NEW DELHI New Delhi: The Indian startup ecosystem raised over $348 million in funding this week, as the growth momentum for the industry continued for the second consecutive week.Indian startups collectively raised $348 million across 19 deals this week, compared to $466 million raised by 16 startups in the previous week.
The week was led by ride-sharing platform Rapido, which raised $200 million in its Series E funding, taking its valuation to over $1.1 billion. The funding round was led by WestBridge Capital. The company said it will use the funds to expand its operations across India and enhance its technology platform to enhance service delivery.
Rapido plans to grow its operations across categories, including bike-taxi, three-wheeler and taxi-cab.Drip Capital, a leading digital platform for trade finance, raised fresh funding of $113 million. This includes equity of $23 million from Japanese institutional investors, GMO Payment Gateway and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and debt financing of $90 million led by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and East West Bank.
Moneyview, a lending platform, has also reportedly raised about $30 million in debt through private placement. In August, startups raised about $1.6 billion through 112 deals, including 27 growth-stage deals worth $1.32 billion and 71 early-stage deals worth $267 million. This year, the ecosystem saw a surge in large funding rounds (over $100 million). There have been 13 funding rounds valued at over $100 million. Startups such as Zepto, Rapido, Lenskart, Flipkart, Meesho, and PharmEasy have raised funding in these rounds.
Quick e-commerce company Zepto raised two rounds of funding of a billion dollars ($340 million + $665 million) in 2024. The company last raised $340 million in funding at a valuation of $5 billion. Eyewear major Lenskart has also raised $200 million in funding so far in 2024. The valuation of the company is around $5 billion.
