Even as the broader startup ecosystem starts to talk about a slowdown in dealmaking on the back of macroeconomic headwinds. Indian startups mopped up over $10 billion in funds during the first quarter of 2022, up from $5.7 billion in the same period in 2021, according to data sourced from Venture Intelligence.
This week 33 Indian startups raised funding, of which 31 received a total of about $688.11 million. Builder.ai raised the highest funding of about $100 million, followed by Games24x7 and ClassPlus which raised $75 million and $70 million respectively. Last week, 38 homegrown startups raised funding worth about $600 million.
Builder.ai
Builder.ai, the AI startup that has built a low-code/no-code app development platform, has raised $100 million in a Series C funding round led by Insight Partners.
The round also saw the participation from existing investors Jungle Ventures and other institutional investors. With this round, the total funding raised by Builder.ai is now $195 million.
Builder.ai was founded in 2016 with dual headquarters in London and Los Angeles. It also has a large development team in Delhi.
Builder.ai will utilize the new round of funding towards enhancing its AI and automation capabilities. They developing its proprietary low-code/no-code platform, and scaling product development.
Pine Labs
Initial public offering (IPO)-bound payment solutions provider Pine Labs on Wednesday said it has raised $50 million, or about ₹380 crores, in a fresh funding from Vitruvian Partners.
Pine Labs is expanding its BNPL offering in Southeast Asia. Earlier this month, the company had launched the ‘Mastercard Installments with Pine Labs’ program with Mastercard and DBS Bank to empower the bank’s two million customers in Singapore, Indonesia, and Hong Kong SAR.
According to Pine Labs’ CEO Amrish Rau, the company has also conducted an ESOP buyback worth Rs 100 crore or $13.5 million.
Pine Labs serves prominent large, mid-sized, and small merchants across India and Southeast Asia. The company’s cloud-based software platform enables it to offer a wide range of payment acceptance and merchant commerce solutions including enterprise automation systems such as inventory management and customer relationship management.
Games24x7
Games24x7 is a Mumbai-headquartered startup that owns and operates multiple mobile games. It has raised $75 million in a new financing round, it said on Wednesday.
The new round — a name for which was not disclosed, was led by Malabar Investment and saw participation from existing investors Tiger Global and Raine Group.
The round values the startup at $2.5 billion, helping it enter India’s fast-growing list of unicorns, a person familiar with the matter said. Games24x7 said in a statement that it is now India’s most valuable “multi-game platform,” but declined to comment on the valuation.
Games24x7 is popular for its rummy game, called RummyCircle, fantasy platform My11Circle, and a portfolio of casual games under the brand name U Games. The 15-year-old firm says it has amassed more than 100 million users.
FarMart
, the agritech startup that works as a SaaS-led food supply platform, has raised $32 million in a Series B funding round led by General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors — Matrix Partners India and Omidyar Network India. Elluminate Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to FarMart on the transaction.
This new infusion of funds is aimed at fuelling the growth of FarMart’s digital distribution network across India and export markets. The company also plans to make key investments in research and development, automation, and technology.
This announcement comes six months after FarMart’s $10 million Series A in October 2021 by Matrix, Avaana, and Omidyar, and brings the total capital raised to $48 million.
FarMart provides a SaaS tool to 60,000 agri-retailers in the country who serve two million farmers through its mobile app. The company has also scaled its output linkage offering, distributed via its app users, to over 600 districts in India. With 75,000 metric tonnes of high-quality produce sourced until now across over 15 commodities.
