[Weekly funding roundup Nov 9-15] VC inflows record a sharp rise

Venture capital (VC) funding into Indian startups rose in the second week of November, primarily due to a sprinkling of reasonably sized deals, but the total amount raised was modest.

The total VC funding for the week came in at $174 million, cutting across 19 deals, as compared to $101 million in the first week of November.

The month of November traditionally sees lower activity and the VC funding amount raised in the first two weeks being in the $100 million to $200 million range is a reflection of this trend.

However, this week saw an interesting number of deals, as VC funding was spread across segments such as rural fintech, enterprise AI, edtech, and drone technology, among others. The week also saw capital raises from startups like SarvaGram and Wheelocity, which are focused on markets outside metropolitan cities. This is a good sign, as it shows investors are keen on backing businesses that are focused on Tier II and III cities.

Venture capital funding for the ten months of the year has crossed $11.5 billion, which is higher than the $10.8 billion raised for the whole of 2023. This is not a dramatic increase, but certainly a strong improvement and is an encouraging sign towards a better show in 2025.

The week also saw quite few developments in the Indian startup ecosystem, especially about companies becoming publicly-listed entities. Swiggy had a successful debut on the stock markets with the share price rising 10% on domestic bourses.

There were a host of companies that announced their second quarter numbers, including Firstcry, Nykaa, Mamaearth, and Delhivery. These companies put on a creditable performance and showed that there was a strong growth path ahead.

Key transactions

Rural lending startup SarvaGram raised Rs 565 crore ($67 million approx.) from Peak XV Partners, Elevar Equity, Elevation Capital, Temasek, and TVS Capital.

Enterprise AI agent platform UnifyApps raised $20 million from ICONIQ Growth and Elevation Capital.

Edtech startup Bhanzu raised $16.5 million from Epiq Capital, Z3Partners, Lightspeed Ventures and Eight Roads.

E-commerce startup Wheelocity raised $15 million from Lightspeed Ventures, Alteria Capital and Anicut Capital.

The ePlane Company raised $14 million from Speciale Invest, Antares Ventures, Micelio Mobility, Naval Ravikant, Homage Ventures, Java Capital, Samarthya Investment Advisors, Redstart Labs (from Naukri), and Anicut Capital.

Deeptech EV startup Vecmocon raised $10 million from Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Blume Ventures and British International Investment.

Tech startup Equal raised $10 million from Prosus Ventures, Tomales Bay Capital, Blume Ventures, DST Global, Quona VC, and angel investors.

Urban gardening startup Ugaoo raised Rs 47 crore ($5.5 million approx.) from V3 Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners and RPG Ventures.