March 29, 2025: The Indian startup ecosystem showed some improvement in venture capital funding during the final week of March, with a total of $191 million raised across 26 deals. While this marks an uptick compared to the previous week’s $110 million, the overall trend for March has been quite erratic, with funding fluctuating between $412 million at its peak and dipping as low as $110 million.
This volatility reflects the ongoing challenges faced by Indian startups in securing consistent capital inflows amid macroeconomic uncertainties, including a slowdown in the domestic economy and looming threats like potential tariffs from the United States.
As we move further into 2025, the Indian venture capital scene continues to show a lack of large funding rounds (deals over $100 million). So far this year, only five such transactions have been recorded, indicating a shift in the funding landscape. However, it’s not all negative—there are signs of optimism in the Indian Startup ecosystem.
Interestingly, VC firms are still raising new funds, and there’s been a steady stream of exits, with Inflection Point Ventures reporting 14 successful exits this year.
VC Investment in Indian Startups Shows Signs of Recovery: Top Deals in March
- Smallcase: Raised $50 million from Elev8 Venture Partners, State Street Global Advisors, Niveshaay AIF, Faering Capital, and Arkam Ventures.
- Country Delight: Secured $25 million (Rs 212.49 crore) from V-Sciences Investments, backed by Temasek.
- Apna Mart: Raised $25 million (Rs 214.5 crore) from investors like Fundamentum, Accel, Peak XV Partners, Alteria Capital, and others.
- DCDC Health: Secured $17.4 million (Rs 150 crore) from Singapore’s ABC Impact.
- Ecofy Finance: Raised $12.5 million from Denmark’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU).
- Grow Indigo: Raised $10 million from British International Investment (BII).
- Curefoods: Raised $6.6 million from BlackSoil, Binny Bansal, and Caspian Investments.
Meanwhile, When it comes to deep tech startups investors are not patient enough, according to the representatives of the Nano Centres at Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
The Nano Centres, which are driving India’s edge in the deep-tech race, fostering breakthrough technologies and strategic advancements, were established by the Nano technology Initiatives Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
While the VC funding environment remains unpredictable, the continued investments in early and growth-stage startups offer hope for the coming months. However, unless the macroeconomic landscape stabilizes, it’s uncertain whether this funding momentum will continue.
