Deal Street: Nilekani-Backed Startup Raises Debt From Temasek’s Arm
Your weekly dose of startup deals.
Startup funding remained muted last week as six ventures across sectors such as business-to-business, health and technology, financial technology, and fashion raised about Rs 133 crore ($20 million) from angel, seed and venture capital investors. That compares with Rs 93 crore raised by the same number of startups in the prior week.
Nexus Leads Funding In Employee Transport Firm MoveInSync
Office commute automation platform MoveInSync raised $8 million (Rs 52 crore) in early-stage funding led by venture capital firm Nexus Venture Partners.
Existing investors, including Inventus Capital Partners, Saama Capital and Qualcomm Ventures, participated in the funding, a company statement said. The funds will be used to develop its transport offerings, accelerate customer acquisition and expand to international markets.
Founded in 2009, MoveInSync pivoted from a carpool service into an employee transport management platform, tracks vehicles during commute in real time, records cab usage, and provides automated billing. It also addresses employee safety while commuting through a centralised command centre.
The company said its transport solution is being used by over 50 customers, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe, and Wipro.
Nilekani-Backed Power2SME Raises $6 Million In Venture Debt
Online buying hub for small and medium enterprises Power2SME raised Rs 40 crore ($6.16 million) in debt funding from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings Pvt. Ltd.’s venture debt arm InnoVen Capital.
The funds will be used to strengthen the company’s position in the business-to-business space in India, said a statement from InnoVen, which first provided venture debt to Power2SME in 2015. It will also support the company‘s working capital needs through its partner financial institutions, the fund said.
The investment comes nearly seven months after Power2SME raised $26 million (Rs 166 crore) in its Series E funding led by existing investors Inventus Capital Partners, Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, and Nandan Nilekani.
Founded in 2012, Gurugram-based Power2SME is a platform that services raw material needs of small and medium enterprises and places bulk orders to cut costs. It caters to construction, manufacturing, precision engineering, and automotive original equipment manufacturers. The platform helps small and medium businesses eliminate the need to engage with multiple vendors, provides doorstep delivery of goods through logistics providers and offers flexible payment options.
Fitternity Raises $2 Million
Online fitness discovery platform Fitternity raised over $2 million (Rs 13 crore) from existing and new investors, the Mumbai-based company said.
The round also saw the participation of marquee angel investors such as Arihant Patni of Patni Family Office; Anjali Bansal, former TPG Partner; Akshay Chudasma, managing director at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas; Satish Khanna, former Lupin Group president; and the Taparia family office. Existing investors such as Saha Fund and Exfinity Venture Partners also participated in the round.
The investment is part of a larger institutional funding the company is looking for to expand its footprint, its statement said.
Others
Online fashion resale marketplace CoutLoot raised $1 million (Rs 6.5 crore) as part of its ongoing early-stage funding round, the Mumbai-based company’s statement said. The latest round is led by Jadevalue Fintech, the investment arm of Chinese microfinance company CashBUS. Existing investors Artha India Ventures and funding and incubation platform Venture Catalysts also participated in the round.
Diabetes management app BeatO raised $1.3 million (Rs 8.45 crore) in a funding round co-led by Blume Ventures and Leo Capital. The Delhi-based startup said the funds will be used to ramp up its technology.
Financial technology platform Finzy raised $1.3 million (Rs 8.4 crore) in early-stage funding, a company statement said. The funds will be used to strengthen its technology and hiring fresh talent.