New Delhi, Dec 14 (IANS) In a significant week for the Indian startup ecosystem, nearly 40 startups secured more than $787 million in funding as the economy remained resilient amid the geo-political conditions. These deals included 16 growth-stage deals and 23 early-stage ones. This is a massive jump from $250 million raised cumulatively across 18 deals last week. Cloud kitchen unicorn Rebel Foods led the funding with $210 million led by Temasek in a mix of primary and secondary share sales. Rebel Foods is planning for a public listing by next year.
Fintech startup Mintifi raised a total of $180 million in its Series E round led by TVG and Prosus. Mintifi plans to deploy the fresh capital to expand its footprint across key sectors. Meanwhile, CarDekho SEA, the Southeast Asia business unit of digital automotive solutions provider CarDekho Group, raised its first external funding round of $60 million. The round was led by prominent growth and private equity investors Navis Capital Partners (Navis) and Dragon Fund. Following this round, the cumulative fundraise now stands at more than $100 million.
Haber, a leading industrial AI startup, raised $44 million in its Series C funding round, which included $38 million in equity and $6 million in debt. The funding round was led by Creaegis, BEENEXT, and Accel. SolarSquare, India’s leading home solar startup based in Mumbai, secured $40 million in its Series B funding round, marking the largest venture capital raise in the Indian solar sector. The round was led by Lightspeed with participation from Lightrock. K12 Techno Services secured $40 million in funding from Kenro Capital, a growth-stage secondary venture capital firm.
Moreover, 23 early-stage startups secured funding worth $54.01 million during the week. Nearly 73,151 startups in India now have at least one woman Director — nearly half of the 1,52,139 startups supported by the government, thus showcasing the crucial role women play in driving innovation and economic growth, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry statement. –IANS na/
