Our weekly column summarizes tech financing highlights in India.
There is a fierce battle in India between startups that offer online grocery services. Everyone wants a piece of the online grocery business pie, and more than 300 such firms have cropped up in India. Some startups, however, are doing better than others. On March 16th, Grofers, a low-price online supermarket that offers a wide range of products, raised USD 62 million in a Series E funding round led by Softbank. The company will use the funds to build its infrastructure and technology, as well as improve its supply chain in order to penetrate further into existing markets.
1. On March 16, CoinGeto, a cryptocurrency trading platform that started as an over-the-counter trading platform for Bitcoin, raised USD 1.8 million for in a Pre-Series A financing round led by Impanix Capital. The company will use the capital to build the largest cryptocurrency exchange in India. It will trade in more than 30 currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple.
2. On March 20, Flutura, an industrial IoT startup offering machine-to-machine analytics platform that helps in the extraction and analysis of embedded machine data, raised USD 1 million from Hitachi. The startup will use the funding to expand its market share in India.
3. On March 21, Chargebee grabbed USD 18 million in a Series C funding round from Insight Venture Partners. Chargebee is a cloud billing provider that delivers broad and deep subscription management solutions. The company will use the capital to develop its products, sales, and marketing, as well as expand into new markets.
4. On March 22nd, Auxilo Finserve, a fintech startup that provides loans to students for higher studies and educational institutions to build infrastructure, raised USD 5.7 million in funding from Balrampur Chini Mills. Auxilo Finserve will use the funding to further expand its market.
（Top photo from Baidu Images.）
