Initial look at India Startup Funding Report 2019 - Jan-Sept 2019

YourStory has published a fantastic report for a few years now, and their latest report from Jan-Sept 2019 is no different. If you have'nt read it yet, you can download it at https://mailchi.mp/yourstory/funding-report-jan-sep-2019

Some of the highlights are

• Number of unicorns in India have risen to 8!
• 15 startups are soonicorns (I wasn't aware thats a word)
• Number of startups securing $100M have risen in past 3 years
• Bangalore startups remain at the top to receive funding. Pune is 5th on the list.

Unicorns and Soonicorns

Given India's culture of sharing advise in an open environment, I think the number unicorns and soonicorns is important. People who have reached this stage will help other startups learn faster. There will be more local stories. The rate of growth of startups, the maturity of startup ideas will improve at a higher rate. Outreach and access to some of the founders of these startups will improve.

We have already started seeing some of this start in Pune. Milind Borate, cofounder and CTO of Druva, came to 91Springboard - a coworking space of 100+ startups. A lot of the fundamentals got clarified. Monish Darda, cofounder of ICertis had already seen an awesome exit with Bladelogic getting sold to BMC Software. He is also proactive and accessible. And there are many more stories and groups being formed to help spread the stories and the steps to follow.

Deal sizes

• About 223 pre-series A deals saw an amount of $186m being raised. Average ~800K.
• 125 companies raised a series A or B of $1.54B.
• 76 companies raised $3.39B series C and beyond.

While I have not analysed previous reports on startups, the ratio between from pre-series A to Series A and then to Series C seems healthy. More companies are moving forward. Ecosystems seems to be getting set on a solid foundation.

Which cities and sectors are leading?

Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Jaipur, Hyderabad - in that order - are leading the India startup growth story. Assuming funded companies will grow faster, its good to see that the overall India development is booting up quite well from the south as well as the north.

Second good news is that various sectors are present in the soonicorns list. LivSpace is moving the online home design forward, bookmyshow is already used across India for booking movie tickets, FirstCry has made a dent in the babycare market, while GreyOrange is advancing Robotics. While Logistics and Fintech are taking advantage of the largest road network and population, many other sectors are seeing growth.

Action Item

Would highly encourage all startup entrepreneurs to download and study (not just read) the YourStory Research report and participate in this India Startup growth story! Share comments about your cities and whats happening there!