Funding Rundown: Flipkart Internet gets $90M, Park+ raises Rs 140 Cr, Toddle bags $17M from Sequoia, Matrix, Actyv.Ai closes Pre-Series A round at $12M & Accel & Celesta Capital back Brick&Bolt

Flipkart Internet, the marketplace arm of ecommerce giant Flipkart, has received a cash infusion of close Rs 722 crore from its Singapore parent, according to filings accessed from Tofler. This is the first fundraise by Flipkart Internet in 2023.

The resolution to infuse new capital was approved on December 29, 2022. The new capital is from two Singapore-based entities – Flipkart Marketplace Private Limited and Flipkart Private Limited.

Flipkart Internet witnessed a 49 percent YoY increase in its losses to Rs 2,881.3 crore in FY21, from Rs 1,936.6 crore loss in the year-ago period.

Flipkart Internet's operational revenue grew by 32.5 percent YoY to Rs 7,840.4 crore during the financial year FY21, from Rs 5,916.3 crore in FY20. Overall revenue rose 28 percent YoY to Rs 8,115 crore in FY21 from Rs 6,317.7 crore in FY20.

Car services management app Park+ has raised Rs 140 crore in a funding round led by Epiq Capital, Matrix Partners India and Sequoia Capital India.

The fresh funds will be used to expand its presence to over 100 cities, to hire more than 200 employees and expand its services verticals, Park+ said in a statement.

“We will continue to invest our energies in bringing delight to our users (car owners), by strengthening and expanding our services to enhance the car ownership experience for them, throughout the life cycle of their car. Additionally, identifying and hiring talented individuals will remain an important part of our human resource expansion strategy,” said Amit Lakhotia, Founder and CEO, Park+.

The startup had previously raised $25 million co-led by Sequoia Capital India and Matrix Partners India.

Edtech-focused SaaS startup Toddle has raised $17 million in Series A led by Sequoia Capital India. The round also saw participation from Tenacity Ventures and Trifecta Capital along with existing investors Matrix Partners, Beenext, and Better Capital.

The startup’s first product is a teaching and learning platform used by independent schools offering IB (International Baccalaureate) and other progressive curriculums. The platform is currently used by over 40,000 educators from more than 1,500 schools, which includes both free and paid customers, in over 100 countries. Besides India, it operates in US, UK, Australia, China, and UAE.

After expanding its product offering to other international curricula such as Cambridge, British, and American, and will soon be launching a product for preschools.

The global market for school software is projected to reach $30 billion by 2030 and presents a massive opportunity for companies like Toddle, the firm said in a statement.

Actyv.ai, an AI-powered SaaS platform, has marked the final close of its Pre-Series A round at $12 million which was led by from Singapore-based 1Digi Ventures.

1Digi Ventures is the family office of Raghunath Subramanian, global chief executive at Actyv.ai.

The funding round comprised two tranches. In the first leg, the company raised $5 million in February last year, while in the second leg it has received $7 million from 1Digi Ventures.

The company claims to have grown considerably in FY23. In December 2022, the total BNPL throughput crossed $100 million, it said in a statement. The startup will use the fresh capital for global expansion, product enhancement, portfolio growth and talent acquisition.

Home construction and building materials provider Brick&Bolt has raised $10 million in its Series A2 round which was co-led by Global venture capital firms Accel and Celesta Capital.

The startup plans to use the funds to enhance its tech stack and strengthen its leadership team, the company said. Brick&Bolt also plans to expand to more than 12 cities over the next 15 months.

“With more than 85 percent of the construction still unorganised in India, Brick&Bolt is on a path to capture the massive and super-broken market using our technology and processes,” said Jayesh Rajpurohit, Co-founder, Brick&Bolt.

With this investment round, the firm has raised a total of $16 million in funding. Earlier, the company raised approximately $6 million from Sequoia Surge, Foundamental GmBH, HDFC Capital Advisors and Stride Ventures.

Finnet Media, an influencer management company has made an undisclosed investment in restaurant chain – Burma Burma and Tea Room.

The company has raised over $2 million in a seed funding round led by Negen Capital along with angel investors such as Bbigplas Poly.

With this fresh capital, Burma Burma plans on opening eight new outlets in the next fifteen months, taking the total to fourteen.

“Almost a decade into the business, we have thoroughly tested all four zones of the Indian market for Burmese cuisine. With this round, we aim to expand our operations in new cities and expand our base in existing ones. In fact, we’re now ready to take Burma Burma to the next level not only in India but globally,” said Chirag Chhajer, Co-founder, Burma Burma.