Indian startups raise $972 Mn in November, powered by Zepto and Healthkart

Indian startups nearly reached $1 billion in funding in November, boosted by major deals in e-commerce, healthtech, and fintech. While funding was slightly lower than in October, big investments in companies like Zepto and HealthKart showed strong investor interest.

According to data compiled by TheKredible, Indian startups raised $972 million across 90 deals, with growth and late-stage funding dominating at $708.12 million from 14 deals. Early-stage funding contributed $263.5 million through 67 deals, while 9 deals remained undisclosed.

[M-o-M and Y-o-Y trend]

On a monthly basis, November saw a 19% decline in funding from $1.2 billion in October to $971.61 million. However, total funding during the first 11 months of 2024 reached approximately $13.2 billion and surpassed 2023’s total of $11 billion.

The November funding trend shows sharp fluctuations over four years. Startups raised $4.33 billion across 153 deals in 2021, dropping to $1.3 billion (130 deals) in 2022 and $437.5 million (89 deals) in 2023. In 2024, funding rebounded to $971.61 million across 90 deals.

[Top 10 growth stage deals]

Growth-stage startups dominated the funding landscape in November. With $350 million funding, Zepto led the list followed by HealthKart with $153 million in Series I funding. Sarvagram also made a notable impact with $67 million in a Series D round, while Easy Home Finance and Zopper raised $35 million and $25 million, respectively. 

Other significant deals included Bhanzu's $16.5 million Series B round and MODIFI's $15 million for its B2B BNPL solutions. The ePlane Co., Locad, and ShopDeck rounded out the list with funding rounds that showcased innovation across diverse sectors like aerospace, logistics, and e-commerce.

[Top 10 early stage deals]

UnifyApps, a SaaS enterprise integration platform, led the chart of early-stage startups with $20 million in a Series A round, followed by OneCell Diagnostics, a cancer diagnostics startup, with $16 million. RetailTech platform Wheelocity raised $15 million, while SM Toys secured $13.22 million for its global manufacturing operations. BoldFit, a D2C fitness startup, and Guardians, a proptech company, raised $13 million and $12 million, respectively.

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

November saw 13 merger and acquisition deals across diverse sectors. Nykaa acquired a 100% stake in Earth Rhythm in the e-commerce space, while Nodwin Gaming secured Trinity Gaming for $2.84 million. Moglix expanded into manufacturing by acquiring Khatema Fibres for $9.4 million, and The Good Glamm Group also acquired a 100% stake in The Moms Co. MakeMyTrip announced plans to acquire fintech platform Happay, and Unicommerce strengthened its SaaS offerings by acquiring Shipway. Check TheKredible for more information.

[City and segment-wise deals]

In terms of city-wise funding, Mumbai-based startups led with $420.63 million raised across 14 deals, contributing 43.29% of the total funding. Delhi-NCR followed with $260.8 million from 26 deals, accounting for 26.84% of the funding. Bengaluru came next with $119.088 million raised through 28 deals, capturing 12.26%.

Segment-wise, e-commerce startups dominated in terms of the amount raised, with 11 deals securing $535.79 million. This contributed 55.14% to the total funding. Fintech was on the second spot with 9 deals worth $155.7 million, accounting for 16.02% of the funding. SaaS startups completed 12 deals worth $53.13 million followed by EV startups which raised $26.47 million from 4 deals.  Check TheKredible for more details.

[Stage-wise deals]

Regarding funding stages, 28 startups raised capital in the seed round, 26 in Series A, and 6 in Series B. Series F dominated with $350 million (36.02%), followed by Series I with $153 million (15.75%). Pre-Seed and debt funding contributed less than 1% each. For more details, refer to TheKredible’s report.

[Layoffs, shutdowns, departures, and key hirings]

Layoff activity continued to decline in November, with only two startups laying off 100 employees during the month. This is a drop from October, where layoffs by two startups affected over 110 employees. Throughout the first 11 months of 2024, approximately 4,700 employees were let go, a significant decrease compared to the 24,000 layoffs in 2023 and 20,000 in 2022.

In November, the startup ecosystem witnessed notable leadership changes, with 9 senior executives, including CEOs, MD, CPO, and co-founders, stepping down. Simultaneously, 35 key executive roles were filled, marking a period of significant transitions. A detailed list of these changes can be accessed here.

[Conclusion]

The funding landscape for Indian startups in November highlights a mixed bag of signals: a strong recovery from 2023 lows but still far from the peaks of 2021. The surge also reflects investor confidence in scaling businesses and continued interest in nurturing innovation. The notable dip in layoffs and leadership transitions signals a stabilizing ecosystem. With funding surpassing 2023 totals and a few more new-age IPOs on the horizon, the Indian startup ecosystem appears poised for a promising end to 2024, setting the stage for accelerated momentum in 2025.