Eruditus gets $350 million debt from CPPIB
SoftBank-backed executive education-focussed startup Eruditus
closed a $350 million debt financing from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to largely fund its aggressive acquisition plans in its overseas markets, cofounder Ashwin Damera said.
The edtech company has been in talks for strategic acquisitions and plans to spend as much as $1 billion for the same, Damera told ET in an exclusive interaction. The debt capital will be used for two key acquisitions in Europe and the US, as the company plans to grow its gross annual bookings by 90% to around $950 million in fiscal 2023, as against an estimated $500 million in this fiscal year ending March 31.
The debt from CPPIB, which is routed through subsidiary CPPIB Credit Investments Inc, is a five-year credit with a bullet payment of the amount at the end of the tenure, without having to pay any interest on it, Damera said.
Menlo Micro announces $150 million in Series C funding
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Menlo Microsystems (Menlo Micro)
raised $150 million in a Series C round led by Vertical Venture Partners and Tony Fadell’s Future Shape.
“Today’s funding milestone underscores the confidence our investors have in Menlo Micro’s transformative technology to fuel the electrification of everything and modernize the $100+ billion market for RF communications, power switching and protection devices in the 21st century,” said Russ Garcia, Menlo Micro CEO.
Menlo Micro said it will use the funding to expand the company’s domestic manufacturing and supply chain for the Ideal Switch, a device that delivers the benefits of a mechanical relay and a semiconductor switch and is ‘tiny, fast, reliable, withstands extreme temperatures, is ultra-low loss and can handle 1,000 of Watts.’ It is also manufactured using conventional semiconductor equipment.
ETtechCredAvenue turns unicorn after raising $137 million funding
Online debt marketplace CredAvenue has become the latest Indian startup unicorn
after raising $137 million in a fresh round led by New York-based Insight Partners, B Capital Group and Dragoneer.
The round, which also saw participation from existing investors, catapulted the company’s valuation to $1.3 billion. It was last valued at $410 million in September 2021. Nikhil Sachdev, managing director at Insight Partners, will join CredAvenue’s board as part of the deal.
With this, CredAvenue joins the likes of other Indian startups such as Mamaearth, Fractal, Lead School, Elastic Run and Livspace that have entered the unicorn club in 2022.
Blinkit gets $100 million from Zomato
Blinkit (formerly Grofers), which recently pivoted to the quick commerce segment,
closed an additional $100 million financing as a part of its ongoing fundraise, cofounder and chief executive Albinder Dhindsa told employees in an internal communication on the company’s Slack channel.
The funds are being raised through convertible notes from Zomato, which will later be converted into equity, people aware of the discussions told ET.
This is a part of a larger $400-million funding Blinkit is looking to raise from Zomato and other investors, which is expected to close in the next two quarters, one of the persons aware of the discussions said.
Tiger Global, others invest $75 million in Money View
Online financial services provider, Money View
raised $75 million in a fresh round of funding from Tiger Global, Winter Capital, Evolvence India, and Accel.
Other investors including South Park Commons, Trusted Insight and Dream Incubator also participated in the current round, the company said in a prepared statement on 9 March.
With the current fundraise, the company is now valued at $625 million. According to the company, the fresh funding will be used as growth capital to – scale the core credit business, grow the team, and expand its product portfolio with services like digital bank accounts, insurance, and wealth management solutions.
Jiffy.ai raises $53 million
Jiffy.ai, a business-to-business (B2B) automation platform,
raised $53 million in a funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures. The company said it would use the funds to scale its sales and marketing efforts, and advance its HyperApp platform.
The round also saw participation from venture firms Iron Pillar, R-Squared, and existing investors Nexus Venture Partners, Reaction Capital and Rebright Partners, the company said in a statement.
In June 2020, Jiffy.ai had raised $18 million from investors led by Nexus Venture Partners. Its largest equity shareholder is its non-profit organisation, Paanini Foundation.
Captain Fresh raises new round, valuation doubles to $500 million
Captain Fresh, a business-to-business (B2B) seafood and meat marketplace,
raised $50 million led by existing investors Prosus Ventures and Tiger Global.
Accel India, Matrix Partners India, Ankur Capital, and Incubate Fund also participated in the round. This is its second fund raise in three months.
The company’s valuation has more than doubled to $500 million following the funding round, Utham Gowda, co-founder and CEO of Captain Fresh, told ET. A strategic investor is expected to chip in an additional $10 million, a source said.
Atlan bags $50 million in funding
Atlan
raised $50 million led by Insight Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Sequoia Capital India, valuing the data collaboration workspace startup at $450 million. Several founders in the data space, including Fivetran founder Taylor Brown and ThoughtSpot founder Ajeet Singh, participated in the round.
Atlan raised $16 million less than a year ago led by Insight Partners. It plans to use the funding to double its team in the next 12 months and accelerate its go-to market strategy. It also plans to facilitate an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Esop) buyback of up to $1.5 million.
Other key deals
■ Game streaming platform Loco
raised $42 million (Rs 330 crore) in a funding round led by crypto major Hashed, with participation from Makers Fund, Catamaran Ventures, and Korea Investment Partners. The round also saw participation from Krafton, Lumikai, and Hiro Capital.
■ Banking tech platform Zeta
raised $30 million as a part of strategic investment from Mastercard and other investors, taking the company’s valuation to $1.5 billion.
