SUMMARY
Indian startups raised $734 Mn in February 2024, up 4% YoY, while deal count grew 19% to 83
Ecommerce emerged as the most funded sector last month, with startups in the segment bagging $149 Mn across 24 deals
Shadowfax’s $100 Mn funding round was the only mega deal in February 2024 as against three such deals in the year-ago month
The Indian startup ecosystem regained some funding momentum in February 2024, moving past the disappointment of the previous month when the funding fell to a record low. The funding raised by Indian startups zoomed 43% month-on-month (MoM) to $734 Mn in February 2024.
The number of funding deals also increased to 83 last month from 68 in January.
As per Inc42 data, startup funding also rose 4% from $693.47 Mn in February 2023, while deal count grew 19% year-on-year (YoY) from 67.
However, it is pertinent to note that the funding raised in February 2024 was a far cry from $3.7 Bn raised by the Indian startups in February 2022.
Seed and growth stage funding saw a sharp decline last month. While seed stage startups raised $62 Mn in February 2024, down 16% YoY, in 30 deals, growth stage startups bagged $334 Mn, a decline of 13% YoY, in 33 deals.
However, late stage startups saw a healthy increase in funding last month. The funding netted by them jumped 53% YoY to $328 Mn in February, with the number of deals tripling to 12 from four in the year-ago month.
The upswing can be partially attributed to logistics startup Shadowfax’s mega deal, which was the only deal of $100 Mn or above last month. In comparison, the Indian startup ecosystem saw three mega deals in February 2023.
Ecommerce Topples Fintech To Become The Most Funded Sector
Breaking away from the trend, the funding raised by fintech startups plunged 516% to $56 Mn across nine deals in February 2024 from $289 Mn a year ago. Meanwhile, ecommerce funding almost tripled to $149 Mn from $52 Mn in February 2023. The ecommerce sector also saw the highest number of funding deals last month – 24.
On the back of Capillary Technologies’ $95 Mn fundraise, enterprisetech emerged as the second most funded sector last month. Startups in the sector raised a total funding of $111 Mn across nine deals.
After Shadowfax and Capillary, escooter maker River’s $40 Mn funding round was the third largest last month. Next in the line was omnichannel jewellery brand Kushal’s $34 Mn funding round.
Meanwhile, furniture rental startup Rentomojo, healthtech startup Generico, and agritech startup Captain Fresh raised $25 Mn each in the past month.
Bengaluru Remains The Undisputed Startup Hub
While sector-wise funding saw a major change at the top in February 2024, city-wise funding continued to be dominated by Bengaluru. Startups based in the country’s IT capital bagged $414 Mn in funding last month, accounting for more than half of the total funding.
However, Mumbai ($96 Mn) overtook Delhi ($94 Mn) to become the second most funded startup hub in India. Meanwhile, Hyderabad slipped to the fifth position in February 2024 from the second position it secured in January this year. With a funding of $21 Mn, the capital of Telangana was behind Pune ($51 Mn) in terms of funding raised last month.
