Indian Startups Navigate Challenges, Secure $732.7 Million Funding Amid Layoffs and Exits

In the face of layoffs, shutdowns, and key departures, Indian startups showcased resilience by securing $732.7 million across 107 deals in January, according to data from TheKredible.

The funding landscape in January comprised 70 early-stage deals, totaling $314.4 million, and 21 growth-stage deals amounting to $418.3 million. Additionally, 16 undisclosed rounds were reported. However, January witnessed a notable decline in total startup funding from $1.7 billion in the previous month, marking the lowest January funding in the last three years, as reported by Entrackr.

Despite the challenges, no startup managed to secure funding exceeding $100 million. Fintech startup Vivifi led the funding charts, raising $75 million. Other notable recipients included AiDash, wow! Momo, Impact Analytics, and BluSmart.

In the growth stage, OneCard, Infra.Market, and Yulu secured debt funding. Krutrim SI Designs, led by Bhavish Aggarwal, emerged as the fastest unicorn with $50 million in funding.

International Battery Finance and fintech startups StockGro, FinAGG, and Ecofy rounded out the top five funding recipients. StockGro secured the most debt funding.

However, the startup landscape wasn’t without challenges. Over 600 layoffs were reported across companies, with Swiggy leading with 350 job cuts, followed by Cult.fit and InMobi. E-commerce giant Flipkart also made headlines with over 1,000 layoffs.

Top-level exits were observed at Udaan, with CFO Aditya Pande and FMCG business head Vinay Shrivastava departing. CEOs of Indus Appstore and KnowledgeHut, both owned by PhonePe, along with co-founders of DealShare and Fashinza, also announced their departures.

In addition to the workforce challenges, cricket non-fungible token (NFT) platform Rario and ByteDance’s Resso declared the cessation of operations.