Deal Roundup: Ribbit Capital makes a mark in fintech; startup funding recovers to touch $312 mn

After a slump last week, funding in technology startups bounced back as investors put $312.4 million to work across 16 deals.

Among the more notable deals during the week, Cred, the fintech startup that rewards consumers for paying their credit card bills, raised a mega Series B funding round from marquee investors such as Ribbit Capital, DST Global and Tiger Global Management. The fintech sector, overall, made its presence felt, accounting for four of the 16 deals closed during the week.

Palo Alto, California headquartered venture capital firm Ribbit Capital is fast becoming an investor to watch in this market, especially in the fintech sector. The firm, which specialises in investments in businesses at the intersection of technology and financial services, snapped up prime stakes in two leading fintech startups this week. 

Top funding deals

Cred: The fintech startup founded by Freecharge founder Kunal Shah raised $120 million in what seems to be a Series B funding round led by Ribbit Capital and DST Global entity Gemini Investments. While the company’s latest regulatory filings showed that the startup had received commitments for $101 million, Shah tweeted earlier this week that the startup had closed the funding round at $120 million. Existing investor Sequoia Capital also joined the round along with new investors Tiger Global Management and Hillhouse Capital.

Fresh Menu: The cloud kitchen startup, which has had a somewhat rough ride lately in terms of attracting fresh capital from investors, raised about $500,000 in a  bridge funding round. The investing entity, Vistra ITCL, seems to be some of an intermediary for a financial or strategic investor. Recently, talks between Fresh Menu and budgets hospitality unicorn OYO for an acquisition by the latter broke down on valuation mismatches. 

Vedantu: The Bengaluru based online tutoring startup has raised $42 million in a Series C funding round led by existing investor Tiger Global Management and new investor WestBridge Capital Partners. Another new investor in the round was Prince Maxmilian, CEO of impact investment firm LGT Group. Vedantu operates on a freemium model and targets students in classes 6 to 12. 

Grocery Factory: The Bengaluru based online grocery platform raised $417,960 in a seed round from a group of angel investors including Pidilite Industries president Debashish Vanikar, former Darby Overseas managing director Deepa Sankaran and Quest Global COO Ajay Prabhu. The startup sources staples and home care products directly from manufacturers and sells them to consumers under its own brand. It currently operates within Bengaluru and plans to use the capital raised to expand to more cities in Karnataka.

Bharatpe: The payments startup raised $50 million in a Series B round led by Ribbit Capital and Steadview Capital. Existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Beenext Capital also participated in the round. The latest infusion takes the total capital raised by the startup to nearly $100 million.

FreshToHome: The meat and fish etailer, also based in Bengaluru, raised $20 million in a Series B funding round led by private equity firm Iron Pillar. The startup plans to expand its offerings to other categories such as fresh fruits and vegetables, staples and dairy products.

Rapido: The bike taxi startup raised $55 million in what appears to be a Series C funding round from led by Bengaluru based private equity firm WestBridge Capital Partners. Existing investor Nexus Venture Partners is also participating in the round along with other investors. 

Dunzo: The hyperlocal services startup raised $2.8 million in venture debt from existing investor Alteria Capital. The latest infusion takes the total debt raised by the startup to about $8 million.

Lead Angels: SVAAS Management Services, the Mumbai based company that owns angel investment platform Lead Angels, raised an undisclosed sum from a group of individual investors. The company will use the capital raised to beef up the capabilities of its recently launched arms Lead Advisory Services and Lead Angels Management and Professional Services.

Chargebee: The Chennai and San Francisco based startup, which offers billing solutions to enterprises on a SaaS model, raised $14 million in a new round of funding from Hong Kong based hedge fund Steadview Capital. The latest infusion takes the total capital raised by the startup to nearly $40 million.

M&A

DocWise: Bengaluru based DocsApp, a platform that connects doctors with patients via a mobile app, acquired another patient-doctor engagement platform DocWise for an undisclosed sum.