Amid the distressed funding activity in India, there was a sharp decline in venture capital (VC) deals volume and value. The disclosed funding value of VC deals year-on-year (YoY) declined by 77.8 per cent to $2.7 billion during January to April 2023, according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.
GlobalData’s figures for the period show that VC deal volume fell 49.5 per cent YoY to 356 and there were only seven deals valued at $100 million or more, compared to 29 the previous year.
Aurojyoti Bose, lead analyst at GlobalData, said, “Slowdown in VC funding activity may pose a challenge for the country’s startup ecosystem. Increased caution amongst investors is causing a strain on the availability of funding and may create an uncertain environment for aspiring entrepreneurs.”
Some of the notable VC funding deals include the $250 million raised by PhysicsWallah, $200 million by PhonePe, and $120 million by KreditBee.
Bose added that several key markets globally are grappling with challenges associated with a slowdown in VC funding activity and India is not an exception to this global trend. Nevertheless, despite the subdued activity, India continues to be a key APAC market next to China. It accounted for 16 per cent of the VC deals announced in the APAC region during January-April 2023 and 13.1 per cent of the total deal value.