Startup Funding Deals November 2022: The starting of November 2022 has been a successful week for startups in India with as many as 5 big deals amounting to $500 plus were raised. The sectorial investment also were broad based with investment in Healthcare, HR Tech, Pet Care, Renewables, and new age startup technologies.
Startupstars: List of top 5 Startup Funding deals in the first week of November 2022
Keka raises $57 Million
Hyderabad-based HRtech leader Keka has secured Series A funding of $57 million from WestBridge Capital. Founded by Vijay Yalamanchilli in 2015, Keka was launched with a mission to create a good employee experience. It built a highly innovative product to suit the practical requirements of the industry, all without securing any funding. Keka means ‘awesome’ in Telugu, something the company seeks to symbolise when it comes to the empowerment of the HR function and employee experience.
By the end of 2021, the solution was used by more than 5,500 companies. Expressing his confidence in the company, Rishit Desai, Principal at WestBridge Capital, said, “In a short period of time, Keka has emerged as India’s most trusted and innovative HR tech platform. It is disrupting the industry through its world-class product and highly reliable customer support. We are aligned with their vision to build the best mid-market-focused global HRtech platform that will allow companies around the world to modernise their HR processes. We are very excited about Keka’s potential and look forward to a long partnership with the company”
Supertails raises $10 Million
Supertails, a full-stack tech-enabled pet-care startup, on Wednesday has raised $10 million in Series A round led by Fireside Ventures, alongside existing lead investors Saama Capital and DSG Consumer Partners. The round also saw participation from renowned angels like Kunal Shah (Founder, CRED); Sanjay Kapoor (Founder and President, Genesis Luxury Fashion Pvt Ltd); Varun Alagh (Co-founder and CEO, MamaEarth); Ankit Nagori (Founder, Curefoods); and Shashank Mehta (Founder and CEO, The Whole Truth Foods).
The Bengaluru-based startup will use the funds to double down on building innovative tech, which includes unveiling its own app. It is also building its own D2C brand—Henlo. Additionally, Supertails will focus on the expansion of verticals (vet diets and pet pharmacy channels), strengthening the supply chain, and innovating the post-sale experience.
Serentica Renewables raises $400 Million
Global investment firm KKR on Tuesday announced that it will invest $400 million in Serentica Renewables, a decarbonisation platform that seeks to enable the energy transition by providing complex clean energy solutions for energy-intensive, hard-to-abate industries.
Serentica has currently entered three long-term PPAs and is in the process of developing ~1,500 MW of solar and wind power projects across various states, including Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. Serentica’s medium term goal is to install 5,000 MW of carbon-free generation capacity coupled with different storage technologies, supply over 16 billion units of clean energy annually, and displace 20 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Pratik Agarwal, Director of Serentica Renewables, said, “The world is undergoing a clean energy transition and India is at the forefront of this effort with its ambitious target of 450GW by the year 2030. This investment will allow us to leap ahead in our vision of decarbonising large energy-intensive industries and help in reversing climate change.
This transaction is amongst the largest industrial decarbonisation investments in India to date and carries forward the global decarbonisation agenda, which is centre stage at COP27 (2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference).”
Doola raises $8 Million
Doola, earlier known as StartPack has announced that it has raised $8M in funding led by Nexus Venture Partners with participation from the Y Combinator Continuity Fund and more.
The startup was founded in late 2020 by Arjun Mahadevan and JP Pincheira, with its HQ in New York City. doola helps global entrepreneurs form US LLCs by supporting customers through the incorporation process so they can confidently collect payments, build credibility, stay legal, and make more money. It provides company formation, an EIN, a US address and bank account, access to US payments, tax consultations, US tax support, a phone number, $50,000 in startup perks, and more.
The Sleep Company
The Sleep Company has raised Rs 177 crore ($21.3 million approx) led by Premji Investment. Alteria Capital also participated in the round while existing investor Fireside Ventures increased its stake to over 20%. The Mumbai-based firm plans on using the funds to increase its omnichannel presence, further build its brand, and accelerate penetration across Japan, the UK, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Sleep is the most important part of the system and India is the second most sleep-deprived country after Japan. We want people to have the best sleep and they should also be able to experience our products when they see it on the website,” Priyanka Goyal Salot, Co-founder, The Sleep Company, told YourStory in an interaction.
Curebay raises Rs 50 Cr
CureBay, which enables affordable healthcare services and facilities for rural areas, will use this capital for hiring, expanding to new locations, and strengthening its platform. It also plans to launch 100 e-clinics in the next 12 months, up from the present 15 such clinics.
Founded in 2021 by Priyadarshi Mohapatra, Shobhan Mahapatra, and Sanjay Swain, CureBay uses a hybrid model to schedule appointments, provide teleconsultations, deliver medicine, address the diagnostic needs of patients, and facilitate admission for tertiary care at partner hospitals via a transparent booking model and concierge services.
CureBay Founder and CEO Priyadarshi Mohapatra said, “The healthcare ecosystem needs an innovative model that enables it to collaborate on a real-time basis to deliver health outcomes to patients across the country. With CureBay, we intend to empower the healthcare system and make it accessible to patients who lack information and proper medical resources.”
