In the first six months of 2024, venture capital (VC) funding to Indian start-ups has shown a steady upward trend. This is an increase of 45% compared to the six months from July to December 2023. Indian startups have raised a total of $6.4 bn in VC funding in the first six months of 2024. In contrast, research shows that it earned $4.4 billion in the second half of 2023.

However, compared to the first six months of 2023, the increase was only 1.5 percent, to $6.3 bn. Overall, there are positive bearings for the first half of 2024 after VC funding showed a 66% decline in the second half of 2022. This is also a very good time in the wake of the long funding winter that has engulfed the Indian start-up ecosystem after the bullish period.

In fact, in the first six months of 2024, VC funding per month has been steadily increasing. In the last two months - May and June - VC funding exceeded $1 billion. These developments will see the startup ecosystem end stronger in 2024 and cross the $10.8 -billion mark in 2023.

Among the sectors, fintech and e-commerce accounted for VC funding in H 1.2024, where the fintech segment received a total of $1.4 bn, while the e-commerce segment garnered $1.1 bn. Two notable categories, direct-to-consumer (D2C) and healthtech, raised $523 million and $504 million, respectively. The first six months of 2024 saw a total of 665 deals, but only eight deals exceeded the total value of $100 million.

The list is topped by quick commerce unicorn Septo, which has raised $665 million, followed by social commerce unicorn Meesho ($275 million) and omnichannel eyewear retailer Lenskart ($200 million).

Startups such as Pharmacy, Capillary Technologies, PocketFM, NephroPlus, and Shadowfax also received VC funding exceeding $100 million. Also, low-to-high-value deals are the primary reason VC funding remains at a moderate level. Given the current funding winter scenario, such high-value deals are few and far between. This is reflected in the phase-wise funding, with the late-stage category receiving $2.4 bn, while in the growth category it was $1.4 bn. It received $1.6 billion in the early-stage funding category and $870 million in the debt category.

However, the early-stage segment received the highest number of deals at 492 in H 1.2024. In all other categories, the number was less than 100 - a trend seen over the last two years. In terms of cities, Bengaluru has raised the most VC funding, followed by Mumbai and Delhi-NCR. While this is generally the pecking order, VC funding activity has also been seen in startup hotspots such as Chennai, Pune, and Hyderabad.

The next six months of this year are crucial for the Indian start-up ecosystem if the VC funding number is to surpass the figure of 2023.