Funding in the Indian tech startup ecosystem went down 13% to $4.1 billion during the first half (H1) of 2024 compared with $4.8 billion raised during the same period a year ago, according to India Tech Semi-Annual Funding Report H1 2024 by Tracxn.
However, the number was 4% higher from the second half (H2) of 2023, which recorded funding deals of $3.96 billion.
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The report said that retail, enterprise applications and fintech were the top-performing sectors in H1 2024. Funding in the retail sector increased by 32%, reaching $1.63 billion in H1 2024 compared with $1.23 billion in H1 2023.
However, investments dropped in the fintech space by 50% from $1.45 billion in H1 2023 to $726 million in H1 2024. The enterprise application sector raised $933 million in H1 2024, a 10% decrease from the $1.04 billion raised in H1 2023.
Tech funding patterns across different stages were generally lower compared with last year, with early-stage startups seeing the highest fall at 28% lower funding in H1 2024, followed by seed stage (17.3% lower) and late-stage at 1.3% lower.
The period saw eight funding rounds that surpassed the $100 million mark, including Flipkart’s $350 million Series J round led by Google, Apollo 247’s $297 million PE round, and Meesho’s $275 million Series F round.
During the last six months, funding activities in all stages had improved or were stable from the second half of 2023.
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Neha Singh, Co-founder of Tracxn, said, “Despite four consecutive half-year periods of declining funding since H1 2022, we are now showing signs of stabilisation, going upward.”
In H1 2024, three unicorns emerged—a notable rise H1 2023 when there was a dearth of new billion-dollar companies. Also, startups making their Indian market debut increased to 17 from six during the same period.
Acquisitions in the Indian startup ecosystem saw a decline, with 43 acquisitions in H1 2024, compared with 75 acquisitions in H1 2023.
Bengaluru startups logged the highest funding, followed by Mumbai and Hyderabad. India remained the fourth-highest funded country globally in the tech startup landscape, right behind the United States, the UK, and China.
Edited by Suman Singh
