Indian startups racked up $10 billion in Q1 2022 led by late-stage funding deals

Even as the broader startup ecosystem starts to talk about a slowdown in dealmaking on the back of macroeconomic headwinds, Indian startups mopped up over $10 billion in funds during the first quarter of 2022, up from $5.7 billion in the same period in 2021, according to data sourced from Venture Intelligence.

The record-breaking first quarter funding data is not taking into account the current slowdown, as official deal announcements typically come in a few months after closure.


What’s led to the slowdown? A spike in US interest rates, geopolitical tensions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, fuel prices at a record high, and the crash of tech stocks in the US have contributed to making late-stage and private equity funds cautious globally.

Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank, recently told the top leadership of the group to go slow with technology investments due to the crash in its holdings, according to a report in Financial Times (FT).

His comments come at a time when the Japanese investor is ‘pushing to raise cash and is evaluating assets that could be liquidated’.

Son’s top lieutenant Rajeev Misra, CEO of SB Investment Advisors who heads SoftBank Vision Fund, also told ET earlier this month that private financing will be limited this year unlike 2021 and 2020.

Watch Rajeev Misra, CEO, SB Investment Advisers in conversation with ETtech’s editor Samidha Sharma on the state of tech investing globally. For the full interview click here

In India, however, late-stage deals accounted for 45% -- $5.8 billion -- of total funding into the Indian startup ecosystem this quarter.

Investors and founders said the real impact of the geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic events may become clearer in the following quarters. For now, Indian startups continue to ride on last year's momentum.