2024: A Pivotal Year for Indian Startups
In 2024, Indian startups underwent significant transformation. Total funding levels displayed a robust recovery, with an unprecedented increase in the number of startups transitioning to Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). The emergence of quick commerce saw Zepto leading the sector, garnering over $1.35 billion in funding within a mere five months.
Funding Overview
Data from various sources indicate that Indian startups accumulated a total of $14.44 billion through 1,337 deals in 2024. Growth and late-stage financing yielded $11.2 billion from 326 deals, whilst early-stage financing contributed $3.23 billion via 810 deals. Additionally, there were 201 rounds of funding that remained undisclosed.
Monthly Trends
Throughout 2024, funding for Indian startups experienced fluctuations, registering $719.42 million in January and peaking at $1.92 billion in June. Following a decline in July, funding surged in August and September, exceeding $1.5 billion. The year concluded robustly with $1.32 billion in December, indicating a recovery during the latter half of the year.
Total funding in 2024 escalated to $14.44 billion, an increase from $11.3 billion in 2023, yet still below the $25 billion raised in 2022 and the $38 billion in 2021.
Top Growth-stage Deals in 2024
Funding distribution across diverse sectors revealed significant highlights:
- Zepto: $665 million
- Flipkart: $350 million
- Pharmeasy (Healthtech): $216 million
- Engrail: $157 million
- NephroPlus: $102 million
- Lenskart (E-commerce): $200 million
- Atlan (AI): $105 million
- SEDEMAC: $100 million (Auto parts)
- Pocket FM (Media): $103 million
- Shadowfax (Logistics): $100 million
Top Early-stage Deals in 2024
Early-stage funding indicated innovation across various sectors:
- SCOPE: $90 million (Networking platform)
- Avail: $70 million (Blockchain)
- Krutrim: $50 million (AI solutions)
- Indkal: $36 million (Electronics)
- IBC: $35 million (Lithium-ion batteries)
- Lyskraft: $26 million (Fashion)
- Ema: $25 million (Generative AI)
- StockGro: $24.7 million (Social investing)
- Hunch: $23 million (Social media)
- Rozana: $22.5 million (Rural commerce)
Mergers and Acquisitions
In 2024, there were a total of 144 acquisitions. Noteworthy deals included:
- OYO: Acquired G6 Hospitality for $525 million
- Zomato: Acquired Paytm’s movies and ticketing business for $244 million
- Freshworks: Purchased Device42 for $230 million
- NIIF: Took a majority stake in iBUS for $200 million
- Finnest: Acquired a majority stake (53.75%) in Kitchens@ for $145 million
ESOP Buyback and Liquidity
Swiggy led the ESOP buyback sector, investing $65 million, followed by Whatfix with $58 million. Urban Company and Meesho facilitated buybacks of $24.4 million and $24 million, respectively, while Pocket FM secured $8.3 million.
The overall ESOP buyback, payout, and liquidity for 2024 was approximately $190 million, a significant decrease from $802 million in 2023, $440 million in 2021, and $200 million in 2022. This figure does not account for the numerous IPOs, which have contributed major liquidity events for employees, likely surpassing 2023’s records.
City and Segment-wise Deals
Bengaluru was the top city in 2024, with 485 deals raising over $5.06 billion, comprising 35.08% of total funding. Delhi-NCR followed with 332 deals amounting to $3.12 billion. Mumbai came in next with 231 deals and $3.76 billion. Other notable cities included Hyderabad (56 deals, $421.5 million), Pune (47 deals, $645.63 million), and Chennai (46 deals, $504.15 million). Additionally, cities like Indore, Surat, Nashik, and Lucknow each recorded 5 deals.
Throughout 2024, the e-commerce sector led with 222 deals and $3.51 billion, representing 24.34% of total funding. The fintech sector followed closely with 211 deals and $3.23 billion. Healthtech recorded 120 deals and $1.14 billion, while SaaS raised $837.41 million through 112 deals. Other sectors included:
- AI: 59 deals, $429.66 million
- EV: $616.78 million across 48 deals
- Edtech: 46 deals, $670.36 million
- Agritech: 40 deals, $230.6 million
Series-wise Deals
In 2024, seed funding dominated deal volume with 431 deals, followed by Series A, pre-Series, Series B, and pre-seed rounds. In contrast, in terms of funding amounts, Series F took the lead, followed by Series B and Series A. Notably, debt funding represented 8.7% of the total funds raised during the year.
Layoffs, Shutdowns, and Departures
BYJU’s experienced the highest number of layoffs in 2024, affecting 500 employees, followed by Reshamandi with 400. Swiggy saw 350 employees impacted, while Unacademy and WayCool affected 250 and 200 employees, respectively.
Approximately 4,700 employees faced layoffs in 2024, a significant decline from 24,000 in 2023 and 20,000 in 2022.
Several startups faced shutdowns during 2024, reflecting a challenging environment within the ecosystem. Major closures included Resso (India) in January, Koo in July, and Kenko in August. Overall, 17 companies ceased operations by year-end, spanning sectors from music streaming to fintech and edtech.
While layoffs showed a notable decrease, shutdowns increased compared to the 15 recorded in 2023.
The previous year saw considerable leadership transitions, with over 100 senior executives, including CEOs and co-founders, stepping down. Simultaneously, more than 200 key executive roles were filled, reflecting a substantial phase of change.
Comparison of H1 and H2
During 2024, Indian startups raised $6.97 billion in the first half and $7.46 billion in the second half across 683 and 654 deals, respectively. Funding rounds exceeding $100 million increased from 10 in H1 to 17 in H2. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity surged from 55 deals in H1 to 89 in H2, while layoffs dropped from over 3,250 in H1 to around 1,450 in H2.
Trends in 2024
This year witnessed the:
- Emergence of New Leaders: Over 100 senior executives stepped down while more than 200 key roles were filled.
- Sector-specific Growth: AI and healthtech sectors demonstrated remarkable growth.
- Decline in Layoffs and M&A Activity: Layoffs dropped substantially compared to previous years.
- Record Startup IPOs: A benchmark was set with 13 companies going public, an increase from prior years.
