ETtech Deals Digest: Late-stage rounds in Lenskart, PhonePe take March funding for Indian startups to $1.14 billion

The total funding for startups this month stood at $1.14 billion across 102 rounds, according to data provided by market intelligence firm Tracxn. This represents a 74% slump in funding on a year-on-year basis compared to $4.48 billion raised by startups across 378 rounds in March 2022.

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Compared to February, startups raised 38% more against $832 million that they picked up across 89 rounds.

Late-stage funding, made up 75% of the total funding and stood at $858 million, led by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s (ADIA) $500 million investment in Lenskart, valuing the company at $4.2 billion. Walmart-owned PhonePe also picked up $200 million from its parent company in an ongoing fundraise, boosting the funding numbers for the month.

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Seed-stage rounds contributed $51.7 million while early-stage investments in startups was at $237 million.

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Chiratae Ventures was the most active VC in March with participation in three funding rounds, for HealthPlix, SigTuple and BuyStars. Elevation and Sixth Sense Ventures both participated in two rounds each.

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Here is a list of companies which raised the most amount of funds this month:

ADIA signs $500 million cheque for 10% stake in Lenskart: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Lenskart, has signed a definitive agreement for a $500 million investment by the Gulf Sovereign wealth fund (SWF). The fundraise was done at a $4.2 billion valuation and will result in ADIA becoming one of the largest shareholders in Lenskart with a 10% stake. Even though the parties did not disclose the name of the existing investors that partially exited, it has been reported that some of Lenskart’s old investors SoftBank Vision, Kedaara Capital, TR Capital, Alpha Wave Global, formerly Falcon Edge, have been looking to part monetise their investment.

PhonePe racks up additional $200 million from Walmart: Digital payments major, PhonePe on Friday said it has picked up an additional $200 million in primary capital from its parent Walmart. The fund infusion is part of its ongoing $1 billion financing round. The round is being raised at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion, making PhonePe the most valuable fintech in the country, surpassing payment services provider Razorpay which was last valued at $7.5 billion.

Supply chain financing startup Mintifi raises $110 million: Mintifi has raised $110 million in a fresh round of funding led by Premji Invest, with participation also from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Elevation Capital and International Finance Corp. Almost 90% of the amount has been raised by selling new shares, with the proceeds going to the company. The remaining 10%, raised through secondary shares, is to provide liquidity to employees and early investors, cofounder Anup Agarwal told ET.

EV charging infra platform CHARGE+ZONE raises $54 million: Electric vehicle charging infra platform CHARGE+ZONE on Monday announced raising $54 million (Rs 450 crore) in Series A1 funding round led by global impact investment management firm BlueOrchard Finance. Additionally, the company plans to raise $75-100 million in equity as part of Series A2 during 2023-2024, CHARGE+ZONE said in a statement.

Kabira Mobility secures $50 million funding: Electric two-wheeler maker Kabira Mobility on Friday said it has secured $50 million (around Rs 412 crore) funding from Qatar-based Al-Abdulla Group. The Panjim-based company plans to utilise the capital to fund its future growth in the country.