ETtech Deals Digest: Late-stage investments boost funding in Indian startups to $447 million this week

The funding was bolstered by late-stage investments in app development startup Builder.ai and Walmart-owned fintech major PhonePe.

While Builder.ai raised $250 million from Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), PhonePe picked up an additional sum of $100 million from New York-based equity firm General Atlantic as a part of its $1 billion funding round.

Sequentially, the funding activity declined 33% compared to $626 million raised across 24 rounds last week.

Late-stage startups attracted $410 million in funding which represents 92% of the total capital raised during this week. Seed-stage funding amounted to $23.2 million, while early-stage funding stood at $14.9 million.

Here’s a list of startups that raised funding this week:

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App development startup Builder.ai raises $250 million: Builder.ai has raised $250 million as a part of its latest round of funding, led by sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). The round also saw participation from existing and new investors including – Iconiq Capital, Jungle Ventures and Insight Partners. According to the company, it will use the capital to grow its talent, partnerships, and technology functions, as well as innovate on its platform.PhonePe gets another $100 million from General Atlantic: Digital payments company PhonePe raised an additional $100 million (around Rs 828 crore) from growth equity firm General Atlantic. With this, General Atlantic has invested around $550 million in the Walmart-backed fintech firm in the latest round of funding. Bengaluru-based PhonePe has so far raised $850 million via five infusions in this round and is inching closer to its billion-dollar fundraising target.

Beauty etailer Purplle picks up $40-50 million in funding from ADIA: Online beauty products retailer Purplle has closed a $40-50 million funding round, split between primary and secondary transaction, at a flat valuation of $1.1 billion, people aware of the matter said. As part of the secondary transaction, Purplle’s investor JSW Ventures has partially exited from the company, selling its stake to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

Kidswear D2C brand Hopscotch raises $20 million led by Amazon: Hopscotch, a brand for kids’ fashion, has announced that its parent company, Hit the Mark, Inc., raised $20 million in a funding round led by Amazon. The round also included participation from Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, as well as other existing investors, including Lionrock, IIFL Seed Venture Fund, RPG Ventures, and Techpro Ventures.

Ice-cream maker NIC raises $11 million: Walko Foods, which makes and sells ice cream through direct-to-consumer brand NIC and Grameen Kulfi, said it has raised $11 million in a round led by Jungle Ventures. The fresh funds will be used to expand Walko’s production, enhance its product offerings, and broaden its distribution reach.

Financial services company XFlow raises $10.2 million: XFlow, a financial services and infrastructure company that simplifies the cross-border payments experience for businesses, has raised a Pre-Series A round of $10.2 million. The round is led by Square Peg with participation from Moore Strategic Ventures and existing investors Lightspeed and General Catalyst.