The fundraising by the Indian startup ecosystem reclaimed its upward trend this week with nearly $202 million via 21 deals. This is a massive over 100 per cent rise from last week when the startups secured about $98 million in 10 deals.

Cleantech startups maintained the lead, with EV startup Battery Smart raising $65 million led by LeapFrog Investments. The equity round saw participation from new and existing investors, including MUFG Bank, Panasonic, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Blume Ventures and British International Investment.

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) skincare firm Foxtale raised $18 million in a round led by Singapore-based Panthera Growth Partners. Another beauty and makeup brand, Renee Cosmetics, raised Rs 100 crore (around $12 million) in a Series B funding round led by existing investors Evolvence India and Edelweiss Group. The current funds were raised at a valuation of Rs 1,200-1,400 crore.

In another major news, quick grocery delivery platform Zepto is set to raise nearly $650 million from existing and new investors. According to sources, the funding will take the valuation of Blinkit's closest rival to around $3.5 billion. Zepto recently said that it plans to go public in the next 2-3 years.