Q3 Startups: India’s local angels step up to invest as 2021-22 funding dipped dipped by 33%

Q3 results for Indian startups show investors’ favorite sectors were consumer, enterprise applications, FinTech, retail, transportation, and logistics tech. Also, India’s local angels, like We Founder Circle (WFC) and Inflection Point Ventures (IPV) have taken up the torch of supporting startups.

The ongoing dreaded funding winter is not India-specific. It’s a global phenomenon as funding dipped from 2021 to 2022 for all major economies. India’s funding dipped by 33%, China’s by 54%, and the EMEA’s by 21.7%. Even bigger economies suffered, UK’s funding dipped by 18.8%, US’ by 28.8%, and Europe’s by 24.6%.

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According to Tracxn, a platform for tracking startups and private companies, 23 companies entered 2023 with a unicorn status of which, 13 are profitable.

Top 5 unicorns

• Molbio Diagnostics, provider of nucleic acid tests for infectious diseases with a total funding of US$120 million
• Tata 1 MG, an online pharmacy with doctor listing and teleconsultation services with a total funding of US$230 million
• ShipRocket, logistics solution for eCommerce, with a total funding of US$320 million
• 5ire, Blockchain-based network for interoperability and cross-chain transfers, with a total funding of US$221 million
• OneCard, credit cards for consumers, with a total funding of US$227 million

Top 5 profitable unicorns

• Molbio Diagnostics, with the latest funded amount of US$85 million and the latest valuation of US$1600 million
• PhysicsWallah, an app-based tutoring platform for students, with the latest funded amount of US$100 million and the latest valuation of US$1,100 million
• Oxyzo, an online marketplace for business credit lines, with the latest funded amount of US$200 million and the latest valuation of US$1,000 million
• Amagi, a CTV ad insertion software platform, with the latest funded amount of US$82 million and the latest valuation of US$1,400 million
• CoinSwitch, an app-based crypto trading platform, with the latest funded amount of US$260 million and the latest valuation of US$1,910 million

India’s Local Angels Step Up

India’s local angels have taken up the torch of supporting startups. WFC, a founders-led early-stage startup investment platform, closed their second year with 71 startup investments in 53 unique startups, emerging as the largest Angel Network in India of the year 2022.

WFC was followed by Inflection Point Ventures with 53 startups, Mumbai Angels with 31 startups, Indian Angel Network with 29 startups, and The Chennai Angels with 16 startups.

On the portfolio side, over 25% are being led by women entrepreneurs and 70% of our founders come from tier 2/3/4 cities, which validates our commitment to build a 100 startup cities of India vision

Neeraj Tyagi, Co-founder and CEO, WFC

WFC has invested in 104 deals in more than 80 unique startups within two years of operations. It has also given 7 partial exits to its investors in the second year. 6700+ investors from over 400 cities and 40+ countries have participated in 100+ deals with over US$20 million investments.

“We have been building a tech enabled global investment and networking platform for startup and investors ecosystem. This year we have not only topped the list of most active angel investment network, we have launched our startup marketplace to our community and now offering the same tech to other networks as a SaaS product. In addition, we have launched two funds, a domestic fund and a cross-border fund.

“On the portfolio side, over 25% are being led by women entrepreneurs and 70% of our founders come from tier 2/3/4 cities, which validates our commitment to build a 100 startup cities of India vision. We are sector agnostic but have special focus on amazing business models disrupting various verticals in India including SaaS, EV, agritech, healthcare and FinTech.” said Neeraj Tyagi, Co-founder and CEO, WFC.

In addition to replicating this model with our existing college network, we are confident of seeing stellar results. It is in our DNA to support entrepreneurs throughout the country

Ankur Mittal, Co-founder, IPV

Recently, IPV, an Indian angel investment network too announced a strategic partnership with the BITS Goa Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship Society (BGIIES) to support and fund social and impact startups being incubated at the Campus. BGIIES Goa aims to strengthen the startup ecosystem in the region and enable entrepreneurs by providing them with mentoring and capital to launch disruptive and impactful startups.

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Ankur Mittal, Co-founder, IPV, says, “BITS Pilani KK Birla Goa Campus is a new territory for us, and with this collaboration we look forward to funding startups from the college’s incubation cell for the first time. In addition to replicating this model with our existing college network, we are confident of seeing stellar results. It is in our DNA to support entrepreneurs throughout the country.”

Tarun Krishnakumar, General Manager of BGIIES Incubator, GOA, says, “IPV has collaborated with BGIIES to build a robust startup ecosystem for incubated startups. As a result, efficiencies will increase, good startups will have the opportunity to scale early, and long-term value will be created across the nation. The MoU will help IPV share their knowledge and expertise with us, to improve startup and investor experiences and ensure future growth.”