Deal Roundup: Tech startup funding crosses $200 mn led by Razorpay, Zomato

Technology startups this week raised $213.7 million, up 110% from last week. Out of the eight startups that received fresh capital from investors, four did not disclose the value of the deals.

Bengaluru-based fintech firm Razorpay led fundraising activity for the period, raking in nearly as much as the other deals put together. The round also saw the startup breach the $1 billion valuation mark, making it the latest unicorn from this market.

Razorpay was followed by food delivery unicorn Zomato, which raised funds in an ongoing pre-IPO round, and Wow! Momo, which raised debt capital to repay its loans.

In the latest indication that Flipkart and parent Walmart look to strengthen their foothold in the grocery segment, the companies announced a second capital infusion in B2B marketplace Ninjacart.

Funding

Razorpay: Razorpay Software raised $100 million in a growth funding round led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and returning investor Sequoia Capital. The round also saw participation from returning investors Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global Management, YCombinator and Matrix Partners. The Series D round values Razorpay at over $1 billion, marking its entry into the startup unicorn club in India. 

Zomato: Gurugram headquartered food delivery unicorn Zomato raised $52 million in an ongoing growth funding round from US investment firm Kora Investments. Post deal, New York-based Kora will own a 1.48% stake in the Deepinder Goyal-run restaurant aggregation platform.

The fresh infusion is part of a targeted $600 million growth funding round, dubbed a Series J round, that Zomato intends to close before it hits the public market in 2021. 

FreshToHome: Online fish and meat retailer raised $36.2 million from homegrown private equity firm Ascent Capital and US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The fundraise is reportedly part of a $130 million round, which is expected to see participation from Investcorp, Saudi corporate venture capital firm Raed Ventures, Middle East Oils and Grains. 

Wow! Momo: Quick service restaurant (QSR) owner Wow! Momo Foods, which operates QSR brands Wow! Momo and Wow! China has received $8.1 million in debt from Chennai-based Anicut Capital. The company said it would use the fresh funds to repay a Rs 35 crore loan it availed from Avendus Finance in 2018, and to expand its presence. 

Avataar.me: 3D and augmented reality (AR) platform Avataar.me raised $7 million from Sequoia Capital India as part of its Series A round. Avataar has previously secured over $1.6 million across three rounds from angel investors and Wisconsin, US based architecture and planning company, New Horizon.  

Pepper: Content creation services platform Pepper Content secured $4.2 million in a Series A funding round led by venture capital firm Lightspeed India. A host of angel investors, including Beerud Sheth, founder, Upwork; Balaji Srinivasan, CTO, Coinbase; Gaurav Munjal, founder, Unacademy; Aakrit Vaish, founder, Haptik; Miten Sampat, ex-CSO, Times Internet; Akhil Paul, Caparo Group; Utsav Somani of iSeed and AngelList; and Dilip Khandelwal, ex-MD, SAP Labs India participated in this round. The Mumbai-based startup will use the fresh capital to enter content categories such as video and audio, besides expanding to new geographies such as Southeast Asia. 

Miko: Mumbai headquartered advanced robotics startup Miko raised $3.14 million in a bridge funding round, dubbed a pre-series B round, led by Stride Ventures. Returning investors Chiratae Ventures, YourNest Capital and former NASSCOM chairman Keshav Murugesh participated in the round. The fresh capital will fund the startup’s global market push, and aid with the research and development of new products. 

Fleetx.io: Gurugram-based fleet management and predictive analytics platform Fleetx.io raised $3.1 million in a fresh funding round, dubbed a pre-series B round, from returning investors Beenext and India Quotient. The startup will use the capital to strengthen its product and technology capabilities, and fund its expansion in India and global markets. 

Ninjacart: Ecommerce major Flipkart and its retailer parent Walmart have made another investment in Tiger Global backed fresh produce supply chain startup Ninjacart. The infusion comes about a year after Flipkart and Walmart made their first investment in the company. The round is set to close by October end. 

RACEnergy: Electric vehicle (EV) startup RACEnergy has raised an undisclosed amount from venture capital firm GrowX Ventures and undisclosed returning angel investors. The fresh funds will be deployed to launch its products, the two-year-old company said in a statement. 

ReNEWate: Pune-based realty tech startup ReNEWate raised an undisclosed amount from early stage venture capital firm Better Capital. The capital from the fresh funding round, dubbed  a pre-seed round, will be used to expand its product offerings, accelerate growth and expand its presence. 

Rare Planet: Kolkata-based Rare Planet, which operates an eponymous ecommerce platform, has raised an undisclosed amount from institutional and angel investors in a fresh funding round, dubbed a pre-Series A round, led by Uni-M Ventures. The round also saw participation from returning investors Venture Catalysts and Sagar Daryani, co-founder of Wow! Momo.