Deal Street: Indian Startups Raised At Least Rs 530 Crore Last Week 

Funding deals in the Indian startup ecosystem saw some slowdown last week as eight companies together garnered at least $80 million in angel or seed funding and venture capital funding. The comparable number in the week prior stood at $189 million.

Bengaluru-based startups led the pack last week, followed by Mumbai.

The big-ticket deal was secured by education technology startup Byju's. The latest capital infusion has taken the total amount raise by the company since its inception to $204 million, according to Crunchbase which collects information on startups.

Byju's Raises Funds From Belgium's Verlinvest

Byju's bagged $30 million from Belgium-based Verlinvest, three months after receiving funding from the World Bank arm, International Finance Corp, documents filled with the Registrar of Companies showed.

The proceeds of the latest round will be used for international expansion and acquisition, the company said in a media statement.

“A 1:1 learning experience is a dream ratio, and it is very encouraging to see that an Indian company has created a product which closely addresses this need by offering engaging and personalised learning experiences enabled by technology,” Nicholas Cator, executive director of Verlinvest said in the statement.

Byju's provides learning programmes for students between Classes VI to XII and preparation programmes for competitive examinations such as JEE, CAT, IAS, GRE and GMAT, among others. The company says its K-12 app, which provides personalised learning experience, has reached 8 million while its paid subscription has touched 4 lakh.

Verlinvest is the second Belgian investment firm after Sofina to invest in Byju's.

Also Read: Why Did Mark Zuckerberg “Like” This Bengaluru Startup?

Facebook Co-Founder Saverin's VC Firm Leads $25-Million Round In Icertis

Cloud-based enterprise software firm Icertis raised $25 million (Rs 175 crore) in Series C funding led by B Capital Group, the company said in a media statement. Existing investors Ignition Partners, Greycroft, e.ventures and Eight Roads Ventures also participated in this round, the statement added.

The company will use the funds to accelerate R&D investment and is looking to double its workforce in its offices in Seattle, San Jose, Pune and Stuttgart.

The fresh investment takes the total funds raise by the company to $46 million (Rs 300 crore), according to Crunchbase.

When a company doubles revenues every year and maintains positive cash flow, it's an extremely compelling investment, Raj Ganguly, co-founder and partner at B Capital Group, said in the statement.

B Capital was co-founded in 2015 by Facebook co-Founder Eduardo Saverin and Silicon Valley-based Indian-origin investor Ganguly.

Meat-Ordering Startup Licious Raises $10 Million

Bengaluru based online meat and fish-ordering platform Licious secured $10 million (Rs 65 crore) in Series B funding led by existing investors Mayfield India and 3one4 Capital, co-Founder Abhay Hanjura told BloombergQuint over phone. Russia-based Sistema Asia Fund and South Korea's Neoplux Technology Fund also participated in this round.

The company will use the funds to expand operations to other Indian cities including Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad, Hanjura added.

Licious runs an end-to-end business for meat delivery that comprises procurement, processing, storage, and delivery.

The firm had last raised $3 million (around Rs 19.9 crore at the time) in a Series A round from early-stage investor Mayfield.

BigBasket Raises Debt Funding From Trifecta Capital

Online grocery store BigBasket raised $6.7 million (Rs 45 crore) from venture debt firm Trifecta Capital, the company said in a media statement. .

It will use the investment to set up new warehouses and facilities to reprocess fruits and vegetables and strengthen the cold chain infrastructure, the statement added.

“We have a clearly identified use case for debt. We are present in 25 cities and continue to optimize our supply chain. A significant part of our business is fresh fruits and vegetables, the bulk of which is sourced directly from farms. It is crucial that we maintain the quality right up to the last mile,” co-founder and chief executive officer Hari Menon said in an email to BloombergQuint.

Abraaj Group, Bessemer Venture Partners, Sands Capital, Helion Venture Partners and International Finance Corp are existing investors in the startup.

Other Deals

Lending app CASHe raised $3.8 million (around Rs 25 crores) in Series A round of funding led by former India co-Head of Private Equity at Blackstone Mathew Cyriac, the Economic Times reported. Cyriac invested both in his personal capacity as well as through Florintree Advisors, the alternative asset management firm he took over in February this year, the report added.

Mumbai-based solar installation startup Oriano, that specialises in turnkey solar solutions raised $3 million (around Rs 20 crore) in Series A funding from Samridhi Fund managed by SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), the company said in a statement.

Bengaluru-based fintech startup Perpule raised $650,000 (around Rs 4.2 crore) from KStart Capital, the seed investment platform of venture capital firm Kalaari Capital. The round also saw participation from Venture Highway and Raghunandan G, co-founder of TaxiForSure, the company said in a statement.

Mumbai-based smartphone operating system Indus OS, raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding from early-stage investor VenturEast and JSW Ventures, the venture capital arm of JSW Group, the company said in a statement.