In the first half of 2026, Indian startups secured $5.2 billion in funding, marking a 9% decline from the previous year, despite a 7% increase in the number of deals to 501. Venture debt firm Stride Ventures emerged as the most active investor, backing 61 startups, including Giva and Magicpin. The investment landscape saw a shift towards frontier technologies like AI, robotics, and deeptech, with AI startups alone attracting $676 million across 57 deals. Meanwhile, funding for advanced hardware and technology rose by 17% to $365 million, driven by 66 deals.
Seed and growth stage investments remained popular, with $478 million raised, and growth stage funding increased by 15% year-on-year to $2.3 billion. However, late-stage funding saw a significant decline of 29% to $2.2 billion, with the median ticket size dropping to $10 million. Despite the overall dip in funding, investor interest remains strong, with 64% of surveyed investors planning to increase their venture capital allocation in the latter half of the year.
Alteria Capital ranked as the second most active investor, closing 48 deals, followed by Rainmatter with 39 deals. Other notable investors included Blacksoil Asset Management, WeFounderCircle, All In Capital, Accel, InnoVen Capital, Finvolve, and IAN Group, each actively contributing to the dynamic Indian startup ecosystem.
