Investment in Indian startups in 2023

In 2023, Indian startups faced challenging conditions in the funding landscape, as reflected in annual "Indian Tech Startup Funding Report." The total funding for the year amounted to just over $10 billion, accompanied by the emergence of only two new unicorns.

Notably, seed-stage startups experienced a significant setback, witnessing a 72% year-on-year decline in funding, with only $681 million raised compared to the $2.4 billion secured in 2022. The number of deals in this stage also dropped by 36.6%, falling from 737 in 2022 to 467 in 2023.

Late and growth stage funding did not fare any better, registering a 60% year-on-year decrease to $2.9 billion and $5.6 billion, respectively.

Despite the overall challenges, the ecommerce sector led in terms of the number of deals, securing over $2.6 billion across 192+ deals. Notably, 56% of these deals, totaling 107, were concentrated at the seed stage. In contrast, fintech took the lead in funding amounts, with startups raising $3 billion across 129+ deals. Four companies accounted for 53.3% of this total, raising $1.6 billion. The year was characterized by a funding winter, impacting startups across various stages and sectors.