The State of the Markets: India
Key takeaways
01
Stepping into a global spotlight
India’s profile continues to rise on the world stage. From hosting the G20 summit to being the first nation to land on the moon’s south pole, and exporting digital public infrastructure to other nations, the world’s most populous nation looks outward in its ambitions.
02
Innovation simmers despite funding slowdown
2023 has seen a global slowdown in private investment; however, promising companies are still rising. Fintech, generative AI and space tech have all been bright spots.
03
A flywheel emerges
Alumni from successful startups are starting new companies, and there has been an emergence of corporate venture capital funds raised by Indian venture backed startups.
India’s payments go digital
The India Stack initiated in 2009 is a series of open APIs with which third parties can build software with access to government IDs, payment networks and data. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processed over $1.5T transactions in 2022 – now the fifth largest payment network in the world.
New funds emerge
On the investor front, some major funds have stepped back. However, Peak XV plans to open its first US office and hosted a summit for founders. Plus, startups are seeking to fund other startups by launching corporate venture arms. For example, Games24x7 Ventures and Ninjacart's Agri Seed Fund both launched in the past 24 months.
Global VC Funding Slows
India is neck in neck with the UK for third largest recipient of Venture Capital funding, but it depends on how you slice the data. India’s funding had a meteoric rise in the second half of 2020 to 2021 growing 120% only to feel the pinch when global investments began to slow down in the second half of 2022, declining 70%.
Where have the unicorns gone?
2021 and 2022 were big years for unicorns in India. In May 2022, India marked its 100th unicorn. For 2023, one new unicorn was added to the herd.
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