Start-ups raise $900 million funding in February

Chennai: In what could be an end to the funding winter, Indian start-ups mopped up nearly $900 million across 121 deals in February, which was higher than January 2024 as well as February 2023.

February registered a modest jump in funding to $900 million from $732.7 million in January. Even on a year-on-year basis, February 2024 surpassed the February 2023 funding mark of $845 million, as per the data of Kredible. Unlike January, February saw three-digit funding as Shadowfax raised $100 million in a new round.

E-commerce start-ups re-captured the top position this month in terms of segment-wise number of deals with 27 deals. This was followed by healthtech with 12 deals, fintech 10, and SaaS 10 deals.

Bengaluru retained the top spot with 45 deals worth around $482.6 million, or close to 54 per cent of the total funding raised during February. Delhi-NCR and Mumbai-based startups were the next with 26 and 25 deals, respectively,

Early stage venture capital firm Blume Venture and venture debt firm Stride Ventures have emerged as most active investors in February with 5 investments each. Fireside Ventures was next on the list with four deals followed by 9Unicorns, Antler India, IAN, Omidyar, and others.

February witnessed 12 mergers and acquisitions deals. In comparison, January saw nine mergers and acquisitions deals. Like January, the layoffs spree continued in February as more than 350 employees were let go of across six start-ups.

Meanwhile, Indian start-ups also saw 10 top-level exits. Flipkart alone saw three departures including senior vice presidents. Paytm Payments Bank also saw the exits of two independent directors and the surprising exit of Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

In February the funding situation was seen improving as over a year of relatively tough market conditions have ensured a higher focus on resilience in start-ups. A booming stock market has also meant that amidst all the gloom of a shrinking job market, investible funds do exist for the right idea, and newer segments like Proptech that are riding the real estate boom are set to make a splash with a few big deals sooner than later. END