2024: A Transformative Year for Indian Startups

The Indian startup ecosystem experienced a transformative year in 2024, marked by a resurgence in funding, a record number of IPOs, and significant developments in emerging sectors like quick commerce and AI.

Funding Overview :Indian startups raised a total of $14.44 billion across 1,337 deals in 2024, reflecting a recovery from $11.3 billion in 2023.

• Growth and Late-Stage Funding: $11.2 billion from 326 deals.
• Early-Stage Funding: $3.23 billion through 810 deals.
• Undisclosed Rounds: 201 rounds.

Month-on-Month Trends : Funding fluctuated throughout the year, with notable highlights:

• January: $719.42 million.
• June: $1.92 billion, the highest month.
• December: $1.32 billion, signaling a strong year-end recovery.

Top Deals of 2024 Growth-Stage Deals

• Zepto: $1.35 billion, dominating quick commerce.
• Flipkart: $350 million in e-commerce.
• Pharmeasy: $216 million in healthtech.
• Other key deals included Lenskart ($200M), Atlan ($105M), and Shadowfax ($100M).

Early-Stage Deals

• SCOPE: $90 million for a networking platform.
• Avail: $70 million in blockchain.
• Krutrim: $50 million in AI solutions.
• Additional sectors included electronics (Indkal, $36M) and generative AI (Ema, $25M).

Mergers & Acquisitions The year saw 144 acquisitions, a decline from 250 in 2023.

• OYO acquired G6 Hospitality for $525 million, the largest deal.
• Zomato bought Paytm’s ticketing business for $244 million.
• Freshworks acquired Device42 for $230 million.

City-Wise Funding

• Bengaluru: $5.06 billion across 485 deals (35.08% share).
• Delhi-NCR: $3.12 billion from 332 deals.
• Mumbai: $3.76 billion through 231 deals.

Emerging cities like Indore, Surat, and Lucknow also recorded deals, signifying broader geographic diversification.

Series-Wise Trends

• Seed Funding: 431 deals, dominating volume.
• Series F: Led in funding amounts, reflecting late-stage confidence.
• Debt Funding: Accounted for 8.7% of total funding.

Layoffs :- Layoffs significantly declined to 4,700 employees in 2024, down from 24,000 in 2023 and 20,000 in 2022.

• BYJU's: Highest layoffs with 500 employees affected.
• Other notable layoffs: Reshamandi (400) and Swiggy (350).

Trends in 2024

• Leadership Transitions: Over 100 senior executives, including CEOs and co-founders, exited their roles, while 200+ key positions were filled.

Sector-Specific Growth: AI:

• $429.66 million across 59 deals.
• Healthtech: $1.14 billion, with Pharmeasy leading.

Startup IPOs: A record 13 startups went public, up from 6 in both 2023 and 2022.

Looking Ahead to 2025 The startup ecosystem is poised for further growth in 2025, with expanding funding avenues and a robust IPO pipeline. Key expectations include:

• Sector Focus: Breakthrough ideas in climate tech, agritech, and logistics could gain traction.
• Governance Spotlight: Increased emphasis on accountability and ethical practices.
• Emerging Cities: Smaller cities are set to play a more significant role in the ecosystem.

While challenges like consolidations in some sectors remain, the stage is set for a stronger and more stable 2025.