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Between June 3 and June 8, 2024, as many as 14 startups from diverse sectors raised over $135 million in funding from investors.
These sectors include lending, healthtech, SaaS, Spiritualtech, EV, AI, among others. Notably, the week also saw two elite Indian startups—Ather Energy and Lenskart—secure funding in their secondary rounds.
Between April 29 and June 1, around 109 Indian startups raised over $985 million in funding, with Pharmeasy raising $216 million alone. This was followed by Nephroplus, Battery Smart, and Ather Energy, which raised $102 million, $45 million, and $34.2 million, respectively.
Unlike merger and acquisition deals, which typically do not disclose financials, these funding rounds provide a glimpse into the sectors attracting growing investor interest.
High-value deals
A diverse range of sectors attracted investments during the week, with lending leading the pack. Leading this sector was Fibe and Lendingkart, raising $90 million and $13 million in debt, respectively.
Spiritual Tech startup Astroktalk raised $9.5 million in an extended Series A funding round at a valuation of $300 million post-money.
The list was followed by Gurugram-based diary brand Country Delight and AI-powered, low-code test automation platform Testsigma, which collectively raised $17.2 million in funding. Country Delight raised $9 million and Testsigma raised $8.2 million.
The week also saw two elite Indian startups raise substantial funding in secondary rounds. Peyush Bansal-led Lenskart raised $200 million from Singapore state investment firm Temasek and Fidelity Management and Research Company, according to Avendus Capital, the financial advisor of the deal.
EV maker Ather Energy also raised Rs 124 crore (or about $15 million) from Hero MotoCorp.
In secondary funding, existing investors sell their shares to new investors instead of the company issuing new shares. This type of funding doesn’t bring in new capital but provides liquidity to early investors and other stakeholders
Emerging startups
Several startups have emerged as noteworthy for their traction with the funding community.
Heathtech startup Docplix raised the smallest amount, securing Rs 1.2 crore (or about $143,000) in a bridge funding round. This was followed by Chennai-based skincare startup CHOSEN, which raised $1.2 million in a seed round. AI-powered sales prospecting platform Clodura.AI raised $2 million in a pre-Series A round.
LogicLadder, a leading provider of enterprise sustainability management and climate action cloud software, closed a Series A round, raising $2.5 million.
Meanwhile, Robotic solar panel cleaning startup Aegeus Technologies and Greenday's 'Better Nutrition' kept the funding figure under wraps.
Merger and acquisition highlights
The period also featured strategic mergers and acquisitions. Ecommerce giant Amazon has agreed to acquire key assets of the Times Internet-owned video streaming platform MX Player for an undisclosed sum.
Absolute Sports, a Nazara Technologies subsidiary and the parent company of Sportskeeda, is also acquiring assets of SoapCentral.com, a premier source of entertainment content in the US. The transaction is valued in an all-cash consideration of $1.4 million.