Aeravti Ventures Marks First Close Of INR 100 Cr Maiden Fund For Early Stage Startups
Aeravti Ventures is looking to invest the capital in pre-seed to pre-series A funding rounds in the next two to two-and-a-half years in emerging tech startups in deeptech, agritech, climate sectors
Source : Inc42
Global alternative asset manager ICG has announced a $50-million investment in renewable energy platform Amp Energy India (Amp India)
Global alternative asset manager ICG has announced a $50-million investment in renewable energy platform Amp Energy India (Amp India), marking its first investment through its Asia-Pacific Infrastructure team. The investment will support Amp India’s growth plan to continue serving the growing demand for renewables in the country. ICG said it will work closely with Amp India’s management team. Amp India, headquartered in New Delhi, has a total portfolio of about 2.7 gigawatts of renewable energy spread across 15 states in India. It has regional offices in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata. The company was founded in 2016 and is backed by marquee investors. It operates in India’s renewables market, which is expected to add 145 gigawatts in the next five years on the back of large corporates’ decarbonisation commitments.
Source : Deal Street Asia
Report Release! Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) and Pension Funds (PF) Investments into India | Regulatory, Tax and Legal Overview
Nishith Desai Associates have released, "Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) and Pension Funds (PF) Investments into India | Regulatory, Tax and Legal Overview" Report. In the report, they have analysed the legal, regulatory and tax regime governing investments by SWFs and PFs in India. Read here - https://lnkd.in/df7xcGhj
Kisankonnect has secured an undisclosed amount in a funding round from Shilpa Shetty Kundra
Founded in 2020 by Vivek Nirmal and Nidhi Nirmal, Kisankonnect is an agritech platform that provides farm fresh vegetables, fruits, village staples, millets and homemade food to its customers via its online platform.
Source : VCCircle
Balwaan Krishi has raised $2 million as a part of its pre-Series A funding round led by Caspian Equity
The Jaipur-based startup will deploy the fresh proceeds to develop new products and establish a pan-India distribution network for their existing products. Additionally, it also plans to offer consumer finance options to farmers, to simplify their purchases through EMI plans along with establishing an Indian language after-sale service center.
Source : VCCircle
Tan90 has raised $1.3 million in a pre-Series A funding round co-led by Blue Ashva Capital and Capital A.
Founded in 2019 by Soumalya Mukherjee, Rajani Kant Rai, and Shiv Sharma, Tan90 provides its clients with proprietary passive cooling solutions that enable them to transport their perishables with any logistics service including electric vehicles.
Source : VCCircle
Newtrace has raised $5.65 million in a seed funding round co-led by Sequoia Capital India and Aavishkaar Capital.
Founded in 2021 by Prasanta Sarkar and Rochan Sinha, Newtrace is a climatetech startup that aims to make green hydrogen production cheaper, scalable and efficient by way of its proprietary, patent-pending electrolyzer technology. It aims to deploy its technology to sectors such as refineries, fertilisers, chemicals, steel and cement, and transportation.
Source : VCCircle
Edtech Startup uFaber Bags INR 25 Cr From JPIN, Gray Matters
Edtech startup uFaber has secured INR 25 Cr in a Series-A funding by Mastermind JPIN Capital Partners Fund and Gray Matters Capital. The startup said that it will use the funding to expand and increase system capacity, improve technology, and build a larger team.
Source : Inc42
Campus Fund release 'The State of Student Entrepreneurship in India – Edition II'
Here is a quick summary of the report: Out of 2000+ student startups that we interacted with from Jul 2021 - Dec 2022, Edtech had a 12.7% share, Healthtech, a 10% and New-Agetech, a 8.5% share.
Find the complete report here: https://lnkd.in/gUSFwc58
Battery-tech startup EMO Energy raises $1.2 million in seed funding
Battery-tech startup EMO Energy on Tuesday said it has raised $1.2 million (nearly Rs 10 crore) in a seed funding round led by Transition VC and co-led by venture capital firm Gruhas
Source : ZeeBiz
Vivriti Asset Management launches India’s First Securitization Fund
Vivriti India Retail Asset Fund (VIRAF) will be a first-of-a-kind asset-backed securitization (ABS) fund in India. IFC has invested US$30 million in VIRAF, managed by Vivriti Asset Management and backed by a capital commitment of $75 million from M&G Catalyst—a global private assets strategy within leading international investment manager M&G Investment. The fund will focus on scaling investment in securitized debt securities with MSE-backed assets—predominantly microloans to MSEs, which will constitute about 90 percent of the portfolio.
Source : IFC Press Release
Mobility Startup Chalo Bags $57 Mn Funding
Mobility startup Chalo has raised a funding of $57 Mn (INR 472.2 Cr), in a mix of debt and equity, as part of its Series D round. Of this, $45 Mn was raised through equity funding in a round led by Avataar Ventures, with participation from existing investors such as Lightrock India, WaterBridge Ventures, former Google executive Amit Singhal, among others
Source : Inc42
Launch Alert! India AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2023
Omnivore have announced the release of India AgriFoodTech Investment Report 2023 in collaboration with AgFunder! Overtaking China, India is the second best-funded market for agrifoodtech startups behind the US. Despite the global downward trend, the India story had some bright spots where investors backed innovations focused on farmers and climate change.
Find out more insights in this article and download the report here
Webinar Alert! Impact for Good: Sustainable Investment Strategies by Leading B Corps
The webinar "Impact for Good: Sustainable Investment Strategies by Leading B Corps" is scheduled for June 12 (18.30 pm Delhi, 9 am NY, 2 pm London, 4 pm Nairobi).
Register now: https://lnkd.in/gWaB9ixB
Covrzy has raised $386,438 in a pre-seed funding round led by Antler
Insurtech startup Covrzy has raised $386,438 (around Rs 3.2 crore) in a pre-seed funding round led by Antler, with participation from Veda VC.
The Bengaluru-based startup will use the fresh funds to develop its technology stack and hire talent.
Founded by Ankit Kamra and Veera Thota, Covrzy is a micro, small and medium enterprise-focused platform which aims to simplify the process of obtaining a business liability insurance for over 60 million MSMEs and startups across India.
Source : VCCircle
Report launch - Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy by UNEP
The report proposes a systems change to address the causes of plastic pollution, combining reducing problematic and unnecessary plastic use with a market transformation towards circularity in plastics. This can be achieved by accelerating three key shifts – reuse, recycle, and reorient and diversify – and actions to deal with the legacy of plastic pollution. Read more about the report here.
Innovapptive announces Series B #funding led by Vista Equity Partners to accelerate product innovation & market expansion.
Innovapptive Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based Connected Worker Solutions, announced that it has raised a Series B investment led by Vista Equity Partners, a global investment firm focused on enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled businesses. The funding round also saw participation from existing investor Tiger Global Management. Innovapptive will leverage the investment to accelerate product innovation, expand into new regional markets, and strengthen its position in the emerging connected worker software category.
Source : YourStory
Pharma-Focussed Fintech Startup Fundly.ai Bags Funding To Work On New Product Offerings
Pharma-focussed fintech startup Fundly.ai has bagged seed funding of $3 Mn in a round led by Accel India. Additionally, Multiply Ventures also participated in the round along with other undisclosed angel investors. The startup plans to use the funds for several growth initiatives including deeper engagement with existing customers, expansion into new geographies, building technology, and working on new product offerings.
Source : Inc42
Agrizy Bags $5 Mn Funding To Help Agri Food Processors Streamline Supply Chain
Agritech startup Agrizy has secured $5 Mn debt funding from SBI, Yes Bank, Vivriti Capital, and some other financial institutions. Agrizy will use the fresh funds to strengthen its technological & processing capabilities, expand reach to more agrifood processing SMEs in India, and large agrifood buyers in international markets.
Source : Inc42
Distribution & Logistics Startup Ripplr Bags $40 Mn Funding For Pan-India Growth
Bengaluru-based tech-driven distribution and logistics startup Ripplr has raised $40 Mn in its Series B funding round, which was a mix of equity and debt. Equity funding was led by Fireside Ventures and also saw participation from Bikaji and Neo Foods along with existing investors 3one4 Capital, Zephyr Peacock and Japanese conglomerate Sojitz Corporation. Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital, Northern Arc Investments and Trifecta Capital participated in the debt round.
Source : Inc42
Catalytic Climate Finance Facility scores $12 million to test and launch new finance tools
Blended-finance network Convergence has for eight years supported financial innovation and experimentation in impact investing through its design funding grants. Climate Policy Initiative has mobilized more than $3.5 billion over the past nine years via its Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance. The organizations are teaming up to help proven blended-finance climate funds scale up. Their focus: “severely under-financed sectors,” and agriculture in particular, in frontier and emerging markets, the partners said. The Catalytic Climate Finance Facility will provide $500,000 in grants and technical assistance to managers of eligible funds and instruments. The facility has secured $12 million of a $20 million target from the Gates Foundation, Global Affairs Canada, and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Source : Impact Alpha
Zyngo Raises $5 Mn To Help Ecommerce Companies Deploy EV Fleets For Logistics Ops
Third party logistics startup Zyngo EV has raised $5 Mn in a Pre-Series A round led by Delta Corp Holdings. Existing investor LC Nueva Investment Partners LLP also participated in the round. Zyngo has stated that the funds will be used for expanding fleet size, entering new geographies and to enhance technology. Founded in 2020 by Prateek Rao, the startup caters to B2B and B2C consumers with intra-city logistics and other transportation needs.
Source : Inc42
EV Startup RACEnergy Raises Funds For Its Battery Swapping Tech
Deeptech battery swap startup RACEnergy has raised $3 Mn in a Pre Series A, debt and equity round led by growX ventures. The round also saw participation from Micelio Mobility, Huddle, and angel investors. With the fresh capital, RACEnergy wants to focus on developing its battery-swapping technology and building new facilities to support its growing operations.
Source : Inc42
BlackSoil invests $4 million in medtech player GenWorks Health
"Our investment in Genwork Healthcare is not only a testament to their potental for growth but also to our belief in the transformative power of healthcare technology. By leveraging our expertise and resources, we are confident that together we can make a positive impact on the healthcare industry and improve the lives of countless individuals." said Ankur Bansal, Co-Founder, Black Soil Capital.
Source : Hindu Business Line
Stride Ventures hits first close of venture debt fund at $100m
The firm, which has invested in over 100 startups across two funds, hit the first close within four months of receiving the licence for the third fund. The first two funds witnessed participation from leading banks, marquee family offices, corporate treasuries, sovereign funds, PE funds, insurance firms, and HNIs. Stride Ventures secured the final close of its second fund in August at $200 million. Its portfolio companies span the consumer, fintech, agritech, B2B commerce, healthtech, B2B SaaS, mobility, and energy solutions sectors and include Zepto, BluSmart, Uni, WayCool, MediBuddy, Wiz Freight, Perfios, and Groyyo.
Source : Deal Street Asia
VC firm AdvantEdge to take bet on mobility solution startups with its $100 Mn fund
Early-stage venture capital (VC) fund AdvantEdge has unveiled its third fund to invest $80-$100 Mn in mobility solutions companies. The new fund will focus on investing in the electric vehicle ecosystem, with eyes on startups that make EVs affordable, via shared mobility, electrification of public transportation, or making ownership of private vehicles economical.
Source : Inc42
NIIF Plans Second Fund-Of-Funds To Raise Nearly $1 Bn
The Indian government-backed alternative investor National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIF) is in initial stages to launch its second fund-of-funds (FoF).
Source : VCCircle
Pharma-Focussed Fintech Startup Fundly.ai Bags Funding To Work On New Product Offerings
Pharma-focussed fintech startup Fundly.ai has bagged seed funding of $3 Mn in a round led by Accel India. Additionally, Multiply Ventures also participated in the round along with other undisclosed angel investors. The startup plans to use the funds for several growth initiatives including deeper engagement with existing customers, expansion into new geographies, building technology, and working on new product offerings.
Source : Inc42
3one4Capital raised $200 million as part of its newly launched fourth fund.
3one4 Capital will focus on sectors including consumer internet, SaaS, fintech, and enterprise and SMB digitisation. Also, it will increase investments in newer areas like digital health, climate tech, and more. Besides, it will also look at post-seed and Pre-Series A funding rounds.
Source : YourStory
Report Launch! Investment Landscape Report for Green Hydrogen in India
USAID's South Asia Regional Energy Partnership (SAREP) launched the “
Shipping logistics startup ShipGlobal secured an undisclosed amount in a funding round from Ashneer Grover
Founded in 2022 by Aayush Anand Angad Arora Vaibhav Kapur, ShipGlobal is a logistics startup that offers cross-border shipping services across the globe. The startup counts Amazon, eBay, DHL, FedEx amongst others as part of its client portfolio. The company claims to be currently profitable.
Source : VCCircle
EV SaaS startup Kazam raises $3.6 million in round led by Avaana Climate Fund
Kazam is an agnostic EV charging software platform building India's largest smart and affordable EV charging network. Through our partnerships with fleets, CPOs, RWAs and OEMs we have been able to create a robust charging network with over 7000 devices on our platform. Our vision is to be the leader in EV charging in India and beyond, leveraging our capabilities in software and hardware.
Source : Economic Times
Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust and Villgro Innovation Foundation will receive $3 million from Google-supported APAC Sustainability Seed Fund.
ujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust and Villgro Innovation Foundation are selected by Google-supported APAC Sustainability Seed Fund to explore new use cases for AI, ML (machine learning) and IoT (Internet of Things) to address threats of high water scarcity and excessive flooding across India. Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust will use its share of funds to develop AI-enabled models to map the landscape around Amalner, Maharashtra to predict floods. Meanwhile, Villgro Innovation Foundation will support its partnership with CultYvate to develop mobile- and browser-based applications for farmers to better manage efficient irrigation management and water conservation.
Source : YourStory
Agritech Startup Uzhavarbumi Raises INR 7 Crore From Anicut Capital
"We are thrilled to have Anicut Capital as our investor and partner in the mission to create a more sustainable and equitable agri-food system. With Anicut's support, we aim to expand our operations and bring farm-fresh milk to more customers across India", said Vetrivel Palani, founder and CEO, Uzhavarbumi.
Uzhavarbumi home delivers farm-fresh milk to urban areas of Chennai, procuring milk from rural and marginal farmers at a better market price and forming a bridge between the primary producers (farmers) and consumers.
Source : Entrepreneur
BP Ventures-Backed BluSmart Mops Up Fresh Funding
BluSmart Mobility has raised $42 million (around Rs 342 crore) in a bridge funding round from its existing investors BP Ventures and Survam Partners, with participation from BluSmart’s leadership team.
Source : VCCircle
Indian PE giant Multiples makes first close of fourth fund at $640m
India’s Multiples Alternate Asset Management, led by former ICICI Venture veteran Renuka Ramnath, has made the first close of its fourth fund at $640 million as it looks to ramp up investments in domestic companies.
Multiples has roped in both foreign and domestic limited partners (LPs) for its latest fund, with prominent names such as The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and State Bank of India (SBI) coming in as anchor investors.
Source : Deal Street Asia
Global Infrastructure Partners raises $2.61b so far for emerging markets fund
They target infrastructure businesses and assets in energy, transportation, digital, water and waste sectors where we believe our expertise and relationships provide a competitive advantage. GIP’s in-depth knowledge of their target industries helps to improve their ability to originate proprietary transactions, conduct deep and extensive due diligence, structure and close investments, employ best practice operating management, effectively manage stakeholder relationships and identify exit opportunities.
Source : Deal Street Asia
Report Launch! Global Fintech 2023: Reimagining the Future of Finance
The report advised fintechs to strengthen their competitiveness and pursue aggressive strategies, including talent acquisition, gaining market share by entering new geographies/markets, and exploring M&A opportunities, while also taking an active role in shaping and embracing forward-looking regulations that enhance customer confidence and drive higher valuations. Find out more here.
Source : YourStory
Capria opens $100-million Global South Fund II
The new fund will focus on investing in 20-25 tech startups in the entrepreneurial hotspots of India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, the Seattle, Washington-headquartered fund said in the statement
Source : Economic Times
London-based Apis Partners bucks the trend with three portfolio exits this year
“We are investing in companies and markets that are typically expanding. So even though you see all this volatility in the global macro right now, e-commerce penetration in most markets continues to increase and results in digital payments continuing to grow. Which means that generally there tends to be a healthy market for us to sell our companies in,” Udayan Goyal, co-founder and managing partner of Apis Partners, told DealStreetAsia in an interview.
Source : Deal Street Asia
India's Avaada Group raises $1b from Brookfield for green ventures
Established in 2009, Avaada Group is one of the leading energy transition companies in India with business interests spanning in solar module manufacturing, electrolyser manufacturing, and green Ammonia production. The group is currently also in talks with a slew of investors to raise another $200 million. Avaada Group is currently in the process of executing an integrated solar manufacturing plant with a facility to produce polysilicon, wafer, cells, and modules. The plant’s first phase consisting of cells and modules will be operational this year – it will cater to the domestic and international markets.
Source : Deal Street Asia
ADB Announces IF-CAP, New Program to Accelerate Billions in Climate Change Financing
IF-CAP's initial partners are Denmark, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Those partners are in discussions with ADB about providing a range of grants for project preparation along with guarantees for parts of ADB’s sovereign loan portfolios. The reduced risk exposure created by the guarantees will allow ADB to free up capital to accelerate new loans for climate projects. With a model of ‘$1 in, $5 out’, the initial ambition of $3 billion in guarantees could create up to $15 billion in new loans for much-needed climate projects across Asia and the Pacific. A leveraged guarantee mechanism for climate finance has never before been adopted by a multilateral development bank.
Source : ADB
Temasek-backed LeapFrog Investments raises $110m for latest growth-stage fund
LeapFrog Investments, a global impact fund manager backed by Singapore’s Temasek, has so far raised $110 million from US investors for its latest growth-stage fund that will invest in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Source : Deal Street Asia
Event Alert! ChangeNow
ChangeNOW 2023 is a three-day summit that brings together the most innovative solutions and impactful changemakers tackling our planet’s biggest challenges, to take action, together. ChangeNOW builds bridges between the entrepreneurs, business leaders and policy-makers to accelerate change.
Ace Turtle has secured $34 million in a Series B funding round
Ace Turtle, a startup offering technology services to retail companies, has secured $34 million (Rs 278 crore) in a Series B funding round, led by Vertex Growth, SBI Investment Co Ltd, Farglory, Lesing Nine, Stride Ventures, Tuscan Ventures and Trifecta Capital. Existing investors Vertex Southeast Asia and India and Innoven Capital also participated in the round.
Source : YourStory
BII-Backed Indifi’s AUM Doubles In FY23
Small business-focused digital lender Indifi Technologies Pvt Ltd has doubled its assets under management (AUM) to over Rs 1,500 crore in the financial year (FY) 2023, the company said in a statement on Monday.
Indifi, which counts British International Investment (BII), Accel, Omidyar Network, CX Partners and Elevar Equity as among its investors, turned profitable in FY22. The Gurugram-based company claims to have maintained its profitability throughout FY23, but didn’t disclose the financial details further.
Source : VCCircle
Serentica Renewables has secured an additional $250 million in investment from KKR.
Serentica Renewables announced on Sunday that it has secured an additional $250 million in investment from global investment firm KKR. This latest investment follows KKR’s commitment of $400 million in November 2022 and will aid in the installation of 4000MW of renewable energy capacity to support clean energy delivery to large-scale industrial customers.
Source : Economic Times
Ohm Mobility has raised $366,278 (Rs 3 crore) in a pre-seed funding round led by Antler India
Electric vehicle financing platform Ohm Mobility has raised $366,278 (Rs 3 crore) in a pre-seed funding round led by Antler India.
The round also saw participation from Blume Founders Fund and other angel investors such as Sagar Gubbi (Ecoforge), Anshuman Bapna (Terra.do), Mathew Chako (Spice Route Legal), and Karishma Menon.
Source : VCCircle
Janitri has secured $1.1 million (Rs 9.01 crore) in a pre-Series A funding
Healthtech startup Janitri has secured $1.1 million (Rs 9.01 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by India Accelerator, with participation from a host of investors including C-camp, Namita Thapar, O2 angels, Ashish Kacholia, IKP and others.
Founded in 2016, Janitri is a healthtech startup that provides wearables and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled solutions for pregnancy and labor vitals monitoring. It claims to be working with over 300 hospitals to date.
Source : VCCircle
Aksum has secured $1 million (Rs 8.2 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round from Inflection Point Ventures
Founded by Sumit Bhatia and Ankit Jain, Aksum is a supply chain efficiency solutions provider for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporates. The platform offers procurement automation, which enables companies to automate their purchasing process.
Source : VCCircle