Deal Roundup: Fivetran, Zetwerk, 1mg garner late stage capital; GetMyUni buys Avagmah

Fundraising activity in the Indian technology startup ecosystem jumped 128% week-on-week, on the back of a $100 million deal at data solutions startup Fivetran. 

The past week witnessed 12 deals, of which nine raised a total of $152.5 million. Financial details of three deals were not disclosed.

Investors focused on startups in the ecommerce, software-as-a-service (SaaS) and fintech sectors, while the foodtech, agritech, edtech, defence-tech and consumer electronics segments saw one deal each.

The period also saw most capital infusions in seed and debt funding rounds, with three deals each, while there were two deals each in bridge and Series C rounds and one Series A funding round.

Additionally, Indian telecom rivals bagged mega deals from global investors. While Intel Capital, the global investment unit of the chipmaker, will invest $253 million in Reliance’s Jio Platforms, American private equity major Carlyle Group infused $235 million in Bharti Airtel’s data centre business, Nxtra Data.

Funding

Fivetran: The Oakland, California-headquartered data solutions startup turned a unicorn just as it raised $100 million in a Series C funding round, co-led by venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst. In a year, the firm plans to double the team in Bengaluru, which houses its largest development centre.

Zetwerk: The B2B manufacturing services marketplace raised $21 million in a Series C funding round led by returning investor Greenoaks Capital. It will invest the fresh capital to accelerate its international expansion, launch new categories and strengthen its product stack.

1mg: The online pharmacy startup is set to raise $17.8 million in a debt funding round from returning investors MPOF Mauritius, MAF Mauritius, Swiss healthcare-focused investment firm HBM Healthcare Investment, family office KWE Beteiligungen and World Bank’s investment unit International Finance Corporation.

Flinto Learning Solutions: The Chennai-based early childhood-focused edtech startup raised $7.2 million in a bridge funding round from returning investor Lightbox Ventures. It will use the fresh capital to expand a newly-launched preschool solution Flintoclass@HOME.

Bulk MRO: The Mumbai headquartered B2B marketplace startup will raise about $3.4 million in a debt funding round from venture lender Stride Ventures, across several tranches.

Big Bang Boom: The defence technologies maker raised $1.5 million in a Series A funding round, led by syndicate fund Mumbai Angels.

ChitMonks: The fintech platform’s Hyderabad-based parent entity Pangean Global Services raised $650,000 in its first institutional funding round from venture capital firm Unicorn India Ventures.

Inspektlabs: The artificial intelligence (AI)-based inspection solution provider raised $600,000 in a bridge round of funding from venture capital firms Better Capital, Titan Capital and others.

Gobbly: The Gurugram-based retail technology startup raised $500,000 in a seed funding round from early-stage venture capital fund Sauce.vc. The mobile-operated unmanned refrigerator manufacturer plans to use the funds to improve its technology and for marketing purposes.

M&A

Avagmah: Edtech startup GetMyUni Education Services acquired Aeon Learning’s online degree programmes and skill development courses platform to enter the online certification and degree-granting space.

RapidValue: Chennai-based information technology (IT) services company Aspire Systems acquired the Helion Ventures-backed digital engineering firm to add a 10-14% topline boost and onboard senior executives.

Beardo: Mumbai-based fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company Marico acquired the Ahmedabad headquartered Zed Lifestyle-run grooming products platform. Post deal, early stage investor Venture Catalysts said it received a nearly eight-fold return on its original investment of $500,000 made in 2016 along with angel investors.

Venture Capital Funds

B Capital Group: The global venture capital firm, which has backed Indian startups such as Bounce and BlackBuck, raised $820 million to close its second global fund. The firm was launched by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin and Silicon Valley-based Indian-origin investor Raj Ganguly.