Overview

• Eleven mega rounds of $100 million or more propelled late-stage funding up 11 percent year-on-year to represent nearly half of total capital.
• Early-stage investments cooled sharply, dipping 31 percent year-on-year to $406 million across reduced seed-stage deals.
• Fintech startups attracted $1.6 billion in 68 rounds, ecommerce secured $1.2 billion in 109 deals, and Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR remained top hubs with $2.5 billion and $1.5 billion raised.
• Five startups—Netradyne, Drools, Porter, Fireflies AI and Jumbotail—joined the unicorn club as M&A activity climbed 40 percent to 52 deals.
• A survey found 95 percent of investors remain bullish and expect $8 billion to $8.8 billion in H2 funding, lifting full-year projections to $14 billion–$15 billion.