India seed slowdown
Indian startups raised $336.6M across 36 deals from March 1–15 — that’s down 63% versus the prior fortnight, with early‑stage activity still dominant at 67% of deals and top rounds including SFO Technologies ($82M), Mozark ($40M), Rozana ($26.6M) and Pronto ($25M) India startups raised $336.6M across 36 deals from Mar 1-15 (Kaustubh Yeole).
February’s headline deal was Neysa’s roughly $600 million infusion, a single transaction that skewed February totals and made early‑March comparisons look sharper ([yourstory.com)]. Kochi‑based electronics manufacturer SFO Technologies drew a private‑equity cheque of about ₹750 crore (≈$82M) led by Trident Growth Partners and Amicus Capital, with the company saying the money will fund capacity expansion and backward integration into components manufacturing. ([financialexpress.com)] Singapore‑headquartered Mozark closed a $40 million Series B led by the International Finance Corporation and RMB Capitalworks to scale its digital experience‑testing platform and pursue global expansion. ([prnewswire.com)] Rural commerce startup Rozana raised ₹290 crore (about $31–32M) in a Series B led by Bertelsmann India Investments and said it will expand to over 200 stores and enter additional northern states, a round that pushed its valuation toward the $200 million mark. ([moneycontrol.com)] Home‑services app Pronto closed a $25 million Series B led by Epiq Capital at a post‑money valuation of $100 million and reported roughly 18,000 daily bookings as it scales operations across multiple cities. ([indiahood.com)] The fortnight’s largest checks were a mix of private equity, development‑finance and strategic VC — Trident/Amicus in SFO ([vccircle.com)], IFC in Mozark ([prnewswire.com)], Bertelsmann in Rozana ([moneycontrol.com)] and Epiq in Pronto ([indiahood.com)] — illustrating investor appetite across manufacturing, SaaS, rural retail and consumer services. ([financialexpress.com)]
