(Weekly funding roundup Oct 19-25) VC inflow dips in the absence of large deals

The fourth week of October saw venture capital (VC) funding into Indian startups dip after a steady increase in the previous weeks primarily due to the absence of any large value deal.

The VC funding for the week came in at $178 million across 13 deals compared to $342 million in the previous week.

Despite the absence of large deals, the drop in funding might also be attributed to the ongoing festive holiday season, leading to a slowdown in transactions. The $60 million funding into edtech upGrad provided a boost to the capital inflow this week.

The uncertainty in the VC inflow has been the dominant theme over the last two years for the Indian startup ecosystem, and this has been largely due to various global factors. The cautiousness among investors after a rush in VC inflow in 2021 and early 2022 has led to certain corrections. At the same time, the high interest rate regime globally has not in any way been an encouraging element for the startup ecosystem.

This week also saw the quarterly financial performance of Zomato and Paytm. It was a contrasting set of numbers for both companies, who have had a sharper focus on building sustainable businesses. It has been reflected in other companies such as Apna and Shiprocket.

The Indian startup ecosystem continues to thrive, and this slowness in capital inflow is only testing the resilience of the startups and investors.

Key transactions

AI cloud startup Neysa raised $30 million from NTTVC, Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India), and Nexus Venture Partners.

Even Healthcare raised $30 million from Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, 8VC, and Lachy Groom.

Dairy tech startup Stellapps Technologies raised $26 million from Blume Ventures, Omnivore, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and IDH Farmfit Fund, among others.

Health and fitness startup Healthify raised $20 million from Khosla Ventures, LeapFrog Investments, Claypond Capital, and the family office of Ranjan Pai.

D2C startup Zouk raised $10 million from Aavishkaar Capital, Stellaris Venture Partners, Titan Capital, Sharrp Ventures, and the JJ Family.