Deal Street: Spotify Investor Leads Funding In Indian Music Streaming Service

Six Indian startups raised around Rs 1,400 crore ($212 million) in angel seed or venture capital funding last week, almost double of what investors pumped in the prior week.

Among the notable investments last week, Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings made a fresh bet in India, and this time in music streaming service Ganna.com. It owns Tencent Music, a popular service in China, holds stake in world's leading music streaming service Spotify, and Joox in South East Asia.

Tencent Leads $115 Million Funding Round In Gaana

The New-Delhi based music streaming service raised $115 million (around Rs 765 crore) in fresh round of funding led by Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings.

Times Internet Ltd., the media and technology company that started the business, also participated in the round, Gaana.com said in a statement.

The company will use the funds to invest in artificial intelligence, develop its subscription product and enhance user experience. “As more affordable mobile data plans are driving smartphone penetration in India, we believe growth in the music streaming market will accelerate,” Martin Lau, president of Tencent Holdings said in the statement.

Gaana.com, which said it has crossed 60 million monthly active users last year, had last secured funds in October 2015 from mobile phone maker Micromax.

NestAway Raises $51 Million From Goldman Sachs, Others

Bengaluru-based online home rental startup NestAway raised $51 million (Rs 332.5 crore) in a Series D round of funding led by Goldman Sachs and UC-RNT Fund. Existing investors IDG Ventures and Tiger Global also participated in the latest funding round, the company said in a statement.

With this round, NestAway has raised nearly $100 million since its inception.

NestAway caters to over 35,000 tenants and 16,000 owners, including over 7,000 family owners in Bangalore, Delhi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Noida, Mumbai and Pune.

Bessemer, Orios Lead Series C Funding Round In PharmEasy

Mumbai-based online drug delivery platform PharmEasy raised an undisclosed amount in a Series C round of funding led by existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Orios Venture Partners, Dharmil Sheth, co-founder of PharmEasy told BloombergQuint over the phone.

The firm aims to use the fresh funds to reach out to more customers, streamline and automate operations, Sheth added. He declined to comment on the amount raised. Two people privy to the development told BloombergQuint that the firm has raised around $30 million in this round.

PharmEasy which raised $16 million (Rs 105 crore at the time) last year, has expanded to more than 5,000 new pin codes in two years, and has offices in five cities.

Others

Home furnishing company Urban Ladder raised $12 million from Kalaari Capital, Saif Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Steadview Capital. The funds will be used towards the company's omni-channel expansion, Urban Ladder said in a statement.

Noida-based education technology startup Buddy4Study raised $3 million (Rs 20 crore) in Series A funding from existing investor CBA Capital, which is backed by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the company said in a statement. The funds will be used to scale up and expand operations.

Gurugram-based tech-enabled laundry service provider UClean raised $1 million (Rs 6.5 crore) from franchise and retail services provider Franchise India Holdings Ltd. U.S.-based angel investor Anubhav Chopra also invested in this round, UClean said in a statement.