According to Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q1 2023, startup funding in India has plummeted 75% YoY across segments to $3 Bn as against $12 Bn in Q1 2022. Mega deals dropped 77% to just seven such deals against 30 in the year-ago quarter. Seed-stage funding also declined 81% QoQ to $180 Mn from $961 Mn in Q4 2022. The bearish investor sentiment in Indian institutional investors could persist for a while, as 52% of the investors surveyed admitted to participating in fewer deals compared to Q1 2022. The top five active startup investors who showed their faith in the Indian startup ecosystem in Q1 2023 are AngelList India (47), Alteria Capital (26), Blume Ventures (20), Stride Ventures (20), and AH Ventures (19). These investors have backed companies like D2C startup MasterChow, fintech startup OTO Capital, and healthtech startup CareFi.
AngelList India participated in 47 startup deals in Q1 2023, followed by Alteria Capital with 26 deals, and Blume Ventures, Stride Ventures, and AH Ventures with 20, 20, and 19 deals respectively. These investors have shown their confidence in the Indian startup ecosystem by backing a diverse range of startups across various sectors. Blume Ventures, which was founded in 2010 by Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath, invests in startups operating in diverse segments such as edtech, fintech, health, commerce, consumer internet, AI, and SaaS. In Q1 2023, it participated in 20 funding rounds of startups, including ApnaKlub, Virohan, ElectricPe, and Aerem. In 2022, the VC fund closed its $250 Mn fund and backed 31 Indian startups, including browser testing platform Lambdatest, Pixxel, and agritech startup Jai Kishan.