India moves towards arms self-sufficiency: Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that India is increasingly achieving self-reliance in its defence sector, moving away from a heavy dependence on imports for arms and equipment.
The Indian startup ecosystem raised more than $348 million in funding this week, as the growth momentum for the industry continued for a second consecutive week.
The Indian startups collectively secured $348 million across 19 deals this week, compared to $466 million raised by 16 startups in the previous week.
The week was led by ride-sharing platform Rapido which raised $200 million in its Series E funding, taking its valuation to over $1.1 billion. The funding round was led by WestBridge Capital. The company said it will use funds to expanding its operations across India and scaling its technology platform to enhance service delivery.
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Rapido plans to grow its operations across all categories, including bike-taxis, three-wheelers, and taxi-cabs.
Leading digital platform for trade finance Drip Capital secured $113 million in new funding. This includes $23 million in equity from Japanese institutional investors, GMO Payment Gateway and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), and $90 million in debt financing, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and East West Bank.
Lending platform Moneyview also reportedly raised approximately $30 million in debt through private placements.
In August, startups raised about $1.6 billion across 112 deals, that included 27 growth-stage deals worth $1.32 billion and 71 early-stage deals worth $267 million.
This year, the ecosystem witnessed a surge in large funding rounds (over $100 million). There have been 13 funding rounds valued at over $100 million. Startups like Zepto, Rapido, Lenskart, Flipkart, Meesho and PharmEasy have raised funding in these rounds.
Quick e-commerce company Zepto raised two rounds of funding of one billion dollars ($340 million + $665 million) in 2024. The company had last raised $340 million in funding at a valuation of $5 billion.
An eyewear major, Lenskart has also raised funding of $200 million so far in 2024. The valuation of the company is around $5 billion.
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