Deals RoundUp: DIPP, Voonik, TurningIdeas, AAGAAR.com, Lok Capital, Klay Schools, Peepul Capital, IFC, Pinterest and Fleksy

More Than 400 startups Have Registered with The DIPP

More than 400 startups have registered with the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) for government recognition and availing tax breaks and other benefits, The Economic Times reported. An inter-ministerial committee reviewed 189 requests, out of which 148 applicants were given the go-ahead to submit relevant documents, while 10 were rejected due to a lack of an innovative startup idea. Furthermore, 30 startups have been asked to provide additional information about their idea/product and only one has received approval for benefits of intellectual property rights.

Voonik Raises $20M in Series-B Round Of Funding

Fashion marketplace Voonik has raised $20 million (around Rs. 133 crores) in Series-B round of funding to scale up operations.Sequoia Capital led the round with participation from Times Internet, Seedfund, Beenos, Beenext, Parkwood Bespin, Tancom Investments and Kunal Shah, it said in a statement Thursday.

Earlier, Voonik had raised $500,000 (roughly Rs. 3.3 crores) in seed, $6.5 million (roughly Rs. 43.6 crores) in series A funding.

TurningIdeas Solutions Launches An Angel Investor Network

TurningIdeas Solutions, Incubation and acceleration platform, has launched an Angel investor network, TurningIdeas Venture Partners (TVP), to back technology-oriented startups. Ashish Mittal, co-founder and chief mentor at TurningIdeas, told VCCircle that leading Angel investors have come together under the TVP umbrella to provide initial investment to technology-led startups.

AAGAAR.com To Shut Down Its Operations

AAGAAR.com, Delhi-based hyperlocal grocery delivery service, run by Asankhya Retail Pvt. Ltd, appears to have shut down its operations. Its website is no longer accessible and redirects the viewer to a temporary webpage.

It couldn’t be immediately ascertained when exactly the startup had closed down its operations. Repeated attempts made by Techcircle to contact its founder Deepak Saharawat were unsuccessful. AAGAAR had raised an undisclosed amount in angel funding from a group of investors in June 2015.

Lok Capital Has Achieved The First Close Of Lok Fund III at $40.5M

Lok Capital, an India focused impact investment fund has achieved the first close of Lok Fund III at $40.5 Mn. The third fund has a total target corpus of around $100 Mn and is expected to close in the next 12-18 months. This round saw participation from CDC Group Plc (the Development Finance Institution of the UK), Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V.’s (FMO)and Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique  (Proparco). While TIAA Global Asset Management has come on board providing a new source of capital for Fund III.

Klay Schools Raises $16M in Funding in Series B Round Led By Peepul Capital

Bangalore-based Klay Schools has raised $16 million in funding in Series B round led by private equity firm Peepul Capital. Existing investor Kaizen Private Equity also took part in the fresh round, The Economic Times reported citing Klay’s CEO Priya Krishnan.

Run by Founding Years Learning Solutions, Klay School will use the money for its expansion plans. In 2013, Kaizen had invested $6 million in Klay Schools which provided an exit to its existing investor Value and Budget Housing.

IFC is Looking To Increase Its Venture Capital Activity In India

International Finance Corp, the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, is looking to increase its venture capital activity in India, which is already the second largest in its global portfolio behind China, according to a report in The Economic Times. “In any fiscal, we are looking at (investing) roughly $150 million (about Rs 1,000 crore) globally, and I would say India will get a good percentage of it… at least a quarter, if not one-third of that. India and China tend to take up the bulk of it in terms of dollars,” aid Nikunj Jinsi, the global head of of IFC’s venture capital investment team.

Pinterest To Acquire Fleksy

Well known for its gesture based keyboard app, Fleksy, has been acquired by content sharing website Pinterest. The financial details of the deal are not yet known. The acquisition comes in the month marking four years since Fleksy launched a standalone keyboard app on iOS for visually impaired users. Although the third-party keyboard app has been acquired by Pinterest, it will still remain available on the iOS and Android app stores "for the unforeseeable future."