Funding Roundup For The Week: Vishal Sikka's AI Startup Raises $50 Mn, Upstox Raises $25 Mn And More Startups continue to move forward with backing from investors to develop their businesses

At a time when reports reveal global economic slowdown, Indian startups continue to move forward with backing from investors to develop their businesses. One of the most notable deals reported this week is the $50 million funding raised by former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka's AI startup Vianai Systems Inc. According to a report by The Economic Times, the identities of the investors has not been revealed. The startup is aimed at helping businesses to leverage artificial intelligence to drive "digital transformations".

Here are some more funding deals closed this week:

SpaceJoy: Bengaluru-headquartered SpaceJoy, a home interior design startup, has raised $1 million from Accel Partners in its seed funding round, reported ET. According to the startup, the funds will be used to develop its services and cater to the US audience. Established by Vinay Indresh and Arnab Saharoy, the company offers an interactive 3D platform for its users to design homes according to their liking. It also has an e-commerce platform to purchase the needed products for designing.

Upstox: Mumbai-based stock broking platform Upstox has raised $25 million from Tiger Global Management, reported ET. With these funds, the company plans to double its employee count to 300 from the current 180. Upstox claims to have around 300,000 clients. The funding round comes at a time when the company is also experimenting with mutual fund investments.

Groww: Bengaluru-based fintech startup Groww raised $21.4 million in Series B funding round from US-based VC firm Ribbit Capital. Existing investors Sequoia India and Y Combinator has also participated in the round. In a statement, the startup said that the funds will be used to on board talent across engineering, product, and growth teams as it is planning to increase the team size to over 200. The funds will also be used to "fortify tech capabilities and build super scalable infrastructure for investing".

Generico: Mumbai-based Pharmacy chain Generico has raised $11 million Series A funding from from Lightbox Ventures, reported Inc42.Founded by Siddharth Gadia and Girish Agarwal, the startup operates a specialised pharmacy retail chain of affordable generic medicines. According to the startup, the funds will be used to strengthen its supply chain, technology and healthcare prepositions. Generico will also be expanding to 150 stores in Mumbai and other cities like Pune. Apart from this, the startup is also exploring the disease management space to help people with chronic diseases.

Aye Finance: Online lending company Aye Finance has raised INR 80 crore in debt funding. The identity of the investor remains undisclosed, reported Inc42. The funds will be used to grow the lending portfolio. Sanjay Sharma and Vikram Jetley founded Aye Finance in 2014 to offer B2B financial services to small and micro enterprises across India. The company uses data science along with cluster-based underwriting model to maintain low operating costs and drive better underwriting.

Zivame: Bengaluru-headquartered lingerie startup Zivame has secured $2.7 million funding from its existing investors such as Zodius capital and Avendus Capital. According to media reports, the funds will be used for the ongoing and future retail expansion, augmentation of technology, product development and strengthening Zivame's omni-channel strategy. Founded by Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar in 2011, the startup is using technology to make lingerie wear accessible and affordable in India. It is also aimed at educating women about intimate wear.

Cred: Kunal Shah's Cred raised $9.5 Mn (INR 68.87 Cr) in its Series B funding round from US-based VC General Catalyst, according to media reports. The funds might be deployed for growth, expansion, marketing and general corporate activities of the company.