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    ETtech Deals Digest: DealShare, Shiprocket raise funds this week

    Synopsis

    Startups raised smaller funding rounds this week compared to the previous one. Social commerce platform DealShare and logistics aggregator Shiprocket were among the startups that bagged funds this week.

    VC investmentETtech
    Illustration: Rahul Awasthi
    Startups raised smaller funding rounds this week compared to the previous one. Social commerce platform DealShare and logistics aggregator Shiprocket were among the startups that bagged funds this week.

    Ola brings in Temasek, Warburg Pincus

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    Singapore government's investment fund Temasek Holdings and private equity major Warburg Pincus have bought shares worth $500 million in Ola from two of its existing investors ahead of the mobility startup's planned initial public offering (IPO).

    The ride-hailing firm’s early backers, New York-based Tiger Global and venture capital fund Matrix Partners India, which together hold 13-15% in the company, have sold shares in the latest funding round.

    Temasek has been an investor in Ola since 2018. It's other big shareholders include SoftBank, which holds 22% stake, and China's Tencent with about 9% ownership, according to research firm Tracxn.

    DealShare raises $144 million

    Social commerce platform DealShare has raised $144 million in its latest funding round, at a valuation of $455 million. The round was led by New York venture fund Tiger Global and co-led by WestBridge Capital, Alpha Wave Incubation and Z3Partners. It also included partners of DST Global, Matrix Partners India, and Alteria Capital.

    The company plans to use the funds to expand its operations, invest in technology and build its team. In addition, the company is exploring acquisitions of early-stage startups in the social and gamification space, logistics and operation, co-founder Vineet Rao told ET.

    Shiprocket gets $41 million

    Logistics aggregator Shiprocket has secured $41.3 million in funding co-led by PayPal Ventures, the venture investment arm of PayPal, and existing investor Bertelsmann India Investments.

    Other existing investors Info Edge Ventures, March Capital, Tribe Capital and Innoven Capital also participated in the round.

    Shiprocket’s strategic partners like Razorpay and entrepreneurs such as Cred's Kunal Shah and Zomato's Deepinder Goyal have also put in capital, cofounder and CEO Saahil Goel told ET.

    Teachmint bags $20 million

    Edtech startup Teachmint has raised $20 million in a pre-series B round led by existing investor Learn Capital with participation from CM Ventures.

    The funding will help intensify its focus on development of live teaching technology, and aid enhancement of its products, expansion into newer markets and hiring of skilled talent, the company said.

    The one-year-old startup, which empowers teachers to create their own classrooms through its app, claims to have more than one million teachers on its platform.

    Other key deals

    • Clear (formerly Cleartax) has acquired Y Combinator-backed enterprise payments startup yBANQ in a cash and stock deal. The acquisition is estimated at less than $5 million, according to sources. The fintech firm, which is focused on software services for enterprises, will now foray into the B2B payments and credit market, Clear’s chief executive Archit Gupta told ET.
    • Singapore-based Nium has signed a definitive agreement to acquire fraud-hit Wirecard’s foreign exchange unit in India, as part of the latter’s insolvency process. Wirecard Forex India is a licensed authorised dealer under the Reserve Bank of India’s regulations and a remittances service provider in the country.
    • Matrimony.com said it will acquire a 100% stake in Boatman Tech Pvt Ltd, promoters of ShaadiSaga.com, which is a Delhi-based online wedding services company.
    • Business-to-business commerce company Moglix said it has acquired Vendaxo, an e-commerce platform for buying and selling used machinery.
    • Digital adoption solutions platform Whatfix, which raised $100 million from investors led by SoftBank last month as part of its Series D round, has announced its first ever employee stock ownership plan (Esop) buyback scheme amounting to $4.3 million.
    • ARTPARK, a nonprofit that backs technology-driven solutions for social problems, is set to launch a $100 million venture capital fund for Indian startups in the robotics and artificial intelligence sector.
    The Economic Times

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