Startups, Mergers, Acquisitions and Funding Round-up this week

This week saw a lot of developments in the startup industry. While a few Indian start-ups raised significant amounts of money, a lot of big players announced acquisitions of homegrown brands. Here’s a look at this week’s report.

EPACK Prefab raises $20 mn by GEF Capital Partners

EPACK Prefab, a brand providing solutions for pre-engineered buildings (PEB), prefabricated modular structures, and insulation products, has raised $20 mn in its first funding round, led by GEF Capital Partners. The funds are likely to be used to strengthen the company's manufacturing works in Greater Noida, Ghiloth in Rajasthan, and Mambattu in Andhra Pradesh.

HostBooks bags $5M by Orange Orbit

The SaaS fintech firm HostBooks has raised $5 million from Orange Orbit wherein the investment is also a part of a larger $15 million Series B funding round, as per the company. The funds will be used for allocating to expand the global presence along with fuel product development and to also adopt advanced AI-driven modules. 

Univest raises $10 million Bertelsmann India

The wealth-tech platform Univest has raised $10 million, led by Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), in a Series A funding round. The raised funds will be channelled towards scaling our research-first, full-stack brokerage offering aiming to create India’s first true stock market superapp for retail investors. 

SustVest raises $1.7 Mn in pre-Series A

SustVest, sustainable investment platform has raised $1.7 million led by Inflection Point Ventures and Antler in its pre-Series A round, a mix of equity and debt. Investors like WEH ventures, Venture Catalysts, Soonicorn Ventures, FAAD Network, and others also participated in the round. The funds will be used for acquiring solar projects, while also scaling marketing with the regulated platform launch and others.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Adani Group is about to acquire Air Works, India’s largest private-sector MRO company.
• Kenro Capital has acquired a stake in Peak XV-backed K12 Techno for $40 million.

Other Updates

• Zomato has become the first Indian start-up to join BSE Sensex 30.
•  ⁠Tamil Nadu has crossed 10,000 DPIIT registered start-ups. 
• ⁠India's small businesses added 11 million jobs, as per a govt data. 
• BPCL has picked Andhra Pradesh for India’s last greenfield refinery project.
• Ola Electric has launched Ola S1 Pro Sona with real 24-carat gold-plated elements.