The funding landscape for India’s tech startup ecosystem in 2023 has witnessed a notable downturn, marking its lowest point in the last five years and subsequently causing India’s global ranking to slip from 4th to 5th place. According to a report by the market intelligence platform Tracxn, the total funding for the year until December 5 amounted to $7 billion, reflecting a substantial 72% decline compared to the preceding year’s impressive $25 billion. In contrast to the previous year’s creation of 23 unicorns, only two new unicorns emerged in 2023 – Incred and Zepto. Moreover, the report highlighted a 36% reduction in acquisitions, totaling 119 in 2023 compared to 187 in 2022.
The funding contraction was pervasive across all stages, with late-stage funding experiencing a significant dip of over 73%, followed by early-stage funding (70%) and seed-stage funding (60%). Despite these challenges, Neha Singh, co-founder of Tracxn, expressed optimism about the future of India’s tech startup ecosystem, citing favorable government policies and the country’s rapidly growing economy.
The funding decline led to India slipping from the 4th to the 5th position globally in 2023. The last quarter of the year recorded the lowest funding to date, totaling $957 million and marking it as the lowest-funded quarter since Q3 2016. The most substantial drop was observed in late-stage funding, decreasing from $15.6 billion in 2022 to $4.2 billion in 2023, constituting a decline of over 73%. The number of $100 million+ funding rounds recorded was only 17, witnessing a 69% drop compared to the previous year.
In specific sectors, FinTech received $2.1 billion in funding in 2023, showing a decrease from $5.8 billion in the same period last year. Notably, Phone Pe, a leading payments company, secured $750 million in four Series D rounds, representing 38% of the sector’s total funding. The retail sector received $1.9 billion in funding, marking a 67% drop compared to 2022. Lenskart emerged as the top-funded company in the sector in 2023, raising $600 million in two Series I rounds.
Despite the overall funding slowdown, certain sectors like Environment Tech and SpaceTech attracted investor attention. Environment Tech secured $1.2 billion in funding, while SpaceTech saw a 6% increase with $122 million raised in 2023 due to government privatization initiatives.
Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR continued to be key hubs attracting significant funding in India’s tech startup ecosystem. Prominent investors supporting the growth of the India Tech space included LetsVenture, Accel, and Blume Ventures. Despite the funding challenges in 2023, the report maintains optimism for India’s tech startup future, emphasizing the country’s favorable conditions for success.
India’s tech startup funding has seen a decline of 72% in 2023, causing a drop in global ranking. It’s definitely a challenging time for the ecosystem. However, it’s great that Neha Singh from Tracxn remains optimistic about the future. With favorable government policies and India’s growing economy, there’s still hope for a rebound. Let’s stay positive and hope for a brighter future for tech startups in India!
~ Dr Shishir said Gupta founder & CEO of StartupLanes
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