'Funding winter may daunt startups for 1 more year'

Hyderabad: The startups not only in India, but across the world are facing challenging times in terms of raising funds right now. However, the funding winteris only a temporary thing and this cycle may move away in next 12-18 months, said a veteran of Indian IT industry and a strong supporter of the startup ecosystem in the country.

"The world is going through economically challenging times with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, growing inflation and the current oil crisis. All over the globe, the growth of startups is muted in this environment. Even in India, the valuations are down. These are the cycles that will go away in a year and a half," Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan told Bizz Buzz.

He further said, "Especially, the later-stage startups are unable to find the right valuation and funding support. There seems no funding crunch for the early-stage startups in the country. In my view, India will become the second largest startup ecosystem in the world very soon from the third position at present. The funding scenario in the country will also improve over a period."

Speaking on the sidelines of the CII CIES Centre launch in Hyderabad, Gopalakrishnan said: "There are many funds available for the startups in the country. There is a Fund of Funds launched by the Central government under Startup India. The Telangana government is supporting the innovative startups at T-Hub. At CII CIES Centre, we may also create a fund for the startups in near future."

"The CII CIES aims to see the startups we support become $100-million revenue companies, and our member companies working with the startups to acquire them. Currently, we have around 12 corporate firms in our partner network that will handhold and mentor the startups at this centre. Our next plan is to work with rural entrepreneurs," he informed.