Weekly Startup Funding and Ecosystem Highlights (6th–11th Jan)

Funding Overview

• Total Funding: $466.45M across 27 deals (8 growth-stage, 14 early-stage; 5 undisclosed).
• Key Deal: Innovaccer raised $275M in Series F, marking the first mega funding deal of the year.

Active Investor: Alteria Capital led funding in BrainSightAI ($5M) and Pratilipi ($1.2M).

Early-Stage Highlights

• 14 startups raised $43.75M.
• Sectors: D2C banana chips, energy-tech, EVs, skincare, and real estate platforms.
• Notable startups: Nirmaan, ClicFlyer, Revivo.

City & Segment Insights

• City-wise: Delhi-NCR led with 9 deals, followed by Bengaluru and Mumbai.
• Top Sectors: E-commerce (5 deals), healthtech, and fintech (4 each).

Series Trends

• Dominant Stages: Series A and Seed with 8 deals each.
• Funding Growth: 14x weekly jump, averaging $309.12M over the last 8 weeks.

Ecosystem Developments

• Key Leadership Changes: Rishen Kapoor returns to Peak XV Partners. Achint Setia appointed CEO of Snapdeal. Flipkart hires ex-Dunzo CEO for quick commerce.
• Fund Launches: Accel's $650M fund for India & SEA startups. Telugu Angels fund launched by Andhra Pradesh CM.

Notable Announcements

• IPO Buzz: Lenskart ($1B IPO valuation of $7–$8B), Zepto’s IPO draft papers in March.
• Financial Results: Practo delivered ?3,500 Cr GMV in FY24. MobiKwik revenue at ?291 Cr in Q2 FY25. VAHDAM India narrows losses by 68% in FY24.
• Major Partnerships & Launches: Zaggle with Zepto, ePlane with TCS for electric air mobility, Swiggy’s “SNACC” app for 15-minute delivery.

Market Dynamics

• Stockbroking: Groww leads with 13.16M active users (26.59% market share).
• Gaming Sector: Supreme Court stays GST notices, providing relief.
• Food Tech: Swiggy and Zomato enter 15-minute delivery race.

Conclusion

The week showcased strong momentum in startup funding, IPO planning, and ecosystem growth, with significant advancements in healthtech, fintech, and cleantech sectors.

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