The Weekly Startup Funding
Dear Grizmo community,
Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletters, where we bring you updates on the latest funding and investments in the Indian startup ecosystem.
In this issue, we cover widespread topics, from workspace interiors to meme marketing to cold chain logistics and co-working spaces.
1. Lightspeed fuels Indian workspace interiors platform Officebanao with $6M funding
Officebanao, an Indian startup offering a workspace interiors platform to businesses in the country, has raised $6 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed. The company give a comprehensive, end-to-end service, which features an interactive visual design process tailored to businesses of all sizes.
2. Meme marketing startup @WLDD raises seed round
Meme marketing firm WLDD has raised $1.25 million in its seed round led by Negen Capital. The capital will primarily be deployed to strengthen the company’s growing influence and ramp up the growth of the startup. The company has introduced meme marketing to over 120 brands so far and has a creator community of over 10,000.
3. Celcius Secures Rs 100 Cr In Series A Round Led By IvyCap Ventures
Celcius Logistics, a cold chain marketplace startup, has finished its Series A funding by raising a total of Rs 100 crore, with the help of IvyCap Ventures as the lead investor. The company wants to use the funding for technological advancements to address the fragmented cold supply chain and reduce food waste.
4. Indian delivery firm Dunzo bags $75m funding, lays off 30% of staff
Key backers Reliance Retail and Alphabet Inc have added about $50m of the funding.
5.LightMetrics has raised USD 8.5 Million in a Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based video telematics startup LightMetrics has raised USD 8.5 Million in a Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India. The startup plans to deploy it towards product development, hiring and domain expansion focused on auto insurance.
6. Payment Aggregator Paysharp raised funding of 10.5 CrorePayment aggregator Paysharp raised 10.5 crores with a 200 crore valuation. Paysharp provides enterprise-grade payment solutions, including complete UPI solutions and other payment collection solutions.
7. Doubtnut slashes costs by 80%, raises $2.5 Mn in an internal round Doubt clearing ed-tech firm Doubtnut had raised about $50 million in total funding, including a $31 million Series B round in February 2021. While the company controlled its monthly burn by over 80% in March 2023 as compared to March 2022, it has found it tough to raise fresh capital and explored acquisition deals with several players.
8.3 State Ventures Lead INR 300 Cr Funding In CurefoodsStylework, a B2B SAAS marketplace for co-working spaces, has recently closed its Series A1 round, raising $2 million from institutional investors including Capriglobal Holdings and QI Ventures, among others. The funds will be used to further develop their advanced flexible workspace aggregator technology and product for corporates. The company currently has over 2,500 partnered co-working spaces on its platform across India and is in partnership with over 250 coworking and managed office operator brands. With a valuation of $20 million, Stylework has expanded its partnered coworking supply presence from 3 cities to 10, and further to over 50 cities, currently operating in over 80 cities.
9. Co-working marketplace Stylework — Unconventional Workspaces raises $2 Mn in Series A1 roundStylework, a B2B SAAS marketplace for co-working spaces, has recently closed its Series A1 round, raising $2 million from institutional investors including Capriglobal Holdings and QI Ventures, among others. The funds will be used to further develop their advanced flexible workspace aggregator technology and product for corporates. The company currently has over 2,500 partnered co-working spaces on its platform across India and is in partnership with over 250 coworking and managed office operator brands. With a valuation of $20 million, Stylework has expanded its partnered coworking supply presence from 3 cities to 10, and further to over 50 cities, currently operating in over 80 cities.
10. Armour Heavy seed funding led by India Accelerator. With a vision to build the first aspirational Made in He India fashion brand, AH is committed to leveraging the local ecosystem in building a world-class performance wear line of apparel. The brand aims to offer high-fashion clothing augmented with high-performance material offering unparalleled comfort, excellent dimensional stability, and unique attributes to amplify wearer performance. The funds will be used for the operations, scaling their online reach, and enhancing research and development in high-end performance clothing.
These startups are prime examples of the thriving startup ecosystem in India, and we look forward to seeing their continued growth and success.
