India is a global hotspot for invention and entrepreneurship, and this is reflected in the booming startup ecosystem that the country is home to. India has already seen the rise of many unicorns and prosperous startups in a variety of industries, thanks to the country's youthful and vibrant population, extensive internet connectivity, and government-backed initiatives. India is a desirable location for technical innovation and entrepreneurial endeavours due to its established network of incubators, accelerators, and venture capital firms, which contribute to its growth.

This week, we saw Manastu Space has successfully raised $3 million in pre-Series A funding, led by the Indian Angel Network (IAN); and Mokobara, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) backpack startup, recently received $3.6 million in funding from its previous investors, confirming their belief in the company's potential.  Here is the compilation of top 10 startups that raised million dollar funds this week.

Manastu Space

Manastu Space has successfully raised $3 million in pre-Series A funding, led by the Indian Angel Network (IAN). The funding round included notable IAN investors such as KRS Jamwal from Tata Industries, Jaideep Mehta, Sanjiv Bajaj, and Nitin Zamre. Co-Founded by Ashtesh Kumar, Manastu Space is actively developing a versatile green propulsion system designed for satellites that aims to enhance their maneuverability in space and protect them from potential collisions with space debris.

Manastu Space has received funding to develop its green propulsion system for satellites weighing between 100-500 kg, and to expand its business. The company plans to implement its eco-friendly propulsion system and autonomous collision avoidance system, and further its R&D program. Additionally, they plan to conduct a test flight next year to validate their technology. The company is also designing a space-based fuel station to offer in-orbit refueling services for satellites, preventing them from being abandoned when their onboard fuel is exhausted.

Blubirch

Platform for automation-driven reverse supply chain management utilising AI and software-as-a-service Cornerstone Ventures and Capital2B contributed $6.37 million to Blubirch's Series A financing, according to the company. The money will enable the business to expand its platform for returns automation and monetization.

To date, the Bengaluru-based business has raised $10.2 million in total funding. Retailers, e-commerce companies, brands, marketplaces, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) may all benefit from Blubirch's platform by increasing sales, boosting profits, and improving customer satisfaction. Its range of solutions assists many players in the reverse supply chain by managing the automated processing of returns at scale, identifying invalid returns at the source, and handling warranty claims, among other tasks.

UrbanMatrix

UrbanMatrix Technologies, a startup that specializes in drone technology, has raised Rs 6 crore in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Inflection Point Ventures, a venture capital firm. The company focuses on the development of industrial-grade drones and software related to cloud integration for drones. The funds will be used to further develop their products, expand the team, and enter new markets. UrbanMatrix's drone technology caters to a variety of industries and operations, including surveys, surveillance, agriculture, AI-based inspection, and defense.

Vikram Ramasubramanian said, a partner at Inflection Point Ventures, that the drone industry presents great market opportunities and is a fast-growing sector. Inflection Point Ventures is excited to provide strategic support to UrbanMatrix, to help them scale their business.

Proost Beer

Proost Beer, a fast-growing brewery in India, has successfully concluded its Pre-Series A funding round, securing a significant INR 25 crore through a mix of equity and debt. The investment is backed by a blend of existing and new investors, including Chimes Group, Dev Punj, The Chennai Angels, Finvolve, India Accelerator, Hyderabad Angels, Mumbai Angels, Angel List India, and Agiliti Venture. The fresh infusion of funds will play an important role in Proost Beer's strategic expansion plans. The startup operates under the umbrella of Grano69 Beverages Pvt Ltd in Delhi and has a strong presence in Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Kerala retail outlets, selling an impressive nine units of beer every minute.

Datoms, a deep tech IoT (Internet of Things) startup specializing in Original Equipment Manufacturers, has recently raised $1.2 million (approximately Rs 10 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round. Yournest Venture Capital led the investment. Datoms is owned and operated by Phoenix Robotix Pvt Ltd, which was Co-Founded by Amiya Samantaray, Nataraj Sahoo, Amrit Biswal, and Asish Sahoo in 2021. The startup aims to improve efficiency in human-capital-heavy sectors such as construction, warehousing, agriculture, mining, and ports by automating asset management and activity planning.

Datoms, a startup based in Bhubaneswar, has developed a cloud-based platform that connects people, processes, and machinery operations in one place. The company has received support from venture capitalists and angel investors such as RidikCapital, Mohit Garg (Founder of Mind-tickle and Oloid AI), Saroj Mishra (Co-Founder of Tazapay and Bayfront Capital Advisors), and Prateek Gera. Amiya Samantaray, the Co-Founder and CEO of Datoms, stated that the company is growing at a rate of 15% per month and building the future of connected operations from India for the world.

Inc.5

Venture firm Carpediem Capital led a $10 million (about Rs 83 crore) venture fundraising round for the historic footwear business Inc.5 Shoes, which featured participation from Param Capital and P3 Venture Fund. The valuation at which it raised the cash remained a secret. The Mumbai-based organization, which sells shoes at all price points and genders, has 74 stores of its own in addition to 200 other locations and websites.

Said Amin Virji, general director of Inc.5. Internet channels account for approximately 14% of total sales, with 40% coming from its own platform and the remainder from platforms such as Myntra and Ajio. The omnichannel retailer intends to use the capital raised to grow its store and storage footprint, expand into new categories, and improve its senior leadership. It plans to open 100 stores by March 2024 and then add 40-50 outlets per year after that. Among other things, the company wants to increase its warehousing capacity by more than 25,000 sq ft.

Husk Power Systems

Husk Power Systems has secured a significant $43 million in Series D funding, marking the largest equity injection in the minigrid sector. This funding will support Husk's efforts to bring electricity to rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia through an AI-driven renewable energy platform. New investors, including STOA Infra & Energy, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and Proparco, joined existing backers Shell Ventures, Swedfund, and FMO in this funding round. Husk also used this equity to secure an additional $60 million in debt financing, with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) among the participating institutions.

Since its 2018 equity funding of $25 million, Husk’s growth trajectory has been on the rise. The firm now boasts more than 200 solar hybrid minigrids across two continents, positively impacting 500,000 individuals and aiding over 10,000 MSMEs. Remarkably, Husk turned EBITDA positive in Q4 2022 and has built a robust team of over 500. The fresh capital is earmarked for a significant scale-up in Husk’s operations, targeting 300,000 new connections in the coming five years. Notably, the Africa Sunshot initiative launched by Husk at the Africa Climate Summit in September 2023 seeks to mobilize a minimum of $500 million, aiming to set up 2,500 minigrids in six nations within a five-year span.

Giga ML

Giga ML, a firm that assists businesses with large language model (LLM) deployment on-premise, has revealed that it has raised $3.6 million in seed funding from a round-headed by Nexus Venture Partners. Y Combinator's president and CEO, Garry Tan, as well as Liquid 2 Venture, 8vdx, and angel investors, participated in the round. Startup covers concerns including data security and compliance to help businesses who want to implement artificial intelligence (AI) and LLM-powered uses. With the platform, firms may deploy LLMs as strong as GPT-4 on their own internal servers. As a result, sending sensitive data to outside servers such as OpenAI is longer essential.

Founded by IIT Kharagpur alumni Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep Dinne, the three-month-old startup said that organizations in the legal, healthcare, and financial services sectors were using its platform for a variety of use cases, including code generation and internal knowledge search in addition to customer support. At Giga ML, protecting the security and privacy of company data is our primary goal. Vummadi, the company's Co-Founder and CEO, said, "Our objective is to establish our company as the top supplier of On-Premise Secure LLMs, enabling organizations to harness the power of LLMs without sacrificing their data integrity".

Mokobara

Mokobara, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) backpack startup, recently received $3.6 million in funding from its previous investors, confirming their belief in the company's potential. Saama Capital, Sauce VC, and Alteria Capital are among the investors involved in this financial infusion. The Bengaluru-based firm underscored its commitment to expansion by authorizing the allotment of 2,233 Series A1 compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares (CCPS) to 27 investors at a premium of Rs 1,34,320.40 per share, as indicated in regulatory filings.

Saama Capital, in particular, has made a significant investment of $1.6 million to this funding round. This cash infusion appears to be a critical component of Mokobara's Series B investment, and it also alludes at Peak XV Partners' probable involvement, emphasizing the company's commitment to developing and bolstering its D2C backpack business.