During an unprecedented downturn in funding that affected various sectors and stages of startups, 2023 proved to be a challenging year for Indian startups as overall funding plummeted to levels last seen in 2017. Despite efforts towards gender inclusivity, many startups led by women struggled to attract venture capital, mirroring a global trend where female founders faced difficulties due to gender stereotypes and a lack of prominent role models.
In 2023, female-led startups in India saw a significant decline in funding compared to the previous year, with a drop of 80% from over $2.4 billion to just over $480 million. The number of deals involving women-led startups also decreased by more than 50% from 238 to 118. This decline contributed to women-led businesses receiving only 5% of the total funding raised by Indian startups in 2023, down from 9.6% the previous year.
However, amidst these challenges, Pixis, a martech startup co-led by Shubham A Mishra, Vrushali Prasade, and Hari Valiyath, managed to secure the highest funding amount in 2023. Pixis, which offers a codeless AI infrastructure for marketing scalability, raised $85 million from various investors including Touring Capital, Grupo Carso, General Atlantic, Celesta Capital, and Chiratae Ventures.
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