June witnessed the highest funding raised by Indian startups in the first six months of the current year. However, the number of deals sealed in the month was the second lowest after March.
Indian startups raised $2.24 billion in June compared to $1.85 billion in May 2024. The funding raised by startups in May and June accounted for half of the funds raised in the first half of 2024, according to the India Deal Review: Q2 2024 report.
May also recorded the highest number of deals sealed during the period followed by April.
Deal value and volume in the first six months of 2024
Source: DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE
Funding in Q2 doubled
The top fundraising tally in May and June helped double the Q2 deal value compared to Q1. Deal volume also increased 15% against Q1. The strong performance boosted startup funding in the first half of 2024 reaching $7.81 billion, up by 18% from the same period in the previous year.
With 623 deals, deal volume in the first six months also jumped 26% against the corresponding period last year.
Deal value in the first half of 2023 and 2024
Source: DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE
Deal volume in the first half of 2023 and 2024
Source: DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE
E-commerce tops funding charts in the first half
E-commerce was the top vertical in terms of both deal value and volume, garnering $2.6 billion across 126 deals, in the first six months of the year followed by fintech lending and fintech. The top three verticals accounted for 54% of the total capital raised by Indian startups during the period.
Top 10 verticals in terms of funding value
Source: DealStreetAsia DATA VANTAGE
Among the verticals, e-commerce startup Zepto’s $665 million deal in June was the highest during the period with the company eyeing to go public by 2025. The funding round was co-led by existing investors Glade Brook, Nexus, and StepStone, with Goodwater and Lachy Groom doubling down as well. Avenir, Lightspeed, and Avra joined as new investors, among others.
This was followed by e-commerce giant Flipkart as the Walmart-owned homegrown company bagged $350 million in May from tech titan Google.
Top deals in e-commerce, fintech and SaaS in H1 2024
| Startup | Deal Value | Verticals |
|---|---|---|
| Zepto | $665m | E-commerce |
| Flipkart | $350m | E-commerce |
| Meesho | $275m | E-commerce |
| Pharmeasy | $216m | E-commerce |
| Lenskart | $200m | E-commerce |
| Ecom Express | $172m | E-commerce |
| Kitchens@ | $145m | E-commerce |
| Go Digit General Insurance | $141m | Insurtech |
| Avanse Financial Services | $120m | Fintech Lending |
| Atlan | $105m | SaaS |
In terms of deal volume, fintech and SaaS cracked the highest number of deals in the first half of the year after e-commerce. The top three verticals account for 37% of the total deals clocked during the period.
Top 10 verticals in terms of funding volume
