Startup funding shrinks by 33% in Q1

Bengaluru: The funding in the Indian startup ecosystem nosedived by a huge 33 per cent to $6.9 billion in the April-June period (Q2), from $10.3 billion in the first quarter (Q1) this year, amid the economic meltdown and layoffs in the funding winter, a report showed on Thursday.

In Q2, 121 new startups closed their first funding rounds, four startups turned unicorns, 62 startups got acquired, and five filed their IPOs, according to data intelligence platform Tracxn Technologies.

The Indian startups raised $6.9 billion in Q2 in 409 funding rounds and the top startups were VerSe ($805 million), Delhivery ($304 million), and udaan ($275 million). They were followed closely by ShareChat ($255 million) and upGrad ($225 million). Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai are the top cities attracting the maximum investments, as per the report.

"We aim to give industry stakeholders key insights of the ecosystem that would help in business decision making that is backed by extensive market intelligence and thorough research and data analysis," said Neha Singh, Co-Founder, Tracxn. With Leadsquared, Purplle, PhysicsWallah, and Open becoming new unicorns, the total valuation of unicorns escalated to $31.8 billion in Q2. With respect to exits, while eMudhra, Delhivery, Handicrafts village, Eighty Jewellers, and Veranda Learning Solutions filed for IPOs, Blinkit (By Zomato), Whiteteak (By Asian Paints), and MyHQ (By ANAROCK) were the top acquisitions in the second quarter. Social Platforms, internet first media, payments, B2B e-commerce and e-commerce enablers are the top sectors receiving the most funding from investors between April and June, the report mentioned.

The total funding in Q2 also witnessed a decline in comparison to the same quarter last year (Q2 2021), where the total funds raised were $10.1 billion.

"Though investors are a little wary due to the current environment it hasn't dampened the investment spirit of the community. They have become more decisive about the startups they want to nurture and are focusing extensively from a long-term gain perspective," said Abhishek Goyal, Co-Founder, Tracxn.