Deal Roundup: Lenskart, Wow! Momo shine in a lacklustre week for startup funding

Fund raising activity remained tepid in the week ended September 20 with 23 technology startups garnering around $135 million compared to $241 million a week ago.

The week, however, saw a number of marquee investors such as New York headquartered hedge fund Tiger Global Management, Mumbai-based private equity firm Kedaara Capital and Goldman Sachs, the New York based investment banking giant, among others, pump money into this market.

Among notable deals, Bengaluru based ANI Technologies, which owns and operates ride hailing platform Ola, found interest from global automobile giants Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, chiefly to back its electric vehicle (EV) arm Ola Electric Mobility. Kolkata-based quick service restaurant Wow! Momo is lining up a push into cloud kitchens with a capital infusion led by Tiger Global.

Top funding deals

Lenskart: Kedaara Capital acquired 6.14 million Series F preference shares in the Faridabad-based eyewear retailer for $50 million. The private equity firm reportedly acquired a 5-7% stake in the company. The deal also involved secondary stake sale by PremjiInvest.

Wow! Momo: The food chain raised $23 million from Tiger Global for its foray in cloud kitchens, among other growth plans. The company now aims to follow the click-and-mortar model which includes operating cloud kitchens along with physical stores. Wow! Momo is also Tiger Global’s first bet in the QSR space.

Groww: The Bengaluru-based fintech raised $21 million from Ribbit Capital, Sequoia Capital and Y Combinator.

Square Yards: The Anil Ambani-owned realty services provider received $20 million funding from Bennett Coleman & Co and Japan-based Genkai Capital.

Nestaway: The home rentals platform raised $5 million from its existing investor Goldman Sachs. Earlier, the company was reportedly in talks to raise funds from China-based Fosun International and Shunwei Capital.

Ola Electric Mobility: South Korea’s Hyundai Motors and its sister concern Kia Motors sought the  approval of India’s anti-trust regulator to acquire a stake in the owner of taxi-hailing service provider Ola, and its subsidiary, Ola Electric Mobility. Ola Electric Mobility is a subsidiary of ANI Technologies and currently focuses on two-wheeler and three-wheeler EVs and charging infrastructure for the segment.

Blowhorn: The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and Chiratae Ventures infused an undisclosed amount of funds into logistics firm Blowhorn’s parent company Catbus Infolabs.

India Accelerator: The seed stage accelerator programme made investments worth $421,704 in five Delhi-based companies -- Prithvi Al Labs, DROR, The Knotty Tales, VAPP and FIO.

M&A

Entco: French artist services firm Believe acquired the Mumbai-based company for an undisclosed sum to expand its presence in India. Entco, which will be renamed to Believe Entertainment, will continue to be based out of Mumbai.

BetterButter: SilverEdge Technologies has acquired the Delhi-based online recipe sharing platform. Financial details of the deal are yet to be disclosed.

Venture capital funds

Vertex Ventures: Vertex Ventures, the venture capital arm of a Singapore-based Temasek Holdings, closed its South East Asia and India focused fund at $305 million. The fund had raised $230 million in its first close.

Lightbox: The Mumbai-based venture capital firm closed its third fund with commitments worth $209 million from  a total of 28 limited partners. The latest fund takes its total capital under management to more than $400 million.