The growth drivers of the Indian startup ecosystem need to be understood in the context of various factors, earlier economic reforms and current market developments. When it comes to the country's population, it is exciting to observe scalable and repeatable business model developments. The growth drivers of the Indian startup ecosystem need to be understood in the context of various factors: earlier economic reforms and current market trends.

This week we saw some startups gain massive momentum, such as Co-working major WeWork India said it has raised Rs 550 crore from funds managed by BPEA Credit, and Health food brand The Whole Truth has raised Rs 90.21 crore, or nearly $11 million, in a Series B funding round from existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Matrix Partners India. Here are the compilations of startups which made notable progress this week.

WeWork

Co-working major WeWork India said it has raised Rs 550 crore from funds managed by BPEA Credit. The amount will be used for future growth and potential consolidation opportunities. WeWork India has a portfolio of around 70,000 desks spread over 6 million square feet area in 41 centres across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Gurugram, Noida, Hyderabad, and Pune.

"Flexibility is paramount in today's workforce and the investment by BPEA Credit stands testament to the massive growth opportunity for flex workspaces in India," said Karan Virwani, CEO, WeWork India. He said the investment also validates WeWork India's strong fundamentals and healthy business model. "We are laser-focused on fuelling growth opportunities and fortifying our position as the leading flexible workspace brand with customisable and innovative solutions for all businesses," Virwani said.

Hair Originals

Artificial intelligence-backed hair extensions and wig startup Hair Originals has raised pre-Series A funding of $1.25 million (around Rs 10.25 crore) from Anicut Capital, Kesh Kala family office, Jito Angel Network, Lets Venture and former Zomato co-founder Pankaj Chaddah, among others. The fresh proceeds will be deployed to onboard more talents and boosting up its operations.

Founded by Jitendra Sharma in 2019, Hair Originals is a direct-to-consumer platform that deals in hair extensions and do-it-yourself wigs made from ethically acquired, real human hair. It provides non-surgical solution to provide hair volume, hair length and colourful hair look without damaging hair with chemical of colours.

GearHead

GearHead, an e-bike startup, has raised Rs 6 crore in a pre-seed round led by Hemin Shah and Sudhakar Moparthy. The funds will be used to expand the startup’s operations across India, produce electric bikes to accelerate the growth of electric vehicles, and stabilise the technology of their operating system, according to a press release from GearHead.

GearHead aims to pave the road for the global supply of electric vehicles and the needs of Indian customers, as well as to build an ecosystem that will support future sustainable mobility. In an effort to solve urban commuting problems on the go, the company has yet to launch four e-bike models named L. I. F. E. Nikhil Gunda, Founder of GearHead Motors, said “Currently there has been a rise of electric vehicle penetration in the Indian market by foreign companies trying to sell their substandard products.

BioVeda

Agritech startup BioVeda Agro Ventures said it has secured an undisclosed capital from India Accelerator’s angel investors’ network iAngels in a seed funding round. The fresh funds will be deployed for business expansion and scaling up its technology stack. Established in February this year, BioVeda is a digital platform which offers a host of agri services for farmers to sell their produce, buy agri inputs and avail credit facilities at lower interest rates.

“We operate by the principle of aggregation and are confident that our data driven engagement will help in understanding the real needs of the farmer and would eventually lead to empowering multiple industries through AI and our predictive SCM,” said Mahua Hazra, co-founder and chief executive at BioVeda Agro Ventures.

The Whole Truth

Health food brand The Whole Truth has raised Rs 90.21 crore, or nearly $11 million, in a Series B funding round from existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Matrix Partners India, according to regulatory filings shared by company intelligence platform Tofler. This takes the company’s aggregate fundraise till date to over Rs 142 crore.

As per the filings, The Whole Truth’s parent company Fitshit Health Solutions Pvt Ltd, has issued 28,935 Series B compulsorily convertible preference shares to Matrix Partners for Rs 25.37 crore, and 73,944 shares to Sequoia Capital for Rs 64.84 crore. Following the investment, Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital hold 20.95% and 20.83% stake in the company, respectively. The promoter holding in the company has been diluted from 45.20% pre-issue to 38.11% post-issue of shares to the two investors. The company’s last fundraise was announced in July last year, when it raised $6 million, or roughly Rs 43 crore, in a Series A round led by Sequoia Capital.

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