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The month of March was a mixed bag for the Indian startup ecosystem, with total venture capital funding crossing $1 billion boosted largely by Lenskart and PhonePe, but employee layoffs continue to dampen the mood.

The total venture capital investment in March touched $1.2 billion, and this is a positive sign when compared to the previous month of February when the total capital inflow dropped below $1 billion.

The last week of March saw an inflow of $104 million as compared to $194 million in the previous week.

However, challenges remain abound for the startup ecosystem as the flow of venture capital is still restricted with very few large deal transactions. Most of the activity is in the segment of early-stage funding where the capital raised is of smaller value.

In addition, layoffs continue in the ecosystem as companies like Unacademy and Fanclash downsize their employee strength, and this culling is unlikely to stop anytime soon. In short, there are different sets of priorities for the startups today which include profitability, sustainable business growth etc.

The slowdown in venture funding is forcing to startups relying on alternate routes of raising capital like debt and rights issues. This is likely to get more pronounced in the days to come.

Given the present environment of uncertainty, it is very unlikely that there would be any swift turnaround in the situation of venture capital inflow.

Key transactions

Edtech startup upGrad raised Rs 300 crore in internal rights issue from founder Ronnie Screwvala and existing investor Temasek.

Gurugram-based fashion supply chain startup Fashinza raised $30 million from Mars Growth Capital and Liquidity Group.

Lifestyle and fan merchandise startup The Souled Store raised $16.4 million from Xponentia Capital Partners, Elevation Capital, and RPSG Capital.

Tech startup Vitraya Technologies raised $5 million from StartupXseed Ventures, Season Two Ventures, Cactus, Xceedance, and the family office of Mankind Pharma.