo Holdings, HealthQuad
Healthtech startup Qure.ai has raised $40 million in a Series C funding round led by Novo Holdings and HealthQuad. The round also saw the participation of existing investor MassMutual Ventures.
The funds raised would be used for intensifying product development for critical care and community diagnostics and also strengthening the company’s global reach, the firm said in a statement.
Wiz Freight sets sail with $36 mn in Series A funding led by Tiger Global
Wiz Freight, a cross-border supply chain platform, has raised $36 million (Rs 275 crore) in the largest Series A funding round for a logistics startup in India.
The round, which is a mix of equity and debt, was led by Tiger Global with participation from Axilor Ventures, Foundamental, Arali Ventures, Stride Ventures and Alteria Capital.
With fresh capital, the company plans to accelerate its global expansion plan by launching operations in 15 countries across Southeast Asia, Middle East & Africa with Singapore and Dubai as headquarters by the end of 2022.
mCaffeine valued at Rs 1,000 cr after Rs 240 cr Series C fundraise
Single-ingredient D2C personal care brand mCaffeine has raised Rs 240 crore in its Series C funding round led by Paragon Partners at a valuation of Rs 1000 crore. The firm claims that post this investment, it is now the highest valued D2C single ingredient beauty brand in the world.
The funding round also saw participation from VC firms Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund, Sharrp Ventures, along with existing investors such as Amicus Capital Partners and RPSG Capital Ventures.
Till date, mCaffeine has raised a total of $40 million across three funding rounds, and claims to be profitable.
FarMart raises $32 mn in Series B round led by General Catalyst
FarMart, a SaaS-based food supply platform has secured $32 million in Series B round led by General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors, Matrix Partners India and Omidyar Network India.
Elluminate Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to FarMart on the transaction.
This new infusion of funds will fuel the growth of the company’s digital distribution network across India and to export markets. The startup also plans to make key investments into R&D, automation and technology, it said in a statement.
US-based online furniture marketplace Kaiyo gets $36 mn to accelerate expansion
Kaiyo, an online marketplace for second-hand furniture, has $36 million in Series B funding round in a mix of equity and debt, led by Edison Partners.
The investment will be used to further accelerate growth and market expansion, starting with California, the US-based firm said in a statement.
Kaiyo claims to have witnessed a100 percent growth year on year due to growing interest in the circular economy and pandemic-induced supply chain issues.
Pixxel bags $25 mn in Series A funding as India’s SpaceTech startups find escape velocity
Pixxel raises $25 million in what is India’s largest fundraise by a space technology company till date. The funding round was led by Toronto-based Radical Ventures with participation from Jordan Noone, Seraphim Space Investment, Lightspeed Partners, Sparta LLC and Inventus Capital India.
The fresh capital will enable Pixxel to expedite production of its high-resolution hyperspectral satellite, which offers artificial intelligence-powered insights help discover and predict climate issues at a fraction of traditional satellite cost.
General Catalyst leads $13 mn Series A round in OneCode
OneCode, a platform to digitise the sales ecosystem, has raised $13 million in a Series A funding led by General Catalyst. Existing investors Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Nexus Venture Partners, and Waterbridge Ventures also participated in the round.
The round also witnessed participation from angel investors like Vidit & Sanjeev from Meesho, Madhusudhan from M2P, Vikas Choudhary (President-Reliance Jio), DSP Family Office, and Reddy Futures Fund.
OneCode will use this capital to invest in hiring across functions and accelerate the product and tech development. The company will be expanding its presence to 100 additional cities and will increase the size of its agent network by 500 percent by 2025, it said in a statement.
Edgegrid secures $6 mn seed round from Lightrock India and others
Edgegrid, a consumer facing grid technology platform had secured $6 million in its seed round of funding from Lightrock India, along with participation from Theia Ventures and other angel investors.
The firm is building a fully-integrated technology platform to enable the energy transition for last-mile customers, namely household, small businesses, commercial building owners and electric vehicle charging networks. Its platform enables last-mile customers to consume energy efficiently and generate energy locally. Further, it works closely with energy distribution companies and distributed energy generators to reduce their costs and expand renewable energy penetration for the entire ecosystem.
Binny Bansal-backed 021 Capital invests $5.5 mn in SuperK
Rural retail aggregator, SuperK, has raised $5.5 million in its pre-series A round led by Binny Bansal-backed 021 Capital.
Other investors who participated in the round included Saikiran Krishnamurthy (Co-Founder & CEO, xto10x), Ankit Nagori (Founder, Curefoods), Ashish Kacholia (Public market investor), Nipun Mehra (Founder & CEO, Ula), MarsShot Ventures (Razorpay Founders), Blume Founders Fund and existing investors.
The firm plans to utilise this investment for expansion, building a strong team and brand, enhancing technology and supply chain infrastructure, it said in a statement.
SaaS startup OSlash raises $5 mn, valued at $50 mn
Enterprise SaaS firm OSlash has raised $5 million in a post-seed round at a valuation of $50 million.
The funding round was led by over 40 startup operators, including Kunal Shah (CEO, Cred), Christian Oestlien (VP Product, YouTube), Akshay Kothari (COO, Notion), and Cristina Cordova (Partner, First Round), among others.
The company plans to utilise the fresh funds to set up hiring in the US, Europe, and grow its search tool that pulls together information from various different applications.
