Deal Street: This Startup’s Valuation Jumped By A Fourth In Three Months

Six Indian startups raised around $340 million in angel, seed or venture capital funding last week, across sectors such as education, mobility and agriculture, among others. Startups based out of Bengaluru led the funding pack last week. Here’s what went on...

Byju’s Raises $31.3 Million From General Atlantic And Tencent

Byju’s raised $31.3 million (around Rs 215 crore) in a fresh fundraising from existing investors General Atlantic and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

The investment, made in two tranches, raised the Bengaluru-based education technology startup’s valuation by nearly 25 percent to $5.4 billion in just three months, according to filings with the Registrar of Companies. This also made Byju’s India’s most valued startup after Paytm and Ola.

The startup had last raised $400 million in a funding round led by Naspers in December 2018, valuing the firm at about $3.6 billion.

Founded in 2011, the startup operates learning apps for school students and produces all its content in-house.

Byju’s aims to clock revenue worth Rs 1,400 crore in the ongoing financial year. It reported around Rs 520-crore revenue in 2017-18. It has investors such as Tencent, Verlinvest, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Aarin Capital, among others.

HalaPlay Raises $5 Million In Growth Funding

Fantasy sports startup HalaPlay raised $5 million (around Rs 40 crore) in a growth funding round led by mobile game developer Nazara Technologies Ltd. and casino gaming company Delta Corp Ltd.

The fantasy sports market, estimated at around $1 billion, is expected to touch $5 billion in the next two years, the company said in a media statement. “This boost could not have come at a better time ensuring and enabling our growth,” Swapnil Saurav, chief executive officer at HalaPlay, said in the statement.

HalaPlay, an online mobile-based fantasy sports platform, allows sports enthusiasts to play cash-based games such as cricket, football and kabaddi. It employs data analytics and machine learning to help users draft teams and analyse playing behaviour.

Agri-Tech Startup Raises $4 Million

DeHaat, an online marketplace for farm products and services, raised $4 million (about Rs 27.5 crore) in a funding round led by impact investor Omnivore Partners and U.S.-based agri-tech-focused investor AgFunder.

Pankaj Chaddah, co-founder of Zomato, and an undisclosed family office also participated in the fundraising, the Gurugram-based company said in a statement.

DeHaat said it will use the funds to expand its network of farmers in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha and launch farm credit and crop insurance services in the coming year.

Founded in 2012, the startup offers end-to-end agricultural services to farmers. It also provides access to financial services and market linkages for farmers to sell their produce. The company supports more than 55,000 farmers across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, the statement said.

Others

• Ola raised about $300 million in a fresh funding from Hyundai motor Co. and Kia Motor Corp as part of the company’s effort to ramp up its business in electric mobility space, according to its statement.
  
• BeatO, a New Delhi-based health-tech startup, raised $1.6 million (around Rs 11.75 crore) in a fresh fundraising led by Mumbai-based venture capital company Orios Venture Partners, the company said in a statement.
  
• Venuelook, an online-to-offline marketplace for venue, recommendation and booking, raised an undisclosed amount in a fresh funding round led by angel investors and entrepreneurs such as Srikant Sastri, co-founder of Crayon Data, Shailesh Rao, head of India and senior adviser at TPG Growth, VP Rajesh, managing partner at Banyan Capital Advisors LLP, and Vishal Sampat, founder of Convonix, the company said in a statement.