Deal Street: Vistaar Finance Raises $18 Million In Debt Funding  

Nine startups raised more than $50 million last week, 40 percent higher than the amount reported in the prior week. Shared workspaces startup Awfis led the chart by raising about $20 million in a Series B round of funding, while small loan provider Vistaar Finance raised $18 million in debt funding, one of its founders told BloombergQuint.

Co-Working Space Startup Awfis Bags $20 Million From Sequoia India

The country’s largest shared workspace provider, Awfis, raised Rs 127 crore ($20 million) from Sequoia India, said Amit Ramani, founder and chief executive of the company told BloombergQuint over the phone.

The Delhi-based company plans to use the funds to set up new centres and expand offerings. A portion of the funds will also be used to develop the technology backend, said Ramani. The firm aims to have 100 centres with over 35,000 seats across Mumbai, the National Capital Region, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune, he said.

The two-year-old startup currently operates over 7,500 seats across 21 centres in eight Indian cities. Ramani said they have 90 percent average occupancy across its established centres, and have more than 500 members that include leading startups, micro and small companies and Fortune 500 companies.

Vistaar Finance Raises $18 Million In Debt Funding

Bengaluru-based financial services startup, Vistaar Finance, raised around Rs 125 crore ($18 million) in debt funding from Reliance Mutual Funds, Ramakrishna Nishtala, managing director and CEO of Vistaar Finance, told BloombergQuint over the phone.

Founded in April 2010, the company aims to use the funds for onward lending to medium, small and micro enterprises in rural and urban areas. The lender provides loans in the ticket size of Rs 4-5 lakh, and has disbursed more than Rs 1,100 crore to over a lakh customers so far. Vistaar finance had last raised $27.3 million in a Series C round from Westbridge Capital, and followed it up with an internal round of $37.58 million, led by existing investor Westbridge Capital and earlier investors, Omidyar and Elevar Equity, in May 2015

The company currently operates across 205 cities.

Food Startup Faasos Raises $6.3 Million

Food startup Faasos raised $6.3 million from existing investors like Lightbox Ventures II, Lightbox Expansion Fund, Sequoia Capital India, RuNet South Asia and RB Investments, according to the filings with the Registrar of Companies.

Founded in 2004, Faasos has in-house brands like Oven Story, Kettle & Eggs and Behrouz and also doubles up as an aggregator. It posted a loss of Rs 111 crore in 2016, according to RoC filings.

Mobile Gaming Startup Mech Mocha Tops Up In Series A Round

Bengaluru-based mobile gaming startup Mech Mocha raised $5 million (Rs 32 crore) in its Series A round led by Accel Partners and China’s Shunwei Capital, a venture capital firm, a company statement said. Existing investor Blume Ventures also increased its stake in the company.

The company aims to utilise the funds to launch new gaming titles across categories, targeted at Indian audience, the statement added.

“The Indian mobile gaming sector is growing at a fast pace and holds great opportunity. We hope to share our experience in China and use it to create new opportunities for Mech Mocha in India,” said Tuck Lye Koh, founding partner and CEO, Shunwei Capital.

BloombergQuint had earlier reported that the company had raised $3.8 million in a round led by Accel Partners.

Hyperlocal Delivery Startup Scootsy Raises $3.6 Million

Mumbai-based on-demand delivery startup Scootsy raised $3.6 million (Rs 23 crore) in a bridge round of investment from Agnus Capital, the family office of the promoters of pharmaceutical firm Strides Group, and Singapore-based investment firm Khattar Holdings, the company said in a statement.

The startup aims to use the proceeds to strengthen its logistics, technology and delivery platform. A part of the investment will also be used to launch Scootsy Express, a service that will deliver food to corporate offices across the city and Scootsy Pop-Up, a kitchen and distribution platform that will be available to brands across the country, the statement added.

Currently operational in Mumbai, the startup is said to have a user base of 200,000 users.

Others

Mumbai-based online drug delivery platform PharmEasy topped up its Series B round with another $2.1 million (Rs 14 crore) in debt funding from Trifecta Capital, taking the total funding raised in the round to $18 million, Dharmil Sheth, co-founder of PharmEasy, told BloombergQuint.

BloombergQuint had reported earlier that PharmEasy had raised $16 million from Bessemer Venture Partners and Orios Venture Partners.

Bangalore-based pharmacy app Myra Medicines raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A round of funding co-led by investment firm Matrix Partners India and media company Times Internet, the company said in a statement.

Sepalika, a healthcare content platform that offers research-based information on diet, lifestyle changes and supplements, raised $750,000 (Rs 4.8 crore) in seed funding led by venture capital firm Accel Partners, a company statement said.

Jaipur-based home tuition provider Qriyo raised an undisclosed amount in Series A funding from Dubai-based investor Neelesh Bhatnagar’s NB Ventures. The company will use the funds to expand operations to Chandigarh, enhance offerings for personalised competitive exams preparation and get more tutors on board, it said in a statement.