Deal Roundup: Tech startup funding shrinks 85% as Covid-19 turns pandemic

While dealmaking in March opened on a reasonably strong note, with as much as $133 million deployed across 23 deals, investments declined by about 85% in the second week of the month. The total value deals stood at $20.5 million, barring three deals whose values were not disclosed.

The positive was that about 90% of the 12 deals this week were seed stage investments, with only BankBazaar raising capital in a growth round and Ola Electric at the Series B stage.

The week also saw Bengaluru-based information technology services firm Infosys write off its investment in data sciences startup Waterline Data after the Mountain View, California-based company was dissolved.

"The Indian funding economy is seeing the impact of Coronavirus and we are getting a lot of queries from promoters to enquire about the potential extension of their funding rounds and impact on closure,” Roma Priya, founder at startup investments-focused legal firm Burgeon Law said. Most promoters are looking at extending the runway of their current capital to ensure they get past the prevailing uncertainty in the investment space, Priya added.

Read: Google, Flipkart, Swiggy, gig economy startups spring to action to contain Covid-19 crisis

Top Funding Deals

MultiLiving: Mumbai-headquartered real estate company MultiLiving Technologies raised $6 million from Lodha Ventures as it looks to fuel its growth plans. Lodha Ventures is the investment arm of property developer Mangal Prabhat Lodha family.

Fampay: Bengaluru-based fintech startup for teenagers Fampay Solutions raised $4.7 million in a seed round from Y Combinator, Venture Highway, Sequoia Capital India and GFC (Global Founders Capital) and others high-net-worth individuals.

Airmeet: The Bengaluru-based startup that runs an eponymous online events platform raised $3 million in an extended seed funding round led by returning investor Accel, new investors VentureHighway and GFC and several other angel investors.

BankBazaar: The loan aggregation platform’s Chennai-based parent company A&A Financial Services raised $2.2 million in a growth round from returning investors that included Dublin headquartered credit reporting company Experian, Fidelity International-backed venture entity Eight Roads and Menlo Park, California-based venture capital firm Sequoia Capital.

Karbon Card: The Bengaluru-headquartered corporate credit card provider raised $2 million in a seed round from a group of Indian and Chinese angel investors including Cred founder Kunal Shah, Pine Labs CEO Amrish Rau, and founder of Citrus Pay and Jupitar Jitendra Gupta.

Ola Electric: The electric vehicles business arm of Bengaluru-based ride-hailing startup ANI Technologies raised $1 million from Pawan Munjal Family Trust. The trust is owned by motorcycle maker HeroMoto Corp chairman and managing director Pawan Munjal.

Lal10: The B2B artisan platform’s parent operator Bhagwandas Retail raised $1.1 million to build on its technology-based supply chain and focus on global B2B retailers, in a funding round led by Salt Lake City, Utah based impact investors Sorenson Impact.

Unbox: Bengaluru-based automation technology providers for logistics companies Unbox Robotics Labs raised $500,000 in a seed funding round led by IIM Ahmedabad’s startup accelerator Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) and venture capital fund Arali Ventures.

Anaxee: Indore headquartered Anaxee Digital Runners, which runs an eponymous last-mile outreach and data collection platform, raised an undisclosed amount of capital in a seed round led by venture capital firm Orios Venture Partners. 

Spectacom: Homegrown telecom company Bharti Airtel invested an undisclosed sum in Spectacom Global, which owns an eponymous health and fitness platform, for a 10% equity stake. Post deal, the Bengaluru headquartered company will join Airtel’s startup accelerator programme.