Indian startups bounce back with $14.4 Bn funding and 13 IPOs in 2024

2024 was a transformative year for Indian startups. While total funding showed a strong recovery, the number of startups graduating to IPOs hit a new high. The year also witnessed the rise of quick commerce, with Zepto leading the charge, securing over $1.35 billion in funding within just five months.

According to data compiled by TheKredible, Indian startups raised a total of $14.44 billion across 1,337 deals in 2024. Growth and late-stage funding accounted for $11.2 billion from 326 deals, while early-stage funding contributed $3.23 billion through 810 deals. Additionally, 201 rounds of funding remained undisclosed. 

M-o-M trend

In 2024, Indian startups saw fluctuating funding, with $719.42 million in January and $1.92 billion in June. After a dip in July, funding rebounded in August and September with over $1.5 billion. The year ended strong with $1.32 billion in December, reflecting a recovery in the second half.

Total funding in 2024 rose to $14.44 billion, up from $11.3 billion in 2023. However, it remains below the $25 billion raised in 2022 and $38 billion in 2021.

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Top 10 growth-stage deals in 2024

In 2024, funding highlights spanned diverse sectors. Zepto topped with $1.35 billion, followed by Flipkart at $350 million. Healthtech saw Pharmeasy at $216 million, Engrail at $157 million, and NephroPlus at $102 million. Lenskart secured $200 million in e-commerce, while Atlan raised $105 million in AI and SEDEMAC $100 million in auto parts. Pocket FM attracted $103 million in media, and Shadowfax $100 million in logistics.

Top 10 early-stage deals in 2024

In 2024, early-stage funding highlighted innovation across sectors. SCOPE led with $90 million for a networking platform, followed by Avail with $70 million in blockchain and Krutrim with $50 million for AI solutions. Indkal raised $36 million for electronics, IBC $35 million for lithium-ion batteries, and Lyskraft $26 million for fashion. Ema secured $25 million for generative AI, StockGro $24.7 million for social investing, Hunch $23 million for social media, and Rozana $22.5 million for rural commerce.

Mergers and Acquisitions

In 2024, 144 acquisitions took place in total. The top deals included OYO acquiring G6 Hospitality for $525 million. Zomato acquired Paytm’s movies and ticketing business for $244 million. Freshworks purchased Device42 for $230 million while NIIF took a majority stake in iBUS for $200 million. Finnest also acquired a majority stake (53.75%) in Kitchens@ for $145 million to expand its foodtech presence.

ESOP buyback/liquidity/payout

In 2024, Swiggy led the ESOP buyback and liquidity with $65 million, followed by Whatfix at $58 million. Urban Company and Meesho had buybacks of $24.4 million and $24 million, respectively, while Pocket FM secured the fifth spot with $8.3 million. 

The total ESOP buyback, payout, and liquidity in 2024 reached approximately $190 million, the lowest compared to $802 million in 2023, $440 million in 2021, and $200 million in 2022. That is however, not counting the many IPOs, which have actually delivered major liquidity events across the board for employees as well, possibly beating the record numbers from 2023 possibly. 

City and segment-wise deals

Bengaluru remained the leader in 2024, with 485 deals and over $5.06 billion raised, accounting for 35.08% of the total funding. Delhi-NCR secured the second spot with 332 deals and $3.12 billion. Mumbai followed with 231 deals and $3.76 billion. Hyderabad saw 56 deals and $421.5 million, Pune had 47 deals and $645.63 million, while Chennai closed the list with 46 deals and $504.15 million. Cities like Indore, Surat, Nashik, and Lucknow also saw 5 deals each.

In 2024, the e-commerce sector led with 222 deals and $3.51 billion, which represents 24.34% of the total funding. Fintech followed with 211 deals and $3.23 billion, representing 22.37% of the total. Healthtech secured 120 deals and $1.14 billion, while SaaS raised $837.41 million through 112 deals. AI recorded 59 deals with $429.66 million, and the EV sector raised $616.78 million across 48 deals. Edtech saw 46 deals totaling $670.36 million, and Agritech completed the list with 40 deals and $230.6 million.

Series wise deals

In 2024, Seed funding dominated in terms of deal volume with 431 deals, followed by Series A, pre-Series, Series B, and pre-Seed rounds. However, in terms of funding amount, Series F took the lead, followed by Series B and Series A. Debt funding accounted for 8.7% of the total funding raised during the year.

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Layoffs, shutdowns and departures

BYJU's reported the highest layoffs in 2024, impacting 500 employees, followed by Reshamandi with 400. Swiggy ranked third with 350 affected employees, while Unacademy and WayCool each impacted 250 and 200 employees, respectively.

In 2024, around 4,700 employees faced layoffs, marking a sharp decline from the 24,000 layoffs in 2023 and 20,000 in 2022.

Several startups and businesses faced shutdowns in 2024, a challenging year for the ecosystem. Notable closures included Resso (India) in January, Koo in July, and Kenko in August, among others. Industries from music streaming to fintech and edtech saw shutdowns, with 17 companies ceasing operations by the end of the year. 

Although the number of layoffs saw a sharp decline, shutdowns in 2024 rose compared to 15 recorded in 2023.

Last year, the startup ecosystem saw notable leadership transitions, with over 100 senior executives, including CEOs, MDs, CPOs, and co-founders, stepping down. At the same time, more than 200 key executive roles were filled, reflecting a period of significant change. A detailed list of these changes is available here.

Comparison H1 Vs H2

In 2024, Indian startups raised $6.97 billion in H1 and $7.46 billion in H2 across 683 and 654 deals, respectively. $100 million+ funding rounds rose from 10 in H1 to 17 in H2. M&A activity surged from 55 deals in H1 to 89 in H2, while layoffs dropped from 3,250+ in H1 to 1,450+ in H2. 

Trends in 2024

Emergence of new leaders: Over 100 senior executives, including CEOs and co-founders, stepped down in 2024, while more than 200 key executive roles were filled. This turnover indicates a phase of leadership transitions, as startups reassess strategies and leadership to adapt to market changes.

Sector-specific growth: AI and healthtech showed notable sector-specific growth. Healthtech secured $1.14 billion, with key deals like Pharmeasy's $216 million, while AI companies raised $429.66 million across 59 deals, reflecting continued interest in these transformative sectors.

Layoffs and M&A activity decline: Layoffs significantly dropped from 24,000 in 2023 to 4,700 in 2024, while mergers and acquisitions (M&A) also decreased to 144 from 250 in the previous year.

Record startup IPOs: 2024 set a new benchmark for Indian tech startups, with 13 companies going public through IPOs, a sharp increase from 6 in 2023, 6 in 2022, and 10 in 2021.

Conclusion

Looking ahead, it seems safe to predict a stronger year in 2025, powered by momentum as well as relatively stable economic environment, with the Trump transition perhaps the biggest crimp. The IPO lineup remains strong, and funding avenues are also expanding. If 2024 had the Byju implosion, 2025 promises to be a lot more stable and bigger than 2024, with the closest event to failures perhaps being some consolidations/acquisitions in select spaces. However, it is obvious that governance will continue to remain in the spotlight, and rightly so.

The emergence of a smattering of smaller cities beyond the 4 metros is welcome, besides confirming the absolute dumping of Kolkata as a city that matters anymore. If the love for Ecom/quick commerce surprised in 2024, one hopes that breakthrough ideas in spaces like climate tech, agritech and efficient logistics will find backing in 2025, considering the boom seen in renewable energy in 2024, and the urgent steps taken to build a domestic manufacturing ecosystem as well.