VC Wrap: March Capital, Tribe Capital, Lightrock back startups

Extended Series C rounds were the flavour of the day with a bunch of startups bagging more money as part of a stretched mid-stage VC funding. Startups in areas such as logistics-tech, mobility, health diagnostics, ready-to-cook food venture, ed-tech and digital art marketplace raised funding.

Shiprocket

BigFoot Retail Solutions that runs an e-commerce focussed logistics technology firm Shiprocket has scooped $27 million (Rs 200 crore) in an extended Series C round of funding co-led by existing backer Tribe Capital and new investor March Capital.

DST Global partner Rahul Mehta also invested along with another existing investor, Bertelsmann India Investments.

Vogo

Shared mobility startup Vogo Automotive Pvt Ltd has raised $11.5 million (Rs 83 crore) in an internal round. Lightrock (formerly LGT Lightstone Aspada), Kalaari Capital, Matrix Partners India and Stellaris Venture Partners participated in the extended Series C round.

Floated in 2016, Vogo is into scooter rentals and is operational in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. It also has a partnership with ride-hailing firm Ola. A year ago, it had raised $19 million in Series C funding led by LGT Lightstone Aspada.

Lilac

Diagnostics venture Lilac Insights Pvt. Ltd has raised Rs 50 crore ($6.88 million) from Rajiv Dadlani, processed food products exporter Allana Group, VC firm Rockstud Capital among others. The startup plans to use the fresh money to spruce up its laboratory at Navi Mumbai and expand genomic facilities. It will also utilise the money to build new regional and satellite labs.

Leverage Edu

Blume ventures-backed ed-tech platform Leverage Edu, an AI-enabled marketplace that helps students with higher education and career guidance, has raised Rs 47 crore (6.5 million) in Series A funding.

Early-stage strategic investment firm Tomorrow Capital alone infused Rs 26.5 crore to lead the funding round. Blume Ventures and another existing investor DSG Consumer Partners pumped in an additional Rs 20.5 crore. In all, Leverage Edu has now garnered Rs 60 crore across three rounds of funding.

The company will utilise the capital to accelerate its strategic expansion into newer markets, introduce further product innovation, and aim to deepen its student-first approach with more focus on pedagogy and student-first tools, said Leverage Edu’s founder and chief executive officer Akshay Chaturvedi.

Fingerlix

Ready-to-cook food brand Fingerlix has raised Rs 20 crore as another tranche in its Series C round from Swiggy and some other investors, Entrackr reported citing regulatory filings. Besides Swiggy, the firm raised money from Rhodium Trust, Accel Partners, Horizon Techno, Frigerio Conserva Allana among others.

Kalamint

Digital art marketplace that uses blockchain technology, Kalamint, has raised an undisclosed amount from blockchain venture studio and fund Draper Goren Holm (DGH) and seed investment fund Amesten Capital. For DGH this is the maiden India bet.