10% of PE/VC investments backed 'Bharat' startups over past decade: IVCA chief

Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA) President Rajat Tandon, during an interaction with Fortune India at the recently concluded Startup Mahakumbh 2025, said that in the last 10 years, India has seen close to $430 billion of funding in the startup space. "The year 2024 was a year of cautious investor optimism, as deal activity saw signs of recovery & poised for growth in ’25. India VC deal flow increased to $13.7 billion from $9.6 billion over 2023–24. The year 2024 marked a recovery in India’s VC funding," said Tandon.

On PE/VC firms' vision for building for "Bharat", Tandon says in the last 10 years, 10% of PE/VC investments have contributed to the growth of startups in Tier II & III cities. "Seed funding volumes grew modestly in building Bharat, fuelled by a rich talent pool, 30-40% lower fixed cost, a growing angel network, and government-supported national programs like Startup India.

He also talked about AI, climate-tech, and deep-tech investments, saying the deal flow in consumer tech and traditional businesses has rebounded, while interest in green-shoot themes like generative AI continues to grow. He said IVCA’s advocacy efforts focus on fostering capital formation within the alternative capital industry, ensuring startups receive the necessary funding to scale, fund managers report on their performance, increase the pool of investors and simplify the process by introducing the accredited investor concept.