Indian Startups Raise $68 Mn Amid Funding Slowdown
Overview
Indian startups secured $68.4 million in fresh capital during the first week of January 2026, a 34% decline from the previous week. Health Tech led investments, with Even Healthcare raising $20 million, as funding trends showed a slowdown, particularly for B2C ventures. Several other startups across E-commerce and AI sectors also attracted capital.
Funding Dip Continues
Indian startups collectively raised $68.4 million across 19 funding rounds between January 5 and 9, 2026. This figure represents a significant 34% decrease compared to the $104.2 million secured in the preceding week, indicating a continued slowdown in venture capital activity.
Health Tech Leads Sector Investments
The Health Tech sector topped the funding charts, attracting $20.4 million. Even Healthcare secured the largest individual cheque of the week, raising $20 million for its telemedicine platform. Other notable investments in this space also contributed to the sector's lead.
E-commerce and AI Activity
The E-commerce sector demonstrated resilience, with five Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) startups raising a combined $9.7 million. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector also saw traction, with several application layer startups securing seed funding rounds.
B2C Dominance and Seed Stage Focus
Business-to-Consumer (B2C) oriented startups garnered the majority of the capital deployed, accounting for 70% of the total weekly funds. Seed-stage startups performed well, collectively securing $16.8 million across six funding deals, signaling continued investor interest in early-stage ventures.
Other Market Developments
In other significant news, media SaaS giant Amagi filed its Red Herring Prospectus for an IPO, marking a potential early-year debut. Merger talks between edtech firms upGrad and Unacademy reportedly failed due to valuation disagreements. Fintech unicorn Razorpay is said to be preparing for its IPO, potentially involving a INR 4,500 crore fresh issue. The Tamil Nadu government launched a dedicated startup policy with INR 100 crore to foster deeptech innovation.
