Welcome back to India Tech Weekly Deals Roundup, a weekly podcast by Tracxn for key startup deals in India from last week.
In this edition, we will cover funding rounds of Pixis, INDMoney, M2P and more. In exits, we will cover the acquisition of Payswiff by Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company among others.
Starting with our deep dive into funding rounds, tech companies in India raised around $501 million funding across 42 funding rounds during this week.
In a major funding round event, Enterprise Applications startup, Pixis, raised $100 million in a Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund with participation from Premji Invest, Celesta Capital, Chiratae Ventures, and others. Pixis is a provider of codeless AI infrastructure for marketing. Pixis offers over four-dozen proprietary AI models that are deployed across an ecosystem of products and plugins. Pixis provides marketers with no-code plug-and-play AI products. Founded in 2018 by BITS Pilani alumni, Bangalore-based Pixis has raised $124 million till date.
INDmoney, a FinTech startup, raised $76 million in a Series D funding round led by Steadview Capital, Tiger Global Management and Dragoneer Investment Group. INDmoney is an app-based comparison and advisory platform for financial products. INDmoney enables the comparison of consumer loans such as personal loans and mortgage loans, investments such as mutual funds, fixed deposits, stocks and bonds. INDmoney uses machine learning to provide offers on the basis of savings and expenses. INDmoney offers an app for iOS and Android devices. Founded in 2019 by an ex-Google employee, Gurgaon-based INDmoney has raised $133 million till date.
Chennai-based FinTech startup, M2P, raised $56 million in a Series C funding round led by Insight Partners with participation from MUFG, Better Capital and Tiger Global Management. M2P is a provider of open banking APIs for banking and payment. M2P allows the design and implementation of neo-banks and deposit products. M2P also offers lending systems with lending and credit cards for multiple lender servicing, as well as local and cross-border payment systems with real-time control. Founded in 2015 by an ex-Paypal employee, M2P has raised $106 million till date.
E-commerce startup, Purplle, raised $34 million in a Series D funding round led by Sequoia Capital with participation from Blume Ventures and Sangeeta Pendruka. Purplle is an online marketplace offering multi-category beauty products. Purplle includes products from various brands, such as makeup, fragrances, body care, hair, skin and facial care products, in addition to beauty appliances. Purplle offers an app for Android and iOS platforms. Founded in 2011 by IIT Kharagpur alumni and IIT Delhi alumni, Mumbai-based Purplle has raised $275 million till date.
In another funding round event, Bangalore-based StockGro, a FinTech startup, raised $32 million in a Series A funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures, General Catalyst Partners and Itai Tsiddon with participation from CreedCap Asia Advisors and Roots Ventures. StockGro is a social trading platform for stocks. StockGro allows users to access, evaluate, copy, and implement trade strategies for investing in stocks. StockGro also offers training sessions and games to assist new users. StockGro offers an app for Android and iOS platforms. Founded in 2019 by Indian School of Business alumni, StockGro has raised $49 million till date.
Media & Entertainment startup, VerSe, raised $27 million in a Series I funding round led by CPP Investments. VerSe achieved unicorn status in December 2021 when it raised $100 million of funding from Google, Microsoft and Falcon Edge’s Alpha Wave Incubation. VerSe is a provider of an app for sharing short videos and news. VerSe enables users to share funny, entertainment-based videos on its platform in English and vernacular languages like Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. VerSe also allows users to read news aggregated from multiple sources, and uses AI to offer engaging content to users. Founded in 2007 by an ex-Facebook employee, Bangalore-based VerSe has raised $942 million till date.
Blinkit, a Gurgaon-based Online Grocery startup, raised $24 million in a Series G funding round from KTB Asset Management. Blinkit, formerly known as Grofers, achieved unicorn status in August 2021 when it raised $120 million of funding from Zomato and Tiger Global Management. Blinkit is an online platform for on-demand grocery ordering and deliveries. Blinkit allows users to order fruits and vegetables, meat products, bakery supplies, dairy products, snacks and spices, drinks and beverages, stationery and gifting items, as well as personal care, household supplies and cleaning essentials. Blinkit claims to deliver within 10 minutes from the point of order, and uses its own fleet of delivery bicycles to complete orders around the city. Blinkit offers an app for Android and iOS platforms. Founded in 2013 by Columbia Business School alumni and IIT Bombay alumni, Blinkit has raised $24 million till date.
In another funding round event, FinTech startup, Scripbox, raised $21 million in a Series D funding round led by Accel, Transpose, Innoven Capital, Trifecta Capital and LetsVenture with participation from Sparkle Fund, KPB Family Trust, YY Capital Partners and others. Scripbox offers an online platform for investing in mutual funds. Scripbox uses algorithms and tools to invest in equity and debt funds, avail returns, automate SIPs, and customise plans for retirement and education, among others. Scripbox provides an app for iOS and Android platforms. Founded in 2012 by IIT Kharagpur alumni and IIT Delhi alumni, Bangalore-based Scripbox has raised $67 million till date.
This was all from the funding updates, moving on to the exits. India Tech observed 7 exits during the week of 23 Jan 2022.
Hyderabad-based Payswiff, a Payment Tech startup, was acquired by Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company. Payswiff is a provider of POS and MPOS solutions for businesses to accept card payments. Payswiff offers merchants a POS device to accept contact and contactless card payments, as well as POS software to create and send payment links, accept payments, provide card-on-delivery and EMI options, and to email receipts. Payswiff also offers a mobile card reader, e-way bill software, and an Android and iOS app. Founded in 2013, Payswiff has raised $12 million till date from True Global Ventures, Yadu Corporation, Ramesh Chandra Majithia, and others.
In another acquisition event, Addverb, a Robotics startup, was acquired by Reliance Retail. Addverb is a provider of AI-enabled robotics and warehouse automation solutions. Addverb offers intra-logistics automation solutions for industries, and assists in managing warehouse operations like material handling, loading, unloading and object lifting. Founded in 2016 by LEAD School, Noida-based Addverb has raised $66 million till date from GAIL, Reliance Retail, Atul Kumar, and others.
The Label Life, a Mumbai-based Fashion Tech startup, was acquired by G.O.A.T Brand Labs. The Label Life is an internet-first brand of multi-category fashion products for women. The Label Life includes products like apparel, footwear, handbags, home furnishing products, accessories, and others. Founded in 2012, The Label Life has raised $5 million till date from Kalpavriksh Fund, Kalaari Capital, Utpal Sheth, and others.
This was all for today, we will be back next Monday with more updates. You can subscribe to our podcast on Google Podcasts to stay updated. If you have any feedback, please reachout to us at podcast@tracxn.com. Thank you for tuning in today, see you next week.