The Week that Was: Indian Startup News Overview (2nd September - 6th September)
The Indian startup ecosystem has set a new record by bagging another round of funding in a few sectors like Clothing, Ed-Fintech, Fashion, Digital Supplements and Raid Hailing marking another win for the startupreneurs by raising funds and updating the growth probability and standardizing the products and services. The week went by successfully witnessing funds in every stage of funding from Pre-Seed to Seed to Pre-Series A to Series A to Series E.
Sector: Clothing
Funding Round: Pre-Seed
Startup: Slikk
Established Year: 2024
Funding News: GenZ-focused Clothing Startup 'Slikk' nets $300K in Pre-Seed Funding round
In its pre-seed funding round, the GenZ-focused 60-minute clothing delivery app Slikk has raised $300K.
Investors: Better Capital & Untitled Ventures
According to a press release, the proceeds will be used to expand delivery coverage to 70% of Bengaluru's pincodes, establish a large-format dark store, and scale to over 100 brands.
Additionally, the startup intends to expand its offerings to include beauty, personal care, and home decor, as well as to other Indian metropolitan areas.
Speaking to this, Akshay Gulati, CEO & Co-Founder says, “Slikk GenZs and young millennials today are extremely impulsive shoppers and the biggest TG for fast fashion brands. This impulse is driven by high frequency refreshment of trends/designs and faster delivery”.
Similarly, Vaibhav Domkundwar from Better Capital comments, “Fashion is broken, and fast fashion missed the mark. Slikk is an ambitious attempt to ‘make great fashion easy’ for everyone. I’m excited to support a team dedicated to solving this challenge with the right expertise”.
Sector: Ed-Fintech
Funding Round: Seed round
Startup: Invest4Edu
Established Year: 2022
Funding News: Ed-Fintech Startup 'Invest4Edu' secures $3 million in Seed Funding round
Invest4Edu, a platform which offers education arranging, saving and venture administrations, has brought $3 million up in its seed funding.
The financial returns will be utilized to increase development and extend the association's effect in the early education arranging and monetary help spaces. Invest4Edu intends to address normal anxieties around the increasing expense of schooling, education arranging, and long-term installment.
Investors: Family offices.
The company has trained more than 8,000 young people in financial literacy and provided them with employment opportunities through its youth financial literacy program. The organization's income objectives incorporate structure a $250 million common asset AUM and a monthly SIP book of $6 million.
Peeyush Agrawal, CEO of Invest4Edu, expresses his eagerness on the fresh funding by stating, “We are excited to announce that Invest4Edu has successfully secured seed Funding of $3 million. Huge thanks to our investors as well as everyone who helped with the fundraising and cheered us along. This is an important step in our journey of making quality education accessible to all. The proceeds will be leveraged to accelerate the growth with primary focus on sales and marketing, technology, and product development.”
Sector: Fashion
Funding Round: Series A
Startup: Theater
Established Year: 2021
Funding News: Fashion Startup 'Theater' nets $1.5 million in Pre-Series A funding round
The fashion brand, Theater, which is based in Chandigarh has secured $1.5 million through a pre-Series A funding round
Investors: Mumbai-based venture capital firm Prath Ventures and joined by current angel investors of the company.
Expanding its offline presence using the raised capital is crucial for the startup to reach a wider audience.
The theater is committed to enhancing its operational efficiency by streamlining its design iteration and production processes. This initiative aims to accelerate the development of new productions and improve the overall quality of their offerings, ultimately contributing to the growth and sustainability of the company. By refining these processes, the theater hopes to reduce turnaround times, minimize costs, and respond more swiftly to audience preferences and market trends.
The theater is committed to enhancing its operational efficiency by streamlining its design iteration and production processes. This initiative aims to accelerate the development of new productions and improve the overall quality of their offerings, ultimately contributing to the growth and sustainability of the company. By refining these processes, the theater hopes to reduce turnaround times, minimize costs, and respond more swiftly to audience preferences and market trends.
Theater was established by its founders, Sarthak Aggarwal, Vikram Jain, Karan Jain, and Shruti Aggarwal. The company's focus is on female footwear such as stockings along with a range of perfumes and bags. Consumers can buy products priced anywhere between 
900 to 4,000.
900 to 4,000.
Sector: Digital Supplements
Funded Round: Series A
Startup: Nutrabay
Established Year: 2017
Funding News: Digital Supplement Startup 'Nutrabay' nets $5 million in Series A
Nutrabay, a retail brand that sells directly to customers, has raised $5 million in a Series A funding round
Investors: RPSG Capital Ventures with participation from Kotak Alternate Asset Managers
The financial returns will be utilized for the omni-channel extension and increase new item development, Nutrabay said in a public statement.
Co-founded by Sharad Jain, Shreyans Jain, And Divya Prakash Jain, Nutrabay works as a direct-to-customer multi brand retail store housing more than 100 brands alongside its own confidential mark items under the name of Nutrabay. Products under the private label brand are available for purchase on its D2C website, all of the major eCommerce websites, and in physical supplement stores.
Market research indicates that the market for nutritional supplements in India will reach a valuation of $28.70 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 10.7%. Nutrabay plans to assemble one enormous even brand that traverses across 3 support point classes of sports sustenance, VMS and health food and drinks.
Sector: Raid-hailing
Funding Round: Series E
Startup: Rapido
Established Year: 2015
Funding News: Top Raid-hailing platform 'Rapido' drives $200 million in Series E
Rapido's Series E funding round, led by WestBridge Capital, the company has raised $200 million, making it one of the largest in the ride-hailing industry in India.
Investors: WestBridge Capital, Think Investments, Nexus Ventures Partners, and Invus Group.
WestBridge Capital's $120 million investment increased Rapido's valuation to $1.1 billion, a significant milestone for the Bengaluru-based company as it continues to solidify its position in the ride-hailing industry. This capital inducement will be utilized decisively to invigorate the four-wheeler ride-hailing administrations of Rapido, basically increasing the activities of cab services were launched in December 2023. Rapido would, without a doubt, become more competitive and be able to successfully compete with Ola and Uber in the expanding Indian market.
Aravind Sanka, the Co-Founder of Rapido, affirmed the funding advancement, saying it is focused on driving development, innovation and client esteem in the developing ride-hailing sector. Rapido has overtaken Ola and fallen behind Uber to become the second-largest player in the entire ride-hailing industry, which includes cars, bikes, and taxis.
Read More News :
The Week that Was: Indian Startup News Overview (26th August - 30th August)
The Week that Was: Indian Startup News Overview (19th August -23rd August)
.jpg "Green Is The Way To Sustainable Shipping Solutions")
