VC funding in India startups nosedives 80.8% YoY in January-February 2023

Venture capital (VC) funding activity was affected in India in 2023 both in terms of volume as well as value but the impact was significantly prominent in value terms. While the deal volume declined by 56.3% year-on-year (YoY) during January-February 2023, the corresponding deal value declined by a massive 80.8%, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that a total of 169 venture capital (VC) funding deals were announced in India during the first two months of 2023 while the disclosed funding value of these deals stood at of $1.4 billion.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The decline could be attributed to the prevailing investor cautiousness as the ripple effects of funding winter continues through 2023 amid the recession fears and growing concerns over startup valuations in the country.”

India is ranked among the top five markets globally in terms of both VC funding deal volume and value during January-February 2023. It is also the second biggest market in the Asia-Pacific region and stands just next to China in terms of VC funding volume as well as value.

Bose continues: “However, not only the decline in VC funding activity in India during January-February 2023 was significant but also relatively much higher compared to its peers.”

For instance, the US, China and the UK saw VC funding deals volume falling by 52.1%, 29.1% and 38.1%, respectively, during January-February 2023 compared to the same period in previous year while the decline in terms of value for these markets stood at 72.3%, 52.2% and 70.1%, respectively.