Deal Roundup: MedGenome, Nykaa, Furlenco get fresh cheques in a bleak market; Unacademy buys Kreatryx

Despite growing pessimism in the market on striking new deals in the current environment, the week closed on a fairly buoyant note for technology startups in terms of raising fresh capital. Venture capital and other private investors put a shade over $100 million to work across the dozen deals that were reported this week. 

The higher deal closures reported this week though should take into account that many of these rounds would have been in the works for a few months and may have closed earlier but are being reported now.

Still, 12 deals in a week that has seen the tally of Covid-19 infected people in India escalate well above 2,000 offers some cheer in these bleak times. Last week saw just two funding deals reported. 

At the top of the charts this week was research and diagnostics firm MedGenome which scooped up $55 mn from London-based impact investor LeapFrog in a growth round. Nyka, a beauty ecommerce platform platform, was a distant second, picking up $13.2 mn from returning investor Steadview Capital. 

Also encouraging is that out of the 12 deals this week, three were at the growth stage.

Top Funding Deals

MedGenome: Bengaluru headquartered genomics-driven research and diagnostics firm MedGenome Labs raised $55 million in a growth funding round, led by London-based impact investor LeapFrog Investments. Returning investors, including Brussels-based investment company Sofina and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, also participated in the round.

Nykaa: Mumbai-based omnichannel beauty ecommerce platform Nykaa, raised $13.2 million in a funding round from returning investor Steadview Capital. The Steadview investment comes a year after Nykaa raised $14.4 million in a funding round from private equity firm TPG Capital.

Furlenco: Furniture rental startup Furlenco raised $10 million through a mix of debt and equity funding from new and existing investors. The round saw several investors including institutional funds, family offices, and ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNIs).

Recko: Recko, an artificial intelligence-driven fintech startup that focuses on enterprises, raised $6 million in a Series A round of funding, led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India. Returning investor Prime Venture Partners also participated in the round.

Ergos: Ergos Business Solutions, which runs an eponymous agri-tech startup, raised $5 million in a Series A round led by returning investor Aavishkaar Capital, the impact investment arm of the Aavishkaar Group. The investment is expected to be a part of a larger Rs 100 crore (around $13 million) round, which will see participation from Aavishkaar Capital and an undisclosed technology venture capital fund.

Camp K12: Gurugram headquartered online technology learning platform Camp K12, raised $4 million in a seed funding round from San Francisco-based venture capital firm Matrix Partners India and multi-stage investor SAIF Partners.

Fingpay: Mumbai headquartered fintech platform Fingpay raised $3.5 million in a Series A funding round from venture capital firm IvyCap Ventures.  

Lido Learning: Online classroom platform Lido Learning, owned and operated by Quality Tutorials, raised $3 million in a fresh funding round from Madhur Deora, president of digital payments firm Paytm, and Picus Capital, a German venture capital fund launched by Rocket Internet co-founder Alexander Samwer. The deal marked Picus Capital’s first ed-tech investment.

Kitchens Centre: New Delhi-based cloud kitchen startup Kitchens Centre raised $500,000 in a seed funding round from AngelList India. The round also saw participation from investors including AngelList partners Utsav Somani and Jake Zeller; Jonathon Swanson, co-founder of Thumbtack; Ankush Gera, founder of Junglee Games; and Revant Bhate, co-founder of Mosaic Wellness.

My Game Mate: Bengaluru-based mobile gaming platform My Game Mate (MGM) raised $2,00,000 in a seed funding round from incubator CanQbate50. MGM is the first startup chosen for the CanQbate50 incubation programme.

Obviously AI: Berkeley, California headquartered data science startup Obviously AI raised an undisclosed amount in a fresh round of funding led by venture capital firm Arka Venture Labs.

Insurance Samadhan: Delhi-headquartered insure-tech startup Insurance Samadhan raised an undisclosed sum of funding in a seed round from early-stage accelerator Venture Catalysts.

M&A

Kreatryx: Konselect Educare, a Delhi-based company that operates an examination preparatory portal for engineering graduates called Kreatryx, has been acquired by Unacademy in a cash and stock deal. The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. The deal marks Facebook and Sequoia Capital backed Unacademy’s second acquisition so far.