Deal Roundup: Weekly dealmaking slumps despite $100 mn MindTickle fundraise

Investments in the technology startup sector saw a 45.4% week-on-week drop, with ten firms raising a total of $174.1 million in the third week of November. Five startups did not disclose the amount raised. 

MindTickle, which led this week with a $100 million fundraise, was among the three growth-stage startups that scored capital.

The period witnessed a total of eight M&A deals, including Reliance Retail’s acquisition of Urban Ladder to strengthen its ecommerce play.

Funding

MindTickle: The sales readiness platform provider raised $100 million in equity and debt financing. The round was led by SoftBank Vision Fund II, with participation from returning investors Norwest Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, NewView Capital and Qualcomm Ventures.

Turtlemint: Mumbai-based Invictus Insurance, which owns omnichannel insurance marketplace Turtlemint, raised $30 million in a growth funding round, led by venture capital firm GGV Capital. The round saw participation from American Family Ventures, MassMutual Ventures and SIG, as well as existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Blume Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, Dream Incubator and Trifecta Capital.

True Balance: Balancehero India, the startup behind fintech platform True Balance, raised $28 million in a growth funding round. The round was led by returning investors SoftBank Ventures Asia, internet firm Naver, venture capital firm BonAngels and Shinhan Capital, with participation from Daesung Private Equity.

DaMENSCH: Men’s innerwear seller Damensch Apparel raised $6.71 million in a mixed debt and equity round, led by Matrix Partners India. Saama Capital, Whiteboard Venture Partners and Alteria Capital also participated in the round.

Animall: Bengaluru-based Animall Technologies, which runs a platform to buy and sell cattle and dairy animals, raised $5.96 million in a Series A funding round from Sequoia Capital India Seed Investment, Omnivore Partners and LetsVenture Angel Fund.

Other startups that scooped up funds this week include Clinikk, Prescribe, Arata, Instamojo, Arzooo, NIRA, Trinity Mobility, SLO Technologies, Instoried and Kitchens Centre.

M&A

Reliance Retail-Urban Ladder: The retail arm of Reliance Industries bought Urban Ladder after acquiring a 96% equity share capital in the omnichannel furniture and decor retailer for $24.41 million. The move marks Reliance Retail’s entry into the online furniture category, strengthening its broader ecommerce play.

Flipkart-Scapic Innovations: Walmart-owned ecommerce company Flipkart acquired Scapic innovations, an augmented reality startup that provides ecommerce and marketing companies a platform to build AR, VR and 3D content for their customers. Flipkart expects to use this acquisition to build immersive experiences for its customers. 

Additionally, student loan-focused Eduvanz Financing acquired coaching platform Klarity, EY bought end-to-end skilling platform Spotmentor Education, Inspira Enterprise acquired SmartCirqls’ Splunk business unit, NSE Academy acquired TalentSprint, Druva acquired SfApex LLC and Stones2Milestones acquired MultiStory Learning.