The start-up ecosystem in India has undergone a remarkable transformation, becoming a beacon of innovation and entrepreneurship. This evolution is underscored by a significant uptick in the number of visionary entrepreneurs, enthusiastic investors, and engaged stakeholders. Crucially, the Indian government has been instrumental in fostering this growth, paving the way for budding businesses with initiatives such as Start-up India, which extends a helping hand through benefits and tax incentives. Moreover, the proliferation of incubators and accelerators nationwide has fortified the ecosystem by offering vital support to nascent ventures.

This week, we ShipEase, recognized as India’s foremost efficient logistics firm, has successfully raised $1 million in a pre-Series A funding round with Inflection Point Ventures as the lead investor; and Beams Fintech Fund, a growth-stage fintech fund, has made an undisclosed investment in a Series B funding round of $50 million for Credgenics, a prominent Indian debt collection SaaS platform.  Here is the compilation of top 10 startups that raised million dollar funds this week.

ShipEase

ShipEase, recognized as India’s foremost efficient logistics firm, has successfully raised $1 million in a pre-Series A funding round with Inflection Point Ventures as the lead investor. The capital infusion will be utilized to expand the team, enhance technological capabilities, introduce novel efficient products, and foster brand development. ShipEase operates as a SAAS-based logistics provider, catering to the needs of D2C brands and SME e-tailers seeking to streamline their supply chains. The company stands out for offering cutting-edge automated shipping services, ensuring seamless deliveries to over 28,000 pincodes through intelligent courier allocation.

The visionary trio behind ShipEase includes accomplished professionals in the field. Pawan Kumar, the CEO, brings with him insights garnered from esteemed entities like Xpressbees, Ecom Express, and Delhivery Ltd. Lalit Singh, the CRO, boasts a successful track record at renowned companies such as FedEx, Delhivery, and Reliance Industries. Ajay K., MD & CTO, contributes his tech expertise gained from roles at RBS, Iris Inc., and Aricent. Leveraging their combined proficiencies in logistics, e-commerce, and technology, ShipEase strives to revolutionize the shipping landscape.

Varthana

Varthana, a Bengaluru-based Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), has secured approximately $2.5 million through a social bond issued in collaboration with funding and asset management firm Symbiotics Investments. Varthana specializes in offering affordable education loans to both schools and students. Social bonds are financial instruments aimed at raising funds for socially beneficial projects, such as those related to education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability.

The funds generated from this bond will be used by Varthana to support the development of infrastructure, construction, and the acquisition of equipment for schools in semi-urban and rural areas. The projects financed by these loans primarily involve primary and secondary schools focusing on vocational training. “The low-budget schools in which we invest are counting on inclusive financial services to get back on the growth path following the unprecedented challenges faced during the pandemic.

Facets

Facets.In a seed fundraising round headed by 3one4 Capital, cloud, a self-serve infrastructure management platform, has raised $4 million. The platform increases developer productivity by streamlining workflows for cloud deployment. Neon, formerly known as 100x Entrepreneurs, and angel investors such as Postman CEO Abhinav Asthana, FusionCharts CEO Pallav Nadhani, Capillary Technologies CEO Aneesh Reddy, Meta director of engineering Krishna Mehra, and GTM Buddy CEO Sreedhar Pedinneni were also participants in the round.

Anshul Sao, Pravanjan Choudhury, and Rohit Raveendran, three former senior executives from Capillary Technologies who are also alumni of the IIT Kharagpur, cofounded the firm in 2021. Facets.cloud was initially developed as a product in 2020 for Capillary Technologies' internal use alone. For ten years, Choudhury served as the company's chief technology officer at Capillary Technologies, where he also held the positions of chief architect and principal architect with Sao. Capillary Technologies is a homegrown software-as-a-service firm that provides solutions for customer engagement and loyalty management.

MediBuddy

Digital healthcare platform MediBuddy said it has secured additional funding of $18 million from existing investors Quadria Capital, Lightrock, and TEAMFund. In February 2022, MediBuddy raised $125 million during the Series C funding. The additional funding, said the company, will put it in a solid position to navigate the current landscape and achieve its ambitious growth targets over the next three years, driving strategic acquisitions and continued expansion.

“MediBuddy's growth trajectory has consistently achieved a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 95.5 percent over the past three years. The additional funds will be critical in driving our strategic acquisition initiatives, further expanding our reach, and enhancing the depth and breadth of our services,” said Satish Kannan, Co-Founder and CEO of MediBuddy. Two of MediBuddy’s recent strategic acquisitions, such as Clinix, an online medical consultation platform focusing on rural India, and US-based Aetna Inc’s vHealth by Aetna business (Indian Health Organization Pvt Ltd), have further amplified its presence in the healthcare domain.

MrMed

MrMed, a specialty pharmacy, announced funding of $500,000 from the Tamil Nadu Emerging Sector Seed Fund (TNESSF). TNESSF is managed by Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation Limited. Angels from BEEJ Network and Vish Entrepreneurs LLP also joined TNESSF in the funding round. The funds will be utilized for marketing initiatives, expanding the team, and exploring new ventures within the pharma supply chain and healthcare service provider sectors.

MrMed clocked an Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of over Rs 26 crore as of July 2023. Devashish Singh, co-founder, Mr. Med, said in a statement, “We are quite excited about the fundraising and are looking to utilize the funds for customer acquisition and team growth. While we are a frugal company, we recognize the challenges in the B2C domain.” He adds, "Our objective is to establish a profitable yet scalable brand in the super specialty healthcare space.

Apollo.io

Apollo.io, a business-to-business (B2B) sales and intelligence and engagement platform, stated it received $100 million in a Series D funding exercise at a valuation of $1.6 billion, making it one of the first sales-tech unicorns minted this year. New investor Bain Capital Ventures, the venture capital arm of the namesake private equity giant, and existing investors Sequoia Capital, Tribe Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners participated in this round. With the latest funding, the US-based company has raised close to $250 million so far.

This investment nearly doubled Apollo.io’s valuation since its last raise, said Tim Zheng, co-founder and CEO. The fresh round comes a year after Apollo.io raised $110 million in its Series C round led by Sequoia Capital in March 2022. Tribe Capital, Nexus, and NewView Capital also joined the Series C round. Apollo.io said it will deploy the fresh proceeds to expand its headcount and to continue building its go-to-market strategy. Founded in 2015, Apollo.io provides sales and marketing teams with easy access to verified contact data for over 270 million B2B contacts, along with tools to engage and convert these contacts in one unified platform.

India Index

India Index, led by founder Samir N. Kapadia, successfully secured $500K in a pre-seed funding round for its cloud-based B2B supply chain marketplace. The funding was spearheaded by private investors from the United States and India, including prominent names like Mr. Parth Jindal from JSW Group, Mr. Vaaman Sehgal from Motherson Group, and Mr. Robert Lansing from Westminster Capital. The company’s primary focus is to facilitate seamless and efficient connections between American buyers and Indian suppliers through its innovative platform.

Launched in 2022, India Index has rapidly gained momentum by creating a network of users spanning both India and the United States. Notable Indian corporations like JSW Group and Bharat Forge Limited are among the companies that utilize India Index to tap into the U.S. export market. The platform caters to a diverse range of users, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, streamlining the process of identifying, evaluating, and collaborating with supply chain partners.

HeyoPhone

Social networking app HeyoPhone has raised $500,000 (approximately Rs 4.13 crore) in a funding round backed by notable angel investors. Aakash Chaudhry, co-founder of Aakash Educational Services, along with Amit Chaudhary, co-founder of Lenskart, and Dinesh Gupta, co-founder of Busy Accounting, participated in the funding. Founded in 2023 by Ankit Jain and Pratik Jain, HeyoPhone caters to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) community.

The app facilitates business-client interactions through a unified, intelligent phone number. “We have reached half a million downloads and 100000+ KYCs in 6 months, and our sights are set on reaching a million small businesses in India within the next 3-5 years,” said Rimjhim Ray, chief marketing officer of HeyoPhone. With HeyoPhone, business owners can manage various communication needs, including calls and WhatsApp interactions, from a single platform.

Spacetech

As the world acknowledges India’s space dominance after the Chandrayaan-3 success, the space tech sector in the country received $62 million in funding this year to date, reflecting a substantial 60 percent increase compared to the same period last year. India currently ranks seventh in terms of funding within the international spacetech landscape, firmly establishing its influence in this dynamic sector, according to the latest market intelligence firm Tracxn.

This exceptional growth trend is expected to continue in the upcoming months. The Indian SpaceTech sector’s journey has been one of transformation, driven by the sector’s privatization in 2020. From a modest $35 million in funds raised between 2010 and 2019, the sector experienced a meteoric rise in 2020, securing a remarkable $28 million in funding. This trend continued with exponential growth, reaching $96 million in 2021 and an impressive $112 million in 2022, marking a 17 percent increase from the previous year.

Beams

Beams Fintech Fund, a growth-stage fintech fund, has made an undisclosed investment in a Series B funding round of $50 million for Credgenics, a prominent Indian debt collection SaaS platform. The funding was conducted in collaboration with Westbridge and Accel, while other investors like Tanglin, Tital Capital, and DMI Finance have also supported Credgenics. Established in 2018 by Rishabh Goel, Anand Agrawal, and Mayank Khera, Credgenics is redefining debt collection practices in India, especially as lending processes shift to instant, digital, and rapid modes. With an increase in lending volumes and the rise of instant loans with smaller amounts.

The efficiency of debt collection becomes a crucial concern. Credgenics is actively contributing to the digitization of debt collection operations, bridging gaps in the process.Credgenics has already partnered with over 100 customers in the BFSI sector, including banks, NBFCs, and fintech companies. The platform has managed 40 million retail loans and sends out 60 million digital communications monthly. It claims to have increased resolution rates by 20%, improved collections by 25%, reduced collection costs by 40%, minimized collection time by 30%, and enhanced legal efficiencies by 60%.