Ending Soon! Save 33% on All Access

What Did You Miss During the Week in the Indian Start-up Ecosystem? From IndiaMart having a successful run with investors in its IPO to Curefit expanding and taking the largest bite from the funding cake

By Bhavya Kaushal

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Shutterstock.com

This week turned out to be an action-packed for the Indian start-up ecosystem.

Curefit Expands to Dubai

Fitness start-ups are carving a niche of their own. Curefit, particularly, has been scaling great business growth. The health and wellness app forayed into the international arena with Dubai. Co-founder Ankit Nagori, confirmed the launch of its fitness centre in the Gulf continent, Cult.fit.

IndiaMart's Successful IPO Story

IndiaMart, had a successful run with the investors in its IPO on July 24. According to NSE, the IPO was oversubscribed almost 36 times on the third day and received bits of 9,66,86,235 equity shares on the final day. The total issue size was 26,92,824 equity shares.

Tough Days are Far From Over for Ola

Ola's tryst with the Karnataka government is far from over. Cab aggregators Ola and Uber have been asked to stop the pool services immediately in Bengaluru. The conflicts between the government and the Indian unicorn have been under the scanner for sometime now. A few months ago, Ola was banned from continuing services in Bangalore. The ban was lifted three days later. The government's recent move will pose a problem to many commuters for whom pooling chalked out to be an easy and convenient option

Acquisitions and Partnerships

Audio on-demand and podcasting platform Hubhopper has announced a new partnership with Indus OS, a homegrown system apps company, to take localized audio content to Indian audiences across the country.

Bengaluru-based car-rental start-up Zoomcar has partnered with German automobile company Volkswagen. This partnership will help potential customers to onboard polo cars under a particular subscription model.

702 Start-ups off the Angel Tax Radar

While a lot of entrepreneurs are looking at the budget with baited breath with the expectation that the government announces some respite for start-up entrepreneurs by completely doing away with Angel Tax, the numbers exempted from this tax is going up as the months are going by. In a major move to bolster start-ups, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has exempted 702 startups under Section 56 (2) (vii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. From 342 in February to 541 and now to 702 in June, the Indian start-up ecosystem has a lot to rejoice.

Grofers to Adopt the Brick and Mortar Format

Online grocery-delivery start-up and soon-to-be unicorn, Grofers is now planning to convert kirana stores to its own branded outlets. According to a media report, this move will broaden Grofers distribution network and help the soon-to-be unicorn push its own labels to earn better margins.

Funding Report

The biggest funding of this week was raised by health and wellness start-up, Curefit, which raised $120 million in Series D round of funding.

1MG has closed its Series D with $70 million in its kitty round led by Corisol Holdings, along with the World Bank's investment vertical IFC.

Bengaluru-based edtech startup Unacademy raised $50 million in a fresh funding round.

Fintech startup Open raises $30 million from Tiger Global in Series B round of funding.

Mumbai-based beauty marketplace MyGlamm raised $14.47 million in a funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and the Mankekar family office.

Among the smaller funding rounds:

Celebrity led Beauty Company Scentials has raised $3.6 million in Series-A funding led by Unilever Ventures.

Gurugram-based intellectual property (IP) focused technology startup Clairvolex raised $3.5 million in its Series B round led by California-based Walden Riverwood Capital

Dockabl, a leading employee experience platform, has closed its Pre-Series A funding round at USD 1.26 million.

The Celeb Wave Hitting Start-ups

Wizcounsel, an online market network that helps people hire and manage freelance Legal, Tax and Accounting experts raised Rs. 1 crore in an angel round led by cricketer Kapil Dev.

Mumbai-based wearable tech startup, GOQii, raised an undisclosed amount from Akshay Kumar.

Bhavya Kaushal

Former Features Writer

I am a work-in-progress writer and human being. An English graduate from Delhi University, writing is my passion and currently, I was Entrepreneur India's start-up reporter. I love covering start-ups and weaving their stories into unforgettable tales with the power of ink! 
Leadership

How to Break Free From the Cycle of Overthinking and Master Your Mind

Discover the true cost of negative thought loops — and practical strategies for nipping rumination in the bud.

News and Trends

Gurugram-based Wealth Management Firm Finvolve Closes Maiden INR 100 Cr Fund, Launches Two New Funds

Finvolve also announced the launch of two new funds, pre-seed Accelerator Fund and Scale Fund, including a GIFT city, with an investment capacity of around INR 500 crore to widen its investment spectrum: Accelerator, Seed, and Scale.

Side Hustle

These Brothers Had 'No Income' When They Started a 'Low-Risk, High-Reward' Side Hustle to Chase a Big Dream — Now They've Surpassed $50 Million in Revenue

Sam Lewkowict, co-founder and CEO of men's grooming brand Black Wolf Nation, knows what it takes to harness the power of side gig for success.

Growth Strategies

AI Agents Startup Secures $4M to Revolutionize Customer Onboarding & Retention

Under the leadership of Gaurav Aggarwal and Anuja Verma, Truva AI has created an innovative solution for customer onboarding and retention, leveraging sophisticated AI agents.

Thought Leaders

Need More Confidence? These 10 Bestselling Books Will Help Improve Your Self-Esteem

Self-esteem can be hard to come by and even harder to maintain. To give yourself a boost, try these authors' words of wisdom.

News and Trends

Whats Fuelling Growth Of Indian Aviation's International Ambitions?

In April 2024, India's international airline capacity reached 7.3 million seats, an increase of 17 per cent from the 6.2 million seats scheduled in the same month in 2019. This change can be attributed to a noticeable shift in spending patterns that emerged after the pandemic, as evident in the increasing inclination of Indians towards international leisure travel