In the past week, the Indian startup ecosystem observed a modest uptick in venture capital funding, although the funding amounts remained below the usual average. This recent funding trend provided some relief to startups, especially considering that the previous week had marked one of the lowest points in terms of funding.
During the second week, startups in India collectively secured a total of $95 million in venture funding through 11 transactions. In contrast, the preceding week had plummeted to an unprecedented low of just $11 million.
The minimal funding influx into Indian startups can be attributed to investors’ reluctance to invest in emerging enterprises due to apprehensions surrounding global macroeconomic uncertainty and recent events within the Indian startup ecosystem.
The developments at Byju’s, which resulted in the resignation of their statutory auditor and certain directors, have raised apprehensions among investors regarding the prospects of education technology firms and startups in India. The statements issued by the departing directors and their respective companies, highlighting mismanagement concerns at Byju’s, have intensified the situation.
Major Funding Deals
Credgenics – Credgenics, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform focused on debt collections, which aids lenders in elevating their recovery rates and diminishing non-performing assets (NPAs), has successfully secured $50 million through a Series B funding round, led by WestBridge Capital. This funding cycle also witnessed the engagement of existing backers namely Accel, Tanglin Venture Partners, and Beams FinTech Fund.
Established in 2018 by Anand Agrawal, Mayank Khera, and Rishabh Goel, the startup delivers an array of solutions that harness technology, automation, and data analytics to optimize the collections procedure. Credgenics boasts a client base of over 100 entities encompassing banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and digital lending enterprises. Their efforts have resulted in the recovery of more than Rs 1,000 crore in bad loans thus far.
Disprz – Disprz, an AI-powered SaaS startup offering learning and development solutions to both enterprises and individuals, has secured $30 million in a Series C funding round. Lumos Capital, a growth equity fund from the US with a focus on education and human capital, spearheaded the funding, with participation from 360 ONE Asset, Kae Capital, KOIS, and Dallas Venture Capital. Notably, existing investors Auctus Capital and Emerge Education also contributed to the round.
The freshly acquired funds will be allocated towards expanding Disprz’s global footprint, with a particular emphasis on the US and Southeast Asia markets. Additionally, the company intends to enrich its product offerings by introducing new features and integrations.
Boasting a user base of more than 500,000 learners spanning across 50 countries, Disprz has achieved a remarkable 300% year-on-year revenue growth. The company’s growth plan includes the recruitment of additional talent and increased investment in research and development.
Stable Money – Stable Money, a fintech startup specializing in providing a platform for fixed-return investments, has successfully raised $5 million in a seed funding round. The funding initiative was led by Matrix Partners India, a venture capital firm renowned for its early-stage investments across diverse sectors.
Notably, the funding round also witnessed participation from notable entities including Lightspeed Venture Partners, a global VC firm backing innovative enterprises; Titan Capital, a fund focused on supporting founders with both capital and mentorship; Mar Shot Ventures, a seed-stage fund with a focus on fintech and consumer internet startups; along with angel investors like Kunal Shah, the founder of CRED; Jitendra Gupta, the founder of Jupiter; and Amrish Rau, the CEO of Pine Labs.
The recently acquired funds are earmarked for the expansion and refinement of the platform, diversification of the product portfolio, enhancement of the user experience, and bolstering the talent pool. Stable Money asserts a user base exceeding 100,000 and having facilitated investments totaling over Rs 500 crore up to this point. The company’s forthcoming plans involve the introduction of novel features, including goal-based investing, tax-saving offerings, and instant liquidity alternatives.
