India ranks 3rd globally in tech startup funding

Bengaluru: India emerged as the third-highest funded country globally for tech startups in the first half of 2025, raising $4.8 billion despite a slowdown in overall investment activity, according to Tracxn's India Tech Semi Annual Funding Report for the first half of the current calendar year. The total was 25% lower than the $6.4 billion raised in the same period a year ago and down 19% from $5.9 billion in the second half of last year.The US and the United Kingdom led global rankings, with India moving ahead of Germany and Israel from its fourth-place position in H1 2024. Tracxn's data showed a broad slowdown across investment stages. Seed stage funding fell to $452 million in H1 2025, down 44% year on year, while early-stage funding declined 16% to $1.6 billion. Late-stage investment dropped 27% from H1 2024, to $2.7 billion.Even amid tighter conditions, the period witnessed five $100 million plus funding rounds. Electric mobility company Erisha E Mobility raised $1 billion, followed by GreenLine ($275 million), Infra.Market ($222 million), Spinny, and Darwinbox. These investments came largely in transportation and logistics, retail, and construction technology, sectors that led activity in the first half of the year."The funding volumes have come down compared to the previous year, but India's tech ecosystem continues to show resilience and maturity. Strong interest in transportation, retail, and enterprise tech signals investor conviction in solving large, structural challenges," said Neha Singh, cofounder of Tracxn. The transportation and logistics tech segment surged 104% from H2 2024 to $1.6 billion, making it the best performing sector. Retail secured $1.2 billion, rising 25% from H2 2024 despite being down 32% year on year. The enterprise applications segment drew $1.1 billion, a 21% drop from H2 2024.The first half of 2025 also saw increased M&A activity, with 73 acquisitions compared to 54 in H1 2024. The largest transaction was Magma General Insurance's $516 million sale to DS Group and Patanjali Ayurved, followed by HUL's $350 million acquisition of skincare brand Minimalist.Bengaluru accounted for 26% of total funding in the period, followed closely by Delhi with 25%. In terms of investment activity, LetsVenture, AngelList, and Accel emerged as the top investors across stages. At the seed level, the top active firms were Venture Catalysts, 100XVC, and Antler, while Peak XV Partners, Accel, and Lightspeed Venture Partners led early-stage activity. Late-stage investment was dominated by Sofina, Premji Invest, and SoftBank Vision Fund."The quality of IPOs and landmark acquisitions reflects the ecosystem's ability to create long-term value," Singh said. "The resilience we've observed in the first half of 2025 is a strong signal of where India's tech sector is headed next."