This year, Indian technology start-ups received $11.3 billion in funding, a six percent increase from $10.7 billion in 2023, according to a report by SaaS-based market intelligence platform Tracxn on Thursday (December 19). India ranked third in funding, behind the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK), but ahead of China and Germany.
In the first half of calendar year 2024, India tech received $5.32 billion in 540 funding rounds, an 8 percent increase from H2 2023 when $4.92 billion was raised in 890 rounds, but a percent of 22 less than 6.81 billion dollars collected from 1,210 rounds in H2 2022. The data shows a shift to smaller, larger funding rounds, indicating changing priorities for investors.
Looking for funding for Q4 2024
In the fourth quarter of 2024 (so far), $1.8 billion in capital has been raised in 219 rounds, according to Tracxn’s report. This represents a 47.5 percent decrease from $3.5 billion in Q3 2024 and a 33.3 percent decrease from $2.7 billion in Q4 2023.
Amount received
This year, 113 acquisition deals were recorded, representing a 19.3 percent decrease from 140 acquisitions in 2023 and a 41.1 percent decrease from 192 acquisitions in 2022.
Meanwhile, iBUS was acquired by NIIF for $200 million, becoming the highest value acquisition in 2024 followed by Finnest’s acquisition of Loyal Hospitality for $160 million.
Top VC investors
Startups saw strong support from venture capital (VC) firms like Accel, Blume Ventures, and Peak XV Partners which also emerged as the top investors in 2024. In the seed stage, Venture Catalysts, Z Nation Lab, and Blume Ventures led the way as top investors, while Accel, Peak XV Partners and Elevation Capital led the early stages along with SoftBank Vision Fund, Creaegis and Avataar Ventures emerged as the most active in the latter category.
Bengaluru-based startups have recorded huge funding
When it comes to the city’s funding for startups, Bengaluru tech firms accounted for 30.28 percent of all funding seen by tech companies across India. This was followed by Mumbai in a close second at 27.07 percent.
Top performing sectors in 2024
The best-performing sectors were the gig economy, retail, and business applications. The Gig Economy has received $2.2 billion in funding, up 414 percent from $420 million by 2023, reflecting its massive growth and investor confidence.
Stores, on the other hand, received 2.6 billion, a decrease of 13 percent from $ 3 billion in 2023, which shows the realignment of the market. Business applications received $2.2 billion in funding, down 11 percent from $2.5 billion in 2023, suggesting an adjustment to strategic investments.
“Fast trading emerged as the fastest growing sector, with 40 active companies, including Zepto (Unicorn), Dunzo (Soonicorn), and Swish and Farmako (Minicorns). In YTD 2024, this sector grew -$1.37 billion in equity funding from 7 rounds, led mostly by Zepto, which received $1 million 1.355 billion of the total $300 million included Goodwater Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners,” the report said.
“India Tech saw 37 IPOs in 2024, a significant increase of 76.19% over 21 IPOs in 2023 and 94.74% over 19 IPOs in 2022. Major IPOs include Swiggy, Niva Bupa, BlackBuck, and C2C Advanced Systems,” it added.