Despite the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic looming large and slow economic recovery, venture capital (VC) investors seem to be reposing faith in the Indian startup ecosystem. In fact, Indian startups stood next only to Chinese counterparts in terms of VC funding value among the Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries during January to July 2021, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that a total of 828 VC funding deals were announced in India during January-July 2021 while the total disclosed funding value of these deals stood at US$16.9bn.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “While some of the top key markets globally witnessed decline in VC funding value in July compared to the previous month, India managed to showcase growth despite a decline in VC funding deal volume. Rising smartphone penetration and affordable mobile Internet have transformed India into a digital-first economy. As a result, tech startups are the biggest beneficiaries of this trend.
“According to GlobalData’s research, India has the third-largest tech unicorn ecosystem in the world, behind the US and China. During the COVID-19 pandemic, VC investors are evincing interest in startups across themes such as e-commerce, social media and social networking, food delivery, edtech, and digital payments.”
Some of the notable VC funding deals announced in India during January-July 2021 include US$3.6bn raised by Flipkart, US$502m raised by Mohalla Tech (ShareChat), Zomato’s capital raising of around US$500m, and US$460m raised by Think and Learn (Byju’s).
Mr Bose concludes: “India remains one of the key APAC markets in terms of VC funding activity and is the second top market for VC investments in the region after China. With progress in vaccination in the country, VC investors are seen committing big-ticket investments.”
Peyman Khosravani is a global blockchain and digital transformation expert with a passion for marketing, futuristic ideas, analytics insights, startup businesses, and effective communications. He has extensive experience in blockchain and DeFi projects and is committed to using technology to bring justice and fairness to society and promote freedom. Peyman has worked with international organizations to improve digital transformation strategies and data-gathering strategies that help identify customer touchpoints and sources of data that tell the story of what is happening. With his expertise in blockchain, digital transformation, marketing, analytics insights, startup businesses, and effective communications, Peyman is dedicated to helping businesses succeed in the digital age. He believes that technology can be used as a tool for positive change in the world.
