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Indian startups raised 32% fewer funding rounds in 2024 than last year, according to new figures from data intelligence platform Tracxn, suggesting that investors are more selective when closing deals.
The number of startup funding rounds fell to 1,448 from 2,114 last year, but total funding rose 6% to $11.3 billion — a disparity that suggests investors aren’t afraid to wipe out their checkbooks whenever they feel like it.
Early-stage investment activity mirrored the broader trend, with the number of Series A and Series B deals falling to 387 from 420 a year ago, although total capital invested remained steady at $3.16 billion. While fewer startups managed to raise seed funding this year, transactions fell from 1,545 to 925, with funding down 22% to $970 million.
Late-stage funding underscored the market’s preference for larger deals, with startups raising a total of $7.13 billion in 136 Series C rounds this year and beyond — a 12% increase in capital despite low volume. Startups raised 20 rounds worth more than $100 million in 2024, compared to 18 such rounds in 2023.
Public markets emerged as a bright spot, with over 40 startups completing IPOs, up 80% from 2023. the largest tech IPO globally.
A A pipeline of over 20 startupsincluding fast-commerce group Zepto and business-to-business marketplace Infra.Market is set to go public in 2025.
A number of early-stage startup deals are also in the works, sources tell me: Quick commerce startup Swish is in talks to raise about $15 million; Premji Invest in talks to back Digitap; Spotdraft seeks to raise debt round; WhistleDrive is in talks to secure about $11 million; Vodex.ai is in advanced discussions to raise about $10-15 million; and 91squarefeet, Galaxeye.space, R for Rabbit and Biryani by Kilo are in advanced discussions to close new rounds.
