ETtech Deals Digest: Big-ticket funding still elude Indian startups

The days of big-ticket funding seem a distant memory at this point, with wary investors walking away from large funding deals at unicorns, citing tech turbulence. It has been months since we’ve seen Indian startups bagging deals upwards of $100 million as richly valued startups have struggled to raise
startups have struggled to rack up capital. Investors have turned extremely cautious, prizing profitability over growth amid strong macroeconomic headwinds.

The number of funding rounds of $100 million and upwards has fallen from 29 in the first quarter of the calendar year to 18 in the second quarter and just three in the third quarter (as of August 24).
The biggest deal this week was struck by Wow! Momo Foods, which raised $16 million from Oaks Asset Management.

Here’s a list of the key deals from this week

Wow! Momo Foods raises $16 million from Oaks Asset Management:
Wow! Momo Foods raised $16 million (Rs 125 crore) in funding from private equity fund Oaks Asset Management at a valuation of Rs 2,125 crore. The funding is a part of a two-tranche raise, with the second one being planned with another fund where Wow! Momo intends to raise Rs 100 crore. The company would use the fresh infusion to fuel the quick service business expansion and strengthen the FMCG arm of Wow! Momo.

General Catalyst pumps $14.5 million in CertifyOS: US-based healthtech startup
CertifyOS has raised $14.5 million (about Rs 115 crore) in its Series A round, led by General Catalyst. Existing backers Upfront Ventures, Max Ventures, and Arkitekt Ventures also participated in the round. CertifyOS delivers API-first credentialing, licensing, enrolment, and network monitoring to payors, providers, health systems, and digital health companies in the United States.

GroMo picks $11 million in funding from SIG Venture Capital, others:
GroMo, a fintech platform for distribution of financial products in tier 2-and-beyond cities, has raised $11 million in equities from a clutch of investors led by SIG Venture Capital, the Asian venture capital arm of SIG, a global proprietary trading and private equity investment firm. The other key investors include Y-Combinator, Das Capital, Goodwater Capital, Beyond Next Ventures, and others.

Zippmat raises $10 million in funding led by Matrix:
ZippMat, a service platform for construction supply chain, has raised $10 million in an equity and debt round led by Matrix Partners India. Existing investor Zephyr Peacock also participated in the equity financing, while HDFC Bank and TradeCred took part in the debt funding. The startup will utilise the latest funds to scale up its user base, digitise the supply chain, bring in product innovation, and expand its team.

CashFlo raises $8.7 million from General Catalyst: Supply chain finance startup
CashFlo raised $8.7 million (Rs 70 crore) in funding as part of its second round of capital raise led by General Catalyst. The fundraise saw participation from existing investor Elevation Capital. Prominent angels such as Jupiter’s Jitendra Gupta; Pine Labs’ Amrish Rau, Uni’s Nitin Gupta, and Atrium Angels also participated. Previously, Elevation had invested in CashFlo’s initial fundraising in 2019.

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