Startup Funding Accounts 3% Rise In January To $962 Million: Report According to the Tracxn insights, the top three sectors that received the most funding in January of 2023 are fintech, enterprise applications and energy tech
By Teena Jose
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The Indian startups ecosystem has reportedly raised its highest funding in Q3 of 2021 after which it started witnessing funding slowdown which was further accelerated by the rising inflation, the ongoing war and the fears of recession. According to a Tracxn's India Tech Monthly Funding report, the month-on-month Indian startup has seen a minor uptick of 3% from $935 million in December 2022 to $962 million in January 2023, while the number of funding rounds dropped by 22% in the same period.
"Some of the recent issues in corporate governance can also impact investor sentiments in the startup ecosystem. Also, the government's move to extend the income tax benefit period for startups by one additional year may improve the financial stability of the startups," said the report.
According to the Tracxn insights, the month of January saw two $100 million rounds from the fintech apps PhonePe and KreditBee. Also, the top three sectors that received the most funding in January of 2023 are fintech, enterprise applications and energy tech. The fintech sector has seen a rise of 144% in investments from $261 million in December 2022 to $637 million in January 2023, whereas, the energy sector has seen a substantial increase of 386% from December 2022 to January 2023.
"The increased adoption of digital financial services like UPI by consumers has been the major reason for the hike. The introduction of CBDC is also expected to boost the sector," the report stated.
Furthermore, food and agriculture tech has reportedly seen the maximum fall in funding of 82% from $319 million in December 2022 to $56.8 million in January 2023. The recent Union Budget has proposed the formation of the agricultural accelerator fund to encourage and accelerate the digital infrastructure for the agricultural sector.
In terms of acquisitions, January saw 14, a rise of 17% month-on-month from 12 acquisitions in December 2022. The Tracxn report also found that Bangalore saw the maximum funding raised, followed by Delhi NCR and Hyderabad in January 2023.
