NEW DELHI — The
domestic startup ecosystem raised more than $145 million, as investor
confidence is reviving in the country when it comes to VC funding.
Publicly-listed gaming firm Nazara raised $101.3 million via
a preferential share issue, led by investors like SBI Mutual Fund, Caratlane
founder Mithun Sacheti, and Aamara Capital.
ShopDeck, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce enabler,
raised $8 million in funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with
participation from Elevation Capital, Venture Highway, and Chiratae Ventures.
ShopDeck empowers sellers across categories, including
clothing, jewellery, footwear, and home decor, driving over $150 million in
annual sales.
MSME-focused digital lender NeoGrowth raised up to INR 42
crore (nearly $5 million) in debt funding from UTI International Wealth
Creator.
Elchemy, a tech-driven cross-border speciality chemical
distribution platform, secured a $5.6 million Series A funding round. The round
was led by Prime Venture Partners, along with participation from existing
investor InfoEdge Ventures.
Ukhi, a pioneering biomaterials startup, secured $1.2
million in pre-seed funding to accelerate its mission to develop novel,
biodegradable, and compostable biomaterials aimed at transforming the sustainable
packaging industry.
A total of 984 venture capital (VC) funding deals were
announced in India during January-October 2024, which was a year-on-year (YoY)
improvement of 5.8 per cent in deal volume.
The total disclosed funding value of these deals jumped by
44.4 per cent YoY to $9.2 billion during the same period, according to
GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Investor confidence seems to be reviving as India
demonstrates significant improvement in VC funding activity during the year
compared to peer countries, the report mentioned.
India accounted for 7.1 per cent share of the total number
of VC deals announced globally during January-October 2024,