India pips Germany, Israel in global tech startup funding in H1 2025: Tracxn

India ranked third globally in tech startup funding, ahead of Germany and Israel and trailing the United States and the United Kingdom, according to market intelligence platform Tracxn.

Despite the slowdown, Indian tech startups raised $4.8 billion in the first half of 2025, a 25% decline from $6.4 billion in H1 2024 and a 19% drop from $5.9 billion in H2 2024, the report titled ‘India Tech Semi-Annual Funding’ said.

Only two unicorns emerged in H1 2025 compared with 3 unicorns in H1 2024.

“While the funding volumes have come down compared to the previous year, India’s tech ecosystem continues to show resilience and maturity. Strong interest in sectors like transportation, retail, and enterprise tech signals investor conviction in solving large, structural challenges. We are also seeing quality IPOs and landmark acquisitions, which reflect the ecosystem’s ability to create long-term value,” said Neha Singh, co-founder, Tracxn.

The funding landscape across different stages showcased a consistent downward trend: seed-stage funding declined to $452 million, a 23% decline from $584 million in H2 2024 and 44% lower than $802 million in H1 2024. Early-stage startups raised $1.6 billion, a decrease of 6% from $1.7 billion in H2 2024 and down 16% compared to $1.9 billion in H1 2024. Late-stage funding stood at $2.7 billion, marking a 25% decline from $3.6 billion in H2 2024 and a 27% drop compared to $3.7 billion in H1 2024.

Despite the funding slowdown, the first six months of 2025 witnessed five funding rounds exceeding $100 million compared to nine such rounds in the second half of 2024 and 10 in the first half of 2024. Some of those who raised these large rounds included Erisha E Mobility’s $1 billion Series D round, GreenLine’s $275 million Series A round, and Infra.Market’s $222 million Series F round. Other companies that secured major funding included Spinny and Darwinbox. A major part of these $100 million-plus funding rounds were from Transportation and Logistics Tech, Retail and Real Estate and Construction Tech.

The leading sectors in terms of performance in the January-June 2025 period were Transportation and Logistics Tech, Retail and Enterprise Applications. The Transportation and Logistics Tech sector saw a strong recovery, raising $1.6 billion, a 104% increase from $799.3 million in H2 2024 and a 54% rise from $1.1 billion in H1 2024. The retail sector also showed signs of an uptick, securing $1.2 billion in funding. While this was a 32% decline from the $1.8 billion raised in H1 2024, it increased by 25% from $990.1 million in H2 2024. The Enterprise Applications sector secured $1.1 billion in funding, a 21% decrease from $1.4 billion in H2 2024 and a 26% drop from $1.5 billion in H1 2024.

There were 12 startups that went public in H1 2025, as compared to 21 in H1 2024.  Some of the notable ones included Ather Energy, Tankup, SS Innovations International and Infonative Solutions going public.

Acquisitions in the Indian startup ecosystem saw a significant rise, with 73 acquisitions in H1 2025, compared to 54 acquisitions in H1 2024. The most notable acquisition was Magma General Insurance, acquired by DS Group and Patanjali Ayurved for $516 million, followed by Minimalist, acquired by HUL for $350 million.

Bengaluru emerged as the leader in total funds raised during this period, accounting for 26% of the overall funding, followed by Delhi at 25%.

The overall top investors in H1 2025 were LetsVenture, AngelList and Accel. In the seed stage, the most active investors were Venture Catalysts, 100X.VC and Antler. Peak XV Partners, Accel and Lightspeed Venture Partners led investments at the early stage, while Sofina, Premji Invest, and SoftBank Vision Fund were the leading investors in late-stage investments. Among venture capital firms, Accel (U.S.) led the most number of investments, with 30 investment rounds, while Blume Ventures (India) added seven new companies to its portfolio during this period.