Startup funding nosedives 75%

New Delhi: Indian startups raised a total of $2.8 billion in funds in the first quarter of 2023, a massive 75 per cent lower compared to the same period in the previous year ($11.9 billion), as rising inflation and interest rates continue to impact investments significantly amid a deepening funding winter, a report showed on Monday.

There were no new unicorns created in the January-March period, compared with 14 unicorns in Q1 2022, according to the report by Tracxn, a leading global market intelligence platform.

The funding volumes contracted due to the reduction in late-stage funding, which declined by 79 per cent in the first quarter ($1.8 billion) compared to Q1 2022.

Early-stage rounds saw funding of $844 million, a drop of 4 per cent compared to Q4 2022 but a drop of 68 per cent compared to Q1 of 2022.