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This week the Indian startup ecosystem witnessed investment of more than $200 Mn, making it one of the best weeks for the Indian startups. Here is a quick recap of some of the top startups that managed to raise funds as Techpluto brings you recap of the weekly funding news from the Indian startup ecosystem. As usual, we will also be shedding light on how these startups plan to use the latest capital infusion for their business.
Sharechat: Raising almost $100 Mn (INR 720 Cr), India’s vernacular language social platform ShareChat raised this week’s biggest funding round. The round was led by Shunwei Capital, while Hong Kong-based Morningside Ventures along with other existing investors like Xiaomi & Lightspeed Partners also contributed to the funding.
Following the latest series C funding round, Sharechat’s market valuation has touched $470 Mn, witnessing seven fold increase to its previous valuation of measly $67 Mn.
Sharechat tries to fill the void of social media presence among the non-English people in India. Its Android app is available in almost all the prominent Indian languages and currently boosts 10 Mn users.
Ola: India’s homegrown cab hailing giant raises $50 Mn from Hong Kong-based Sailing Capital and the China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund (CEECF). Both are new investors in India’s largest cab hailing company. According to reports, this funding is part of the company’s effort to raise almost $1 Bn.
Although $1 Bn is a small sum for a unicorn company like Ola, the company’s aggressive expansion strategy may have left it with no option but to latch to any fundraising opportunity. Keeping intact the aggressive expansion strategy, the Ola earlier this week announced that the company will soon launch its third international operation in New Zealand.
Livspace: End-to-end interior designing startup Livspace secured $70 Mn in series C round. The round was led by the U.S. headquartered equity investment company and investment bank giant Goldman Sachs. The round also participation by LivSpace’s several existing investors. The startup plans to leverage the latest capital infusion for increasing its territorial presence. The company is currently present in 7 regions and aims to increase the same to 13 by end of the next year.
Mate Labs: The Bengaluru headquartered machine learning (ML) focused startup Mate labs raised $550K from Omphalos Ventures India LLP and other investors from across the globe. The startup is likely to use funds for making ML suites for small companies hailing from BFSI and Retail sectors.
CleanseCar: Car cleaning and repair startup CleanseCar raised Seed funding from Dhianu Das. For all those who don’t know, Dhianu Das is a angel investor and mentor for several successful startups like Cleardekho, GoMechanic and Swaytech.
This was seed funding round for CleanseCar, which is based in Bengaluru. The startup plans to use the seed funds for expansion purposes and to invest in R&D exercise. The company is especially planning to expand across Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad.
Knocksense: local discovery and recommendation startup Knocksense got a much needed funding this week, after it raised undisclosed amount from Amitesh Pandey – owner of the VBS Infravision Private Limited. This was a seed funding round for startup that is based in Lucknow, a city that is not often known for nurturing startups. The company plans to use the funds for expansion purposes and will be focused more on expanding across tier-II cities.
Xplorabox: Educational subscription activity startup Xplorabox raised undisclosed amount from clutch of investors. Xplorabox’s subscription activity solutions are especially dedicated to children.
Park wheels: Gurugram-based Park Wheels, which offers solution for car parking problems, raised $166K (INR 1.2 Cr) from group of investors. The group included new as well as existing investors. The startup will use the funds for ramping up its technological capabilities and for fulfilling the current orders.
Cyclops MedTech: Bengaluru headquartered Cyclops MedTech scooped up $1 Mn from Unitus Ventures. Several existing investors also contributed to the fundraising round. Cyclops MedTech is a unique healthcare startup that uses eye-tracking technology for resolving neuro-vestibular disorder problems. The startup will try to leverage the latest capital infusion for increasing its installations base in India and other Asian markets.
NewsBytes: Today Indians have insistable appetite for breaking news and cashing on this phenomenon is NewsBytes. The digital news startup NewsBytes raised $1 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round. The funding round was spearheaded by German headquartered MM Inno GmbH and U.S. based Powerhouse Ventures, while several existing investors also participated in the round.
The funds will be primarily used for expanding its technological capabilities, expanding its territorial footprints and consolidating its presence in Hindi and other vernacular languages. The company will also use funds for venturing into video based content.
DailyNinja: Microdelivery startup DailyNinja raised an undisclosed amount from Mumbai-based venture capital firm Matrix Partners India. Some of the high profile existing investors including Sequoia India and Saama Capital also participated in the round.
DailyNinja was recently in limelight for acquiring 4amShop for undisclosed amount. The Bengaluru based startup will use the funds for expanding beyond Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.
Some other startups that managed to raise funds this week are Avenue11, Leena AI, Togedr, Sheroes and Qbera.
