Source: Inc42
*Part of larger round
**Mix of primary and secondary transactions
***Included this week as it was skipped last week

• On the back of Sarvam closing its $234 Mn round, AI emerged as the most funded sector this week. In total, five startups in the segment raised more than $265 Mn during the week.
• Cleantech took the second spot on the funding charts this week, with SolarSquare’s $53 Mn Series C round and Karo Sambhav’s $5.9 Mn Pre-Series A together drawing $58.9 Mn into the segment.
• Seed-stage funding tumbled to $7.8 Mn across five deals this week as against $22.3 Mn across five deals last week. 
• Khosla Ventures and Rainmatter emerged as the most active investors this week, backing three startups each. Bessemer Venture Partners also backed two startups during the week.

• Jio Platforms filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for its IPO, which will comprise solely of a fresh issue of 27 Cr shares. Of the fresh proceeds, the digital giant plans to use ₹27,500 Cr to prepay outstanding borrowings of its arm Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., with the remainder allocated for general corporate purposes.
• Ecommerce unicorn BRND.ME (erstwhile Mensa Brands) converted from a private to a public limited entity, changing its legal name to Mensa Brand Technologies Limited. The startup is now targeting a stock market debut within the next 18 months. 

• Healthcare-focused VC firm HealthQuad marked the first close of its ₹1,700 Cr Fund III at ₹550 Cr. The fund will look to back 13 to 15 healthtech startups across AI-driven healthcare, digital therapeutics, ambulatory care, SaaS and point-of-care devices.

• Global cosmetics giant L’Oreal signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in beauty and personal care startup Innovist for an undisclosed amount. Previous reports estimated that the deal would peg the startup at $350 Mn to $450 Mn. As part of the agreement, Innovist’s founding team will continue to operate the business as minority stakeholders in collaboration with L’Oreal India. 

• Tech giant Meta is in discussions to invest in or acquire fintech unicorn CRED at a valuation of around $4 Bn.
• World Bank’s private lending arm IFC committed $371 Mn in Sify Technologies’ subsidiary to develop two AI-ready data centres in Navi Mumbai and Chennai, with a combined capacity of 103 MW. The financial package includes a direct loan of $71 Mn and $300 Mn in additional debt mobilisation support. 
• Fintech SaaS company Veefin Solutions’ board approved plans to migrate its stock from the BSE SME platform to the BSE main board. It also received the board nod for a simultaneous listing on the NSE. 

The post From Sarvam To INFLUISH — Indian Startups Raised $426 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.