Startups of India raised $4 billion

The startups of India have shown impressive adaptability in the third quarter of 2024, raising over $4 billion. This funding amount is almost equivalent with the last quarter and exceeds the total from the first quarter of the year.

While the ecosystem of new ventures saw diminished funding trends during the first half of 2024, the mega funding picked up speed in the third quarter of the year.

According to the Indian Funding Report Q3 2024, during the period of July-September of 2024, the total funding raised by native emerging businesses shot up to 100% on a year-by-year basis to $3.4 Bn.

Statistics of the startups

There were several major deals which include multiple transactions of over $300 million and $200 million with pre-IPO rounds and secondary market activity.

This vigorous support, especially from early-stage new businesses, highlights a strong recovery and continued investing confidence, making it one of the most successful quarters during the ongoing funding winter.

Eminent driver fir this growth was the significant rise in the late-stage funding. In the duration of the three-month time, the startup environment saw 10 pocket cheques of $100 Million. The number of mega deals during the quarter were the highest since quarter 2 of 2022.

Numerics of the data

According to data compiled, Indian new enterprises attracted approximately $4.08 billion in funding during the third quarter of 2024.

This amount is included of 85 growth and late-stage deals totaling $3.3 billion, along with 207 early-stage deals worth $754.26 million.

In addition to this, there were 58 undisclosed deals during this period.

Startups getting credit

This period saw Physics Wallah, Rapido, OYO, Whatfix, Drip Capital, Purplle, Zepto, BlueStone, M2P Fintech and InMobi raise over $100 Million in just a single round.

Significantly, there were three new unicorns that emerged in the quarter 3 of 2024- Ather, Rapido, and Moneyview.

In total, six startups joined the unicorn club in 2024, out of which all of them were based in Bengaluru.

In contrast, only two startups reached unicorn status in 2023, while 26 and 44 unicorns were born in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Read more about Physics Wallah’s and M2P Fintech only at- Physics Wallah Lands $210 Million In Series B Funding, Valuation Reaches Mindblowing $2.8 Billion – 24 Khabre and M2P Fintech Secures Revolutionary Over $100 Million In Landmark Funding Round – 24 Khabre

Contribution to each startup

During the quarter 3 of 2024, the new businesses raised 352 deals totaling $4.08 billion, a slight decrease from the $4.27 billion raised from 363 deals in the last quarter- Q2.

Looking at the last seven quarters, Q3 stands out as the second largest funded period. In addition to that, the month of September has achieved the second highest funding with $1.62 billion, after $1.92 billion recorded in June this year.

As per now, the startups of India have secured $11 billion in the first nine months of 2024, which matches the total amount raised throughout 2023.

The recent growth can be attributed to the remarkable funding round of Zepto amounting $340 million, followed by DMI Finance which secured $334 million.

The other major contributors included PhysicsWallah, Rapido, Oyo, and Whatfix, each securing ample of funding.

Remarkably, all the top 10 growth stage startups in the list have secured more than $100 million each inclusive of Purplle, Drip Capital, M2P Fintech, and InMobi.

Mergers and Acquisitions

The mergers and acquisitions have surged to new heights as Q3 saw 54 M&A deals which is matching the combined total of Q2 and Q1.

The topmost acquisition in Q3 was OYO purchasing G6 Hospitality for $525 million. Then was Zomato’s acquisition of Paytm’s movies and ticketing business for $244 million. Along with this, OYO also acquired Checkmyguest for $27.4 million.

Other significant M&A activities included Nazara acquiring Pokerbazi and Kiddopia, Redcliffe Labs acquiring Celara Diagnostics, HomeLane taking over Design Cafe, and Radio Mirchi’s parent company ENIL acquiring Gaana.

Layoffs and Departures

Layoffs continued to impact the ecosystem in Q3, with 10 companies letting go of more than 1,200 employees. However, this figure is significantly lower than the over 2,200 employees dismissed in Q2.

Due to the recent market conditions, there has been an increase in business closures.

In Q3, eight startups announced their shutdowns, including Koo, Wynk Music, and Greenikk.

This figure surpasses the six shutdowns recorded in Q1 and Q2 combined.

Conclusion

The startups of India have shown impressive adaptability in the third quarter of 2024, raising over $4 billion. This funding amount is almost equivalent with the last quarter and exceeds the total from the first quarter of the year.

There were several major deals which include multiple transactions of over $300 million and $200 million with pre-IPO rounds and secondary market activity.

This vigorous support, especially from early-stage new businesses, highlights a strong recovery and continued investing confidence, making it one of the most successful quarters during the ongoing funding winter.

Also read the entire story of Zepto at- Zepto becomes India’s first 2023 unicorn with $200 million fresh funding | TechCrunch