Sequoia, Tiger Global lead startup funding in Apr-Jun; fintechs attracted most funds: Nasscom report

Venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global led funding in Indian startups during April-June, with the fintech sector attracting most of the USD 6 billion (about Rs 47,870 crore) investments made during the quarter, industry body Nasscom said in a report.

Fintech firms attracted about 26 per cent of the total investments made during the quarter, followed by media and entertainment (19 per cent), enterprise tech (16 per cent), retail tech (9 per cent), edtech (8 per cent) and health tech (5 per cent), according to the report. “Prominent investors Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, Alpha wave and Accel have done over 6 deals across sectors,” it added.

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Out of Tiger Global’s total investments, 40 per cent were in the fintech sector and 20 per cent in the enterprise technology domain. For Sequoia, enterprise technology accounted for about 25 per cent of the funding, and financial technology (fintech) 20 per cent. Around 60 per cent of the investments by Tiger Global and Sequoia were made in the growth stage of the startups. The April-June quarter saw only four unicorns — neobanking firm Open, SaaS platform LeadSquared, edtech start-up PhysicsWallah and online beauty products marketplace Purplle.

Open became the first neobanking unicorn after raising USD 50 million in Series D funding from IIFL. LeadSquared raised USD 153 million in Series C funding from WestBridge Capital to become a unicorn, while PhysicsWallah raised USD 100 million in its Series A funding from Westbridge and GSV Ventures. Purplle raised USD 34 million as part of its Series E funding round from Paramark Ventures.

The preceding January-March period had witnessed creation of 16 new unicorns, which dropped to only four in the reporting quarter due to decline in fund inflows into the Indian startup space, it added. Investment in Indian tech startups fell by about 17 per cent to USD 6 billion in April-June 2022 owing to macroeconomic slowdown, according to the report.