Deal Street: Defence Startup Raises $17 Million, Get My Parking Bags Series A Funding

Last week saw the first investment into an Indian defence startup this year with the Bengaluru and Palo-Alto based Tonbo Imaging bagging $17 million in Series B funding.

Overall, nine Indian startups raised $73 million in angel, seed or venture capital funding last week versus $194 raised by eight startups in the week prior.

Tonbo Raises $17 Million In Series B Funding

Bengaluru- and Palo Alto-based defence technology startup, Tonbo Imaging, raised $17 million (around Rs 109 crore) in Series B funding.

The round was led by WRV Capital with participation from Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm. Edelweiss Private Equity and U.S.-based early-stage investor Artiman Ventures which had backed the firm in its Series A round, also participated, the company said in a statement.

The startup which develops designs, builds and deploys advanced imaging and sensor systems for armed forces across the globe said it will use the funds to enhance its dominance as a designer and manufacturer of night vision imaging systems for defence, surveillance and transportation safety markets.

A part of investment will be used to expand global reach. The startup will also look at strategic acquisitions in specialised areas like lasers and photonics, the statement added.

Unacademy Raises Series B Funding

Online learning platform Unacademy raised $11.5 million (Rs 73 crore) in a Series B round led by Sequoia Capital India and SAIF Partners, the company said in a statement.

Existing investors Nexus Venture Partners and Blume Ventures, and some angel investors also participated in the round.

The startup said it will use the funds to enhance product and technology, and enter other categories including personality development, new languages and job interviews. It will also invest in producing original content, the statement added.

Unacademy has about 4,000 educators and over a million registered users on its platform, and offers more than 50,000 lessons online.

OYO Raises $10 Million From China Lodging Group

Chinese hotel operator China Lodging Group Ltd. picked up less than 5 percent stake in budget hotel marketplace OYO Rooms for $10 million (around Rs 63.9 crore) as part of a strategic partnership, the company said in a statement.

The partnership also includes alliances in areas such as local sourcing and procurement, joint loyalty programmes, venture partnership opportunities and technology sharing.

“The partnership will draw on the strengths of China Lodging Group's management team, hotel operations expertise and strong loyalty programme and OYO's technologies that enable the transformation of hotel operations,” said Jenny Zhang, chief executive officer of China Lodging Group.

The fresh investment comes just two days after OYO Rooms raised $250 million (Rs 1,600 crore) in a Series D round of funding led by existing Japanese investor SoftBank.

Get My Parking Raises $3 Million

Smart parking startup Get My Parking secured $3 million (Rs 19.2 crore) in its Series A funding round from IAN Fund, and existing investors Beenext and Indian Angel Network, the company said in a statement.

The startup which provides commuters and enterprises real-time parking updates, said it will use the new capital to upgrade its Internet of Things platform.

The company has deployed its technology across 300 locations in Delhi and at mega events like the Kumbh Mela and Indian Premier League, the statement added.

The mobile app also provides information about legal parking lots and allows users to search, book and navigate relevant parking areas.

Others

Delhi-based logistics solution provider Ecom Express raised $30 million (Rs 192 crore) from existing investor Warburg Pincus. The investment was done through Warburg Pincus' unit Eaglebay Investment, a report by a financial daily stated, quoting documents filed by company research firm Tofler.

Content marketing platform WittyFeed, raised an undisclosed sum in a pre-Series A round, according to a company statement. The investors who participated in this round include Anand Chandrasekaran, former product head at Snapdeal, Apurva Chamaria, head of corporate marketing at HCL Technologies, and Ritesh Malik, co-founder at co-working space Innov8.

Delhi-based health food startup Sattviko raised an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding from a bevy of angel investors led by Raman Roy, chairman of NASSCOM, the company said.

Pune-based fintech startup EarlySalary raised $782,000 debt financing from IFMR Capital. The startup will use the money to accelerate growth, it said in a statement.

Bengaluru-based online bike rental platform Wheelstreet.in received $120,000 in seed funding from Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator Y Combinator, it said in a statement. The startup plans to use the money to expand its presence in more Indian cities, besides establishing its footprint in select South Asian countries.